Man's blog. God's glory.

Why we are confident: Part 2

In both high school and college, I was a very superstitious runner. I had a whole ritual I would go through before a meet, and before a race, because I was convinced it was why I won. I would always put my right shoe on first, and always double knotted my right shoe before my left. I had a set routine I would go through as I was getting set into the starting block. And when I was in the starting blocks, I would always, always, always say the following words, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

I was totally convinced that all these different things were why I won. I always wore a pair of knee high yellow socks to every single meet. I would wear them the whole day, and I was convinced that not wearing them would cause me to lose.

And as time passed, I kept winning, and was convinced that it was all these superstitions and rituals that helped me win. I never stopped to realize that they were just superstitions and rituals that really did nothing. I never realized that all the extra hours I spent training, the strict diet, or God given ability had anything to do with my winning. My confidence was in the wrong things.

And so many times, we do the same thing in the Christian life. We think that our Bible reading, our prayer life, our big offerings, tithes, outreach, sacrifice, and everything else that we do is what causes us to have confidence as a Christian.

But in reality, we aren’t to trust any actions of our own for victory as Christians. Paul said that “when I am weak, then am I strong.” As he went through trials, and sufferings, he didn’t rely on anything he could do, or any ritual; he depended on God!  The Bible says to put “no confidence in the flesh!”

While we ought to read our Bibles, tithe, pray, witness, fast, sacrifice, and all other kinds of things, that can’t do us any good! Our works aren’t good enough to even make us a born again Christian! For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves…not of works!” If works can’t start us on the path, why would we ever need them to progress down the path of Christianity?

We need to realize that our confidence is not in who we are, or what we do, but rather in who God is, and what Christ did. Our relationship with God is not based on what we do in any way! We are only justified by the blood of Jesus Christ, and nothing else matters before the Lord! Watchmen Nee writes that, “my first approach (to God) is on the blood, as is every  subsequent approach thereafter.”

And I’m not trying to say that we ought be lazy because God’s the only one who has any power to do anything, because we need planters, and we need people to water! Paul realized that “by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

Yes we ought to work, yes we ought to tithe, read the Bible, pray, fast, give, love, go, send, and work our entire lives for the Lord, but we cannot depend upon them for anything! It’s all God! He’s the reason for our confidence! He’s our strength, our joy, and our reason for being confident!

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