Heroes of Faith

Please refer to Hebrews 11      …

The Bible describes a list of heroes who have all committed the same sins as we do today, including, but not limited to, pride, angst, lust, lying, thievery, murder, prostitution and hatred.  Not one person or individual is more morally committed to righteousness or faithfulness to God than the next person (Ps.14:2).

Sometimes, especially in the midst of our own sin, I think we often forget how ALL have fallen short of the glory of God.  Sin is an act of war against God because you’re challenging His will and wisdom against your own.  Sin is not something to take lightly at all, and because of sin we have fallen short or “missed the target” in relationship with God.  Pride and self-righteousness will surely convince you that you don’t need God or the experience of His glory, and that is described precisely as sin, a death sentence against your own soul.

Back to the heroes described in Hebrews.  What makes them so special if they’re just like the rest of us?  Is God pleased with them and furious with the rest after them?  Not at all.  “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.”  There’s the secret to pleasing God – faith.  Nothing more, nothing less.  In other words, faith results in salvation, obedience, and the glory and manifestation of God in your life.  God is pleased with your faith because you’re essentially saying that you do not desire conflict with the Lord Jesus Christ but to worship and trust Him.  The truth is, God shows no favoritism towards any man (Acts 10:34), so it is purely His mercy and grace that allows any and all of us to live and escape eternal torment and flames, including those like John, Moses, Elijah, you or I.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you are no better or worse off than either your neighbor or somebody who lives in a far away country.  Jesus was not mistaken when He explained in Luke 18 that only God is good.  No one is free from the influence of sin, including angels, except for the Lord.

So in conclusion, when you sin and compare yourself to those who you believe are “God’s favorite” or “perfect” individuals, you’re only fooling yourself.  All offenders stand before a judge, whether you’ve committed a misdemeanor or a felony.  The issue isn’t whether you’ve met the standards of another person, but the standards of God (Deut. 5).  You can be as wonderful a person as anyone you know, but God doesn’t reward you for being a celebrity.  He honors you for honoring Him, and oftentimes the world’s most influential or considered wonderful or beautiful or smart or wholesome people only pretend to honor God.  Though humans observe the outer appearance, the Lord examines the hearts of men and determines who they really are (1 Sam. 16:7).  Abraham, David and Rahab honored the Lord, though all had committed terrible crimes.

I’m not telling you to feel less guilty about your sin, but rather addressing the false presumption of the righteous status quo.  Repent of your sin and do not receive final judgment without the Lord Jesus on your side to save you from eternal damnation.  Without faith, you cannot receive salvation, but without salvation, you cannot please God.  Get on the right track, friend, and you’ll be fine.  God’s mercies are new everyday.

The glory of God’s grace far exceeds the weight of sin.
You cannot sin more than God can forgive.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9