humility – Simply True

Confronting failure

What is the solution to our all too frequent failures to live as people who belong to God? We’ve not wanted to fail, but we have. It may have been envy, or pride, or an angry outburst. It may have been the lack of the virtues that reflect the Jesus we know. All of us have weaknesses—sins that seems to cling to us (Heb. 12:1).

The pain of failure is very real. More importantly, the loss to God’s glory is very real.

It’s important to get the answer right here. We seem to be on uncertain ground. Sin is not just an accident, something we can correct with a bit more effort. Satan has sought to move us onto his ground. Following our own heart has become more important to us than what God wants.

And then, the law that’s been written on our hearts tells us that we’re out of order. It can make us wonder who we really are, and to whom we belong. It may make us question if we have a right to ask for forgiveness yet again.

The verse from Hebrews that I referred to above, about sin clinging to us, is followed by this statement, ‘…let us run the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…’. Here’s where we need to start.

Part of Satan’s strategy is to get us focused on ourselves. That way leads down, not up. We need to be looking to Jesus who is not just the author of our faith, but also its perfecter. He’s died for us. And he’s now seated beside God, directing everything—including us when we’ve failed.

This is exactly what’s happening during the time when Peter denies the Lord. Jesus explains the situation to him before it happens: ‘Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned, strengthen your brothers’ (Luke 22:31-34). Jesus couldn’t have made a clearer claim to be managing everything during this period of Peter failing.

And then, at the very time Peter fails, Jesus looks at him. We can be sure that he is looking at us too, when we fail—looking with understanding. And we need to look to him—not run in another direction.

Paul confronts this issue in Romans 7 and 8. He writes a section about not doing the good he wants, and doing what he doesn’t want to do (7:14-25). And he writes it in in the present tense—suggesting that he writes from personal experience. He knows that his failures are breaking God’s law. And they make him confused (v. 15), confined (v. 23) and wretched (v. 24).

This is what he feels. But notice, it’s not who he is.

Daringly, Paul says his sinning isn’t him! It sounds like the excuse a child might make when caught doing something wrong. But God has given him—and us—a new identity. Who we are is not changed when we do something wrong.

We’re God’s children. We’re not related to him because we please him. Everyone who trusts in God’s Son is given the right to be called a child of God. And this Son of God has taken into account our whole life of sinfulness. He’s accounted for everything we did years ago, everything we’re concerned about now, and everything we will do wrong in the future.

All of this—past, present and future sin, has already been condemned. Jesus was condemned in our place. That’s why the condemnation we feel now is not coming from above. God’s finished with the condemnation for all who trust his Son.

The condemnation we feel is coming because we’re still wanting to behave well without being dependent on Christ. And Satan takes advantage of that and plays his nasty games with us.

What we need when we sin, more than anything else, is humility. Failure can drive us to an anger-based severity. Our pride has been dented and we want to recover.

If we do this, we’re virtually saying that we don’t need a Saviour. We may have been grateful to him for getting us going, but not aware of how we are going to need this Saviour all our lives.

So, when we find we’ve failed to do what God wants, we need to preach the gospel to ourselves. Our sins are washed away. We’re not being condemned—not by God.

And then, the Holy Spirit is leading us on to a better way.

Paul describes this new life as ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’. The Holy Spirit is taking the things of Christ and showing them to us. He’s showing us our sins being washed away. He ignites love in us—love for Christ, for people around us. And he shows us how to live.

This is the power that sets us free from ‘the law of sin and death’. We are freed from law being in charge. And freed from its threatening. We belong to Christ and are ready to live fruitfully for God (Rom. 7:4). This is our new identity.

We need to make up our mind to follow what the Spirit is showing us.

His joy in bringing to us what Christ has done is infectious. It won’t seem so hard to do what God wants, or to steer away from temptations. He teaches us to call God our Father. This new life doesn’t have a legal basis but a familial one.

So, which ‘law’ or principle are we walking by? Are we dragging ourselves from one failure to another, or descending upon our life with the freedom of ‘the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’?

The failures that grieve us may be the failures we need to have. Everything we pass through in life is designed to throw us back on the Saviour to whom we owe our life. And our unwanted sins awaken us to the reality that we need the Holy Spirit’s constant renewing of us.

While our eyes are on Christ and we are relying on the Holy Spirit, we will know who we really are. And we will grow in producing all the qualities that God looks for in us. Love, joy and peace will return. Patience, kindness and goodness will grow. People will see faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And Christ himself will see the fruit of what he’s done for us. And he’ll be satisfied (Isa. 53:11). What we think of ourselves doesn’t matter a hoot. It’s his pleasure that matters.

Righteous—only by faith (Romans 4)

We’ve been following Paul’s explanation of the gospel in his letter to the Romans. He loves the gospel and knows that it’s powerful to save everyone who believes.

But he also knows the things that get added to it and prevent it from being what it is. In his day, he is speaking to Jews who can’t see that Jesus has fulfilled their Old Testament. If they hang onto this, they will miss the liberation Jesus has come to bring.

But it’s vital to know we are justified by faith. Nothing else can make us right with God, so, it’s important to know what can compromise it.

Paul has already told us that Jews have turned their privileges into something they can use for their own glory. Jews have become proud of their law, and their God[i].

And they’ve actually had to change what the Old Testament teaches to make it more palatable to the desire to get some credit for living well. Some of their literature teaches that Abraham was justified by his good behaviour[ii].

This is not just an ancient problem. A picture Bible book we read to our children when they were young, introduced the story of Abraham by saying, ‘Abraham was a good man, so God blessed him.’ That’s a heresy! He started life as an idolator.[iii] God blessed him because he believed God’s promise.

We all need to ask if we are watering down God’s good news. We know that we must come to him humbly—trusting his Son. But we’d also like God to acknowledge our righteousness. We’re not really sure about it being a gift.

So, Paul takes the Jews back to the story of Abraham and asks, ‘What grounds does Abraham have for boasting?’[iv] He’s helping us all because we all share in this desire for self-glory.

In fact, the story of Abraham shows that he has been an ungodly man. His works have not been pleasing to God. He has been like David whose lawless deeds are forgiven and his sins covered, whose sins the Lord will not count[v].

Abraham shows the way for us all. He is father of everyone who believes that God gives generously to undeserving people[vi].

Paul picks out two important markers of being a Jew—circumcision, and having the law of God. These were gifts of God—through Abraham, and then through Moses. But Israel has focused on these things as something they can do. They want to be the reason for receiving God’s favour.

But that can’t happen—not before God. Rather, God comes to Abraham. He promises him a blessing, a new land and a new future—reaching out to all his family and to the whole world[vii]. All this happens before he’s circumcised and before the law is given.

Abraham believes God. And God says, ‘I reckon you to be righteous[viii].’

That’s where our life begins too. The God of glory reveals himself to us in the face of Christ[ix]. He promises to give us eternal life. We believe in him. We don’t offer him our past or promise him our future. We see we are helpless and know this is our one chance to be right with God. And God passes his judgement on us—‘You are righteous.’

The Jewish rite of circumcision, in Abraham’s history, has no part in this blessing. It’s a sign, given later, pointing back to the day when God called him righteous, and forwards to the call to live by God’s word. But a sign doesn’t do anything but point. Without the reality it’s nothing.

But now, Israel is wanting to make much of circumcision. It’s something they can see. It’s something they can codify and control. It can be a social marker of those who are accepted and those who are not. And Paul says, ‘That’s not right’.

In our case, baptism is the sign that God gives to each Christian believer.

Our baptism is God saying, ‘You belong to me. All that my Son has achieved is yours. And I want you to live by my word.’

But us sinners have a way of forgetting the reality of unseen things. We’d rather focus on things we can see and control. We forget the joy of being forgiven, and of hearing God call us righteous. We begin again to think and act as though we must deserve what we get from God.

And then, instead of being grateful for God’s sign of baptism, we presume on it. It’s something we’ve done. We’ve arrived. And instead of our behaviour being grateful faith, seeking to be like Jesus, it’s a work of our own ego[x]. We’re looking for applause. Or we want to be proud of ourselves.

And then, just as God gave Israel his law, he has written his law on our hearts. This happens when we know we are forgiven[xi].

But what if we begin to notice how much better our life is as a Christian? What if we compare ourselves with others whose lives are falling apart?

Can we hear Paul speaking to us across the centuries? He wants his fellow Jews to understand the riches of Christ. And us Christians too. He wants us to live as humble recipients of mercy.

God has given life to us who were dead[xii]. He gives righteousness, peace and joy to people who have nothing to offer[xiii]. Nothing at all.

Because Abraham starts, and continues, to believe what God promises to him, and because he gives glory to God and doesn’t take it for himself, he grows strong in faith. He begins by believing that God justifies sinners, and he finishes the same way[xiv].

Walking by faith like this is like walking on a narrow mountain track. Our nature suggests that we wander sideways—to think about gaining favour for ourselves. But a step sideways can lead to a large fall.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing less than the love of God encountering our abysmal failure. And when God justifies or vindicates Jesus[xv] by raising him from the dead, he also justifies us who are trusting in him. All that the Father gives to Jesus, Jesus now shares with us. This is the way we began our Christian life. Let’s grow strong in this faith—to the very end.

[i] Rom. 2:17, 23

[ii] You can look up the pre-Christian Jewish books 1 Maccabees 2:52 or Sirach 44:19-21 at https://biblia.com/bible/nrsv/1-maccabees/2/51-52 and https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/44 .

[iii] Josh. 24:2

[iv] Rom. 4:4

[v] Rom. 4:5, 7

[vi] Rom. 4:11-12

[vii] Gen. 12:1-3

[viii] Gen. 12:1-3; 15:6

[ix] 2 Cor. 4:6

[x] Gal. 3:1-3

[xi] Jer. 31:31-34

[xii] Rom. 4:17

[xiii] Rom. 14:17

[xiv] Rom. 4:5, 22

[xv] 1 Tim. 3:16

[i] Rom. 2:17, 23

[ii] You can look up the pre-Christian Jewish books 1 Maccabees 2:52 or Sirach 44:19-21 at https://biblia.com/bible/nrsv/1-maccabees/2/51-52 and https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/44 .

[iii] Rom. 4:4

[iv] Rom. 4:5, 7

[v] Rom. 4:11-12

[vi] Gen. 12:1-3

[vii] Gen. 12:1-3; 15:6

[viii] 2 Cor. 4:6

[ix] Gal. 3:1-3

[x] Jer. 31:31-34

[xi] Rom. 4:17

[xii] Rom. 14:17

[xiii] Rom. 4:5, 22

[xiv] 1 Tim. 3:16

Change that goes to the heart of things

When Jesus comes among us, he needs to recalibrate our thinking as to what makes up a good life. Here’s the third of his ‘beatitudes’.

The meek are to be congratulated and they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5-6).

We would say the strong and assertive are those who inherit the earth. Jesus knows better. A little later, he says that he himself is meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:28-30)—and he is going to inherit the earth.

Meekness is hard to define and harder to have! It has to do with how we relate to others. It’s not just avoiding being pushy. It’s not just being weak. It’s not just checking our impatience. It’s a deeply felt belief that we are here to help others but not to control them.

Remember that Jesus has begun his ministry announcing the kingdom of heaven is near. The question this raises is: who is in charge of everything? Or, who is responsible for saving the earth?

We tend to think our ideas are best, that people should do things our way. But if Jesus is the Saviour of the world, we need to be a step or two behind what he is doing rather than running the show.

This doesn’t make us weak in playing our part in human relationships. If anything, it makes us more sure-footed. Moses demonstrates this. He is ‘very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth’ (Num. 12:3). But he confronts a world leader and frees slaves. His meekness has nothing to do with being a doormat for others tread on.

However, if we are truly meek, other people can tell the difference. They know they have a place around us. They know they won’t get run over. They may even ask questions.

Remember that when Jesus says he is meek and lowly in heart, he’s inviting weary people to come to him—weary with trying to make something of themselves.

We’ve got good reason to live this way. When Jesus says the meek will inherit the earth, he’s quoting Psalm 37. The Lord will deal with those who are doing wrong. Our part is to trust the Lord, delight in him, be still and patient and refrain from anger (vv. 1-11).

It comes back to knowing that the King is in charge. It’s not our will that’s important, or the will of others. It’s the will of the King that will prevail and obedience to him that will make it happen. Under that, we all have our place and meekness welcomes this.