SOAP 2 (Psalms 52 – 53)
Scripture
Ps 52:8 – 9
But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
forever and ever.
For what you have done I will always praise you
in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope I your name,
for your name is good.
Ps 53:3
Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
Observation
David notes that there is no one who is righteous before God. All have turned away from His commands and laws. All have sinned. There is no one who can stand justified before Him through their own strength or wisdom. No one can truly say that he is unblemished and untainted by sin and wrongdoing. David stresses that there is no one who is righteous before God. This means that even those who are considered “good” through their works fall short of the glorious standard of justice and righteousness that God desires. As Paul notes, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)
The reality is, we all are sinners. We want to do the right things, but our hearts lead us to do otherwise. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, all these temptations dissuade us from the path of righteousness and truth that God calls us to walk in. Even Paul, arguably one of the most passionate man of God in all of Christian history, struggled with his shortcomings and weaknesses. He sighed, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Rom 7:15).
Even in our daily lives, we do what is wrong, either inadvertently or deliberately. An easy example, when we come across the sign ‘Do not step on the grass’, what do we do? We insist on stepping the grass! If it is easy to disobey even such a simple command, what more the “righteous requirements of God’s law” (Rom 8:4)?
Hence, it brings us to this question. If all of us are unrighteous and unworthy of standing before God’s throne, what is there left for us?
This is where God truly demonstrates His love for mankind. Knowing that He cannot forgo the judgement for our sins, He sends His Son, Jesus Christ to take all our sins upon Him and thus inflicts on Himself the punishment of death that should have been ours.
We are sinners in need of grace. And truly, God is a gracious god. After sending His Son to die for our sins, He sends His Spirit to lead us on a path of repentance. He sends His Spirit to us that we may follow the leading of His Spirit and no longer be slaves to the law of sin and death, but slaves to righteousness and life in the Spirit. And this righteousness is poured out to us through faith. It is not obtained by works or deeds, but it is by “faith from the first to the last” (Rom 1:17).
Through the life of Christ, God has demonstrated what it means to be righteous before Him. God declared before all the angels in heaven, “This is my son whom I love, and with Him I am very well pleased.” (Mat 3:17). Through His life, Jesus has demonstrated the ways of righteousness, life through the Spirit. And truly, the righteousness of God entails the life of freedom that we were originally created to live in. In His lifetime, Jesus has shown us what it is like to live in freedom, not only having life but having in to the fullest (Jn 10:10). Through His ministry, Jesus has painted a picture of what it is like to take authority in the name of God to proclaim the Kingdom of God on this earth. Through His love and compassion for the sick and those held captive by sin, Jesus has demonstrated what it is like to lay down our lives for one another.
Through faith, we are no longer bound by the law, but we now live as children of God (Gal 3:25). And this gift that God has given man is not only restricted to a particular group. As Paul stressed to the Jews in Rome, God’s promise of salvation is guaranteed to all of Abraham’s offspring, not only the Jews but the Gentiles as well (Rom 4:16). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul again made it clear that there is no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile when it came to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28)
Application
We sometimes think that we as Christians have the upper hand over the non-Christians, and that by “being on God’s side” we are somehow more superior compared to non-believers or “the others”. But the truth is, Christ never came to create schism or a rift between believers and non-believers but He came to proclaim the Kingdom of God, the salvation that belongs to God and to demonstrate the righteousness of God to all nations.
We, as Christians, need to be aware that we are as much sinners as everyone else is and that we are saved only through the grace of God so that “none may boast” (Eph 2:9). The Bible teaches us that if we are to boast, we are to boast in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Never once were we told to boast that we are better than the non-believers because we are saved. The fact is: our salvation did not come from our works, deeds, talents, abilities but from what the Lord had done for us. We are saved not because of who we are, but because of who God is – the grace, love and mercy that are His character.
Therefore, we should not and must not compare ourselves with nonbelievers, thinking that we are better than them or more righteous compared to them. We should not categorise them in a separate group, for Christ came to call everyone to Himself. Jesus did not create divisions or sects that are more righteous or more blessed compared to others. No, in God’s eyes, everyone is equal. Hence, it is really time that we rethink our faiths. Our salvation is not a tool that we use to justify ourselves against nonbelievers, but rather is a cause for which we testify of God’s goodness, mercy and love. It is the reason that we celebrate with joy in the new life that we have in Christ Jesus and the hope that we have for a better resurrection.
Therefore, when we evangelise, we are proclaiming the gospel. In Greek, the word used for gospel is euaggelion (ευαγγηλιον). The Good News, as it is also called, is a proclamation that the Kingdom of God has come, that God’s way of doing things has arrived. When we evangelise, we do not merely look to convert people into Christianity so that our churches grow bigger or to get credit for our “hard work”. No, when we evangelise, we are fulfilling the Great Commission given by the Lord Jesus before His ascension to heaven. When we evangelise, we are bringing God’s goodness, love and joy into this earth. When we evangelise, we take authority in the name of Jesus (not our own) to heal the sick, cast out the spirit of fear or guilt or shame, and set people free from the shackles of sin.
Our Christian faith is supposed to be something greater than merely keeping ourselves separate from others so that we can expect to go to heaven someday. NO! Our faith is something that brings us such a great joy, triggers such a great flame of hope that we want to share it with others.
So how should we live then as Christians? We should live with the reminder that we are all sinners in need of grace, just like everyone else. And the grace that has saved us from meaningless and purposeless living comes from God – who He is and what He has done for us. Finally, we should live by His Spirit, bringing all the goodness, love, peace, joy and grace of the Creator to everyone around us.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner in need of grace, a grace that you have given through your Son, Jesus Christ. I am truly grateful to you for this great gift of righteousness that you have given to all who believe in you and I want to acknowledge that this gift comes from you, not from my works or deeds but from your loving and gracious nature. So Father Lord, I pray that you will write in my heart not to patronise others or look down on nonbelievers for there is nothing I have done that merits such boasting. Lord, I just want to be filled with such joy in the salvation and hope that you have given me in Christ Jesus that I want to just step out in faith to bring your goodness, love, joy and grace to everyone around me, to bear witness to your glorious Kingdom and to proclaim your saving grace to all people, for the salvation, and the glory, and the honour, and the power belongs to you, O Lord, forever and ever. Amen.
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