Faith Like A Mustard Seed

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

It’s probably a safe bet that the majority of us are not well-versed in the laws outside the U.S. We probably have a pretty good idea of right and wrong in a foreign country and would most likely be able to navigate through our trip without any trouble. But if it came down to specifics, we would probably be pretty hopeless. We could gather cues from locals in the area and attempt to mirror what they do. The only trouble would be if the locals themselves chose to not follow the law…or chose to “bend” the law a bit to fit their desires. The last part of the text above from Romans provides an interesting view into our awareness of sin: We only become conscious of our sins when we become aware of God’s commands. We only know we are breaking the law when we actually know the law. Think about it…if we didn’t know that God instructs us to have no other God before him (Exodus 20:3), it would seem logical that we could explore any religion in this world. Or if we didn’t know that adultery is committed by simply looking at another with lustful eyes (Matthew 5:27-28), then it would seem completely normal and acceptable to look at another with lustful eyes. The trouble we encounter in our faith is that we tend to lean on a general understanding of God’s Word rather than an intimate knowledge. And when we get out into the world armed with this general understanding, we might skate through a few things, but eventually we are going to start a series of falls…some minor, others significant…because our foundation is weak. We will be more likely to look to the world for right and wrong, assuming that if it is culturally or socially appropriate, then it must be acceptable for our lives. We start living according to the world’s standards…and we know we can’t live for God and for the world at the same time (Matthew 6:24). Now don’t get me wrong here…we do not receive salvation by studiously following God’s commands. We cannot earn his mercy. Rather salvation comes through genuine faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8)…understanding that we completely depend on his sacrifice…and apart from him we are complete failures (John 15:5). Then why live according to God’s will? Why follow his commands if we are saved by our faith alone and not by how we live? Because we are called to do so in the words spoken by Christ in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command”. May our genuine love for the Lord lead us to a greater understanding of his Word, the courage to apply it in our lives, and the discipline to not be lead astray. To God be the glory!