A STUDY BY
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. // To
the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both
now and ever. Amen” (1Corinthians
While those who try to make themselves
righteous may think that they are pious or holy, they are really seeking their
own glory rather than God's glory. Moreover, because they refuse to admit the
full extent of their sinfulness, God sees them as stiff-necked and rebellious
in spite of all of their efforts, for by denying their sin, they are refusing
to submit to His law. Therefore, contrary to what they may think, they are
following the broad way that leads to destruction (Proverbs
Although we are cleansed of sin, made righteous in the sight
of God, and saved by forgiveness alone, that forgiveness did not come easily.
Because God does not just overlook sin, or dismiss it on a whim, there would
not be any forgiveness if Christ had not died to obtain it for us (Joshua
24:19). For that reason, all glory, laud, and honor belongs
to Him alone. When it comes to salvation, He did it all! We cannot do anything
to save ourselves, or even to help to that end. And, because He did it all our
lives belong to Him. Therefore, when it comes to the way we live our lives, we
should conduct ourselves in a way that brings Him honor, not shame. We should
live in a way that is in accord with holiness, not in order to make ourselves holy,
but because He has made us holy through His death on the cross (Hebrews
10:10&14).
At the same time, we need to realize that even though
willful sin may make us unrighteous, avoiding sin (or even earnestly trying to
do all the law requires) can never improve on the righteousness we have in
Christ. In fact, any attempt to make ourselves righteous is a denial of our own
sinfulness, and of the righteousness which is ours through faith in Him.
Those who convince themselves that they have to keep the law to be saved, want
to believe that salvation depends on works because they want to be motivated by
the law, however, they are deceiving themselves (Galatians 3:21, Jeremiah
17:9). Although they think that their struggle to overcome
impure lusts makes them righteous, if they were really righteous they would not
have such desires to begin with (Matthew
In their ignorance, men judge
righteousness by what they can see and hear. As a result, their judgement is skewed toward outward behavior, toward words
and actions. In contrast, God looks at the entire person. He sees not only
words and actions but also the devilish orientation of the heart that produces
sinful words and actions. In His sight, all men deserve to be destroyed because
all men are by nature enemies of God (Ephesians 2:3, Romans 8:7). You may look
at the rules you keep, but he looks at how your flesh fought against keeping
those rules. You may look at the good deeds you have done, but He sees how many
you have left undone. You may look at the amount of time you spend in prayer,
but He looks at all the time you did not spend in prayer. You may see righteous
behavior, but He sees only sin (Isaiah 64:6, Ecclesiastes
While God wants us to stop denying
our sin in regard to our own righteousness, He wants us to believe that we have
been cleansed of all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 64:6, 1John 1:7,9). In other words, our righteousness is nothing,
Christ’s is everything; we are by nature “vile” while
“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believes” (Philippians
To better understand the
righteousness that is ours in Christ, I would like you to close your eyes and
visualize yourself as being totally filthy from head to toe. Then picture the
blood of Christ flowing all around you like a stream, washing away every spot
or blemish from your soul. Picture it cleansing you so thoroughly that you
shine, not because of any goodness of your own, but because you have been
cleansed of all sin by the blood of Christ. Then, picture yourself standing
before the throne of God, sinless in the sight of God, not because of any
goodness in you, but because all your sins have been washed away (Isaiah 64:6,
Revelation 19:8).
The only righteousness that will
count on the day of judgment is the righteousness that I have just described,
the righteousness that comes by having your sins washed away by the blood of
Christ (Revelation 7:14). In contrast, God shall see nothing good in those who
trust in their own works (Isaiah 64:6). They shall be condemned and cast into
hell, no matter how hard they have tried to make themselves righteous (Romans
3:20).
Since Christ is our Savior, our lives belong to Him. As it is written, You have been “bought with a price,” namely the
price that Christ paid on the cross for your salvation (1Peter
Because those who are under the law generally excuse their
faults, freedom from the law results in better behavior, not worse. In
addition, those who are trying to make themselves
righteous frequently come across as cold, unfriendly, or even mean spirited. In
some cases they are unreasonably critical of others over things that are
relatively unimportant. In other cases they may be rude and unmannerly,
excusing such behavior by contending that the law does not define or require
good manners. In contrast, once we have been freed from the law we do not need
to ask ourselves if the law requires this or that, we simply try to be kind and
considerate of others. At the same time, we do not delude ourselves into
thinking that we are superior to those who fall into sin. Although we condemn
the sin, we see those ensnared by it as people who need help escaping from a trap,
not people who are inferior.
As we walk by faith Christ lives through us. As we serve our
families, or others, by providing for their needs, Christ is doing it through
us. As we show kindness to the sick, the handicapped, and the elderly Christ is
doing it through us. As husbands and wives serve each other by providing for
each other's needs, Christ is doing it through them. As Christian brothers and
sisters serve each other by helping each other in time of need, Christ is doing
it through them. For, the fruit of the Spirit is a manifestation of Christ in
us, and as we serve one another all of our lives are enriched.
I want to make it perfectly clear
that eternal life is totally and completely a gift of God. Not only is our
salvation a gift of God's grace, but the faith by which we have access to that
grace is also a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Furthermore, after we are saved
God sends His Spirit into our heart to help us in our struggle with the flesh,
that the fruits of the Spirit might be manifest in our lives (Galatians 5:17).
Therefore, all glory belongs to Him! Of ourselves we deserve nothing, yet He
has given us everything (1Corinthians