Who Is Worthy?
by Lani W. Finley
The
primary weapons, which Satan uses against all Believers, are
fear, guilt, deception and lies. They work together to produce
one of the most damaging feelings that a
Christian can experience. The feeling of being "Unworthy." Most
Christians have wrestled with a little hounding voice that
whispers,
Just look at all the horrible
sins you have committed in your lifetime. Do you really
believe God could forgive such a terrible past and
accept you as His child? A holy and righteous God could
never have fellowship with such a sinner.
How dare you
believe that you are worthy of His love and forgiveness.
Your sins are too deplorable for Him to forgive. And
look at how many times you have failed Him, and not
lived up to His standards.
You promise
God that you will do better, but you keep on committing
that same sin repeatedly. You are a weak and helpless
failure. God cannot use you. His promises could never
apply to you.
These words
of discouragement do not proceed from the Holy Spirit, but
rather, from the Hiss of the Serpent.
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim 1:7). The
Greek word translated as fear in this scripture is deilia and in
its truest sense, it actually means not to be timid.
However, who could be more timid than those who are burdened
with the emotion of fear? It is Satan who continually troubles
us with these feelings and tries to make us believe we are
unworthy. His goal is to convince every Christian that God is
angry with them and they are out of the reach
of His love and mercy.
The devil
knows that if he can convince us of these lies, then he will
cripple our Christian Walk with God. We will become so paralyzed
with a sense of unworthiness, that we will be unable to accept
God's truth about our absolute salvation in Jesus. We will begin
to doubt that God's promises belong to us and we will be
hesitant to step forward and take hold of the peace and
confidence that Christians should posses. We will also begin to
question our relationship with God and be reluctant to reach out
for the power and gifts that He longs to give us.
The
apostle James reveals that, "...the devils also
believe, and tremble" (James 2:19). It is Satan
and his demons that are afraid of God and tremble before Him.
Satan is terrified of God's wrath, because he will never repent
of his sins and he wants Christians to share his feelings of
guilt, condemnation and hopelessness.
The
apostle Paul assures Believers of the love that God has for us
and refutes the evil whispers of the enemy.
However, God commended his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him (Rom 5:8-9).
Emphasis of scripture is mine throughout.
It is only
those who refuse to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, which
have to fear the wrath of God. His children are saved from His
judgement and are free to enjoy a deep and personal relationship
with their Heavenly Father. "For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus
Christ" (1Thes 5:9).
The truth is
that no person is worthy of the saving grace of God. That is why
it is called a gift. The word grace, as it applies to our
salvation, simply means an "undeserved pardon." It is not based
on our worthiness. God's grace is not about our ability to
please Him through personal performance or righteousness.
Therefore, why should Christians allow themselves to be
tormented over this issue? There is only one person that has
lived a sinless life in the flesh, and that person is Jesus
Christ. Only the Lamb of God is Worthy!
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art
worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:
for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation (Rev 5:9).
Pastors
should be careful not to sow a sense of unworthiness in the
members of their congregations. They must make sure that every
Believer understands his complete redemption in Christ. Sermons
regarding sin should never leave worshippers with the feeling
that, "God hates sin. I am a sinner. Therefore, God
must hate me." While God does not approve of sin,
He still loves the person who has accepted His mercy, through
Christ. Mature and seasoned Christians will always
struggle with the lustful desires of the flesh and battle sinful
strongholds. God never expected us to
live the Christian life without any failures. That
is why we have a Living Savior who constantly intercedes for our
weaknesses. We can be comforted by the word of the apostle John.
My little children, these things write I unto
you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (I
Jn 2:1-2).
It is
Satan's name, which means "slanderer or accuser." In Revelations
12:10, the devil is described as the evil one who relentlessly
condemns Christians before God. However, Jesus Christ has never
taken a single transgression of a Believer before the throne of
God. This is confirmed by the words of the apostle Paul.
Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God
is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who
condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who
was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also
intercedes for us (Rom 8:33-34 NAU)
Jesus is our
intercessor. His blood forgives all past sins and any future
sins that we confess. He does not discuss our faults with the
Heavenly Father. He is our advocate who testifies on our behalf
and witnesses that we are clean through Him. Only Satan wishes
to condemn us. If we listen to the voice of the devil, we will
not be able to experience the true joy of Christianity.
God's
Word gives us comfort by assuring us of His love.
For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord
(Rom 8:38-39).
The apostle
John informs us that Christ came to destroy Satan's works. "...
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil" (I Jn 3:8). God expects His
children to continue with Christ's ministry. Satan knows if he
can make us weak, through a feeling of condemnation, then we
will be unable to wage a successful war against him.
Our Heavenly
Father has promised to forgive all of our sins and never
remember them. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more"
(Heb 8:12). All Christian should remember these words and apply
them to the following remarks of Pastor Erwin Lutzer.
If God is able to forget your past, why can't
you? He throws our sins into the depths of the sea and
then puts up a sign on the shore which reads, "No
fishing". 1
The lyrics
of a popular hymn will help us to grasp the personal nature of
our salvation in Jesus. "When He was on the cross, I
was on His mind." Jesus not only died for the sins
of the world, but for you and me. In Christ, there is no
condemnation upon us and we are counted worthy
to be called the children of God.
God
encourages us to live by faith and believe every word He speaks.
"... It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt 4:4).
He also desires us to approach Him with complete confidence.
"Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of
grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in
time of need" (Heb 4:16 NAS). We must never allow Satan to rob
us of the peace that is ours through Jesus. May we believe the
Word of God and not the "hiss of the serpent?"
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