Matthew 3:9 – And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Hello readers, thank you for reading my blog today. I’ve been thinking a bit about the verse quoted above. Often we can get to thinking that God owes us something when we obey him or when we do something good, and that’s on the very rare occasion. Often we live spiritually dead sinful lives, that’s the truth. Think of how dead these religious people were who came to see John the Baptist, feeling so holy because of their ancestry to Abraham. We think we get credits with God when we obey him, when we offer the sacrifice of praise and worship, when we pray or witness to someone else. But really, that’s just our reasonable service isn’t it? Shouldn’t we be thankful we can do good? We get to thinking we are quite something… when we are nothing. It’s because we don’t really know who we are. We forget the hole of the pit that we were dug from. We have so much to thank God for rather than thinking God owes us because we do one good deed here and there in amongst a life of serving self, pride, bitterness, envy, lust, greed and so on. We should thank is God for enabling us to be saved, for showing grace and mercy to us, for allowing us to serve him, to allow us to do something good. We can get things so back the front, we puff out with pride after a big week of sin and we do one good deed and feel like God owes us.

Ruth said to Boaz… why have I found grace in thine eyes? This should be our attitude, and is in fact our attitude when we see what Jesus Christ has done for us wicked sinners. Often people get in the ministry and feel like they’re something. But instead of thinking we are doing something great, we should thank God that he’s given us grace to serve in his army, to spread the gospel. It’s not a “you owe me God”, it’s thank you God for allowing me to reach others. In Revelation 4:10,11 – The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. They cast their crowns before him people, because it is all of Christ. We just need to thank him for showing mercy and grace to us, for allowing us as earthen vessels to bear the great treasure of tho gospel to this dark wicked world.

This is what Paul said in 1 Timothy 1.

1 Timothy 1:12 – And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

1 Timothy 1:13 – Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1 Timothy 1:14 – And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

See, Paul had an attitude of thanking God. Thank you God for enabling me. Thank you God for counting me faithful. Thank you God for putting me into the ministry. Thank you for showing such great mercy to me. Thank you for your grace to me. Thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for my sins. We don’t deserve any of this. We haven’t earnt any of this. Neither do we justify it. We should thank God that he’s given us a purpose in life, an opportunity to serve, love and obey him. We can get to thinking God really owes us… but he doesn’t.

So back to Matthew 3, and we see John the Baptist, a preacher of God’s word. He was a different guy, he had plenty of alone time with God, and didn’t get stuck in the mire of Jewish religion. He had a different diet, he looked different, he talked different. And the religious guys who thought they were pretty good came out to see him. These were guys who thought they were good because of their birth. They were born in Abraham’s line and got to thinking they were something.

God really owed them, God couldn’t do anything without their service. Right? Wrong. God had shown such great mercy and grace upon them. Imagine being born into Israel where they knew God’s word, a nation which had the light of truth. They’d seen the miracles, they’d had the deliverances, they had the law, they had the prophets, they had the oracles of God. God didn’t owe them anything. He wasn’t bound to do all this for them because he owed them. It’s because he chose to call Abraham and bless his seed… that’s his grace folks. Abraham didn’t do anything to merit it, how much less his seed many years later, a generation of vipers, who thought they were something.

We’re nothing folks, God has chosen to show mercy and grace, because he’s good. Because he’s love. He didn’t have to send his Son, but he chose to. He didn’t have to redeem us, we chose sin and darkness, but he did. He doesn’t owe you if you are a Christian because you do a few good deeds. You should be thanking him for allowing you and giving you the grace to read his word and shine as a light in this world. We should want to go because we want to, because that’s the best life, a life of service to Lord Jesus Christ… because of what he’s first done for us. See, we only love, because he first loved us.

God doesn’t owe us anything. The Bible says he’s a debtor to no man. He gave all these Jews such privilege, such opportunity, such light… and they spurned it in their pride and self righteousness. They didn’t know a thing about repentance. See, they didn’t see who and what they truly were. They were VIPERS the Bible says. That’s pretty bad. Their life showed no repentance over sin, and there were no fruits of repentance (did you know repentance has fruit?). See, most Christians think they are pretty good, but they’ve repented over nothing. They’ve not see what they truly are yet… which is this. Revelation 3:17,18 – Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Do you know how wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked you are? We all are that. And if God saves us and forgives us and creates a new person in us… are we really anything? No we are just earthen vessels who get to bear great treasure. Most people though have never repented of anything. They’re just Christians in name, but there is no fruit of repentance, they’ve received no rebuke, no reproof, there’s been no light shone on the darkness of their hearts. We are not as much as we think we are. And if God has saved you, you should thank him and cast whatever crown you get before the feet of his Son. David showed such kindness and mercy to a crippled son of Jonathan called Mephibosheth… who said to him in 2 Samuel 9:8 – And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? In 2 Samuel 9 is a great picture of salvation, Jesus Christ showing mercy and grace on an undeserving sinner. When you’ve received God’s grace, that shouldn’t produce a proud, arrogant, you owe me God type character, it should produce humility and thankfulness, a person of an excellent spirit who thanks God for saving him and allowing him to serve him in whatever capacity his Lord has for him.

God doesn’t owe us folks. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. We paid a debt we could never pay in his Son Jesus Christ. We are the ones that owe God. And God forgives us and shows his great love and mercy on us. He leads us into repentance of our sin. He forgives us, he washes us in his blood. And he gives us his life, his Spirit living in us. He allows us to worship and serve him. That should illicit praise and thanks from the heart, rather than a proud attitude of God you really owe me for the sacrifices I’m bringing you. You couldn’t do it without me God! Well turns out God can. All those religious elite came to John the Baptist and he said of these stones he could raise up children to Abraham. You and I really are nothing, we are just dead dogs who have been shown great mercy, who undeservingly sit at the king’s table because of the great Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We need to get our thinking right, we are so blinded by our sin, by our self righteousness, we are so proud and dead inside, so fruitless and lifeless… it all starts with getting back to the cross of Jesus Christ, where Jesus alone paid our enormous sin debt with his own life. He became a curse for us. We have no business going around with an inflated idea of who and what we are. We are nothing… just thank God for his unsearchable grace, mercy and love toward us. That he would even allow us to do something for him. Look at what Isaiah said… send me God… Here am I, send me!

John the Baptist furthermore spoke of the axe being laid to the root of the tree. Has God laid the axe to the tree of your life. Do you need to be cut down? Maybe you think you’re quite something. Maybe you think you are ok. Maybe you think God owes you. He doesn’t. Is there any fruit of repentance? Have you ever seen who and what you truly are in the sight of the Lord God? Paul just thanked God for letting him go and serve him. God has done everything for us. From forgiveness, to washing us, to cleansing us, to making us a new creature, to putting a new heart in us, to calling us to serve, to allowing us to obey him and serve him. It’s all because he first loved us, it’s all because of his Son and through the power of his living Son who is risen and alive forevermore and ascended into the heavens where he intercedes for us every second of every day.  Our life literally depends on his faithfulness to us every second of every day. It’s not even our faith! It’s HIS faith… that’s what produces our faith is his faithfulness.

We have nothing to crow about. We have nothing to feel like wow take note of me God, I’m quite something. We get so swelled up with pride and self importance and self righteousness and just lose sight of everything, we blindly grope around in darkness, when all we are is blind beggars who need a merciful Saviour who wills and wants to open our eyes, wash us, and bring us into relationship and fellowship with him. We all need to wake up to what’s what, God doesn’t owe us anything, he could use a bunch of stones, but he in his love and mercy wants to save you and enable you to find true purpose and fulfillment in faith and obedience to his Son. Thankfulness can really transform our thinking, it transformed Paul’s, and it can transform yours and mine today.

Blog Bible Christian Faith God Gospel Holy Spirit Jesus Salvation Saved Truth