Ministers of righteousness link practical righteousness with their salvation to some degree. Because according to them to walk after the flesh is to assign righteous credit to their fleshly conduct. They suppose that their behavior is the source of their right standing with God. They suppose that becoming more righteous in practice will make them more righteous in God’s sight. But from Adam onward people have been doing what seems right to a person in regard to having a relationship with God. Only one member of the entire human race has ever lived up to any system of rule-keeping for righteousness (Jesus). Yet, how many are attempting today to do what the human race before us was totally unable to do? How many people think they are measuring up to God’s standard today?
Listen to the ministers of righteousness, the ones who don’t think salvation comes quite so easily. They think that salvation is contingent upon works in their peoples life. They would equate sinfulness with salvation and thus link grace to license. They want a formula to give their people some guidelines and they can do A,B,C and their people will be doing the Christian life successfully. As a result, their peoples attitude is “I’m not going to do that, because that is bad,” or “I’m not going to do that, because I cannot do that and remain a Christian,” or “I’m going to do this, because God demands I do it,” or “I’m going to follow the rules, because God will accept me if I follow the rules faithfully.” NOW contrast a walking after the flesh attitude with the attitude of one who is walking after their identity in the Savior: “I’m not going to do that, because that is not who I am in the Savior, and that is not good for me and it’s not good for the other person. These good deeds will not save me, they will not even help to keep me saved, but why spend my time wallowing in the mire that caused my Savior to have to die in the first place? I do not owe anything to this old flesh.”
Listen to the ministers of righteousness, the ones who don’t think salvation comes quite so easily. They think that salvation is contingent upon works in their peoples life. They would equate sinfulness with salvation and thus link grace to license. They want a formula to give their people some guidelines and they can do A,B,C and their people will be doing the Christian life successfully. As a result, their peoples attitude is “I’m not going to do that, because that is bad,” or “I’m not going to do that, because I cannot do that and remain a Christian,” or “I’m going to do this, because God demands I do it,” or “I’m going to follow the rules, because God will accept me if I follow the rules faithfully.” NOW contrast a walking after the flesh attitude with the attitude of one who is walking after their identity in the Savior: “I’m not going to do that, because that is not who I am in the Savior, and that is not good for me and it’s not good for the other person. These good deeds will not save me, they will not even help to keep me saved, but why spend my time wallowing in the mire that caused my Savior to have to die in the first place? I do not owe anything to this old flesh.”