One of the most frustrating experiences in the world is trying to live the Christian life in our own strength and by our own wisdom. Our spiritual inadequacy doesn’t begin and end at salvation but continues throughout our earthly lives. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor. Second, we are incapable of living the Christian life. He is the only one who can make us acceptable in God’s eyes and give us eternal life. Knowing we are powerless to save ourselves from God’s righteous judgment and eternal punishment is what drives us to God to receive forgiveness of sins and righteousness through Jesus Christ by faith. However, none of us can pull ourselves up to heaven by our own bootstraps. The proud in spirit will never come to Christ for salvation because they think they are good enough to earn God’s favor. “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. What we really need is poverty of spirit and complete dependence upon almighty God because we can achieve nothing of eternal value by ourselves.įirst of all, we are unable to save ourselves. In fact, we’re often proud of our independence and self-sufficiency, but such autonomy will never work in the spiritual realm. Since our society encourages us to believe in ourselves and be self-reliant, no one wants to be considered weak and helpless. Jesus’ message is still countercultural today. To be poor in spirit is to be utterly dependent, without the means to help oneself. Jesus began with this startling truth: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. His Sermon on the Mount is filled with statements that refuted the common beliefs and practices of the religious leaders. Although He obeyed every law of God perfectly, He often taught against the Judaism of that day and angered the Pharisees with His refusal to condone or participate in their man-made traditions. When Jesus walked the earth, He was in many ways countercultural.
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