You wouldn’t trust the devil if you were thinking right and you shouldn’t trust your own independent thinking all the time either. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;” (Proverbs 3:5) One may question, how are we to live, God gave us an intellect to use? We have been given much and anything from God is good, but our human nature is fallen, corrupted by sin, which is described in three forms – “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:16)
The Bible is clear, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17) Obedience to the word of God is righteousness and commanded throughout scripture. However, almost every mature Believer will acknowledge that we are saved by the gracious impartation of Yeshua’s righteousness. So, there seem to be at least two camps where Believers gather around; A) Obedience/Holiness and B) Grace/Sovereignty. These perspectives both have support in scripture and aspects of each are necessary, but it is not a balancing act as some might suggest, treading upon a line to please everyone.
God demands obedience and service from His people, but He is not a tyrant and has given us all we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3) We cannot please Him by our attempts at obedience, rather it is by faith that we please Him. (Heb. 11:6) This is the seeming paradox, obedience is commanded, but we cannot deliver it. Paul addresses it in Romans 6 through 8, affirming that our flesh is weak, unreliable and unacceptable before God. He points out that our obedience begins and ends with putting the fallen human nature to death, surrendering our will, efforts, good ideas, and good deeds. We submit all we could do to His rule, timing, ways, means and leading of the Holy Spirit He has given to us.
The law required sacrifices and offerings. Some believers still try to make offerings and sacrifices as a means of acceptance by God. Some even whip and beat themselves thinking that will please God. No act initiated by human will or reason is pleasing to God. Only surrender and submission to the Holy Spirit can result in anything of eternal significance. Human ideas for good deeds and acts of kindness are building with sticks and stubble which is temporal and will burn up under the test of God’s judgement. (1 Cor. 3:11-16) To build with gold, silver, precious stones a lasting eternal structure requires Holy Spirit power and guidance. (Zechariah 4:6) Beware spiritual pride which exalts anything man does in his own initiative.
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