“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Col. 1:10)
The opposite of worthy is unworthy, and you must consider this, are there unworthy Christians?
None of us are worthy of salvation, none of us could perform any task or repeat any words that would incur the favor of the Living God towards our salvation, Ephesians 2:8-9 is a truth. “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.”
Grace my friends cannot be earned.
How can one who is unworthy enter boldly into the throne of grace? By understanding their unworthiness. “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5)
There is an extremely fine line that is crossed by many that have the false assumption that because they are worthy they received salvation, because they see themselves as profitable they can walk boldly towards that throne of eternal grace, and when they arrive there they cannot understand why entrance is denied. Pride says we are worthy. “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” (Luke 18:11)
The best church in town, the finest people in the pews, the only true religion, only real worshippers walk through those doors, and there are strict rules to be adhered to if you are allowed to remain. Those who see themselves as righteous in the eyes of the Lord God rarely are.
It is an interesting presumption, do our affections drive our will, or does our will drive our affections? “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:21) If you are following the Lord Jesus Christ out of an all-consuming love for who He is and not for what He can do for you, your free will will follow Him wherever He leads. If you choose to follow Him by your own free will, there must be a valid reason to do so, but if that is for the receiving of anything of a personal nature, then pride, self has entered into the equation. The heart is deceitful above all things, yet it is the heart that the Almighty looks upon.
This may still be difficult for some to understand, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds, the mind that willingly loves and serves the Lord Jesus Christ, is how our heart is transformed. When we see the Living God as who He truly is, we will always see ourselves as who we truly are, unworthy.
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:4)
Only those who understand this truth can walk boldly to the throne of grace, for they can do so without any pride whatsoever. It is in the eyes of the natural man a completely oxymoronic statement, and can only be understood by faith, by those who have been born again. The unworthy being chosen and allowed into the presence of the only One who is worthy. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
When self dies, we become worthy in the eyes of the Lord, when we realize that Christ and Christ alone bore the sins that we have and had, when nothing but His shed blood can atone for those sins, not baptism, not words repeated, not church attendance, not anything that we have to offer could or ever will be seen as worthy to add to His sacrifice, we become worthy in the eyes of the Almighty, we become the righteousness of God in Christ.
To recognize any worthiness in ourselves is the birth of pride, and pride my friends goes before destruction.
Walk worthy of the Lord with the full knowledge that you are unworthy to do so.
