THE CONTINUUM OF PRIDE

If you have yet to believe the Gospel, the one and only message that has the power to save you (Rom. 1:16), the message that Jesus Christ died for your sin according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4), then what I am about to write does not apply to you.  But, if you will proclaim Jesus as your Lord, and believe the Gospel right now, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10), that is, be born again by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:3-8).  If you are not a believer, and are therefore unwilling to allow Jesus Christ to be your Lord, don't bother reading the rest of this post.  It will be a total waste of your time.  You don't want to waste what little time you have left, reading the opinions of an old fanatic!

For those of you who have placed your trust in Jesus, and you long to please Him, to be Christ-like, I would like to share the one thing that has kept me from being both proud of how far I have come in the Lord, and from being depressed over how short that distance is when compared to how far I have yet to go.  It is a single verse of Scripture!  In Philippians 1:6, the Apostle Paul wrote, "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."  And what work is it that God has begun in me?  We find the answer in Paul's letter to the Romans:  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.  For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."  In other words, God has taken upon Himself the responsibility of making all those who have put their trust in Christ, like Him!

When I look at my life and realize how radically it has been changed from being an atheist, to being a person who loves the Lord, who looks forward to getting up and studying the Word of God, and to sharing both Him and His Word with others in this blog, I have a tendency to feel pretty good about myself.  That is my PRIDE taking credit for what the Lord has done in in me, in spite of me!  That is sin!

When I look at my life and realize how little I resemble Christ, the result is discouragement and depression.  That is also PRIDE, although it be my hurt pride, for it reveals the fact that I am forgetting it is God that got me as far along as I am, and it is to His glory that I am what I am!  So, it too is sin!

So what is the solution?  Thank the Lord for what He has done in you, and trust that He is able to complete the task. 

God never lies, and He promised to make me like Jesus!  (1 Jn. 3:2)!