“Sanctify them according to Your Word, Your Word is Truth.”- John 17:17

 

FALSE CONCEPTS;
We often live by “merit and de-merit system” as Christians. We are born again but need to have our minds renewed to think through the lens of His Word. For example the…
 

“MERIT SYSTEM”- Wrongly “thinks” though may not say it,but definitely “sinfully thinks” that God is “obligated” to “bless” you and yours if you go down “your list” and “do” your quiet time, are kind that day, give, attend church etc etc…. so when a tough situation arises you expect, indeed “demand” God acts on your behalf and you “appeal” to all you have “done” to show Him how “worthy” you are of receiving your way. He is there and is “Obligated” to help you, NOW! You feel you “merit” Him doing so!

“DEMERIT SYSTEM”- This is again you or me looking at ourselves. You “feel” you have blown it so much sinned so bad there is NO WAY God could be good to you, love you, care for you, accept you unconditionally and look on you as His “Beloved”- Rom 1:7. So you expect God to withdraw from you though Heb 13:5 says He will never ever leave nor forsake you! You tend to live by how you “feel” and if not heading to the depths of despair already sit there. You believe God cannot, will not, help you- because of what you have done or not done that in your wrong, works mentality where you are the center you view things based on “MERIT,”- God is Obligated to serve you or “DEMERIT,”- where in your view and feelings there is NO WAY GOD could be kind, or good to you.

Somehow you create your own “system” to prove your sorrow to Him and eventually when YOU DECIDE or if something “good” happens you believe you are back in God’s “Good Books!”….it is works salvation! You do not believe God is completely satisfied with the LORD Jesus’ work alone! You “feel,” or believe a “lie,” of the evil one or false teaching that the Work of Christ, though “good” is NOT Sufficient to satifsy God!

  • GOD says we Stand in Grace having been justified by faith in our Lord Jesus- Rom 5:1-2
  • GOD says we are “accepted in the BELOVED”- Eph 1:6
  • GOD says we are ‘The BELOVED OF GOD”- Rom 1:7
  • GOD says He has canceled {ERASED} all of our sins having nailed them to the cross- Col 2:13
  • GOD says we are Children of God- 1 John 3:1-2
  • GOD says His blood cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness- 1 John 1:9

WE Choose through BELIEVING THE LIE OF the “MERIT- DEMERIT” SYSTEM  that we RELEGATE GOD AND REPLACE HIM WITH OUR OWN SINFUL THINKING! In essence we create a “god” of our own imagination which is not the true and Living God.

EMBRACING such thinking we seek  His acceptance, His love, forgiveness, cleansing and standing all based on “our PERFORMANCE” and is manifested in a “Merit” or “DEMERIT” system rather than the PERFECT PERFORMANCE OF JESUS CHRIST! It is a “FALSE SALVATION,” BASED ON OUR WORKS, OUR “FEELINGS” RATHER THAN THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST AND REVEALED IN THE WORD OF GOD!

IT is an affront to the Love of the Father, the Work of the Son, it is to slight the Spirit of God and to say the Word of God is not the final, ultimate guide for our living.

So often we live roller coaster lives because we insist on trying to live the Christian life according to how we “FEEL” and trusting in what we “THINK, FEEL” as the ultimate authority and we dishonor God and live defeated lives all because we fail to TRUST HIM and take His Word AS IT TRULY IS- THE WORD OF GOD.

BOTH “MERIT” AND “DE-MERIT” SYSTEM have SELF at the center and not GOD! We need to trade in living by our Wrong FEELINGS as the authority for living and live by FAITH in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you and LIVE IN THE FACTS OF HIS WORD! {See Galatians 2:20} The only MERITS that mean anything in Heaven is the MERITS OF JESUS CHRIST! LIVE BY FAITH IN HIS MERITS….LIVE BY FAITH IN WHO HE SAYS YOU ARE…!

“Feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving my trust is in the WRITTEN WORD nought else is worth believing”– Martin Luther

“Man shall not live by bread alone but by EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”- Matt 4- THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
It is possible to be born again and yet bring in false concepts into your new life. “RENEW YOUR MIND”- Romans 12:2 says… Philippians 4:8 tells us THINK…..Let your MINDS DWELL ON TRUTH.” False concepts such as merit and demerit thinking is a THINKING problem that results in ACTIONS which are sinfully wrong.

 

“FOOLISH OR A WISE MAN?” TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF OUR …MIND…. We need to learn to THINK from God’s Perspective as revealed EXCLUSIVELY in His WORD. Otherwise something or someone will influence our THINKING which strengthens our “belief system” which will be to build on “sand” as Jesus says and be compared to behaving as “a foolish man who builds on sand.”- Build Instead on the foundation of “THE ROCK” of the WORD of God and the person who does so is compared by Jesus as a “WISE MAN.” Matthew 7:23-27 – How would Heaven describe you, me? Wise or foolish? It all depends on whether the WORD OF GOD is the foundation we are building our life on, the way we THINK, PRACTICE….{See Philippians 4:8-9}

WHAT AREA are you sinfully, ignorantly living by a “merit or demerit system,” based on what you “FEEL” rather than the “FACTS” of God’s Word – living by FAITH in Him and His Word?

THE GOOD NEWS we can begin once we recognize turn to God ask for help and Hide His Word and begin to LEARN AND LIVE A NEW PATTERN;

GOD’S WAY IS…Phil 4:8 says THINK RIGHT…. Phil 4:9 says – PRACTICE TRUTH.

Trusting in any other Merit for my acceptance with God other than the Lord Jesus is a false merit!

TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD.
TRUST IN THE WORK OF THE LORD JESUS