Ecclesiastes 9:11– Life under the sun vs. Life in the Sun of Righteousness
The verse gives us a snapshot of “life under the sun” as opposed to “life in the Sun.”
Recall Peter who trusted himself because he was doing "okay" and not sinning copiously like the tax collectors whom he thought he was "better than." Only after his three-time denial of Christ which he knew he could never devolve into doing did his eyes open to see the truth of Christ's word--
"There is none good but God."
Apart from Christ, no one is good. God's word through Paul shows us the futility of trusting in self for the attainment of good --
"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 willpower is not enough to accomplish it." Romans 7:18.
Even as born-again Christians beloved, God's gift of Righteousness to us in Christ is the "skeleton" that keeps us from devolving into the helpless and sins-ridden mass of flesh that man is of himself. None of us has arrived. The flesh/human effort or man's humanity cannot change neither can it be improved. It cannot evolve from its fallen and "no good" state. The growing or mature Christian is the one who, by Grace, is seeing more and more how much we need Christ to stand/walk uprightly today - just as much as we did before we ever heard His name aka utterly. Without Him, we can do nothing.
There is nothing like "I have been a pastor for 50 years so at least I should know better than to commit xyz sin." From pastor to unbelieving and murderous thief; from Nicodemus to the adulteress who was dragged to Christ by the Nicodemus' self-righteous colleagues who thought they were good and obeyed the law more than anyone alive today, we all need Christ to have life and to stand to the same degree. He is the only difference between the dead (in sins) and the living (in Christ.)
The flesh/humanity in every human being is the same-- like identical vessels off an assembly line: identical, utterly "no good" and only standing because God is preventing such who walk in the flesh (trusting in human effort) from experiencing Satan's sifting as well as the vagaries of Time and Chance which man has no control over. Even the power to create wealth is a gift of Grace--
"If you start thinking to yourselves, “I did all this. And all by myself. I’m rich. It’s all mine!”—well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that He promised to your ancestors—as it is today." Deut. 8:18.
“the covenant that He promised to your ancestors” above fully covers you and I who believe Jesus because Galatians 3:29--
“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
Another version of Deuteronomy 8:18 says:
"But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today."
"Wealth" above is not just money. It is translated from the Hebrew word "Chayil" which means--
"strength, ability might, efficiency, wealth, army"
Beloved of God, all the things that we need to be in health and prosper in every facet of life, be it parenting, career, relationships, marriage, etc, God gives power to produce wealth aka "strength, ability might, EFFICIENCY, wealth, army" in all these areas.
Beloved, merely telling others to "try to work hard" in order to guarantee "making it" in any area of life is quite pointless. You don't need Google to show you that the advice is mere fallacy. The arm of flesh/human effort will fail. Just look within your immediate circle:
well-educated, honest and hard-working people everywhere work their fingers off yet lack, poverty and calamity befalls them both here and abroad; others work their fingers off and seem to do well. Others don’t even need to exert any effort but do reasonably well. Nothing guarantees anything.
Look around you and you'll see men and women who spent their youth in promiscuity with tens of abortions under their belt now showing off their ten healthy and extremely brilliant children on Facebook, or decrying the fact that they cannot have children.
Then there are those who lived chaste lives and spent their youth washing church toilet still fasting for 70 days in order to get God to bless them with the fruit of the womb; or not and so erroneously attribute their fruitfulness to their chaste lives. No friend. Time and Chance happen to all who do not have Christ as their Righteousness and Strength. In the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9--
11 “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. 12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy."
That is a snapshot of life "under the sun." One moment, the going can be good. People thinking that their success is the result of their "hard work" and education, not knowing that "no good" man is merely on the puppetstrings of Time and Chance like fish that are just "lucky" (God's mercy, really) to not have been caught in a net, not knowing that it is only because the fishing trawler did not come to their region that they are swimming freely and multiplying! That trust in self is what opens the door for Satan to ask to sift a person like wheat for the good he claims to be when Christ says:
"There is none good but God.”
All of a sudden, copious sins (as it was with Peter,) depression and suicidal thoughts (like Judas that was caught in a net) and calamity (like Job) happens. All of this because men hold on to that mindset of challenging God by trusting in human effort for the attainment of good/godliness when Christ says--
"There is none good but God."
Beloved, when one's trust is in "no good" human effort/arm of flesh for good success, failure is just around the corner. Sudden. And the world begins to wonder why bad things happen to good people. That is the result of living life "under the sun" aka trusting in self for the attainment of godliness and good success. Ecclesiastes says of life under the sun:
"Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy."
Thank God that in Christ, we are not called to live life "under the sun" -- subject to and experiencing the sudden snares and calamities that befall those who live life under the sun according to Ecclesiastes. As believers, we are one with the Sun of Righteousness Himself- Jesus Christ. He is the One of whom Malachi 4:2 says-
“But for you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture."
Beloved, see where you and I who believe Jesus are-- in the Sun of Righteousness -- in Ephesians 1: God "...raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
And we are in Him. Far above "life under the sun." Beloved, by Grace, let's stop our silly efforts to save ourselves and trust Christ alone. Then, good success is assured. Let's point ourselves and others to Christ as our Righteousness, beloved. Then, "...all these things shall be added unto you." Including good success and the blessings of God that makes one rich and does not add sorrow with it.
Christianity is not about "do good and go to heaven." Even kidnappers and murderers do things that the world sees as good when they are not at work! Christ says-
"There is none good but God."
How can good come out of a place (man's humanity) which God calls "no good?" This brings to mind Amos 3:3 where God Himself asks the question-
"Can two walk together unless they are agreed?"
How can one walk with God if he, like the overly religious Pharisees and scribes, disagrees with God's Word about his "no good" state and thinks that he can produce as much as an atom of good (be like God) in his own strength? Understand that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were not people who were just waiting for their synagogue service to wrap-up so that they could go and commit sins with reckless abandon. Trying to be good (be like God) was their life. They saw themselves as able, and so could not walk with Christ.
Likewise, some churchgoers today disagree with God on the utter sinfulness of man and man's utter need for God's saving Grace, because they find themselves doing some "good," not realising that they are only standing because God is preventing Satan from sifting them like wheat and unto copious sins (like Peter) and condemnation-fuelled depression/destruction (like Judas.) That is why such can boast in their "good" works and wonder why "other people" just won't try. Such might profess Christ, but because they trust in self and think that they have it in them to obey even a tittle of the law or do its works in order to get into God's good books, like the overly religious Pharisees, such 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." Galatians 5:4.
Beloved, let's not be found here. Why trust in man's swiftness, intelligence, strength? The arm of flesh will fail. Proverbs 28 shows us the benefits of jettisoning self-confidence, relying totally on God and trusting in Christ our Wisdom from God above--
When your trust is utterly in Christ our Wisdom from God and not yourself, you will still act carefully and prudently, only this time, Christ gets all the glory and our results will not be loaded with sorrow. All of the "good" or "righteous works" which "no good" man sees as why God should bless, save or deliver are from a mindset of trust in self aka challenging God by thinking that "no good" man is or can produce even an iota of good by human effort when Christ says "There is none good but God." Men see such dead works and hail its doers as "good." But no one is good but God. This is why the world wonders:
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
Dead works entail anything at all that its doers can take credit for doing or glory in as why God blessed, saved or delivered. Its doers, who are highly esteemed by men, only justify themselves before men, not God. The overly religious Pharisees were full of such works hence their inability to receive Grace. They did not see their utter need for Him. Men see such works and praise its doers. Christ tells us that such works which many boast of having (e.g. I sowed my car and got a jet plus a ticket to heaven) are an abomination to God:
“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:14-15
Anything work all that man can boast of, take credit for doing and attributes same to why God blesses or should bless, such works are dead works and are like a menstrual rag in God's sight--
"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Isaiah 64:6.
Believer, "There is none good but God." The difference between "the righteous" and the "sinner/the wicked" is not how well one obeys the law and does righteous works in order to be godly/be like God which was the Pharisees' lifestyle. Christ called them "brood of vipers" and "Satan is your father." You know why? It is because they followed the seemingly good but actually deathly doctrine of Satan the original viper/serpent who deceived Eve into believing that man can produce even an atom of good/godliness (be good like God) by human striving at obeying the law which kills and gives the knowledge of good and evil like the tree of the same name. See the forbidden fruit as a type of the law which many churchgoers are feeding on in a bid to be godly (be like God) --
“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...” Romans 7:8-12 MSG
The same seemingly good but actually deceitful and deathly doctrine of Satan is being passed off as Chrisrianity in some places of worship so by God's grace, examine what you are hearing in your local church. The spirit of the antichrist is not necessarily anti-God. For all of their efforts at obeying the law, the religious Pharisees were antichrist. Antichrist is translated from two Greek words:
- Anti- meaning "replace, in place of" and
- Christos- meaning Christ= "Anointed."
The spirit of the antichrist is one that simply tries to replace what Christ has done to make us godly (be like God) and that we might “not perish but have eternal life” with what you must do. Its hallmark is trying to replace with human effort the finished work of Christ who suffered and died to make us godly/like God— 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."
Not so with carriers of the antichrist spirit who often hide their prideful challenging of God's word (There is none good but God) under the cloak of religious piety while manning church pulpits. Behind the God-challenging mindset of those who are deceived by their false teaching is the hankering after man's esteem and self-glorification; man wanting to take some credit for the (non-existent) part he played using his human effort/arm of flesh to “not perish but have eternal life.” But all glory must be to the Lord.
Beloved of God, the difference between "the righteous" and "the wicked" is the blood of Jesus alone--
"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." Romans 5:9
Understand that Rest in Christ is not inactivity. Rest in Christ is Holy Spirit-directed activity. Understand that Grace is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. The one who has the mindset that God blessed, saved or delivered him because of his "trade-by-barter" donation to church fund, it is no longer Grace, simply because the doer has tied his reward to that donation. This is how God gives His children in Christ all things: freely. See this in Romans 8:32--
"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?"
Freely is how God gives, and not because we fasted or sowed seed so Christ gets all the glory and no man can boast in that horrid "I sowed my car and got a jet" manner. Such have put Christ out of their own equation of salvation (whether from lack, poverty, disease, whatever) and have replaced Christ's finished work with human effort aka arm of flesh. Works done with such a "trade-by-barter" mindset are dead works which can hurt or even kill somebody. Dead works is why a person can gift his friend a car in order to get God to bless and the car ends up crashing and killing his friend, etc. It is why many wonder:
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
It was what made me think I could sow a seed to pay God who gives us all things freely with Christ HR recruitment agency fee so that He would bless me with a job, this before Grace found me. I got the job alright, but the stress, anxiety and depression that came with it almost took my life. Literally. It is the blessings of God that makes one rich and He adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs.) And all of His blessings in Christ are freely given.
Only in Christ the Beloved are we accepted. Any deed that is being touted as the reason why God blessed someone is a dead work. Christ in whom believers freely receive all things from God has been edged out by that person. It is impossible for those whose works are driven by the flesh/human effort aka doers of dead works to deceive themselves in this matter: they can't help but boast about their works--
if we knew and believed that it is Christ in us doing the works and godly living and not our own might and power, it would be difficult for us to boast in ourselves, point accusing fingers at others who are still struggling with sin or are lacking in good deeds and threaten them with judgment if they don't change. Rather, in agreement with Christ who says "There is none good but God," we would see how helpless man is to overcome sins and produce good deeds by himself and like Moses who pointed the suffering Israelites to the bronze serpent, point such who are lacking in good deeds to Christ who saves from sins and transforms the sinner who truly believes to live right and bear much fruit/good deeds, as it is written of Him in Titus 2:14--
"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."
In Christ, God gives us the desire, willingness and the ability to live godly lives and to do good deeds; and then He rewards us for the good deeds and godly living which He made us able to do to begin with. Our "no good" selves can never produce any good. Dead works is the result of such works that one can point to as the reason for God's blessing.
Rest in Christ is not inactivity. Rest in Christ is Holy Spirit-directed activity. Some people have tried to praise me for all sorts of good deeds and even tried to say the deeds are why God blesses me so abundantly. Not so, beloved. Of myself, I am the worst of sinners. Only by God's grace (unmerited favour) do we who believe get to do good deeds. This is why we sing--
"Tis no longer I who live but Christ lives in me."
The one who can boast in his success, good works or his salvation from sins, attribute them to his own goodness and lecture others to follow suit without pointing the helpless sinner to Christ as the one who transforms hearts to godly living and doing good deeds, that one is still alive in himself. No Christ there. But when your trust is utterly in Christ, godly living and good deeds that are acceptable to God will define you, for this is why Christ gave His life for you and I--
"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." Titus 2:14.
So ask the Lord to free your mind from living life under the sun, beloved. He is willing and eager to enfold you in His embrace of Grace - undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour.
No need for flowery prose or being in any particular position before we commune with our "Abba Father" in Christ, beloved. Simply pour out your heart to Him. He wants to hear it from you directly and not through an intermediary who makes you believe that you are too dirty and unworthy to be answered and helped by Him. Like Him, we prefer our little children's badly-written greeting cards to those made by the best designer-linguists. He is able and willing to love you into wholeness.
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