Perfectionism is a trap. It causes us to depend on our works for salvation and acceptance with God when Jesus already made the way for salvation, and Jesus already accepted us into the beloved.
To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in His Beloved. – Ephesians 1:6
He has already committed to perfecting the things that concern us. We have to genuinely look to Him and trust in him to do what he said.
Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:6
Resting in our acceptance from Christ also lightens the burden to appear perfect or acceptable to men. When we make a mistake, we can more easily own our mistake because it doesn’t affect our acceptance with God. At that point, we are free from the fear of humiliation. Mistakes cannot be held over our heads in the same way; when we know who we are in Christ.
It provides a natural humility as we look to the Lord and not to ourselves. This does not mean that we can willfully sin or take for granted God’s grace expecting him to overlook it. God knows the intents of our hearts, and he will judge us by them.
“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” – Jeremiah 17:10
What the Lord has done for us as far as salvation, justification, and acceptance in Christ is so deep that it can be easily misunderstood or taken in the wrong way. If you ever feel yourself drifting into taking Christ’s work for you for granted and seeking your own way; reading, meditating on, and listening to scriptures from the old testament will help with providing sobriety reminding you to fear the Lord. The fear and wrath of God are clearly seen in the old testament.
The old testament increases my fear of God. That’s one of the main reasons I like reading the old testament. God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. His wrath is being halted only through Jesus Christ the spotless lamb and sacrifice for our sins. Anything outside of Christ will guarantee God’s wrath.
This is why we cannot be prideful and look to our own works, or to holding up an image of perfectionism based on works. There is only one who is perfect and spotless and that is Jesus Christ the one who is worthy to open the book of life and judge the world. Let’s not discount his work for us by trusting our own works outside of him.
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