Christ is our Mediator

Believers, honour your pastor/priest/leaders (the bible says to do so in 1 Timothy 5:17) but know Whose and who you are in Christ. Trying to obey the law to get right with God makes it look like those who seem to be more adept at doing so are closer to God than you are, so you need to go to God through them. Not so. Galatians 5:4 says:

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."

Also see Galatians 3:10- "But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under His curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”" And no one can observe and obey all.

God's grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) is the righteous foundation on which God hears, saves and blesses His children. Human effort at obedience in order to get from God IS NOT involved, or else it is no longer grace (Romans 6:11.) Grace is a Person and His name is Jesus. Because of His finished work of making the sinner who believes righteous, Romans 8:32 says of our Heavenly Father:

"He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Notice not because we obeyed the law, sowed seed, fasted, paid tithe or did anything else but FREELY. Wonderful as they are, doing these things cannot make anyone right with God or get God to bless anyone. Isaiah 64:6 describes them thus- "We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight."

See how futile it is to depend on the prayers of those who position themselves as righteous because they can preach, obey the law and do good things. The good things we do to get right with God or receive from Him are like filthy rags.

Imagine your own beloved child failing a school test because he did not prepare well and fearing that, because of his failure, you will beat him up or not protect him from danger as usual. Imagine him refusing to eat the food you prepared for him because he thinks this will somehow help him escape your beating and make you provide for/protect him. You love your child and will protect him from danger no matter what his grade! In fact, his performance and academic improvement is dependent on the support that you provide for him.

How much more our Father in heaven!

Believer, in Christ, God is not out to shut you out, beat you or let the devil have a go at you when you sin. His heart is to bless you, comfort you and help you to succeed! He is not a reluctant Blesser at all-at all. Good works are not CONDITIONS for salvation; they are EVIDENCES of salvation, just as it is when a child who has help gets to perform better in school. Christ in us does it all. Salvation (from sins and addictions, sickness, lack, oppression, silly mistakes, stinginess, whatever) is not a reward for the good things we have done. Salvation is in and of Christ alone. See Eph. 2:8-10:

"God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."

This is why we sing "tis no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me." We can't do the good things He planned for us long ago unless Christ does the doing. Knowing this makes it difficult to look down on or judge others for their sins and shortcomings; instead, we point them to The Lord or Shepherd and Saviour from sins (Matt. 1:21.) We GET TO fulfill Christ's "Do not judge, or you too will be judged...." and it comes naturally, by the Spirit and not by human striving.

Realising that God saves and blesses us not because of what we do but because of what Christ has done, we see the futility of depending on the prayers of people that we think can obey the law for God to save and bless us. We are unable to boast about "filthy rags" works e.g. "God blessed me and did not allow locusts to enter my finances because I fasted and paid my tithe regularly." This means that God did not freely bless such because of Christ. This is law and speaks of human effort at obedience aka by human power and might and NOT by the Spirit of the Lord. The letter kills but the Spirit gives life.

Whenever I help my kids study for tests and exams and they get a perfect score, they don't boast to their friends in that self-righteous "It takes a certain level of skill, focus and dedication to get a perfect score like me" manner. They know they did it with Mommy's help and guidance. I help them because I want them to do well.

The best part for me is their spontaneous hugs and how their faces light up with joy when their test results come in or when they unexpectedly get gifts that they have been longing for. I get so happy at their joy that my eyes cloud over sometimes. It doesn't get better than a teenaged boy repeatedly and uncontrollably hugging his mom in public, unable to hold his joy in:) If we who have no righteousness can do this for our kids, how much more our Father in heaven! Just imagine His delight when your heart is bursting with joy at His work and freely-given gifts in your life. He delights in our prosperity as it is written in Psalm 35:27-

"But let all my true friends shout for joy, all those who know and love what I do for You. Let them all say, “The Lord is great, and He delights in the prosperity of His servant.”

Then I won’t be able to hold it in—

everyone will hear my joyous praises all day long!

Your righteousness will be the theme of my glory-song of praise!"

He delights in the prosperity of His children.

Under Grace, the Holy Spirit transforms us "to the image of the glory of the Lord, from glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18) so much that we cannot but live a life that is in line with and even surpasses the moral excellence that the law demands. God blesses us FREELY with Christ and not because we did anything to deserve the blessing. This is Grace- undeserved, unmerited favour. In Him, we GET TO give beyond the lawful regulations of the tithe. We GET TO "live in triumph over sin and death" (Romans 5:17,) yet not us but Christ in us.

God bless our pastors and leaders in Christ. They can pray with you but not for you because God hears and takes delight in you and your prayers too; same way we treasure our kids' badly written/drawn, hand-made birthday cards over the best-written Hallmark cards. It would seem weird to me for my younger son to think that I will not help him unless his older brother asks me for this help on his behalf.

God loves us - His children in Christ- mind-bogglingly more than we could ever love anyone! His desire is to bless you....FREELY. Only believe. With Christ, we have constant and direct access to our heavenly Father. Your pastor is not your Mediator. With Christ as our Righteousness, Christ Himself is our Mediator.