The Bible reveals two kinds of righteousness—one that we try
to attain through obedience; the other is the unearned gift of God. Paul had
refused to trust in the first kind so that he could trust exclusively in the
enduring and saving righteousness that could only be freely granted:
·
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for
the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything [in which I had trusted] as loss
because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I
have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I
may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own
that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in
Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. (Philippians
3:7-9)
Paul knew that he couldn’t trust the “righteousness” that he
had trusted in before—a self-righteousness based on his efforts. Besides, he
knew that if he trusted in his own performance-based righteousness, it would
undermine his relationship with Jesus, which demanded an all-or-nothing trust
(Galatians 5:1-4).
While the law was good, to trust in it for our worth and
righteousness was arrogant and spiritually blind. Even the Mosaic Law warned
that such a trust kills (Deuteronomy 27:26) as Paul later warned:
·
For all who rely on works of the law are under a
curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things
written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is
justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Galatians
3:10-11)
The gift of eternal life and righteousness had only been
available by trusting in the Lord, as many of the Psalms proclaim:
·
Blessed is the one whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts
no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)
Blessedness was never a matter of our triumphs but of God’s
mercy. There was nothing the matter with following the law, as long as it
didn’t lead to a hardness and self-righteousness, but it generally did. Instead,
the law is intended to humble us:
·
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks
to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the
whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human
being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of
sin. (Romans 3:19-20)
The law was intended to humble us and eliminate any hope in
our own merit. The idea of being good enough for God through
obedience to the Law was foreign to the Scriptures. All required the mercy of
God, although faithful obedience would be blessed (Deuteronomy 28-29). The
Psalmists were aware of this second and greater form of righteousness:
·
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear
him, on those who hope is in his steadfast love, that he may deliver
their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the
Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust
in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope
in you. (Psalm 33:18-22)
True blessedness always depended upon trusting in the Lord.
God only esteemed and blessed obedience which arose from trust in God and not
in ourselves. Consequently, the greatest command had often been overlooked:
·
“And if you will indeed obey my commandments
that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and
to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain
for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may
gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.” (Deuteronomy 11:13–14)
No comments:
Post a Comment