Like all believers, I want to come to grips with what it means to serve Christ faithfully. I want continual reconciliation to the will of God. Therefore, let us, by His grace, come to God’s Word… not with our own ideas… but with our sin, our confessed ignorance, and our petition that He would teach us the Truth. The Truth of God is better than any lie that we can conceive, and His Truth will triumph. Also, let us come to the Word of God knowing that the ultimate message of this book is Jesus Christ the Lord. Many things are taught (sin, godliness, the wrath to come), but Christ and Him crucified is the message of God.
The one thing that I want to focus on is this: Our strength, fleshly ambition, and the armor of self-trust will continually be broken. In Acts 27, the sailors purposed to sail into a certain region against the warning of the Apostle Paul. They didn’t listen to his rebuke or comfort until many days later, "… when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away (vs. 20)." And, so it is… before God saves a man, he takes away every hope of you saving yourself. And, before God mightily uses a saint, He takes away our worthless self-confidence. Listen to Jeremiah, "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord (Jer. 9:23-24)." We must not glory in how much we know about Him, how strong the Spirit makes us, or the abundance of spiritual revelations. If you’re going to glory (and we were made to glory in something), then glory in Christ’s finished work. Glory in the salvation that needs none of man’s help.
Christ’s finished work declares that I contribute nothing in the salvation of my own soul. This is too much for the pride of man to believe. We cannot naturally comprehend being worthy of hell, yet receiving electing love without any worthiness of our own. We cannot naturally conceive of coming to God undeserving of mercy, all the while hoping in mercy that has nothing to do with our coming. But, these things are clearly taught in the gospel.
Salvation is because of a covenant promise that God has made (Read Luke 1:67-75). God, of His own will, promised to deliver a chosen people from the bondage of corruption. This promised salvation is the oath that He swore unto Abraham saying, "… in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." The chosen are blessed with Christ’s righteousness and blessed with the imputation of our sins unto His account (Rom. 4:6-8).
This new covenant is entirely of blessing. Everything required from us is promised to us. Paul writes, (I Cor. 4:2) "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." To preach the gospel, I must get God’s gospel from God, and it must constantly glorify the blood of God’s Son. Oh! Who is sufficient for these things! But, bless God, Paul also writes, (II Cor. 3:5-6) "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament..."
These blessings are never earned by man or conditioned upon anything in man’s body. In the Beatitudes, Christ is declaring WHO is blessed. You’re not blessed for your hungering; but since you’re blessed, you hunger and shall be filled (Matt. 5:3-11). James does not say that we’re blessed for our believing; but looking into the perfect law of liberty, we’re blessed in our believing (James 1:25).
Therefore, it is God’s mercy whenever He breaks the boat of our self-confidence. He’s casting us upon the finished work and covenant blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you troubled? Are you afflicted? Are you nearly broken? Remember the comforting words Paul spoke when the sailors were finally inclined to listen. "… ye should have hearkened unto me… And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship… Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island (Acts 27:21-26)." We must be cast upon Christ.
Finally, when the boat was broken, it was commanded, "… that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land (Acts 27:43-44)." You may be rejoicing right now in spite of great difficulty. You’re strengthened by faith… swim on. You may be fleeing to Christ upon a board, or you may be so feeble that you only come ashore on "broken pieces of the ship". It doesn’t matter. All who flee to Christ shall be saved. He is a Sure Rock and a Sure Foundation to everyone that is cast upon Him. And, here is the lesson that we learn when we get to the Island: Everything is so much better when we see that God saves.
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