I believe in righteousness by works

It’s true. I am a believer in righteousness by works. But let me explain. I believe in righteousness by God’s works.

When I say this, I don’t mean to be funny or to play with your heart and mind. Its not semantics or theological license. In all seriousness, obedience must be had; misbehavior must go away; sin must be gotten rid of or it will destroy us and everyone we love. If I have the bad habit of slapping you, I need to quit, now! If I’m selling drugs to your child, I need to get stopped at all cost. The law is good, and holy, and just.

Yet, in saying all that, I still believe in righteousness by God’s works—trusting in Him to do the work. In other words, faith must work through God’s power, not I. How does this happen? What are the mechanics?

Jesus gave the greatest offer ever made. “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28). This was the greatest offer ever made because the greatest need of the human race is righteousness and rest. We can’t naturally seem to have them both; it’s either one or the other. Either we have righteousness and exhaustion, or we have rest with “wasting and destruction in all of our ways.” We naturally gravitate to havoc and chaotic lifestyles because our fallen natures love that kind of environment. We love sin and hate righteousness. We live to please self and distain and complain to lay self down.

It’s not in our natures to deny self, sacrifice self, forget self. But, conversely, it is in our natures to please self, preserve self, remember and serve self. We need help, and we need it desperately. And there is no denying that we are selfishly motivated. From birth we come out like Jacob, grabbing our brother’s heel to get the upper hand on him—born in one-up-manship. The Lord really knows how to teach us about ourselves. David was right on target, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Ps. 51:5).

What we need is a new nature, a divine nature, and a strong hand upon us overcoming our propensity to evil. We need to have our consciences wrestled with under the heaviest conviction. We need to have our pride smelted under the hottest love. We need to be delivered from a master who encourages us to please ourselves by a new master who encourages us to be strong to deny self.

We need a savior from sin. He needs to be tender and pitiful, yet strong to uphold equity, and to be unenslaved to sin. He must firmly stand up against every form of greed, appetite, indolence, self-exaltation. And we have such a High Priest, “who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens,” who “offered up Himself,” “having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Heb. 7:26,27;9:12). “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Heb. 9:26).

If we will look and watch Him, we will be drawn to His constant care and love; trusting in our Friend, we will naturally and automatically learn and copy His ways. Through the Spirit we will understand His thoughts and motives, and obtain the mind of Christ. We will be like Him.

Will you trust His word in this and accept His beautiful offer to overcome through friendship with Him? “Will ye also be His disciples?” (Jn. 9:27). Friend, don’t say that learning to trust God is too long of a process. Don’t think you can become good some quicker way. There’s never enough time to do it right the first time; but there is always enough time to do it right the second time. So don't put off the time and effort to talk with Him and start getting acquainted. Accept righteousness by faith as the only way to real happiness.

Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.