Friday, May 22, 2009

The Impossibility of Reaching God's Standard Ourselves



Then, secondly, the Holy Spirit brings us face to face with the utter impossibility of our ever being that of ourselves. You see, God has set up a standard, God has presented His model, God has given us His object for our conformity and the next thing we come up against is the utter impossibility of being that. Yes, of ourselves it cannot be. Have you not learned that lesson of despair yet? Is it necessary for the Holy Spirit to make you despair again? Why not have one good despair and get it all over? Why despair every few days? Only because you are still hunting round for something somewhere, some rag of goodness in yourself that you can present to God that will please Him, satisfy Him and answer to His requirements. You will never find it. Settle it that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags". Our righteousness, all that trying to be so righteous, the Lord says of it all, "Filthy rags!" Let us settle this once for all. If you are looking ahead of what I am saying, you will see what it is leading to. It is leading to the most glorious position. It is leading to that glorious issue mentioned by the Lord Jesus in this way, in those days before things became inward: "Learn of me . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls." That is the end. But we shall never find rest unto our souls until we have first of all learned the utter difference between Christ and ourselves, and then the utter impossibility of our ever being like Him by anything that we can find in ourselves, produce or do. It is not in us, in ourselves, in that way. So we had better despair our last despair with regard to ourselves. Those two things are basic.
The School of Christ - T. Austin-Sparks
Me interjecting again:
Wow! This is powerful stuff! This is where the Lord first brought me. There is no good in me. But immediately afterward he said, "There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." That's it! It's not about us, it's about him. The problem is, I had the wrong idea of reality. If we live our lives in the reality that we are dead and Christ lives in us; MAN! It's just so much better.

3 comments:

  1. I love your blog Miss Debbie!

    ~Monica June
    P.S. From Wednesday night bible study

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes! No matter how many times I think about or read this post it always leaves me in a state of WOW!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's true, this also speaks to me. I struggle with finding something presentable to give to God, but all I have are filthy rags. It's not anything I have to offer, but what Jesus has to offer. It's an adjustment to make consciously.. to accept that it's not of ourselves! Lest any man should boast, right? I have to learn to let go in that hah.

    ReplyDelete