Either you are not good enough, you are not doing enough, or you are doing too much of what you know you should not be doing.
These are the three main thoughts that come to mind today as for why we will not move forward in steps of faith.
It is not enough for some to understand the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” for even in the assurance that they have been justified by the merciful grace of the Lord without any work of their own, they do not believe themselves good enough to be placed into His service.
Many of the sins of their past still haunt them, and far too many who knew them before they got up from their knees at the cross know who they were, knew of their decadent, evil lifestyle, and they will remind them of it.
These will not, in effect, step over the dead, not only their old nature, but those who are still dead in their sins. They must be shown this truth, that they never were nor ever will be good enough, but they can be more than conquerors in Christ.
Those who believe they are not doing enough, not performing enough good deeds for His glory, not studying the Scriptures enough, not speaking to enough people about the Lord Jesus Christ, not praying enough, not living a life wholly devoted to the Almighty most generally fall into a trap called works.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Phil. 4:13)
If they do not realize this, Jeremiah 17:5 may become a truth to them.
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”
They may begin to trust in themselves, they may begin to be drawn off the path in search of things they can do to please the Living God, instead of waiting on Him to direct their path.
Vainglory awaits the one who does not recognize these truths, for in their mind they will believe themselves to be good enough, not because of His mercies, not because they have been seeking the face of God, but because they do much. But they do not realize that much, if not most, of what they do has no eternal value.
They will not wait on the Lord.
Our third group, those who are doing too much of what they know they should not be doing, are those who fall easily still to the temptations of this world, of those innumerable items Satan places on the path of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not just fall to these desires of the flesh, they still walk willingly into them, not only in actions, but in their minds.
And so, as such, they will never see themselves as profitable servants, no matter how much they do, even under the direction of the Holy Spirit, they will never see themselves as good enough to be called into His service to glorify the name of the Most High, for sin still holds even the smallest of grip upon them.
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Heb. 12:11)
Those who are hid in Christ walk in His light through the darkness of this world, those we meet who are yet in that darkness believe we are to be perfect in every facet of our lives. We must tell them that only He is perfect, that we were never good enough, it was grace that saved us, we must tell them that all our works are as filthy rags, but that we have died to self and all that is done through us is from Him who first loved us.
We must let them know that we still sin, sometimes even willingly, but we repent and pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to continue to sanctify us for the glory of God.
