Our Greatest Need

 

With a lot of uncertainties in this current health and economic crisis, from time to time our focus might be on money for bills, food or something else that makes worry. So this got me thinking, what are our greatest needs above all things?

We need to be regenerated

      “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” - Ephesians 2:1-5 (ESV)       

      We see from this verse that our nature as humans is sinful. On our own, we will never have the desire to please God and follow his commands. But because God is merciful, he sent Jesus as a way for us to be justified and even be sanctified through the help of the Holy Spirit, as we mature in the faith. This means our desires are being changed to God-pleasing desires, which translates to God-pleasing actions. I recently watched American Gospel: Christ Crucified and only then did I really mull over the idea that Jesus is God (John 1:1-5) and therefore:

       God gave us a way to be saved through Jesus (who is also God, in a different person), to save us from God’s wrath. This tells us that we are completely removed from the equation and that salvation can only be through Christ alone. But isn’t that a wonderful thing? If it was up to our own merits, we will never ever satisfy God.

     My personal faith journey was (still is!) a rollercoaster ride that began when I was in college. For so long I played with the idea of knowing and following Jesus, but it took years for me to realize that being a good person (or at least trying to be) is not enough, because I simply couldn’t be good on my own. Then came a day, when the weight of Christ’s sacrifice hit me so hard, that there was no other option but to bow down and worship. It took me years to finally realize that being a believer and a disciple of Christ is not up to me, but up to Him, who gives all of us the ability to see light while we are in a dark and broken world.

       We need freedom from the bondage of sin      

      “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate”  -Romans 7:14-15, 24-25 (ESV)

     “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” – Rom 7: 24-25 (ESV)

     We have a conflict within us, because we know right from wrong because of the law, yet our flesh simply cannot completely do the right thing. Sin reigns in us and controls us.

       However,

      “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” - Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)

      Since God is perfectly just, he requires retribution for our sins. Yet, he is also perfectly loving that he made a way for us to draw close to Him. However, since God is so holy, no one can ever satisfy his justice but himself, which is achieved through Christ. Christ came down as a man, was exposed to all sorts of temptations that we also experience, yet died sinless, and thus became the perfect sacrifice. He died in our place. Only the death of a perfectly holy being can satisfy the justice of a perfectly holy God. 

        We need freedom from the requirements of the law

       “What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works....” - Romans 9:30-32 (ESV)

      Not only can no one perfectly follow all 600+ laws, the Jews also became dependent on what they can do, totally removing God and faith from the equation of salvation. I find that when we look at ourselves as 100% capable, we run at a risk of being self-righteous, which happened to a lot of Pharisees. So God gave us a new covenant that made the law of Moses obsolete. We were given a new High Priest in Jesus, greater than any of the levitical priests. (Hebrews 8:1-2, 7-9)

     “...we have such a High Priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” Heb 8:1-2

     “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For He finds fault with them when he says:

     “Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.”” – Heb 8: 7-9

      God replaced fallible human priests who came to offer a greater sacrifice than was ever offered, once and for all. Moreover, the covenant extended not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles (us!)

      We need help to finish the race

      “..work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” - Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)

        It is only God who can make us willing and able to obey him. We can strive with all our might, but without help from the Holy Spirit, our good deeds will be overshadowed by unholy motives. 

          Moreover, I think it is true for all Christians that there will be times when we feel like our faith is so dry. Yet I find that persistence in prayer and devotion to God usually brings back the awe and wonder of Him. Personally, whenever I have moments like that, I pray for revival and refreshment of faith and true enough, God sustains me. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, he has no righteousness of his own, and this is true for all of us. Knowing and recognizing God as the only source of all things in our life, the burden of performing is removed and we have the assurance that we have a God who completes the work he started, even when we feel like we don’t deserve it.