(Tripp Ledger – 6/26/2014)

God of the Humble

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  ~ 1 Peter 5:5b-6 (NIV)

I’m sure we’ve all heard the Bible verse that says, “God helps those who help themselves.” It seems to be the life verse of many. The only problem is that it’s not actual in the Bible.  In fact, it isn’t even remotely biblical. When it comes to the trials of life, God doesn’t want us to go out and give it our best effort and turn to Him only when we’ve exhausted all possible solutions. Instead, God wants us to turn to Him first. This verse reminds us that God is actually against those who think they can handle things on their own. Now this doesn’t mean that God wants us to just sit at home, do nothing, and expect everything will work out. No, He wants us to work, but He wants us to work in obedience to His leading while relying on His strength – right from the start. But to do this requires humility.

This is especially true when it comes to salvation. The Bible is clear that salvation is simply a gift from God purchased for us by the suffering and death of His Son, Jesus Christ. There is nothing we could ever do that could earn this gift. Nothing we do could ever make us worthy of such a sacrifice. Salvation is a gift – from start to finish – and needs to be received humbly. Those who try to snatch it by their cunning or earn it by their actions will be sorely disappointed. Recently Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, while recounting his legacy stated, “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close.” This type of thinking is exactly what James warns against. Unfortunately, Mayor Bloomberg is not alone. There are many people that think they “deserve” heaven and that it isn’t even close. They are partially right – it isn’t even close. For the truth is that none of us, by our actions, will ever come close to deserving heaven. Only those who humbly admit their humble position – those who admit their need for the forgiveness of Jesus Christ will be saved. As Paul says in Romans 5:6, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Humble yourself before God, and let Him lift you up.

Pastor Barry Nelson