Tag: justified

Have you ever noticed the people who have it all are the people who don’t need it?  Jesus explained that spiritual truth in his Sermon on the Mount.

The Lord’s basic principle for great success is found in Matthew 5:5  He said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” 

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE IT ALL?

Jesus taught that the meek would inherit the whole world.  Who then are the meek?  And, what exactly are they inheriting?

There was an article written in Forbes Magazine in 2016 that in retrospect seems almost prophetic.  The author wrote about the eight things people want but can’t seem to get.  She listed those things in this order:

• Happiness
• Money
• Freedom
• Peace 
• Joy
• Balance
• Fulfillment
• Confidence

The conclusion to her article is what I found most interesting.  She explained how a person can attain all of those things above and wrote, “For that, we need an abundance of self-love, and also support from others who don’t want to tell us what to do, but instead, want to help us follow our own internal value system and beliefs.”  She went on to say we can “soar” if we believe in ourselves.  I wonder if she would have written this article four years later, after the virus. Does “self-love” provide the best things in this life?

SUCCESS, ACCORDING TO JESUS

Jesus taught people how to find their best life too.  He said:

• “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
• “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
• “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

Who are the people who “have it all” according to Jesus?  They are the people who know how much they need God and mourn those things that damage their relationship with him.  The people who inherit the best things in this life are those who humbly submit their strength to God’s authority and want to be right with him more than they want anything else.

The best things in life come from following God, and not following our own “internal value system.”  Why would we want to follow what is “lost”?  The people who have it all are the people who live each day with the perspective of all things eternal.

YOU CAN ALSO HAVE THE BEST THINGS NOW

Jesus also told us the “meek” inherit the earth. If you look back at the list of those eight things people want the most, you can understand why the “meek” inherit them.  

In Scripture the word “meek” is a counter-cultural term.  Meek means to take our entire sense of “self” – all of our strengths, abilities, possessions and energies – and submit all of that to God’s perfect will.

Those are the people who “inherit the earth.”  Those are the people who have everything in this lifetime and eternally as well. They literally “have it all.”

BEING MEEK IS WISE

James was the half-brother of Jesus. He was likely with his brothers when they wanted to stop Jesus from preaching and come home, believing he was out of his mind (Mark 3:20-21).  I imagine that was not one of James favorite memories.  Or maybe, it was.

James was able to look back and remember the moment he thought he knew what was best, instead of Jesus, God’s holy Son.  I wonder if that prompted this lesson he gave the church:

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom . . . the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18).

Wise people are those who are willing to accept the fact that God’s ideas are always a better solution for this life than their own.  Wise people are humbled by the greatness of God’s truth compared to their own ideas or the world’s.  They “inherit the earth” because they took God at his word.

“EVERYTHING” NEEDS AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

The people who have the best things in this lifetime are those who live rightly with God.  He made this world and he wants the best for those he made it for.  His laws weren’t designed for his sake; they were designed for ours.  He is our perfect Father.  

When it seems like God isn’t giving you everything he promised, there is a perspective to consider.  God has numbered the hairs on your head.  He has planned our steps and cares about today. But God’s highest priority is your eternal life.

The single greatest challenge for any believer is to constantly submit our own ideas to God’s.  We don’t have his eternal perspective unless we do.  

Who is wise and understanding?  The person who knows that wisdom and understanding aren’t about self-love—at least not the way the world is teaching it. Instead, it is about realizing that you are loved by the one who made you.  We choose to be our “best self” when we humbly choose God’s wisdom over our own.

Glance again at the list of the eight things people most want in this world. Now, consider the list of the fruit produced from God’s wisdom.  That fruit is, “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).

That verse describes a life that leads to a harvest of righteousness.  The first step toward that life on earth is to remember Jesus said it belonged to the “meek.”  The best way to love yourself is to love God most.  

Who is wise and understanding among you?  It’s the one who understands the word “meek.”

Top 8 Things People Desperately Desire But Can’t Seem To Attain

I watched two men in politics defend their policies on the morning news. One was honest about his struggles to govern during this past year. The other spoke of his awards and successes, refusing to discuss the problems in the streets of his city. I was struck by the difference between the two.  

I think most people still recognize the power of genuine faith when it is a product of humility, but it’s equally important to recognize the power that is produced by a strong sense of “self.” 

Jesus wanted his disciples to look for the power of God in people, but that would mean they needed to look at people with a godly perspective.  

THE POWER OF HUMBLE FAITH 

Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). Most commentaries teach that Jesus addressed this parable to a group of Jewish leaders, probably the Pharisees themselves. 

The Pharisees were respected as leaders, and their job caused them to closely follow the rules of their faith and teach others to do the same. The tax collector worked for the Roman government and often cheated his Jewish brothers in the process of doing his job. On the surface, it would appear an easy decision about who was most pleasing to God. But, Jesus’ parable taught God’s perspective. 

Both the Pharisee and the tax collector went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee’s prayer was simply a long list of his accomplishments that made him appear to be more spiritual than most. The tax collector would not even look up to heaven. With a humble heart, he prayed to God, honestly begging for mercy. The Pharisee was proud of his life, and the tax collector recognized he was a sinner. 

The parable makes it clear that the tax collector left the temple that day “justified” and the Pharisee did not. Why does that matter to us today? 

Both men entered the temple, seeking to pray and be right with God. Only one left the temple that day “justified.” The tax collector was forgiven of his sins; the Pharisee wasn’t. The Pharisee didn’t see himself as a sinner; the other man did. 

Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Humility was the reason the tax collector was justified. 

THE PHARISEES AND TAX COLLECTORS TODAY 

The parable will simply be a story Jesus directed at people in the first century if we don’t ask ourselves whom the two men represent today. But, if we begin to label those people in our own culture, we have missed the point. 

Every Christian is both a Pharisee and a tax collector. The point isn’t the position we have earned in this world; it is the position we take before God. 

Are we proud of ourselves when we address God, or are we humbled by his greatness? 

Do we think we are better than others, or do we realize that we have our own set of sins? 

The best-behaved people in the world were the Pharisees, according to their rules. But, according to God, the tax collector was justified. The tax collector left the temple with his sins forgiven. 

How did we walk out of worship this past week? 

IF YOU WANT TO BE JUSTIFIED 

All of us who have received Christ as our Savior have been justified eternally because of our salvation. Jesus provided for every sin that day on the cross. But, sometimes our salvation gives us confidence apart from humility.  

Our salvation means we are eternally justified, but we aren’t yet “purified.” We still need to pray to God like the tax collector, head bowed and humbled. We still sin. We are saved, but we aren’t perfected. We still need God’s grace, God’s forgiveness, and God’s cleansing in our lives. 

Did you enter into worship last week knowing you desperately needed God’s grace—or proud that you have it? 

That’s the difference between today’s Pharisees and tax collectors.  

The humble person is justified and exalted by God. The person who thinks they are already “good enough” will be humbled. 

AN EXALTED WITNESS 

We can’t be a witness to others until we realize we aren’t any better than they are. We are still sinners because we are still breathing earth’s air. We are still tax collectors in need of God’s grace. 

It might be easy to look around and be grateful that we don’t walk in some of the world’s sins. But, we aren’t justified until we acknowledge the sins we do commit—especially the “secret sins” we don’t think anyone else even knows about. 

Our “justification” isn’t about the opinions of others. We are justified by God. 

If you are speaking with a person caught up in sin, speak to them as someone who is caught up in your own sins. We are saved, but we are not yet purified. 

Our witness will be exalted by God’s work in our lives, not our works. People need to understand that we aren’t perfected yet. They can bring their imperfections to God, just like we do. That is an exalted witness to the world because it is the humble truth of who we are before God.  

GOD LOVES A HUMBLE HEART 

James wrote, “Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). 

The prophet Micah wrote, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). 

If you want to please God and others today, seek humility before God and others. God has always loved a humble heart because that is the person he is able to exalt. 

When we bow our heads before God today, let’s stop and consider our thoughts. We all have Pharisee potential. Let’s make sure that when we lift our heads, we leave our time of worship justified and therefore exalted by God.  

He has told us “what is good.” 

God loves a humble heart because it belongs to a person who walks with him.