Will God judge us for not trying hard enough?
Apr 24, 2010
The Case for Grace - part twenty-seven in a study of the book of Romans
Mike Gaudet
Trying to walk with God can be tiring.
What will happen if we can’t keep up?
Will God judge us for not trying hard enough?
“What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Romans 9:30-33
One of the sad tendencies in human history has been the “demonizing” of groups of people who are then “justifiably” targeted for harsh treatment.
The Jewish people have been in the crosshairs of public hostility numerous times. A thread of anti-Semitism can be traced throughout modern history. The role that the Jews played in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ has made them a convenient scapegoat.
If we place our finger on the pulse of where the Jewish people strayed, though, we recognize an all too familiar tendency in our own lives. We make the same mistake they made.
Paul, a Jew himself, observed that, “Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.” They pursued righteousness. They ran a good race. There was no lack of desire or effort. They just never arrived at their destination . . . they never arrived at ”righteousness.”
The Israelites in Paul’s day used obedience to the Ten Commandments to make their way to God. Some made it farther than others. Some found the will and determination to be more devout than most. No one arrived. The standard is too high.
Compare the bar a high jumper must clear to the standard of behavior God determines to be acceptable. Attaining righteousness is like jumping over the bar at the winning height. We assume that God has given us the Ten Commandments so that we might use commandment-keeping to clear the bar. We pursue righteousness “as if it were by works.”
This is the mistake the Jews made.
We make the same mistake.
We trip over the same “stumbling stone.”
It makes sense to us to use the energy of human effort to arrive at righteousness. As a general principle it takes hard work to get ahead in this world. We assume that God plays by the same rules.
God’s commandments become a stumbling stone when we attempt to use them to get close to Him. When we focus on keeping the commandments in order to draw near to God, we trip over the stumbling stone of the commandments. We end up falling flat on our face. We cannot use the energy of human effort to arrive at a level of righteousness God finds acceptable.
Righteousness is never a reward God gives to us who behave.
Righteousness is always a gift God gives to us who believe.
Jesus Christ is the only Jew (or Gentile for that matter) who was able to conform His life to the righteous demands of God’s law. He is the only one who was able to complete the journey.
While it is right to attempt to walk in Jesus’ steps, it is a mistake to try to please God by following in His footprints. The world is full of individuals who set out to make their way to God by walking this path of obedience. No one arrives.
At the end of the road, when we appear before God He will not talk to us about how hard we tried. He will not make us feel ashamed that we did not try harder.
At the end of the road, when we appear before God He will talk to us about how we trusted in Him . . .”the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.”
What matters most to God is how our trust in His love expresses itself in love for Him, others and ourselves.