Daily Rhythms

Daily Rhythms

 

Imprisoned for Mercy

We have said, our righteousness can't do it. It can't satisfy God and it seldom satisfies us.Those who are satisfied with their own righteousness are in a world of trouble, but don't know it yet.

Today I want to expand our understanding of why our righteousness cant do it. The bible says that the entire world is under the penalty of sin, death:

 

For the wages of sin is death... ROM 6:23a

 

We already know this - it's why most of us became Christians. Death is obvious and we want eternal life. But the bible also constantly declares that all humanity is imprisoned not only under the penalty of sin but also the power of sin, enslavement. That is we human beings are unable to extricate ourselves from sin. Sin has power over us. The penalty and the power - both an undeniable reality. Humanity struggles to free itself from its prison of sin, and from death, as if some human cure is possible, but sin and death continue unabated.

 

...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

...God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts

ROM 3:23; 1:24

 

Both of these verses refer to all humanity. See here God gave us over to our lusts. In other words, He gave us over to the power of sin. Thus we are unable to free ourselves from the power of sin. We are imprisoned by sin so that the Apostle Paul cried,

 

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ROM 7:24

 

Perhaps it is not difficult to see why the Lord ordained that the penalty for sin should be death. Clearly sin cannot give life. Nor can the Lord allow the universe to be filled with eternal sinners. NO, sin must have an end. Therefore there must be death. All this makes sense. But why would a good God turn us over to the power of sin so that we are unable to free ourselves? Is this a cruel hoax? NO, it is the wisdom of God:

 

For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all. ROM 11:32

 

Here is God's program: All of us are bound (shut up, imprisoned) in disobedience (under the power of sin), so that God can have mercy on us. Our imprisonment is effective because it only leaves us with one alternative: If we want to be forgiven and freed from the penalty and power of sin we must accept God's mercy (God's willingness and desire to treat us better than we deserve). In other words we have been imprisoned for mercy. That is why the word of God says. God's will is mercy. It makes sense, and it is God's will, that we have been unable to free ourselves from sin so that we put our hope totally in God's mercy. Note, Totally. Not partly in God's mercy and partly in human ability. That is why Peter told us,

 

...fix your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1PET1:13b

 

The primary issue is placing our hope completely in the grace of God. This means that the primary issue is trusting Christ and His finished work on the cross, plus nothing!. This sounds radical, and it is. But it is also biblical. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is radical because nothing less can accomplish His purposes in us. Works righteousness is dead! The performance basis for right standing before God is dead! The plan is to demonstrate many times from Scripture and from experience that, even after you become a Christian, the only way to maintain freedom for the power of sin is to continue to receive God's mercy. And, don't kid yourself, if you persist in works righteousness the Lord will allow you to fail in order to drive you back to trusting totally on His mercy. Even as a Christian, sin will seem to prevail untill you forsake work righteousness and begin trusting God's mercy as a way of life. Someone will question this and say that the Bible teaches us that God has transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son (COL 1:13), so how can sin still have power over us? Of course, this transfer is complete, but it happened totally on the basis of grace. Many Christians forget this, and they return again to works righteousness (your attempts to find acceptance and approval from God by your performance). Struggles, defeats and failures still do happen. God is not the cause remember. Our doing it on our own usually leads us there. Many Christians say they know grace, but their struggles and defeats indicate quite the opposite.

Don't depend upon your own human ability to grasp and apply grace. Rather, repent of that, and right now, ask the Lord Himself to begin to reveal His grace to you - what it means and how it really works.

"O Lord, have mercy upon us and grant us that we may see and know and accept your grace. Allow that we may learn to fix our hope totally in Jesus Christ and His shed blood."

 

Follow His lead today, and enjoy being in Jesus. Remember you are who He says you are. His Beloved.