I want to argue in favor of something so politically
incorrect that it is rarely preached in churches today. It is something that elicits
the scorn of the unbelieving world, but it is the uncontestable Biblical
teaching that believers in Jesus are new creations, born again. Consequently,
we are no longer of this world (John 15:19). By the grace of God alone, we are
children of the light, while the darkness dissolves. Even though it often doesn’t
appear so, it is especially important for us to believe in these teachings.
Without them, we will lack the confidence to live for Jesus.
“How does God regard us?” The answer to this question
will profoundly impact the entirety of our lives and relationships.
We are the product of God’s grace. Our heart and mind have been renewed through
the gift of God. He died to pay the price for what all of us deserved – death
(Romans 6:23). We have become new creations, born again:
·
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for
you, (1 Peter 1:3–4; 1 John 3:3-7)
This had also been the teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures:
·
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new
spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your
flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel
36:26–27)
This means that we are now renew beings (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have even become the righteousness of God (5:21). We are now regarded as “children of the Light” and not of the darkness (John 3:19-20). Despite our often-tarnished performance, we have a new identity. If we fail to embrace our God-given identity, we will fail to live a robust life for our Savior in the face of intense opposition. Because of our new identity, we are instructed to always be cognizant that we are no longer of this world:
·
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For
what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has
light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a
believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my
dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:14–16)
We do not see these distinctions with our eyes. Instead, we must
believe these truths according to the testimony of the Scriptures. Why?
Because, oftentimes, the children of this world appear to be better than we
are, even more righteous and loving. Consequently, if we believe according to
what we see, we will despair. We will think that there is something the matter
with us or the Bible. However, there are reasons why we fail to look very
impressive. For one thing, God chose the lowest of people to save (1
Corinthians 1:26-29). Therefore, we are playing catch-up.
There is also another reason that we often look messy. We
are under construction, and construction sites are messy. This is because God
disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-11; James 4:17). As we undergo trials
of our faith, all of the impurities that we had hidden, arise to the surface to
our shame.
We cannot see ourselves as God sees us, pure, righteous, and
beloved. Instead, God desires to keep us humble so that He can exalt us in due
time (Luke 14:11; 18:14).
Even the father of the Israelite faith, Abraham, failed to
see it. Instead, his faith faltered. He lived in fear and pursued his own interests
at the expense of his wife. It was his custom to pass his wife Sarah off as his
sister so that it would go well for him. When a king would see his beautiful
“sister,” he would reward Abraham. This happened when he sojourned in the land
of Gerar, even after God had promised him that Sarah would give birth to the
child of the Promise, Isaac, the next year. However, once again, Abraham lied
and told the king that Sarah was his sister. The king then took her, but before
he could consummate, God struck the entire nation down with a life-threatening
disease. However, God warned the king in a dream to return Sarah to her husband
lest He kill the entire nation.
The king did so and asked Abraham how he could so such a
thing to his nation:
·
Abraham said, “I did it because I thought,
‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of
my wife.’ Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though
not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And when God caused me
to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must
do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.’”
(Genesis 20:11–13)
By all appearances, Abraham had proved himself less
righteous than the king. However, in the dream, God had revealed a more
important perspective to the king:
·
Then God said to [the king] in the dream, “Yes,
I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who
kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now
then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will
pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that
you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:6–7)
Despite his unfaithfulness, Abraham remained God’s prophet
and the more righteous king would have to appeal to Abraham to pray for his
healing! This is an absolutely incredible revelation of how God favors His own
children, even those who we might judge in a negative way. While we should
confess and grieve over our sins, there is greater truth that we can perceive
in the life of Abraham. He was beloved despite his failures. He remained God’s
prophet, and his Savior would not let go of or demote him.
God had promised Abraham that he would be a blessing to the
nations of this world (Genesis 12:2), even though, at times, he would be a
curse to them. We too are a blessing to the world, even though it does not seem
this way. Paul counseled that we should stay in a marriage with an unbeliever,
because we will serve as a conduit of His blessings to our family:
·
For the unbelieving husband is made holy because
of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband.
Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. (1
Corinthians 7:14)
We also serve as God’s conduit of His mercies beyond our own
families. As a prisoner on his way to stand trial before Caesar during a
life-threatening storm, Paul revealed to the crew and the boatload of people:
·
“Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there
will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night
there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship,
and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold,
God has granted you all those who sail with you.’” (Acts 27:22–27)
They would live because of Paul’s presence on the ship. God
had also informed Abraham that if there were 10 righteous in Sodom, He would
have spared this city from destruction (Genesis 18-19). It is likely that our
Lord is sparing this nation because of the presence of His children. This gives
us a small glimpse of how much our Lord loves and honors us. At the end of this
age, when He reveals the depths of His unmerited love for us, He will bless us
exceedingly in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23).
How freeing! If we understand these things, we no longer must
prove ourselves to others or to build our self-esteem; our Savior has already
dignified us beyond anything we can imagine.
How does He regard the “good deeds” of the un-converted?
The Pharisees had been highly respected by the Jews, but not by God:
·
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard
all these things, and they ridiculed [Jesus]. And he said to them, “You are those
who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is
exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. (Lk 16:14, 15).
Because their heart was not right towards God, everything
else was wrong. The Pharisees had wanted to be judged according to legal
standards of righteousness, and that’s exactly what God gave them. From this
standard, we are all abominations in God’s eyes. However, God’s children have
despaired of their own righteousness and pleaded instead for God’s mercy, which
He has gladly given us through Jesus. In contrast to God’s children, the
children of the world contaminate what they touch in the sight of the God they
have rejected. Jesus accused the Pharisees of being white-washed tombs, which
would make unclean those who touched them:
·
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but
within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also
outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and
lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27–28)
Nevertheless, I admire of the traits of the unbeliever. I
lack much of what they have. However, what God sees is quite different. He sees
those who gladly receive the gifts of God, but who also reject the gift-Giver. It
is also important to remember that we had been no better (Titus 3:3).
Unjust? This is what many have claimed (Ezekiel 33:17;
18:25, 29). However, if God were to give us what we deserve, He would have
destroyed the entire human race (Romans 6:23). Harsh? Our God hates sin,
and we must accept this about Him. To elevate our reasoning and preferences
above His righteous requirements is not wise. It is like a 5-year-old telling
his parents, “You have no right to tell me to put my toys away!”
We do not see as God sees. We only see the outside façade.
This was even true for the Prophet Samuel, who God had told to visit the
household of Jesse to anoint one of his sons to be the next king of Israel. By
virtue of his appearance, Samuel was ready to anoint Jesse’s oldest son, before
God reprimanded him:
·
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do
not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have
rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:6–7)
It turned out that God’s choice had been the least likely of
all Jesse’s sons, the one who eventually became Israel’s greatest king - David.
This answers the charge that non-believers are just as virtuous
as believers. From mere appearances, this might be true, but not in God’s sight.
Instead, He proclaims:
·
And without faith it is impossible to please
him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
If we do not believe, we are condemned. Is this fair?
If we did not know better, it would not be fair. However, we do know better and
have rebelled against God (Romans 1:18-32; John 15:22-24). This is why we
deserve condemnation (John 3:18-20). Therefore, our only hope is in honestly
confessing our sins before our angry God in hope of His mercy. Therefore,
everything that the unbeliever does is reprehensible before God, since he has
not submitted to the Truth of God – We are all sinners who need the Savior. According
to Jesus, without His forgiveness and cleansing, everything that we do is
corrupt,:
·
“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good,
when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and
the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (Mt 12:34–35; 7:15-20;
Titus 1:15–16).
On the outside, the Pharisees looked great, but since the
intentions of their heart were corrupt, everything that arose from their heart
had been corrupted. Conversely, those who have had their heart changed by the
Lord “brings forth good,” even if it looks substandard.
It is like two sons. The first son performs well, because he is trying to show his parents that he is more deserving that his brother. The younger son decides to paint his parent’s house out of love and gratitude but spills the paint and makes a mess. To which son will the parents be more endeared? Of course, to the son who loves his parents.
This describes our relationship with our Lord. We want to
love and honor Him but make a mess of it. However, we will not continue in our
abject state for long. We cannot:
·
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning,
for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning [willfully],
because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9)
Although we do not see it, we are instructed to believe that
we are the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Nothing can dignify us
more than this, but this is a gift, a humble dignity.
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