Mankind as a whole is an ingenious lot. God made us that way. Flight, instant inter-continental communication, space travel, and robotic laparoscopies are just a few extreme examples of ways we have overcome barriers and surpassed the lines set before us. On a smaller scale, we push ourselves to be better athletes, better musicians, better spouses, better parents, better professionals – whatever it is – by discipline, knowledge, creativity, cunning, or any other number of means. If we don’t possess a specific character trait or skill, we believe we can strive to achieve it. Our lack of motivation occasionally holds us back, but we believe that where there is truly a will, there is a way.
In
part one of this series, we established that God’s standard is perfection. Is this expectation one that man can
meet? Can we will a way into
existence? Is it within us already like
the MVP who gains his or her status by natural-born talent? Or, can we earn it like the MVP who used a
combination of hours of practice, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, and excellent
coaching to reach the top? Failing to
obtain the title of MVP isn’t life-altering. Will we suffer any significant loss if we don’t
live up to the demand of perfection?
God
gives us the answers to these questions in His Word. He has revealed to us exactly what condition
we are in.
1. We don’t have it within us already.
“The human heart
is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah17:9 NLT). Our culture teaches us to
follow our hearts above all else. Those
who are considered to be exceptionally good people are described as having a
heart of gold. God warns us that we don’t
even know the depths of the wickedness and deception in our hearts – including the
so-called golden ones.
“Not a single
person on earth is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT). No one is perfect – not even the sweet
grandma who wouldn’t hurt a fly and has dedicated her life to helping
others.
“No one is
righteous – not even one….For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s
glorious standard” (Romans 3:10, 23 NLT).
We do not measure up, and we cannot measure up. In and of ourselves, we all fall short.
2. We can’t achieve it.
“We are all
infected and impure with sin. When we display
our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and
our sins sweep us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). Some people subscribe to the idea that the
good things they do can cancel out or make up for the bad that they’ve done. This verse says that even the best things we do
are like filthy rags. The translation of
filthy rags is toned down from the
literal meaning of menstrual rags.
“Yet we know
that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying
the law. And we have believed in Christ
Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ,
not because we have obeyed the law. For
no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law” (Galatians 2:16 NLT). Doing what is right – i.e.,
obeying the law – cannot make us right with God. Doing what is wrong just once outweighs a
lifetime of doing good. Again, the
standard is perfection.
“God saved you
by his grace when you believed. And you
can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things
we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8, 9 NLT). Salvation cannot be earned. We can go to church, read and talk about the
Bible, care for orphans and widows, give all our money to missions, and get baptized
and still not be saved. Reconciling with
God is impossible on the basis of doing good things.
3. We can’t afford to fail.
“For the wages
of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus
our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NLT). Just one
sin is enough to earn death.
“But each person
is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James1:14-15 NIV). Sin promises us pleasure,
hope, and happiness – and it may bring us those things temporarily. However they will inevitably be overshadowed
by immeasurable grief and death like the birth of a stillborn baby.
“But cowards,
unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice
witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars – their fate is in the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. This is the second death”
(Revelation 21:8 NLT). Physical death (the
separation of body from soul and spirit) is not the only death brought about by
sin. Sin also separated us spiritually
as individuals from God. If we die
physically without closing the gap of this spiritual separation from God, we
enter the second death. This is an
eternal separation from God (our souls and spirits are immortal) with the
additional torment of eternal punishment.
Failing to meet God’s standard of perfection has serious eternal consequences.
God’s requirement is
perfection. We do not have perfection
within us, and we cannot earn it or achieve it.
We fall short, and there is nothing we can do about it. Even if we have the will, we cannot make a
way. Failing to meet God’s requirement
results in death (physical, spiritual, and eternal), so we cannot afford to
fail. Our need is great.
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