At times I think each of us struggles by measuring our own actions. We evaluate those actions against the behavior of others, against our own past activities and against those of Jesus. Of course, the latter is the key, as we know that He never sinned. Additionally, He never acted in a way to glorify Himself, but instead, those actions always pointed to His Father.
On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews go to the temple, fasting and praying, and reflect upon the previous year. Basically, if they have accomplished more good deeds than bad deeds, they assess that they are good people. So basically, the wealth of labor dictates the final result. That is the same system most people in the world desire, but it is not the system that God has constructed.
God’s measurement is not a balance sheet, filled with our assets and our liabilities. Instead, He has told us in His Word:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 6:23-26
The word sin in the Greek is “hamartia,” and the term comes from archery. When a shot did not hit the bull’s-eye, it was called a sin. It didn’t have to be far from the target, but even the narrowest of misses was still considered sin. That’s the same in our lives, where we can have the best intent, and still miss by the narrowest of margins. In God’s eyes, that is still sin. A great example would be a white lie, even with the intent of not hurting someone’s feelings.
God knew that we could not live perfect lives, so He put a plan in place to remove that sin from our lives. In order to remove the sin, we need a scapegoat. Yet before we see the need for a scapegoat, we have to recognize the spiritual condition we are in without God. We are spiritually destitute! When faced with a righteous God, we have absolutely nothing to offer! All of the people who found themselves in the presence of God in the Bible felt so unworthy they put their faces in the dirt! We are able to have a relationship with God only because He allows that relationship. Can you begin to imagine why the Creator of all would want to have relationship with us? It’s a kind of love we never have been faced with.
4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, Romans 4:4-5
Which system do you want to be on? If judged on works, you certainly will be found to owe, and the penalty will be far worse than debtor’s prison!
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 3:23
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