Yesterday, I read the daily devotional, for October 18, from the book Made to Crave God-Every Day of the Year. It was based around:

Matthew 5.20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

That last phrase hit me right between the eyes.

ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven

I made that red, because that is Jesus talking.  Jesus said except my righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees I will in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven.

What?!

1. I have admitted that I’m a sinner
2. I have repented of my sins
3. I have asked Jesus to be Lord of my life, Savior of my soul, King of my heart
4. I have followed this inward action with a public declaration by water baptism
5. and as dear Martin Luther declared, the just shall live by faith

I’ll get to “the just shall live by faith” eventually.

First, to let everyone know…I know…

 Ephesians 2.8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

NO, we are not saved by our works, and in this study of these Scriptures, I’m not looking for salvation. But, here are some verses:

• Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
• John 10.9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
• Acts 2.21 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
• Acts 4.12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
• Acts 16.31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
• Romans 10.9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
• Romans 10.13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved
• 2 Tim 1.9 Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

I hope this will convince those that read this, I do know that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ.  Titus 3 sort of puts another twist and what I am looking at:

Titus 3.5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 [This is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

“that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works”

Ephesians 2.10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Oh, look! The verse following Ephesians 2.8&9, is Ephesians 2.10!  The very verse used to contradict any “works benefit” is followed by a verse that declares we were created for good works that we should walk in!

There are several things that come up when I look at these verses.

1. what is righteousness?
2. can we lose our salvation?
3. should we be working on ‘doing’?

I posted two of the quotes from October 18th’s  devotional on facebook. I have no idea who the men are. Wikipedia articles on  William Law and John Keble describe them as devote writers from the 1700’s.

“You perhaps will say that all people fall short of the perfection of the gospel, and therefore you are content with your failings..
But this is saying nothing to the purpose: for the question is not whether the Gospel perfection can be fully attained, but whether you come as near it as a sincere intention and careful diligence can carry you. Whether you are not in a much lower state than you might be if you sincerely intended and carefully labored to advance yourself in all Christian virtues. W.M. Law. (from the book “Made to Crave God – Every Day of the Year’ for Oct 18).”

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“We know not exactly how low the least degree of obedience is, which will brain a man to heaven; but this we are quite sure of, that he who aims no higher will be sure to fall short of even that, and that he who goes farthest beyond it will be most blessed.” John Keble (from the boook “Made to Crave God – Every Day of the Year” for Oct 18)

These also hit me in the head, and caused me to reevaluate my walk…am I really aiming high?  Am I taking righteousness, separation, and sanctification seriously?  Do I look, act, respond differently than the world? Or is there too much ‘world’ in me?  And, how much is too much?

We’re not supposed to lust after the world, we’re not supposed to act like the world, we’re not supposed to love the world,  that’s simple New Testament.  Yes, they are supposed to know us by our love. Yet, I believe there is something about keeping God’s commands that I may be missing, because He says if you love me you will keep my commands(John 14:21).  Do I keep His commands? What ARE His commands?

If Jim told me he never wanted me to wear green again, how would he feel if he came home and I was completely decked out in green? Or, reverse that, and how would we feel if our husbands came home decked out in something we’d told him that we did not like.  I’d feel unloved, disrespected, and dishonored.  Don’t we owe God at least that much if not much more love and respect and honor?

Anyway, it’s not about works. It’s about a heart that desires to love God enough to lay down naked and play with Army soldiers if need be(Isaiah 20, Ezekiel 4).  And the thing is, He’s not asking that of us! He’s just asking for obedience, just as a father asks for obedience of the children, and respect from the wife.

An example from my life. I go back to the hair and the dress issue with which I have struggled.

For years, I have heard my husband share how he was hurt because he had made his desires known.

He gave us free choice, and we,
myself and our three daughters, eventually, chose to cut our hair and wear pants.

Dear Jim, I’m sorry. Please forgive me for all the years that I have not loved you enough to honor and obey your desires. I do love you, and I thank God for giving me to you, and you to me.

 
And now, as I try to be a better wife for Jim, I have to try to give God at least as much.
This makes it a little clearer for me.

• Jim doesn’t love me because I wear dresses,
• and he didn’t/won’t stop loving me if I wear pants.
• But when I choose to do something to acknowledge his desires, our fellowship is sweeter.
• If I wear pants, he won’t divorce me.
• When I cut my hair, he doesn’t kick me out of the marriage.
•  if I choose to do the opposite of what would please Jim,
• I hurt him,
• I disappoint him,
• and there is a block in our fellowship.

And that’s with someone I can see, hear, smell, touch, and actively talk things out with. If I can’t do it with him, whom I can see, what chance do I have with the God I cannot see?

1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

And then, all the years that I proclaimed my liberty and freedom of choice as a wife, I also proclaimed my liberty and freedom of choice as the daughter of God. But what was I declaring my liberty and freedom from?  Obedience?

This is not condemnation, this is conviction, mourning over the ways I have hurt the two most important beings in my life. And this sorrow is godly sorrow, and I pray that it brings about the righteousness of Christ in my life.

2 Cor 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

What is the map? The Word of God…I say with Peter:

John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

So, I am taking some time to make sure that I am walking down the path that I see, as I read my map.

Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Phil 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

I want to walk this walk towards my Saviour…pressing on for the MARK of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. There is a pressing on. There is a working out our salvation with fear and trembling. There is a race to be run – and some will not finish the race. I want to finish the race, with all that is in me, glorifying God in every way. I will be looking into those three questions in future blogs. Thanks for hanging in here with me!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

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