Please read ‘When NOT Watching Porn Is A Sin’ before reading this article!

Just like in the previous article, you can also substitute the heading with “When prophesying is a sin,” “When worshipping is a sin,” ”When casting out demons is a sin,” or even “When doing good is a sin.”

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” – Mat 7:21-23

You can never do enough good to be justified before God. That is why He sent Jesus. It’s not about doing your best so God can do the rest. Argh! I puke on that! God did His best so you can enjoy the rest! Your best efforts are like dirty menstrual rags. Not very clean… (Isa 64:6). When you think you have to pray for the sick, plant churches, worship, pray, fast, read the Bible or whatever else you think you HAVE to do to be justified before God, each one of those actions becomes a self-righteous sin. The folk in Matt 7:22 above did all the right things, and probably abstained from doing all the wrong things too, yet Jesus said He didn’t know them. Why? They were attempting to gain access to Jesus by their self-righteous efforts. Knowing Jesus is very different from just blindly obeying commands and trying to not break any rules. Christianity is not a holier-than-thou behaviour modification programme.

“…how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” – Hbr 9:14

Read this verse carefully: “…dead works to serve the living God.” This is not referring to sin. Sin never serves God. This is talking about doing good things. You need to have your conscience cleansed from trying to serve God with your own self-righteous efforts. God doesn’t want your good works. He wants you. And when you give yourself to Him He turns you into His good work. You become a good work, His workmanship, instead of just endlessly trying to do good works. You are the righteousness of God in Christ! Righteousness is the degree to which somebody can do good. You are the degree to which Christ can do good. You are His good work! You are His good pleasure. You are His offspring! He didn’t bring you OUT OF SLAVERY so you can be His slave!

” For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith…” - Phlp 3:3-9

We worship in Spirit, not through human effort (flesh). Paul, who had reason to boast in his efforts since he was blameless according to the law and the most zealous Hebrew out there, counts his own righteousness gained through effort as rubbish. The original Greek actually doesn’t say rubbish. It says, “dung, poo-poo, animal excrement.” I trust you get the point.

The Bible refers to your own efforts to do good for justification as used menstrual rags and animal excrement. I wouldn’t place my trust in those things for my eternal redemption, but hey, that’s me. So if you are starting to feel burned out and frustrated because you are trying to live up to an enormous expectation and unattainable goal placed on you by either your “church” or it’s “leadership,” then please take a break and have a Kit-Kat. Jesus already paid your bill, so just enjoy your meal. Don’t fall for the original temptation of trying to be like God through your own effort, realize you have been re-created in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24). The substance of your existence is made up of righteousness and holiness! (And no, not yours, Jesus’!)

On that note I will end it here. I will qualify what I have said a bit more in future posts.

Yours in Grace,

Cornel