Your Worst Enemy (The Discipline of a Disciple Part -10)

There are actually only 2 religions in the world: GOD-dependence, is true Christianity. All other religions depend on self efforts to SAVE them. You either go after God in full-on obedience and righteousness or you try to make it by your OWN righteousness, through self-dependence.

Our righteousness is in Christ and In Christ alone. But the devil tempts Christians to “be good”, so that they will depend on their own righteousness, so that they don’t have to depend so much on God.

According to the religious, you’re still having to fight the “old man” by your own works, by your own goodness: fasting, praying, worshipping and reading the Word. All these things are good and important, but they CAN’T be for the purpose of self-glory or SELF-righteousness.

Man has always been trying to save himself, to work his way to heaven, with just a little help from God thrown in. That way he can give himself most of the credit and go his own way. Our ego is our worst enemy.

Jeremiah said, “Thus saith the LORD; ‘Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD’” (Jer 17.5). Self-dependence leads the heart away from the Lord.

People say, “God helps those who help themselves.”  That’s not true. He does not help those who think they can help themselves, but only those who know they can’t and have to depend on God alone.

When Moses tried to liberate the Hebrews his way, he ended up 40 years in the wilderness, herding sheep, and he found out he couldn’t depend on his own wisdom and strength.

The children of Israel tried to win battles their way, and were defeated many times when they thought they could save themselves by their military might.

Kings Saul, David, and Solomon all found that they only made fools of themselves whenever they tried to do it on their own. They all learned that only God could save them.

The “old man” always defaults to the “arm of the FLESH” and self-reliance. That’s been the main problem throughout the Bible. When you read the book of Kings, all throughout, it says, “And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord.”  He depended on his own efforts, own wisdom, and went after other gods.

This “grace vs works” debate was the biggest cause of division amongst the early Christians. Could one simply believe and be SAVED, or was it necessary to also keep some of the hundreds of Jewish religious laws? The Jewish Christians believed that they were a little bit better than the Gentiles for keeping the law. “Sure, we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but we still have to help Him save us by keeping the Mosaic law.” This obnoxious mixture of works and grace so nauseated the apostle Paul that he publicly rebuked Peter for it and spent years fighting it in epistle after epistle (Galatians 2:11-21).

Too many Christians are living by the old testament. Their Christianity is a works religion. They have inherited many hangovers from pagan idolatry with its love of buildings, sanctimonious priesthood, elaborate trappings, complicated ceremonies, and superstitious traditions. Their leaders have exerted a dictatorial stranglehold on the souls of men, by insisting that they must have their priest, or their pastor to help them come to God.

That’s the root cause of all of our sins: we create our own goodness, and this is what reduces Christians to being again under the law, and again fallen from GRACE and you forget God all together.

Paul dealt with a number of problems with the churches. But with the Galatians, he addressed them with anger, primarily because of a problem with legalism (self-dependence). He said, “Who has BEWITCHED you?” (Gal 3:1-3). In other words, how could you turn away from the message of grace and return to the curse of the law? –self-works! Depending on your own goodness.

The reason he viewed legalism as a much more serious problem is because it “appears” good and we feel so “right” about it. It is so subtle because people feel so justified. Consequently, it is hard to be delivered from it (Gal 1:6; 3:1).

Paul goes on to say, if you try to follow the law, then you have to follow the whole law, because it says, “Cursed be the man who does not continue in ALL things written in the book of the law to DO them” (Deut 27:26).

The key verse of the whole message of Romans is: “There Is therefore now NO MORE condemnation (no more guilt) for those who live according to the Spirit (in the new identity of the new man)” (Ro 8:1). –Which means that you can still be operating as a Christian under the law, if you don’t walk after the Spirit (in your new identity) but after the flesh. And you can still make your own goodness the focus of your life.

That’s why yieldedness and dependence are so important in the life of a disciple. Why? Because they keep us humble. And humility makes room for God to move in us and through us, and for AGAPE-LOVE to have predominance in our hearts.