Editor’s

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PERFORMANCE MENTALITY

Does righteousness come from our doing the things we think will please God? Can we gain access to God by living a righteous life? These are questions pondered by religious people for over two thousands years and which continue down to our own day. Many religious denominations would have you believe that works are the means of salvation and access to God, thereby placing their confidence in their “spiritual success.”

The Scriptures do not discount works, but they do not teach that works are the doorway leading to reconciliation with God. Jesus stated clearly, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one can come to the Father except by me” (John 14:6). Faith in Jesus Christ is the ONLY means of coming to the Father. It is laying hold, by faith, in the value of Jesus’ blood and its redeeming power alone, that justifies us and give us a standing that makes us acceptable to God. Faith works do follow, being a natural outgrowth of faith.

The Apostle Paul was quite blunt in his words to the Galatian brethren asking, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (3:3). It is a human instinct to want to do things ourselves, for perhaps unknowingly, it satisfies our egos. However, when we use the yardstick of performance to justify God’s acceptance of us, we are way off track.

When we were born again, God indwelt us with His Holy Spirit to direct and empower us in the doing of His will. Human, fleshly efforts are seldom aligned with the doing of God’s will. Human effort is too full of self. Doing God’s will means, “None of self, and all of Thee” as one of our hymns states. Jesus’ motivation while on earth was to please His Father by the doing of His will, never His own (Lk. 22:42).

Our Lord placed before His followers three requirements if they desired to become His disciples. There is a great difference between being a mere believer and a disciple. Many people followed Jesus for various motives while He was here on earth, but not all chose to become His disciples. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself (give up his right to himself), take up his cross daily and follow me.” A true disciple must meet these requirements, for it is only then that he is able to “do the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6) and be acceptable to Him.

E. Weeks