Holiness, Godliness, Usefulness
01/16/2015, by John Kincaid
Lesson 483: A Reckoning of God’s Gifts
As fallen creatures, it is impossible for us to provide the holiness God requires. We want to please God because we are thankful.
But whatever we do that pleases God is of Him.
We can never become good through doing good. We can’t claim any reward for our works, because God gave every good thing.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights
Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
We calculate our merit, in the words of Augustine, as “a reckoning of God’s gifts.”
Our good works are not accomplishments that deserve a certificate; they are His fruit.
They result from union with Christ; our proper and humble response is “glory to God alone”.
About This Series
The goal of this series is to become more useful in serving the Lord Jesus Christ, as an instrument in the Redeemer's hand. The theme verses for the series are Ephesians 4:22-24, Philemon 11, 2 Timothy 2:21
- to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
- and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
- Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
- Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
