Our Best is Simply Not Enough!

July 11, 2011 [Monday],

Dear Fellow Travelers,

          The following is a direct quote from my sermon yesterday: If my memory serves me correctly, the author of what I am about to say was none other than the late Dr. Bill Gillham, the author of “Lifetime Guarantee.” Admittedly, when I first heard it (many years ago, now), I flinched, but after giving it some thought, I had to admit that he was correct. This is what he said: “We cannot live the Christian life.” Today, I want to add this to his line: “and trying our very best to do so is futile.” You see, this “trying our very best to live the Christian life” is simply eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fact is we need something far greater than our best efforts (aka, eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the more modern, attempting to keep the Law) if we plan to live the Christian life.

          The following is a summary of my closing: Throughout my years in ministry, both as a pastor and a counselor, I have noticed that many people honestly believe they are doing quite well, when it comes to living the Christian life. It is as if they wear a merit badge sash, fully decorated with the badges of obedience, similar to the one I used to wear as a Boy Scout. Just to clear the air: try as we might, none of us could ever earn a “merit badge” of obedience, and we cannot because God’s standard is perfection, and our best efforts fall short—far short. Even so, it has been the obvious mission of the leaders of the church not only to teach, but also to encourage its members to do their very best to live the Christian life. As anyone can see, their mission has failed—miserably—because our very best is simply not enough—not even close. Will we ever learn that Jesus did not come to teach us how to do our very best to live the Christian life? He came to rescue us from our best efforts! In fact, He came to rescue us from sin and death, to give His life in exchange for ours, to impute His righteousness to us as a gift of grace, and to deliver us from the kingdom of darkness and transfer us to the Kingdom of Light. He did not come to teach us “how to”; instead, He came because He was well-aware that we cannot, even when we are doing our best. He came to give us His life, not a refurbished version of ours.

Who in the wide world started the ridiculous rumor that He came to model for us “how to” live the Christian life? Friend, listen up: He came to do for us what we could never do for ourselves—live in perfect obedience to His Father.

This is what the Apostle Paul had to say: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, ad delivered Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20 NASB).

This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).