I think a lot of people are confused about Faith. I know I was. I used to think that if I worked really hard at being a good person, or did certain rituals or good deeds, that when I got to heaven God would put my deeds on a golden scale, and since I worked so hard my good deeds would outweigh the bad…and I’d be ushered into Glory with the angels singing my praise!
But there was a problem with my theology. For every good deed I did, three bad deeds popped up! I struggled to be that perfect person that the 10 commandments told me I should be. My life became an endless, exhausting loop of failing at the good only to be squashed by the bad. Try as hard as I could I just couldn’t keep the law.
Can anybody relate?
So, if my good deeds don’t work, then just why does God save us by Faith alone?
1-Faith removes the pride of human effort, because Faith is not tied to my actions.
I was trying to do it on my own. I wanted to get into heaven on my terms, not God’s, and I wanted the credit for it to boot.
2-Faith exalts what God has done, not what I have done.
I was putting myself first, and stuffing God in at the end. Tagging God became an afterthought, not because I thought He didn’t deserve some of the credit, but because I wanted the world to praise my efforts more.
3-Faith admits that we can’t keep the law or measure up to God’s standards-I need His help.
The law was never meant to be a burden that I had to carry alone. It was given to point the way toward a Savior, not be my source of Salvation. I’m not, nor ever will be, strong enough to do this life on my own.
4-Faith is based on my relationship with God, not my performance for God.
It’s not what I do that matters, it’s Who I know! What a comfort to know that no matter how many times I fail, God is there for me! He’s got my back, not because He expects me to ‘tow the line’, but because He loves me!
So in the end, when I finally realized that my Faith didn’t rest in my own efforts, a huge burden rolled off my back. I still try to uphold the law. I still try to do good deeds. But the pressure of being that perfect person no longer exists.
“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from obeying the law.” – Romans 3:28