The Second SELF

Eph.2:⁵ “That even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” [with emphasis]

Jesus gave us life and the life is consistent. We need Him every hour, we need Him every day, and we need Him every second. We did not need Him just when we got saved; we need Him now as much as when we came to Christ, if not more. Rom.7:¹⁸ “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature… (in SELF)” [with emphasis]. This is Paul speaking; this man had planted churches and done great things. The deception that has kept a lot of people down is that we think we are not that bad. You need to realize that in yourself, there is nothing good – the flesh profits nothing. It is the Spirit that gives life.

Self-righteousness hinders the resurrection life and power. Surrender it to The Cross and nail it to The Cross. We must be on the lookout for self-righteous thoughts – thoughts like I am not where I should be but I am better than he is or better than she is. Arrest such thoughts immediately and nail it to The Cross.

The second thing that needs to be nailed to The Cross is Self-confidence. As seemingly harmless as self-confidence is, self-confidence can be very destructive to spiritual life. Sometimes it can be as direct as I do not need God’s help. Why should I pray? I know what to do, I know who to call and what strings to pull and make a harmony. Sometimes, it is not so direct. Self-confidence can hide under a seemingly religious statement like, “heaven helps those who help themselves”. It is not in the Bible. There is some truth to the principle; the concept of initiating. God wants you to rise up and face life issues not in self-confidence but in God-confidence.

A classic story is the story of David – 1Sam.17:32-37 [please read]. David the teenager shows up on the scene where men who had been trained in battle were hiding from Goliath who had been a man of war since he was a boy and says, 1 Sam.17:³⁷ “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” His boast was rooted in God – God-confidence. Take self-confidence, root it in God and make it God-confidence. Self-confidence by itself can hinder resurrection life from flowing through you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I bring self-righteousness and self-confidence to The Cross and I nail it to The Cross. You alone will be my boast, in Jesus Name. Amen!