"Faith That Fights" -2

"Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name." (Psalms 74:18) Don't give up, whatever you do, do not give up! If you are still in the fight, then you have the Lord on your side; so don't ever think that you're out just because you have some issues with getting rid of sin. That kind stinkin-thinkin is what the enemy plants in our minds because he wants to see us give up trying. If you are serious about doing things right, then God will give you everything you need to get things right; even if you still might lack what it takes, you're never going to achieve righteousness in this life, but that does not mean you are not accounted righteous in God's eye. That's what the second part of this verse speaks into my heart; that it is foolish to look at our own righteousness to count for anything, yet we are constantly doing it anyway. You would not believe the number of people I know who have quit the fight, only because they don't feel worthy or don't feel like they have what it takes to be a child of God. I am sure that you know some too; and it is not totally their fault for being that way, so you can't hold them completely accountable for the way they feel. Most of those that give up the fight, do so because of something that they have been told; someone has convinced them that they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit or some other unpardonable sin, and that there is nothing else they can do, God is done with them. Mostly the devil is behind those kind of accusations, but I have seen a few 'men of the cloth' that have taken on the role of God, and stepped over the line in judging someone. Personally, I think that judgment is waiting for them more than it will be waiting for those that they have caused to turn away; but that's just my own personal feeling. I like what Matthew Henry says regarding 1 Corinthians 3:15: "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so by fire." He says, "It is an inexpressible source of comfort to us, amid the weakness and ignorance of our lives, to know that if we have only erred through human frailty and feebleness, while yet we desired to be sincere and faithful, the work will be burnt, yet the workman will be saved. Some of the Fathers gave to this beautiful verse the shocking perverted meaning that "the workman would be preserved alive for endless torments," "salted with fire" in order to endure interminable agonies. The meaning is impossible, for it reverses the sense of the word "saved;" and make it equivalent to "damned;" but the interpretation is an awful proof of the distortions to which merciless human rigorism and a hard, self styled orthodoxy have sometimes subjected the Word of God." Jesus died for you and me, He did not die for our works! Once you can get that burned into your heart and mind, then maybe, just maybe, you can start getting some victories over your flesh... "Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But -"When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us new birth and new life through His Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of His grace He declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life." This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial to everyone. Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time. If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing to do with them. For people like that have tuned away from the truth, and their own sins condemn them." (Titus 3:3-11) NLT