We always encourage and exhort you to do righteousness, live in holiness, walk in love. We are right to do so but I confess, it can be wearying – “Oh man, I have so much to do already, work, and bills, and yard work and family and and and … now I have to worry about righteousness and holiness and love.” If we are not careful then it can sound like our message is: Do. Do more. Do it better. This is religion.
We have a picket fence in our back yard. It is an unfinished wood fence. By the time we bought the house, it was dried and weathered, and some of the wood was bowing. A few years ago I painted it. This year I’m repainting it. It looks better – all white and bright, but underneath it’s the same old fence. Everyone who knew it before knows that.
That’s what religion is, sprucing up the outside but not changing the inside.
He also will hear their cry, and will save them. (v 19) Jesus promises salvation. It’s true, God calls us to do righteousness, live in holiness, walk in love, BUT, he has made great promises. He promises to work in us what he wants us to work out in our lives. He will righteoufy you so righteousness will flow from you. He will holify you so you can live holy. And he will pour out his love in your heart so you can walk in love. This is salvation. Cry out to him and he will save you!
~from my message on Psalm 145, Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
Such a very informative and useful post....
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