Could We Be Good by Following the Ten Commandments?
Summary of a Lesson from Tim Keller
Many think God will accept them if they follow the Ten Commandments. But can we follow them? Can we love the Lord with all our heart, or love our neighbor as ourselves? (Matthew 22:36-40)
When we fail, we try to hide our weaknesses. Just like going out on a date, we struggle to cover up our blemishes and accentuate our best qualities.
We have been doing that since Adam. Initially, the naked Adam and Eve felt no shame. But they listened to the serpent and decided to be their own masters. Suddenly, they knew they were naked, and they were ashamed. They hid, feeling insufficient.
Instead of trying to please God, we try to please someone else, or we focus on something else. We are insecure and spend lots of effort to cover up.
Unfortunately, we have missed the point. The only pair of eyes that matters is God’s. Yet, before them, we are absolutely inadequate. We cannot be right with God through our effort.
The way to God is through Christ. Through Christ’s crucifixion, we become good in God’s eyes.
Note that we are not abandoning our efforts to do good. But we cast away relying on our effect to be good before God. Our works are a response to God’s grace, not a means to win it.
If we know God should be our leader, though we fail to follow God, there is no need for us to hide from Him. Instead, we should draw near to Christ, who came for sinners.
God’s eyes are the only ones that count. Money, beauty, fame, power, or our efforts, cannot make us acceptable to Him. Instead, we should rely on God’s mercy and trust in the work of Christ. That is the way to be good with God.
Summarized from a Tim Keller’s sermon:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/the-breastplate-of-righteousness-5683/
When we fail, we try to hide our weaknesses. Just like going out on a date, we struggle to cover up our blemishes and accentuate our best qualities.
We have been doing that since Adam. Initially, the naked Adam and Eve felt no shame. But they listened to the serpent and decided to be their own masters. Suddenly, they knew they were naked, and they were ashamed. They hid, feeling insufficient.
Instead of trying to please God, we try to please someone else, or we focus on something else. We are insecure and spend lots of effort to cover up.
Unfortunately, we have missed the point. The only pair of eyes that matters is God’s. Yet, before them, we are absolutely inadequate. We cannot be right with God through our effort.
The way to God is through Christ. Through Christ’s crucifixion, we become good in God’s eyes.
Note that we are not abandoning our efforts to do good. But we cast away relying on our effect to be good before God. Our works are a response to God’s grace, not a means to win it.
If we know God should be our leader, though we fail to follow God, there is no need for us to hide from Him. Instead, we should draw near to Christ, who came for sinners.
God’s eyes are the only ones that count. Money, beauty, fame, power, or our efforts, cannot make us acceptable to Him. Instead, we should rely on God’s mercy and trust in the work of Christ. That is the way to be good with God.
Summarized from a Tim Keller’s sermon:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/the-breastplate-of-righteousness-5683/