Why Do We Try To Do What Christ Has Already Done For Us?

Earlier today, I Tweeted ROMANS 10:4, “For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the Law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.” In several Christian Facebook groups, along with the words “As far as your righteousness before God is concerned, the Ten Commandments are not a necessity for Christian righteousness.”  I was trying to convey that our righteousness depends on the work of Christ Jesus and his death on the Cross, not on anything we do to earn it.  In ISAIAH 64:6, the prophet Isaiah says, “We are all infected and impure with sin. We display our righteous deeds as nothing but filthy rags.” Even before Christ paid the price for our sins, God considered our works “But Filthy rags.” 

Now enter Christ Jesus…

Christ gave us a gift.  In EPHESIANS 2:8-9, we are told, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for our good deeds, so none of us can boast about it.” We have been given the gift of salvation. It is not based on any good thing we have done, so we do not have a reason to boast. If salvation can be earned by Keeping the Law, we could well up with pride and boast about all the good we do.  But the prophet Isaiah has already told us that our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags before God.

Christ died to give us this gift…in GALATIANS 2:21. We are told, “I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the Law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”  This gift came at a price. Christ Jesus paid the price with his life.   Paul tells us here that if keeping the Law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.  

Sin is no longer our Master…In ROMANS 6:14, we are told,” Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the Law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” When we were given the Gift of our salvation, sin no longer was our master, and we no longer live under the requirements of the Law.  We have freedom, and that freedom does not keep us under the Law, so the Law does not provide our righteousness. We have that under the grace of God.

It is Kindness, not works…in ROMANS 11:6, we are told,” And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For, in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.”  It is through God’s kindness and God’s Grace that we are free. This is undeserved mercy and does not come from our good works. 

We all need this…In ROMANS 3:23-24, we are told, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins” We have ALL sinned, We can’t attain God’s Standard (The Ten Commandments). We have been made right in God’s sight, not by following the Law, but when Christ paid the penalty for our sins. 

So, you are telling us we can just sin and make it to heaven?   No, I am not. In ROMANS 6:15, Paul tells us, “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the Law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!”  In God’s righteousness, we who have sinned cannot enter into his presence, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” JOHN 3:16 and God IS Love in 1 JOHN 4:7-10 says:

” Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

My Friends, THIS IS THE GOSPEL.  Our God, who is LOVE, loved us so much that as a Righteous and Just God, provided a way before the Earth was formed for His Son to be born in Creation, live a sinless life, willingly die in our place, so that we, in all our sin, would have the price for our sin paid for, so we could spend eternity with our Creator. 

Our works are not an “I HAVE TO” situation. Our works are an “I GET TO” We get to show Love to our Creator and His Son(Not to mention the Holy Spirit). Jesus said, “His yoke is light” (cf Matthew 11:28-30). Following the Law is hard. Following Christ should be a joy. If it’s not, you are probably doing something wrong.