Get Your Act Together
If prophesy, casting out demons and mighty works will not get you there, I assure you that “getting your act together” won’t either.
Recently in sitting down with a friend, provoked by the Word through the book of Hebrews, he expressed his desire to “progress” more in his faith – to grow, and not stay still. On either side of chapter 6 we read about spiritual immaturity, and the peril of not progressing in our faith. That indeed should be something on all of our hearts all the time – what is a faith if not one progressing deeper into a relationship like any other?
Yet progressing towards what? An increasingly refined checklist of do’s and don’ts? Hardly …
It’s not about “getting our act together”. It’s about drawing close to the One who owns and defines progression – it’s about clinging to Someone, and not our own vain attempts in thinking we can somehow make ourselves clean enough before a Holy and Righteous God. He saves, we don’t – and keep in mind He saved us when we were dead … DEAD! This is not of our own merit, effort, or doing … it was all Him. To think that He saved us by grace but yet we somehow have to earn our keep is to lose sight of the gospel … surprisingly something easy to do.
But isn’t our faith marked by obedience? Yes indeed! Yet not obedience to following a checklist – but a heart marked in surrender and obedience to our LORD.
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)
If prophesy, casting out demons and mighty works will not get you there, I assure you that “getting your act together” won’t either!
… but a new heart surrendered to Christ will. In fact, repentance and fruit will be an inevitable outcome … how could one surrender to Christ without repenting? How could a surrendered heart to Christ not spring forth good works and fruits of the Spirit? In fact … maybe … just possibly … you may find your “act getting together” … but spoiler alert, it’s Him at work in you, not the other way around …
Let’s keep our faith right-side-up church …
His,
~Matthew
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