Someone said to me the other day, "Pastor we are trying our best." Then I said to him, "God doesn't want your best." He asked why? Then I replied "your best is not good enough". Immediately I showed him Isaiah 64:6, which reads, "...all our righteousnesses (our best works, good works, best efforts) are filthy rags..." Emphasis are mine.
What then does God want? Is our best what He wants? A big No!!! Are we not supposed to try our best so that we can make it to heaven, or so that we can please God and make Him happy, Nope! Many Christians have this erroneous belief that they have to try their best. That if they tried their best enough God will be pleased and He will bless them and reward them for trying their best. Such kind of mentality is disgusting to the Father. There is no place in the Bible that says, "try your best so that you will make it to heaven." Neither is there any verse that says "if you try hard enough, God will bless you or reward you for trying." You don't have to try anything, JUST BELIEVE and LIVE BY FAITH IN GOD'S GRACE. It's not your effort that counts. God never rewards human effort. What He rewards is faith. What God wants is faith in His own best, which is our Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work. A lack of understanding of this truth has caused many Christians to wallow in LEGALISM and RELIGION. notice what Paul said, "not of works (your best effort, your performance, your religiosity, fasting, etc) lest any man should boast" (Eph 2:5, 8, KJV).
HEAVEN NOT MEANT FOR THOSE WHO TRY THEIR BEST
Some folks present the Gospel as though it were saying that those Christians who try their best are the ones who will eventually make it to heaven at last. You'll hear them vibrating, saying that for you to make heaven you must avoid this and that, don't do this don't do that if you must make it to heaven. Even some notable men of God who are mostly called holiness preachers are mostly the ones who spread this erroneous teachings. This is not Gospel. It doesn't matter who is preaching or teaching it. This kind of teaching has given rise to a works based mentality among their adherents. Presenting the Gospel in this works based way grieves the Holy Spirit. That's a wrong way of presenting the Gospel. Folks who present the Gospel this way do so because they don't really understand the Gospel. It is true that when a person gets born again, he or she receives a new spiritual nature which is the Christ nature, and as a result of this new nature such a person will have a new desire to always want to live right. He or she will want to and even strive to want to do the right things. This is a truth that can never be disputed. Nevertheless this does not mean that your going to heaven depends on how many wrong things you have successfully been able to avoid or do away with. Paul says again, "not of yourselves, not of works (how many wrong things you've been able to avoid) least any man should boast (Eph 2:8). Heaven is not meant for those who have successfully been able to avoid or totally stop all the wrong things in their lives. Rather it is for anyone who has received Christ as their Messiah and totally rely on His saving Grace for their salvation. We live right not because we are trying to make heaven or that by so doing we will be able to make heaven. We live right because this is who we are now in Christ, this is our nature in Christ. We have the nature of right living. This doesn't mean we don't make mistakes (1 John 1:8). Christians do make mistakes, and a lot for that matter. I am not saying we still have a sin nature, we have no sin nature in Christ. All I am saying is that Christians are still capable of erring and this is as a result of the unrenewed mind and the limited knowledge we have in this present body of ours. However as a child of God, never let your mistake limit or stop you from advancing in the Lord. When you realize that you have erred, get up, dust up yourself, correct yourself by reminding yourself who you are in Christ and keep moving on in you walk of righteousness. Always remember that you are a blessing. You are a shinning light, and our heavenly Father loves you above your errors. We carry His nature and don't settle for a low life.
NEVER COMPARE YOURSELF WITH
SOMEONE ELSE
Many Christians make the mistake of comparing themselves with other Christians from the moral standpoint. They think that because they don't drink, smoke or do some other crazy stuff they see or hear some other Christian do, then they assume they must be better off, and have a better chance of getting blessed by God or making heaven. This kind of thinking is so erroneous. This kind of thinking arises because these kind of Christians have been brought up under an atmosphere of condemnation or legalism. Paul declares, " For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not not wise." (2 Cor 10:12). These type of Christians think they are better because they've not made the kind of mistakes others make. As a result of this way of thinking they feel they are holier than others. This erroneous way of thinking is the root cause of the holier than thou attitude which we certain Christians exhibit. You see some Christians feel they are okay and better off because they don't do this or that. They pick the areas they feel they are okay or comfortable with and then condemn others who error in those areas or those who seem not to be as strong as they are in those areas. There are those who feel they are better off than others because they fast and pray a lot more than others. You see these ways of reasoning are anti-Gospel, or anti-Grace. Christians who live like this are without understanding. They fail to realise that even as Christians none of us knows how many times we err. It's not all the wrong things you do that you know or are aware of. There are wrong things you do that you don't even know about and you will probably never know about them, but only God knows. This is the reason our salvation depends totally on the Grace of God. For those who like to compare themselves with others, I usually ask them to compare themselves with Jesus morally and see if they would stand any chance. After all Jesus is our standard. None of us can be compared to Jesus morally speaking. No man of God can. Of course they know they don't stand a chance when compared to Jesus. Morally speaking Every one falls short. That's why salvation is by faith alone. This is the reason why no body can boast of saving themselves. This also explains why it is wrong for you to be looking up to your moral uprightness as a yardstick or framework for salvation. Morality as good as it is can never save anyone. God will never use any ones moral uprightness to justify or save that person. Not even for those men of God that look as though they are holier than all, or those that look down on others. JESUS and our faith in Him is all that counts. So why do men compare themselves with others and use that as a yardstick to evaluate who is qualified for heaven or not. They do this as a result of sense knowledge which they are operating with. It's not about how much you try your best. It's not how much better off than others you are. It's about Jesus and His best for us. Accept His best and live a life of rest. You are blessed!
Prize Chukwuka
Prize Chukwuka
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