Undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour.

Believers, the very things that the world says disqualifies you for the blessings of our Lord God are what qualifies you for His Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. Our Saviour Jesus Christ came for the sick, not those who have it all together and can be godly (be like God) by their own will-power. See His word in Luke 5:31-

29 "Soon Levi held a reception in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests were there. 30 But the Pharisees and teachers of the Law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples about his eating with such notorious sinners. 31 Jesus answered them, “It is the sick who need a doctor, not those in good health."

Christ came to make the sick whole again; to save us from the cancer of sin and the death that follows it.

The church is not a collection of holy people who don't commit sins neither is it a place for people who think they can manage to "at least" try to keep the Ten Commandments and be godly on their own. We who believe are like patients in a hospital with Christ as our Doctor. Some churchgoers are trying to free themselves from their ills by human effort - a picture of attaining righteousness through human effort at obedience (keeping the Law.) This has dire consequences- the very act of trying to be whole (righteous) by human effort is how to get cut off from Christ who saves from sin and death:

“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.” Galatians 5:4.

Unfortunately, this self-medication of “Keep the Ten Commandments in order to be godly or else God will punish you and you will go to hell in Jesus' name" is the doctrine that holds sway in many places of worship.

Things tend to go awry and sins proliferate when patients who have no power to make themselves whole start to self-medicate: trying to be godly/righteous through human effort at obedience (law-keeping) cuts one off from Christ who saves from sin and death. It also causes sins to proliferate - Romans 6:14-

“For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under Law but under Grace.”

The preaching of that "self-medication" false doctrine that says "Keep the Ten Commandments in order to be godly or else God will punish you and you will go to hell in Jesus' name" is why the proliferation of churches in Nigeria has not translated into salvation from earthly ills for many churchgoers. Many have been cut off from Christ because of useless attempts at keeping the Law in order to be godly.

Believer, our Doctor (Jesus Christ) did not come to tell sick people (sinners) to  heal themselves (try to be godly) by self-medicating (human striving at keeping the Law.) He came to raise the dead in sins to life in Himself and that we might have life more abundantly.

All of us who believe in Jesus were formerly dead in sins and were in various stages of decay. Christ raised us from death to life and now, we are in different stages of recovery, some more recovered than others and not that we had anything to do with our freedom from ills; Christ saves us from them all. We are all alive, in recovery and utterly dependent on our Doctor Jesus Christ (Grace-personified) to save us from every ill. And save us He does. Matthew 1:21 says of Him-

"And she will have a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Believer, let's listen to what they teach us in church with Wisdom: Why would God send His own beloved Son to die for our sins and simultaneously sentence us to death for our same sins that He sent His own beloved Son to die for? This is akin to an oncologist father saying that he will heal his helpless son who has terminal cancer while killing his son for having cancer.

Beloved of God, God's eyes burn at the cancer of sin but radiate perfect love for the sinner who looks to Him for salvation from sins and the death that ensues. Titus 2:14 says of Christ - 

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Just as it is with every patient and their doctor, we who believe in Jesus Christ depend on Him 100% to rid us of all our sins and earthly ills. We put no confidence in our own human effort or will-power (arm of flesh) at attaining salvation from sin and death. But many churchgoers are yet to realise the futility of their will-power. It is not strange to hear the following in many places of worship:

"Now that you are saved by Grace, you have to do your best to be obedient and be godly so that God can bless you and you won't miss heaven."

1 Timothy 4:1 describes this faithless doctrine as "doctrines of demons." Believer, this is smack where Satan the chief demon wants everybody to be- putting confidence in human effort at attaining godliness (be like God.) This is the same strategy that Satan used to deceive Eve when he told her that she could be godly aka "be like God" through human striving at doing something, this after God already made she and Adam to be like Himself- Genesis 1:27- 

"So God created human beings in his own likeness.

    He created them to be like Himself.

    He created them as male and female."

Adam and Eve were already like God. Now see the forbidden fruit as a picture of the Law that many churchgoers are actively trying to keep in order to be godly (be like God) in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG.)-

"Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me."

Believer, the same seduction/deceit is rampant in many places of worship today- Satan through his "pastors" behind pulpits is still telling believers to strive to be godly (be like God) by human effort at keeping the Law after God Himself gave the Way to make us godly. But just like the tree, the letter gives the knowledge of good and evil. And just like the tree, the letter (law) kills. Keeping it seems right to man, afterall, what is bad in trying to be godly by doing what the Law commands? Believer, this way is an effort in futility-

"For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20.

Doing what the Law commands in order to be godly is also the way that seems right to man, but the end is death- Proverbs 14:12-

"There is a way that seems right to a man,

    but its end is the way of death."

God's Way of making us godly has got nothing to do with human striving at obeying the Law- Isaiah prophesied of Christ's suffering for us in Isaiah 53. See the result of His decease which He accomplished at Jerusalem in Isaiah 53:11-

"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."

Christ died to make us godly but preachers of "doctrines of demons" focus on telling churchgoers that the way to be godly aka “be like God" is through human effort at keeping the Law and being godly and not through the blood of Jesus. The result of doing this is the same as it was since the Garden of Eden: sin and death reigning (Romans 5:16-19) and being cut off from Jesus Christ the Tree of Life/Bread of Life: Galatians 5:4-

"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."

Yet like Adam and Eve, many churchgoers say "At least we should play our part and at least try to live a godly life." This is the height of Pride and Foolishness- to think that of ourselves, we have any good or will-power to "at least try" to do anything at all to get into God's good books. See what God's word says of man's will-power as was Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-

"For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail says:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my own will-power."

Reminds one of pre-denial Peter who thought our Saviour  Jesus was wrong when He told him of his upcoming denials. Peter knew 100% that he would not deny Jesus. At first, Peter even seemed to be making good on his resolution- he slashed off someone's ear when soldiers came to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane, ready to fight for Christ. But the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) will fail. Like pre-denial Peter, the reason why we are not committing particular sins and seem to be doing well at keeping the Law is because God did not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them or that they can keep the Law and live a godly life.

For all of man's efforts and striving at trying to be godly ("be like God" as Adam and Eve did,) the result is like "a menstrual rag" in God's sight according to Isaiah 64:6-

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

Believer, our part in the entire journey of our salvation is to receive God's abundance of grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ by submitting helplessly to Jesus Christ our Doctor who frees us from sins,cleanses us of every ill, transforms us to godliness and wholeness and makes us 100% committed to doing good works. Titus 2:14 says of Him - 

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

No sin is too big for Him to save the sinner who believes from. The one who can transform himself to be righteous like God aka "be like God" by will-power and human striving (arm of flesh) at obeying the Law does not need the Spirit of the Lord to transform him. This act of transformation to godliness by human effort is an effort in futility too. Adam and Eve tried it and look where it landed them. 

As long as we depend utterly on Christ for our righteousness/godliness and aren’t trying to achieve these things by sheer will-power, we can rest assured that our paths will grow brighter and brighter like the morning sun because Christ is fully in charge.

Even though we who believe in Jesus don't have it all together in terms of good behaviour (no one does, whether within or outside the church,) our heavenly Father sees us as perfectly righteous through the blood of Jesus See this in Romans 5:9-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

In Christ, God sees us as 100% righteous, “even though we are guilty of many sins.”- Romans 5:16. This isn't something that we do just for the sake of it or just so that we can continue to wallow in sins as antichrist preachers say. Believer, by seeing ourselves as He sees us through the mirror of His Word (Righteous through the blood of Jesus) and not through the Law (which Romans 3:20 says was given to show us how sinful we are,) we are being transformed by His Spirit: see 2 Corinthians 3:18-

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Only people who are imperfect of themselves need transformation. The church is like a hospital- made up of people with varying degrees of imperfection and whose perfection and transformation to godliness is found ONLY in Christ - much like how the many patients in a hospital suffering from different ailments, some worse than others, utterly depend on their doctor to make them whole.

Because He loved us so and does not want any to perish, God gave His own Son to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. See 2 Corinthians 5:21- “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

With Christ as our righteousness, we are 100% righteous in God's sight and "so lovely" to Jesus Christ our Shepherd-King, “even though we are guilty of many sins.” This is not so that we should continue to wallow in sins freely as antichrist preachers say. God's word says only by receiving His abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death. See Romans 5:16-17:

16 “And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.”

Salvation in Christ is not at all about behaviour modification or human effort/will-power at suppressing sins or keeping the Ten Commandments in order to get well (be godly and heaven-worthy) in this hospital that is the church. According to Galatians 5:4, if you are trying to get right with God by keeping the Law, you have been cut off from Christ-

"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."

Salvation in Christ is all about hearts transformation and "life to our mortal bodies" through the power of the Spirit of the Lord Who dwells in us- Romans 8:11-

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

Even physical health for our mortal bodies is a gift of God's Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour.

In Christ, good works are not CONDITIONS for salvation; they are EVIDENCES of our being under His care in this hospital that is the church. We are utterly dependent on Him to make us whole. There is no self- medication aka self-righteousness (keeping the law in order to be godly) involved. Christ does it all.

Remember that you are God's beloved. Instead of doing things (self-righteous acts of works of the Law which kill) in order to remain afloat and in the presence of our Saviour when troubles of life come or when you fall, call on and focus on our Lord Jesus Christ just as Peter did when he began to sink at the sight of the boisterous winds and waves. Call on Him and He will save you immediately! Those who believe that they can stay afloat and not fall into pits on their own do not need a Saviour. He came for the helpless. He wants nothing more than for us to see how helpless we are without Him. He wants you, a sheep, to stop fending for yourself/shearing yourself and let Him do it all for you. 

Think of the relationship between a sheep and its shepherd. Imagine a sheep shearing itself with a razor and thinking that this is what the Shepherd wants. The sheep can't. It will only get hurt in the process. The sheep is lost without the Shepherd as we are totally lost without Him. Our helplessness is the very thing that qualifies us for His help.

Call on Him and He will help you out of whatever pit you fall in, no questions asked, freely, even if you messed things up all by yourself to begin with. And He will lead you on the path of righteousness; you will not continue to sin.

Romans 3:10 says "... “There is none righteous, no, not one;"" All the law-keeping and good works done to get right with God only leads to death. These things are filthy rags according to Isaiah 64:6

With Christ as your righteousness, your path is like the shining sun that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day! Proverbs 4:18

When you rely on Christ and not your works to make you right with God,  you will not continue to sin but "produce a harvest a harvest of good deeds for God." See Romans 7:4

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.