Works of God in Progress

[Christsfreeservant]

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.​

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“How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” (James 3:1-12 ESV)​

So, what’s the message for us from this passage of Scripture? Well, for one, not one of us is absolutely perfect in every way because we are human beings and we still live in these flesh bodies. And even if we are walking by faith in obedience to our Lord in holy living, we are still a work in progress. And that work will not be completed until Jesus Christ returns for his faithful ones and he takes us to be with him for eternity, which is when our salvation will be completed and our marriage to Christ spiritually consummated.

But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberate and habitual and premeditated sin against our Lord and against other humans who we are supposed to love. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord’s commands, then we don’t know God, we are not in fellowship with Jesus Christ, and we are not born of God, but we are of the devil. And we will not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God regardless of what professions of faith we make.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

And this is why we need the grace of God, because not one of us can be perfect in our own flesh. This is why Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross and put our sins to death with him so that, by his grace, we can now die with Christ to sin and walk in obedience to his commands, in his power, strength, and wisdom. But God’s grace is not a free pass for us to continue living in sin without punishment. “I am not perfect” is never to be used to excuse away deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord.

Every day we should be striving, in the power of God’s Spirit living within us, to walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands and to do all that he says we are to do, as his followers. Every day we must deny self and die to sin and put on Christ and his righteousness and walk in obedience to his commands, in his power. And if bad stuff is coming out of our mouths, then we need to examine before God what is stored up in our hearts. For it is out of the heart that the mouth speaks. So the bad stuff must be cut out!

And before we take on the position of Bible teacher, we need to make certain, to the best of our understanding, that our hearts are right with the Lord and that we are walking in obedience to his commands in holy living. And we must be those who remain humble and obedient to our Lord, who are willing to be corrected when we are wrong, and then to make things right. We must be sincere and honest and above board in all that we do and say and be willing to admit when we are wrong, too.

It is also important, as Bible teachers, that we study the Scriptures in their full context under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and that we endeavor, in the power of God, to be those who rightly handle the word of truth. For we must be seekers of truth who do not rely on the wisdom of other human beings to determine our beliefs. And we must be willing to unlearn things that we may have learned wrongly and then to correct them by now teaching them in their proper context, always listening to hear God speak.

So, although all who believe in Jesus Christ have not yet reached total perfection, we are to be those who are walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living and who are growing in the grace of the Lord day by day. And we are to be endeavoring, in the power of God, to fight the good fight of faith and to do and to say what will be honoring to our Lord, and that which will be beneficial to our listeners (or readers). And we must be willing to admit when we are wrong and to correct the wrongs and to make them right.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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