no excuses

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
- Matthew 5:17-20

I think I consider myself a pretty "nice" guy, but it really messes with everything when I start bending the rules for different situations. People want this and that, or they want some kind of reprieve from their duties and responsibilities, and there's the compulsive sigh, "Fine, why not?" This tendency in me causes me to resent those who are faithful to requirements and accuse them as legalists. Similarly, Cain turns the blame on Abel when his offering is not accepted. His inability to meet God's requirements makes him angry at those who have been faithful.

I read Spurgeon's sermon on the above Matthew excerpt, and he speaks of the perfection of the Law. That Law which we accuse and throw out in the name of abolishing legalism is in fact the "schoolmaster to bring us to Christ" and which makes us realize the depths of our own sin. I've read Psalm 119 over and over again and I've trained myself to replace the "law of the LORD" with "the Bible" everytime I read it, because that makes me feel better - how can the Law be so delightful? But now, I see why. When we fail to achieve the Law, either the Law must perish or we must perish. I so often choose to remove God's holy Law instead of realizing that it is holy and unchanging - God's perfect instruction for men to be perfect.

I've been told my whole life, "As long as you do your best, Chris, there's nothing more you can do." And while this is a great way to take pressure off someone, I find it is highly deceptive - "whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments..." No, my best is not, will not, and will never be enough. Nor is God demanding my best. He is not satisfied with any of our "best," because even our best is like filthy rags before a holy and perfect God. He demands that we be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5:48).

At this point, I would abandon Christianity as a bunch of hopeless hogwash, get angry at Abel for somehow pleasing God in a way I could not, refuse God and live my life however I want, if not for Christ. My best will never be enough, but Christ will always be enough. My offerings will never be worth anything, but Christ's blood was worth everything.

As I look forward to the new year, I pray and hope that it is a year when I do not relax any one of God's demands on myself or on others - to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love people as myself. Yet I also pray that we may see that every one of those demands is first met in Christ and Christ alone, not in changing my behavior or justifying my deeds or in "doing my best."