Something Unnatural

Everyone loves a pat on the back, some recognition. Even the shy will give a timid smile when complimented.

Sports are the best example. In football, we have the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the Super Bowl-winning team and rings given to the individual players. The NHL presents the Stanley Cup to the season’s champion. For the sake of posterity, the names of all previous winners are engraved on the Stanley Cup. Every sport at every level has a prize for the champions, and many also include individual awards, such as most valuable player, most improved, comeback player of the year, and so on.

Moving away from sports, many businesses have an Employee of the Month program. Some companies conduct performance reviews and distribute monetary awards, such as bonuses, raises, or promotions, to recognize continued exemplary work.

In school, colleges will award scholarships to students with exceptional grades and outstanding performance in the athletic arena.

In fourth grade, my teacher kept a chart on the wall of the spelling test results. I was terrible at spelling. Each week, we had a list of twenty words. Every week, Monday through Thursday, I would sit down and write each word one hundred times. Sixty percent, twelve words, were needed to achieve a D. My scores usually ranged from 10 to 14 (I had a few under ten), even after writing the words 400 times each throughout the week.

The chart had the names of the students down the left-hand column, and the scores were written left to right across the chart. When someone scored a perfect twenty, a star instead of a number filled the box. I never got a star.

If you are thinking that my fourth-grade teacher placed undue psychological stress upon me, you couldn’t be more wrong. All these decades later, I couldn’t be more thankful.

One week, I scored 19. I’m still proud of that 19. Whenever I walked by that chart, I’d look at that 19 with the insurance in my heart that I could spell. After the 19 my scores went up a little, 12 to 15 instead of 10 to 14. Today, I am asked how to spell words, and ninety-eight percent of spell corrections while typing on the computer come from typing errors, as opposed to actual spelling mistakes. It wasn’t a star, but the 19 was the pat on the back I needed to improve.

I’ve taken up a lot of space showing how we all appreciate recognition for the things we do. It is only natural to enjoy a compliment or an award of some type for something we’ve done.

When it comes to the spiritual and eternal life, it is unnatural for us to accept that the righteousness of another saves us.

Our righteousness cannot save us.

Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Jesus Christ and what He has done is the only means of salvation.

Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Romans 5:8-9, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

Hebrews 9:28, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

A few of us will put on a championship ring. All of us deserve a compliment or a pat on the back from time to time. But none of us deserves heaven. We are all sinners, and God is perfect. His home, heaven, is perfect, and sin will not be there in eternity.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the perfect and holy one, became a curse for us, offered Himself on the cross of Calvary as the blood sacrifice God the Father would accept as payment for our sins. When an individual places their faith in the sacrifice of Christ as their only means of salvation, then He becomes our righteousness, and the Father sees us through that lens. He sees the righteousness of His Son and not the filthy rags of our righteousness.

If you are trusting in your good works, your lack of evil deeds, a religious ceremony, or anything other than the blood of Christ for your salvation, you do not have eternal life.