28th January 2025

28th January 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Luke 17v7-10)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


By this stage of January the vast majority of us have fallen back into our same old routines. I’m not getting at you by the way, just highlighting the trouble we all have in keeping our promises. In light of your return to chocolate or your failure to go to the gym five times a week, allow me to assure you of your standing with Christ.


Does your eternal salvation depend upon your earthly success? Thanks be to God that the answer is no. As Christians we are great at comparing ourselves to others and falling short. Your family isn’t as well organised as that famous Christian on Youtube. You climb out of bed at 8am while your Christian friend has been up from 5am to read and pray. You listen to the testimony of other Christians and feel rotten because your life isn’t as “victorious” as theirs. What is to be done?


A Presbyterian of another age was called Gresham Machen and in his dying days he wrote to a friend saying “So thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.”


Machen was right, but what do we mean by the active obedience of Christ? Christ’s obedience to God’s demands was perfect and complete. Whatever was required by the law of God, Christ fulfilled it. He was active in keeping God’s law and could rightly be described as a profitable servant.


Not so for you and I. Even on our best days we are unprofitable servants who have only done our duty (v10). My prayer life is not what it should be, I frequently miss opportunities to share Christ and my “to do” list never seems to get shorter. Will I be lost? By no means! I stand righteous before God because He has declared me righteous by faith in Christ. Jesus is the perfectly obedient servant who has completely fulfilled the law’s demands. He stands at the right hand of the Father and all who have received Him by faith are counted as obedient and righteous and forgiven. I’m sure you’ve heard of imputation…it simply means that by faith, Christ’s righteousness is credited/imputed to our account. We might be unprofitable servants but we have trusted the actively obedient Christ.


Are we free then to spend the rest of our days on the sofa? No. Brothers and sisters, if you are moved by the finished work of Christ, if you are humbled by His active obedience and if your Saviour’s love gives you great joy - then follow Him. You will never obey perfectly, you will often feel like a failure and even now you might be all too aware of your limitations but please remember that your standing with the Lord has never been dependent upon the quality of your obedience.


What wisdom we received from Gresham Machen. He spoke truth that I hope we will remember this year - “So thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.”
 
Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q99 What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer? The whole Word of God is of use to direct us in prayer, but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called, The Lord’s Prayer.
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