“God is so boundlessly pleased with Jesus that in Him He is altogether pleased with us.” -Spurgeon.
Book of Romans reminds us that whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Which means it is required and expected of us to take responsibility for our actions and decisions. Verily it is God’s approval, which matters. As a matter of Fact, It isn’t possible to please God by our actions; Bible says He approves our work and efforts when He is pleased with us.
In Genesis, we see that in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground since He was a worker of the ground. And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. The Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard. (V. 4:3-5). [Prompted, actuated] by faith Abel brought God a “better and more acceptable” sacrifice than Cain, because of which it was testified of him that he was righteous [that he was upright and in right standing with God], and God bore witness by accepting and acknowledging his gifts. (Hebrews 11:4 AMPC).
Hence Faith is the factor that made him pleasing to the Lord and not the sacrifice. And since God was pleased in Abel, his sacrifice became “better and more acceptable” one than that of Cain. Our efforts become acceptable to the Lord when we operate in faith and when faith in God impel us even in unforeseen lanes. That’s when God testifies of us that we are righteous. Thus God bears the witness by accepting and acknowledging what we do.
But a person who lacks faith or doubts God, stands condemned [before God], and because he does not act from faith: For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful]. (Romans 14:23 AMPC).
Therefore it isn’t the work of our hands that position us in right standing with God but the strong faith that we must hold towards God. So let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister, making every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Romans 14:13,18).
Have a great day!
