The Key to God’s Work in Us

And our biggest problem often is comparing ourselves with other people. All right. What is God’s standard? Turn to Acts chapter 17, verse 31.

“Because he,” that is God. This is a speech that Paul made in the city of Athens. “Because God ‘has appointed a day,’ in the which he will judge the world in righteousness.”

Notice what God is going to judge the world in respect of. Not in respect of religious denomination or doctrines, but righteousness, the way we live.

“By that man whom he ‘hath ordained;’ whereof he ‘hath given assurance’ unto all ‘men,’ in that he ‘hath raised him’ from the dead.”

The man whom God has raised from the dead, we all know, is Jesus Christ. So, God is going to judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ.

Jesus is both the standard and the judge. And God has no other standard of righteousness but Jesus. If we measure ourselves by any other standard, we’re deceiving ourselves. And it’s entirely appropriate that Jesus is both the standard and the judge because if we ever feel inclined to say, “Well, that’s too high a standard. No one can keep it.” The judge answers, “But I kept it.” It’s altogether just and right and appropriate.

Then we look again in this connection in Philippians chapter 3, verses 7 through 14. I’m going to read these verses rapidly. I don’t want to dwell on them, but I want you to see that Paul totally rejected any other standard of righteousness but Jesus Christ, and any other goal for righteousness but attaining to Jesus Christ. And I want you to listen to the words with that in mind.

“But what things were gain to me, those I ‘counted loss’ for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things ‘but loss’ for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I ‘have suffered’ the loss of all things, and do count them ‘but dung,’ that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law,”

Notice, you have to rule that out.

“But that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him,”

That’s the essence of it.

“The power of his resurrection, ‘and’ the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained,”

Let me emphasize what I’m going to say again in a moment. The righteousness of faith is never static. It never says, “I’ve arrived.” It always says, “Not as though I had already attained,”

“But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to ‘have apprehended:’”

Should we say that together this morning? “Brethren, I count not myself to ‘have apprehended.’” Are you sure? Okay.

“But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul had one goal: Jesus Christ. One standard: Jesus Christ. And until he’d attained to that, he would never be satisfied.

All right. The fourth point about God’s righteousness is it does not consist in keeping a list of rules, no matter how good the rules may be. But it comes like this: When we really believe we are accepted of God, through that acceptance, God is able to work in us, and we work out what God works in. I do believe that God cannot work in us until we come to the place where we’re absolutely assured that we’re accepted. I think acceptance is the key to God working what He wants in us.