Works and Grace

While I'm admittedly often on a soapbox, I've only preached a sermon in church once in my life.  It was inspired while I was visiting a Muslim nation during Ramadan.  Something about the futility of the elaborate rituals--one of several pillars of Islam--really came home to me.  Those who seriously adhere to that faith demonstrate serious discipline--the daily prayers, the challenge of a month-long daylight fast... and yet there is still no sense of hope.  There is no guarantee of acceptance by Allah.  I thought about the ways in which we tend to confuse acts of gratitude with acts of ingratiation.  Since the Islamic world is once again observing Ramadan, here are some excerpts from my notes:

Matthew 19: 16-26  “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  This is the question our fallen nature asks of every religion (including secular humanism!)... the assumption being that with enough discipline to endure the requirement(s), salvation (or utopia) is within our grasp.  You would think several thousand years of recorded history would show the futility of this approach.  One thing I find particularly interesting about this passage is the young man's claim to have kept all the commandments Jesus mentions.  Jesus, who could be rather pointed at times, does not dispute this.  Instead, he commands the young man to give all he has to the poor, then follow Him.  We're told the young man went away sad, because he had great wealth.

What was Jesus' point?  Does He hate wealth?  Not necessarily, though He does point out it's frequently a stumbling block to a relationship with God.  This is for the same reason we have such a variety of works-based religions -- the desire for 'self-sufficiency.'  Giving away all he had and following Jesus would have been an extraordinary act of faith... relying on God for his future needs and demonstrating he held nothing back in his devotion.  It would have been an act of gratitude for having been shown what he lacked, rather than an attempt to ingratiate himself to God through calculated public acts of charity.

Ten simple commandments were given to Moses... and not a day goes by we don't trip over them.  Yet the example of this young man shows the futility even of relatively successful legalism.  He knew he still lacked something.  He was following a checklist, not a Savior.  We can perform all kinds of rituals and acts of charity, and be no closer to God than when we started. Jesus constantly got onto the religious leaders of his day for this very problem:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matt 23:27-28)

Each of us unconsciously has some list of qualities that make a "good person."  But we cannot please God through our own efforts, no matter how highly regarded we may be by others.  We can ask Him to help us walk in righteousness, though.  When the Musketeers were younger, they sometimes asked one parent to 'help' them buy something for the other, to show their love.  They lacked the resources on their own.  Our walk with God is no different.  He saved us, He sanctifies us, and He provides the grace and the power to walk in a way that is pleasing to Him.  The only way we can thank Him is through His power.  Look at Ephesians 2:8-10... it's all Him, not us.
 
And that's the Good News.  Quit driving yourself crazy in a self-propelled attempt at endearment.  It'll never work.  Instead, give thanks for the grace we've been given, and humbly ask for help to show that gratitude by living a holy (set apart) life.  God is more pleased with pennies of gratitude than with dollars of self-effort.