At church this morning, our text was Romans 12:14-21, which describes how the Christian should respond to the world. While all in all, I found the teaching on the passage to be practical and helpful, there were a few things that stood out to me as needing addressing. These may have been just casual comments, but I can't let them go in my mind.
In introducing the passage, the pastor made a point to say that some of the things that Christians are called to do, their way of life, seem impossible, but in reality they are just difficult. While on the surface, this statement may appear to be harmless, it can lead to some very wrong thinking, which the pastor took no effort to steer.
It seemed he was trying to perpetuate the idea that we have the ability to achieve what God has called us to do by way of our own wills. That if we are not able to "rejoice with those who rejoice" or "weep with those who weep" we aren't trying hard enough.
I would like to present this idea: That because of our fallen nature, to achieve any righteousness on our own is indeed completely impossible. We are only able to fulfill God's calling when we are enabled through Christ. The other way of thinking implied by the previous statement leads to works-based salvation mentality and legalism - non of which are Biblical behaviors for Christians.
So, Christian, when we become disheartened at our failed attempts to live righteously and follow God's commands, we shouldn't take this to mean God loves us any less because we weren't trying hard enough. If we possessed anything within ourselves to be Godly by sheer will-power, what need would there be for God to humble Himself in human form to save us? Therefore, when we fail, we should realize our Savior is near and surrender to Him, and when we succeed, it's Christ's work through us, and we should be glad and give thanks.
Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria
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