God Owes You Nothing

As I was sitting in church yesterday, I had an epiphany. Maybe it was in conjunction with always hearing people talk about how unfair life is when they are actually blessed beyond belief. We feel that we are to have these great things and that life is supposed to be a bowl of cherries. When things don’t go as we want them to, people lose faith in God or are reaffirmed in their reasons to doubt His existence.

The truth of it is that God owes us nothing. I know, you are thinking this is unbiblical but you are quite wrong. Isaiah 43 has some things to say about this. In verse 7 it states that we were created for His glory. In verse 22 and 23 God says that the Israelites had not wearied themselves for Him nor had they honored Him. Instead, verse 24 says, “you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.”

The Lord’s Prayer has been changed over time. “Our Father, who is in heaven…….gimme, gimme, gimme!! We have gone from living our entire lives for God to only doing what we feel we have to and then maybe a little more so that we can get more. Some preachers encourage us to sow financial seeds in the lives of others so we may reap financial blessings and to help others get well so we may gain healing and restoration.

The prosperity gospel misleads many just like faith healing can. I believe that there are people healed, just as I know that there are rich Christians. There is nothing wrong with that. But what if you are poor and destitute? Think of Christians who have nothing in 3^rdworld countries that could be killed for believing in Christ. I guess that they are not obedient enough. How about the person who is not healed? I guess they don’t have enough faith, like Paul from the New Testament.

Do you see how this way of thinking can be detrimental? Maybe we are exactly where God needs us to be.  There are going to be poor and sick Christians that have just as much faith as those who are rich and have been healed.  What, were you expecting to be repaid for the money you tithe? I know that some pastors may tell you that, but it is untrue. Job 41:11 says that God owes no one because all that is under heaven belongs to Him.

“But the Bible says that faith without works is dead. Works count for something, right?” Works are the evidence of salvation, not the cause of salvation. We do good works because they are the right thing to do, not because of what we can gain from them. That is the wrong spirit of giving and doing anything.

 “But what has God done for me lately?” Everything!! Christ died on the cross. Jesus paid it all. He was the blood sacrifice for our sins and now we have the hope of everlasting life. God has given us 2 major life changing gifts: Christ dying to forgive our sins and the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort us. What more could we ask for? Why should you feel a sense of entitlement?

“The Bible promises us riches,” you say. Yes it does. But why do you instantly think money, houses, cars, vacations, yachts, etc. The riches we are promised are not financial ones. The riches I have found in Christ are emotional and spiritual ones. I am optimistic and I have hope. I can smile through almost anything, and when bad things happen I have learned not to dwell on them. This world and my life in it are but temporary, not eternal. I keep my eye on the prize of eternal life and that allows me to cope with anything that is thrown at me.

So, the next time you begin feeling like God owes you something remember that he does and you may not like it if He were to pay you what you have earned.  Romans 3:23reminds us that we all sin. Romans 6:23a informs us that the wage of sin is death. Based on our deeds we are owed death.

When I talk to my clients in drug court and they tell me they don’t get what they deserve, I always tell them they are right. If we had been caught every time we had done something illegal, we would not have the ability to walk in freedom. Instead we would be in prison the rest of our lives. Drug court and probation is more than we deserve based on our conduct but we still have been given a shot at redemption. The same is true with our sinful lives.  

Romans 3:24 says that “all are justified freely by His GRACE through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 6:23b says, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life is a GIFT from God that we are given, and that is all we have the right to. Stop asking God what He can do for you and instead constantly ask yourself what you can do to live your life as you were created to.

So what can we do to live our lives the way we were created to live them?

1.       Trust in God. Proverbs 3:5-6 states that we are to trust in God instead of ourselves and submit to His will. Let his will be done, not our own. We do not know what plans He has for us and realize the biggest tests make the best testimonies.

2.       Learn what it means to be content. Philippians 4:11-13 shows that the secret to being content is not having a lot or a little but instead putting faith in God. Remember, our needs may or may not be met. We are to give of ourselves any way.

3.       Make your life a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1-7 tells that we all have gifts, and we are to use those gifts to honor God. If we have the ability to teach, we are to teach. If we are well off financially then we are to give to those less fortunate. Once again, it reminds us that the gifts we have are through grace. Our lives are miracles. If not for God than we are not here to begin with.

4.       Love God and love your neighbor. Matthew 22:36-39 tell us that the greatest commandments are to love God and others. We do this by living our lives by God and treating those around us as Christ would.

5.       Deny sinful desires. Luke 9:23says we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily to follow God. Everyday we choose whether we are guided by our flesh and greed or by the Holy Spirit.

Looking back, I realize I have felt this way for some time. I have taken to praying to be the hands and feet of God for the people I come in contact with, that God help me be more like Jesus today and that I do his will. When I pray for others who are having struggles, I ask that they have the strength they require and are given the wisdom to do what is needed so that God’s will is done.  

I Killed Jesus

Today I am writing to you about a T-Shirt that I own. I get more looks when I wear this shirt than any other. Today, I had about half a dozen people comment on it and at least 50 people read it then glare at me as they walked past. The problem is they see "I Killed Jesus" written in white and can't read the rest written in gray. This shirt, made by Not of This World (NOTW), is an amazing conversation starter. More than that, it is a statement of truth.

The shirt actually reads, "I killed Jesus & Jesus died to save me ...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. 1 Tim 1:15" This is one of my favorite versus, written by one of my favorite authors. It is written by Paul, who had something in common with Prince as they were both formerly known as something. Paul was the Christian formerly known as Saul. He had once been the scourge of Christians. He hunted them down, persecuting and killing them for their believes. He was bad news.

Then something happened. You can read about the road to Damascus in Acts Chapter 9. He goes from following Judaism and hunting down Chrsitians as Saul of Tarsus in the first couple of verses to his conversion to Christianity then full circle to a conspiracy by the Jews to kill him. He accepted Christ and traveled all over the country, going from city to city proselytizing. What a change the Holy Spirit makes!

Every time someone comments on the shirt, it tends to go like this. Someone says,"So you killed Jesus, huh?" To  which I reply, "Yes I did. Jesus died to forgive us of our sins and I am a sinner. So are you. If not for our sins Christ would never have had to die. He died because of us." To which most walk off after saying something monumentally profound, such as "Well that makes sense."

The truth is Christ's crucifixion is the greatest thing that ever happened to man, and yet the worst thing man has ever done. It is the definition of the Taoist Yin Yang, an equality of good and evil. Christ died so that our sins could be forgiven, a one time sacrifice that changed the outcome of our lives. That death gave us grace, unmerited favor for while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Yet killing the only perfect person who had ever lived, the son of God and son of man.......that is a pretty bad deal on our part.

Yes, Christ died willingly. Yes, it was actually the Romans that killed Him based on the request of the Jews. But He came here to die for a reason. He came here to die for our sins. If we do not sin, He never has to be the sacrificial lamb who was slaughtered. Since He died for our sins, by proxy we killed Him.

So did I kill Jesus? Yes, we all did. Romans 3:23 tells us that, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Not just me, not just you but everybody! He died for us all, so that we could one day know eternal life. Now I want to give you something to think on. This is food for thought for today, and I want you to really think about it today as you chew on it. I know that it really struck me today when I thought about it.

When Christ died, it was to not only redeem us but to remove us from the bondage of sin. When we come to Christ, we are healed. Sin is a sickness, and the wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23). With his own life Christ paid that debt for us. BUT every time we sin we drive another nail into Jesus. We kill Jesus over and over again every day. When is enough enough?

So I only have one question for you today: Hasn't Jesus suffered enough?