Grace for the Race

In business, sports, and life we are often measured by our merit.  If we do not perform up to the expected standard, someone else is standing at the ready to take our place.

The problem with this worldly standard is that we unconsciously transfer it into our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Check out how Peter demonstrated a merit mentality.  Immediately after witnessing Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler, which Peter obviously misunderstood, and hearing Jesus say “With man this [being saved] is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” merit mentality reared its ugly head.  Peter mentally added up everything he had done for the Lord and asked what he would get in return.

Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”  (Matthew 19:27) 

Imagine what Peter was actually saying.  He assumed Jesus was indebted to him because of all that he had done.  Peter was not alone in his merit mentality.  This is what the Jews of his day believed.  They more they did for God, they thought, the more God owed them in the form of blessing.

We are not so different today.  Sadly, many in the modern church have succumbed to the misery of merit mentality.  We know we are saved by grace, but we believe we stay in God’s grace by our own good works.  So we keep a daily score card and add up our merits and demerits throughout the day.  If we have more merits at the end of the day we anticipate God’s blessings; if we have more demerits at the end of the day we expect God’s cursing.

Nothing could be further from the truth! 

Paul delivers a stinging rebuke to all of us who fall prey to merit mentality in Galatians 3:2-3.

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

The Gospel frees us from merit mentality, because the only merit that matters is the merit of the Master.  We are not blessed because of what we do for Jesus; we are blessed because of what He has already done for us!  Our mystical union with Christ and our position in Christ is the source of blessing, not our good works.

And regarding the cursing of God, our sin-debt to God has already been paid in full by His beloved Son Jesus.  God cannot and will not collect on a debt that is not owed.  Jesus paid it all; therefore you owe nothing. 

What you experience after your sin is not God’s curse; the curse was nailed to that dirty tree (see Galatians 3:13 and Colossians 2:13-14).  What we all experience after we sin is the consequences of our sin.  Those consequences are real and often far-reaching.  But those consequences are never God smiting us punitively and in anger, collecting on a debt that has been paid in full by Jesus.  Always remember: when we do not feel the presence of God while we are in sin or after we have sinned, it is not God who moved . . . we are the ones who moved away from God!  God has promised never to leave us or forsake us, regardless of what we do.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Comparison shopping is a good thing.  It’s good to compare the prices at different grocery stores before you go shopping.  It’s good to compare the value of different automobiles before you buy one.  It’s good to compare neighborhoods and local school options before you buy a house.  So when is comparison a curse?  It’s a curse when we find ourselves doing one of the following . . . which, by the way, are both things we all do far too often.

1. Comparing ourselves to others

2. Comparing one person to another

Let’s briefly unpack these two curses of comparison and see to what extent we are affected by either one or both.

1. Comparing ourselves to others

When was the last time you did this?  There is a double-edged sword in this curse.  We can compare ourselves to others, in order to shine a spotlight on our imagined superiority and another person’s inferiority.  This was the great sin of the Pharisee in the temple.

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.”  (Luke 18:10-12)

We can also compare ourselves to others in order to hide ourselves in the shadows of self-doubt and self-deprecation.  This is the proverbial pity party, as we compare ourselves to others (looks, success, status, education, gifts, talents, etc.) and in essence, complain to God that we are not as good, important, or blessed as others. 

2. Comparing one person to another

When was the last time you did this?  Paul talked about the comparison curse to those in the Corinthian church.

Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

(2 Corinthians 10:12)

Parents are often guilty of this, sometimes never realizing the negative and lasting effects.  Parents compare one of their children to another (talents, abilities, gifting, accomplishments, etc.) and in doing so, damage the child’s self-image and destroy the determination and discipline they were ham-fistedly seeking to inspire. 

We must remember that God made everyone different . . . and nobody is perfect.  With that in mind, along with the understanding of the massive amounts of grace God pours into our lives each day, we can stop comparing ourselves to others and comparing one person to another and begin accepting everyone—including ourselves—for who we are . . . right where we are.  

Reader, there is a comparison that is not a curse as it relates to us.  Do you know what it is?  It’s found in the posture of the other person who went up to the temple and was praying alongside the prideful Pharisee. 

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

(Luke 18:13-14)

This tax collector was not exhibiting a sense of false humility.  He was simply acknowledging himself for what he really was in the eyes of a Holy and Righteous God: a great sinner in need of an even greater Savior.  The tax collector compared himself against God’s perfect standard and realized how far short he fell, and he cried out for the only One Who could save him: Jesus.  This is the place that will keep our eyes focused on God and not on others.  When we, by God’s grace, find ourselves in this place, the curse of comparison will no longer cripple us.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

We all come into this world overexpecting.  We overexpect from ourselves; we overexpect from others; we overexpect from God!

Enough is never enough for the “overexpectors,” who are quick to deliver a word of criticism when what they get doesn’t match up with what they were expecting.  A critical spirit seems to be their greatest gift.  Here are the three words that dominate the vocabulary of the overexpector:  

SHOULD

OUGHT

MUST

“You should have done this!  You ought to have done that!  You must do this other thing!”  Have you been on the receiving end of an overexpector?  Have you been guilty of overexpecting from another?  Regardless of where this message finds you, the key to unlocking the prison door of overexpectations is the Gospel.  Only the power of the Gospel frees you from overexpecting from others or trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations of someone else. 

If you have been reading these articles for any length of time, you know that I am in no way suggesting that we should drift through life without expectations—dreams, desires, and the necessary disciplines to fulfill them.  This would lead to a life of mediocrity, and mediocrity is unacceptable for the child of the Most High God.

Jesus did not save you to live an average life!  The Apostle Paul made this clear when he asked the Corinthians, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize?”

“Yes, Paul,” the Corinthians would have dutifully assented, “we know that.”

And then Paul concluded, “So run that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

Elsewhere Paul described how he was “straining forward to what lies ahead” and pressing on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-15).  Christian, you most certainly have not been called to a life of comfortable complacency!

Throughout years of coaching and training athletes, I frequently remind them that we have a tendency to surround ourselves with people who demand too little from us.  Experience has taught me that the Christians who are growing the most are those who put themselves in the company of people who encourage them to reach, stretch, grow, and maximize their God-given potential. 

The key, however, is whom—or, more accurately, Whom—we are doing it for and why.  When the Gospel has seized us, we do what we do for the glory of our King.  What motivates us to be our best is the love of Christ, which compels us to do all we can with all God has given us to do it with.  We are no longer motivated by the expectations of others because the Gospel has freed us from living up to someone else’s standards.

If Perfection (Jesus) could not please everybody, imperfection (you and I) never will!  Knowing that we already have everything we need because of our union with Christ—unconditionally loved; totally forgiven; fully accepted—we are freed from the oppression of overexpecting.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!      

We all have a story.  Your life is a story, from birth right to the point where this message finds you today.  And you are living according to your story—as it governs your life, guides your steps, and grows you either up or down . . . big or small.

Let me ask you a question: what story is shaping your story?  Make no mistake, if you are not being shaped by God’s story then your story is totally out of shape! 

God’s story is found throughout the pages of Scripture.  As we grow in our understanding of God’s story—oh, and be sure you don’t miss that part about “Be pefect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)—we see the glaring weaknesses in the portions of our own story that have been shaped by the wisdom of the world. 

·         When you want to get even with someone who has wronged you, the world is shaping your story. 

·         When you want to get rich at the expense of others (including your family), the world is shaping your story. 

·         When you want to trade in your spouse for a newer model, the world is shaping your story. 

·         When you want to compromise your character in your dating relationship, the world is shaping your story. 

·         When you want more to be right than you want to be loving, the world is shaping your story.

·         When you want the things of this world more you want than the things of God, the world is shaping your story. 

So . . . what has been shaping your story, the wisdom of God or the wisdom of the world?  When your story is shaped by anything smaller than God’s story you have stunted the shape of your story! 

You see, the story the world gives us simply cannot answer the most important questions in life: Who am I? Why am I here? What am I here to do? What’s wrong with me?  Only God’s story will provide insight into these and other critical questions in life, because only God’s story tells the truth about all other stories—including yours!  God’s story is true, good, and right, and it’s all about one singular Person: Jesus Christ. 

In reading through the Old Testament we drink in the promises that have been made about Christ; in reading through the New Testament we stand amazed at the promises fulfilled through Christ.  All of history . . . all of human existence is about Jesus Christ. Your story should be also! 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

One of the best selling self-help books ever published was I’m OK–You’re OK, written by psychiatrist Thomas Harris.  Hugely popular in the 1970’s, the book set forth many psychological ideas that are still alive and well among both secular and Christian psychologists today.  Without delving too deeply into the premise of the book, I’m OK–You’re OK outlined four “life positions” in an attempt to help people understand their communications and relationships. The four positions were:

1. I’m Not OK, You’re OK

2. I’m Not OK, You’re Not OK

3. I’m OK, You’re Not OK

4. I’m OK, You’re OK

The problem with the premise of this book, along with every other secular (unbiblical) approach to understanding human behavior and relationships is identified by one word: SIN!  Without an understanding of the nature of sin, there is absolutely no hope of comprehending why, as sinners, we are NOT OK!  We are not “OK” and never will be “OK” in our own righteousness, no matter how many self-help books we read or how much good we might think we do.  Scripture flatly asserts that all our good works are as “filthy rags” in the sight of holy God (Isaiah 64:6), because our deeds are soiled by wrong motives, sinful desires, or selfish ambition.

So if we are “Not OK” how can that be OK?  Because Jesus is more than OK!

If we have placed our trust in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, we are cleansed by the precious blood of the spotless Lamb, and by faith we are clothed in His perfect righteousness.  We are OK in the sight of God, because when God looks at us He sees only His sinless Son.  We did nothing to gain our acceptance before God (justification) and we do nothing to remain in His favor (sanctification).  It is, from the first stirring of faith to final glorification, all because of Jesus.

Quite simply, we know full well that are “Not OK” by way of personal experience.  It is only the Gospel that can convince us that even though we have sinned—willfully, grievously, and repeatedly—and fall far short of the glory of God, we are still OK with God because of what His Son Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. 

“It is finished!” was the young Warrior’s triumphant cry from Calvary’s cross (John 19:30). And in that victory shout, feel His hand upon your shoulder and sense the warmth of His smile as He reassures you yet again: “My child, I chose you before the creation of the world . . . and there is nothing in heaven or on earth that can separate you from My Father’s love” (Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 8:38-39).

Do you realize how freeing it is to know you are “Not OK” and yet that’s still OK with God because of Jesus?  Thanks to Christ’s atoning work on our behalf, we can finally get off the performance treadmill and rest in the unconditional and radical love of our Savior.  When the truth of the Gospel seizes us, we stop performing to gain our acceptance because we are already accepted in the beloved . . . and that is more than OK!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!  

Go back with me to the Garden of Eden and with the eyes of faith picture our first two parents attempting to hide their sin-stained shame from God with fig leaves.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.  And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  (Genesis 3:6-8)

It would be silly if it wasn’t so sad.  In the context immediately following the first sin, nakedness represented shame, guilt, and humiliation.  Here are the parents of all humanity attempting to cover their glaring shame, guilt, and humiliation with a few fig leaves, and God immediately rejects their feeble attempt to do for themselves what only He could do: cover their sin.  The flimsy physical covering those fig leaves provided was wholly inadequate as a spiritual covering.  Only the promised Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the Lamb of God, would be able to take away the shame, guilt, humiliation and debt caused by their terrible rebellion.  Fig leaves are no substitute for the Gospel!

So why are we still trying to hid behind fig leaves today when the Gospel has freed us from our sin-stained past?  Why do we still feel it necessary to pretend our way into our Promised Land?  What compels us to hide behind all manner of masks?  There is only one reason we still sew fig leaves together to hide our shame: we do not believe in the power of the Gospel.

So . . . have you been in the loin cloth business lately? If you don’t think you are sewing your own covering of fig leaves together, prayerfully consider your answer to this question: when was the last time you confessed your sin to someone else?  I am not talking about confessing to another brother or sister in the Lord when you failed to witness to a co-worker, skipped your morning devotion, or forgot to pray over the meal.  James instructed us to “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16).  I’m talking about confessing what is really going on in your life right now when no one is looking—baring your soul, unburdening your heart, getting real with someone and getting right with God. 

You see, the Gospel frees you from hiding behind whatever fig leaves you think you need to make you look better than you really are.  The Gospel is about great sinners who are in need of an even greater Savior—and that is exactly what you have in Jesus.  He is big enough to handle every scandalous sin and terrible transgression, having paid for them in full on Golgotha’s Hill.  Let me close with these words from the great reformer Martin Luther, writing to a friend who was hiding behind fig leaves:

Therefore my faithful request and admonition is that you join our company and associate with us, who are real, great, and hard-boiled sinners.  You must by no means make Christ to seem paltry and trifling to us, as though He could be our Helper only when we want to be rid from imaginary, nominal, and childish sins.  No, no!  That would not be good for us.  He must rather be a Savior and Redeemer from real, great, grievous, and damnable transgressions and iniquities, yea, from the very greatest and most shocking sins; to be brief, from all sins added together in a grand total.   

As long as we hide we can never be healed.  Jesus invites us into a real and radical love relationship with Him and He wants all of us—the good, the bad, and the ugly.  What a Savior!  What a Friend! 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

At this time of year, many set pen to paper and write down all the things they resolve to do to make sure the new year turns out better than the year just concluded.  Some want to lose weight.  Some want to get out of debt.  Some resolve to give more to ministry; others want to save more.  Still others want a happier home life.

So . . . what is it for you?  What are you resolving to do this year that will make 2011 better than 2010?  Let me suggest one thing above all else:

PREACH THE GOSPEL TO YOURSELF EVERY DAY!

No matter what we resolve to do, resolution will not make this year better than last year.  Never has a life been made better by resolution in the long run.  Sure, we can change behavior for a season and see measurable change in our lives.  We can be less slothful and more disciplined.  We can be less impatient and more forgiving.  But inevitably, if our resolution is not accompanied by transformation through the power of the Gospel, we will find ourselves in pretty much the same place at the end of this year as we were last year.  And that is a place no child of God should be! We have been commanded to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), not to remain mired in inertia!

Resolutions become reality when we keep the Gospel before us.  When the eyes of our faith stay fixed on the Gospel—virgin birth, sinless life, atoning death, triumphant resurrection, and glorious ascension—cold hearts thaw, hard hearts soften, and distant hearts draw near to Jesus.  It is only by trusting in Christ’s promise to finish what He started in us (Philippians 1:6) that we are empowered to keep getting up every time we fall.

Growing in grace means more than growing in Christian character, as important as that is.  To grow in grace is to grow in the awareness of our spiritual bankruptcy and the knowledge of the yawning chasm that lies between sinful man and a holy God that was bridged by Jesus Christ. 

When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this: that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual mindedness more marked — J. C. Ryle  

Resolution becomes reality as our understanding of God’s astonishing, unmerited favor becomes more real to us.  Deep down, we know we are great sinners, both by nature and habit, and yet we are loved by an even greater Savior who laid down His life for us.  Scripture emphatically assures us that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  You are loved in spite of your past failings and you are loved in spite of your future failings!

The truth of the Gospel is the only power that can remove the merit-oriented mindset we bring into our faith and turn our resolutions into reality. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Another year has come and gone; it’s the last day of 2010.  There are only a few remaining hours of this year still on the clock . . . what will you do with them?  How well will you finish this year?  Can you imagine your Lord saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant” based on the life you lived throughout the past year? 

Sadly, many in the church today are convinced that they could never hear those words because of a past littered with broken promises, shattered dreams, and unfulfilled potential.  They believe God is angry with them because they failed to live up to His expectations, clearly set forth in Sacred Scripture.  Instead of hearing the words “well done” they dread hearing “You wicked and slothful servant!”

Equally tragic is the great number in the church who are convinced they will hear “Well done” because of their good works, godly living, and great rule keeping.  They believe God owes them a reward for a life well lived. 

I have good news for both groups.  The Gospel, properly understood, frees you from both errors.  God does not see you as a failure and He never grades on a curve, no matter how well you think you are doing.  God loves you because of your union with Christ.  He sees you only in the light of the perfect righteousness of Jesus.  You see, Jesus paid for your failures and He paid for your apparent successes.  We are in debt to Him either way.  We have nothing to boast in expect Jesus and in boasting in Jesus we can be assured that we are finishing well. 

Regardless of the kind of year you had, God is pleased with you.  You are the object of His deepest desire.  So much so, He lived the life you refused to live and paid the penalty you could never pay, just to have you as His own.  He does not need you, because He needs nothing.  Instead, Jesus wants you, which is far better than being needed.

You can probably think of an earthly relationship where you are most certainly needed, but not necessarily wanted.  How empty that is!  But in a relationship with Jesus you are not needed at all . . . but you are wanted beyond your wildest imagination.  And therein lies the key to finishing well.  Remember the place you hold in His heart, and let that thought propel you into your promised future . . . one where you will be the cherished bride of the King of kings and Lord of lords, forever and ever . . . AMEN. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Take a moment to reflect on this past year and really marinate in all that God has been doing in your life.  To be sure, He has given you many victories in 2010.  It is always good to take some time to reflect on these; even better, write them down and file them away so you can keep a record of all the blessings God has brought into your life.  “Count your many blessings, name them one by one,” is the lovely refrain, “and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”  We have been doing this as a family for years, and it has proven to be a source of great encouragement to us to review them periodically and to be reminded of just how faithful our God has been to us. 

Today, however, I am going to ask you to do something that you’ve probably never been challenged to do: take some time to review all of the difficulties you’ve faced throughout the past year.  By nature, we have a tendency to look only at our victories and block out “the bad stuff.”  Yet every good coach will tell you they learned more from their defeats than they ever did from their victories.  So take a moment to reflect on the difficulties, disappointments, and defeats you faced in 2010.  There is much that God teaches us in our times of struggle and suffering.  Of all the lessons we should learn, at the top of the list is this one:

Difficulties Deepen Dependence!

The difficulties we face in life are divinely ordained to deepen our dependence upon God.  They are designed to drive us back to the cross, where we find the strength to press on.  As Peter reassures us, “For a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).  When we get to the other side of our difficulties, we know that it was the grace of God that carried us through.

This understanding puts us in the place of Paul, who said, “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).  Paul did his part by working through every difficult situation, yet he knew he got through only by the grace of God.  He knew this because he knew just how broken, sinful, and flawed he was . . . and how desperately he needed Jesus.   

It is only the power of the Gospel that gets us through the difficulties of life.  It is only the power of the Gospel that encourages us to run to Jesus when we are in deep need.  It is only the power of the Gospel that empowers us to quit depending upon ourselves and place our dependence where it should be—on Christ.  The key to difficulties deepening our dependence upon God is to rest in the truth that we are never alone in our difficulties.  Your colleagues, neighbors, friends, and even family may abandon you, but Jesus will not.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

(Deuteronomy 31:6)

“The LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage.”

(Psalm 94:14)

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5)

Difficulties deepen our dependence when we remember that in every difficulty Jesus is right there with us ready, willing, and able to give to us everything we need to get through it. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN! 

Is it possible for right to be wrong? 

Everyone wants to be right.  We want to be in the right relationship.  We want to be in the right job.  We want to be in the right church.  We want to be in the right position of service.  So what’s wrong with right?  Probably no better picture is portrayed for us about right being wrong than the picture of the Pharisees in the days of Jesus.  They did everything right . . . and yet got it all wrong.  Let’s take a look at some of the things they did right.

They prayed (Matthew 6:5)

They went to the synagogue (Luke 18:10)

They gave a tithe of everything they possessed (Luke 11:42)

They fasted (Luke 18:12)

Judging from the externals, the Pharisees seemed to be doing it all right.  They were models of obedience, discipline, and holy zeal for the things of God.  So what was so wrong with all of their right?  Everything they did was done for the wrong reasons.  Here is just a portion of the seven woes to the Pharisees delivered from the lips of our Lord.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  (Matthew 23:23-28)

 What was true of the Pharisees in the days of Jesus is true for us today.  Doing the right things for all the wrong reasons is not what God wants!  God does not want our obedience for the sake of our obedience; He wants hearts from which loving obedience flows as a response to God for all that He has done for us. 

The Pharisees were obedient for all the wrong reasons.  They sought the approval of God and the applause of man.  Their form of obedience is called legalism; sadly, legalism is alive and well in the church today.  It is rooted in a misunderstanding of the Gospel that tries to earn God’s favor and receive His blessings through a slavish obedience.  No matter how faithful we are in keeping the law of God, when our heart is not right, we are all wrong. 

It is only the power of the Gospel that frees us from pursuing the approval of God and the applause of man, because the Gospel teaches us that we already have everything we need in Christ.  As my pastor Tullian posted just today on his blog, Jesus + Nothing = Everything!

What the Pharisees did was not wrong.  It was right to pray, go to the synagogue, tithe, and fast.  It was wrong to do it because they expected to earn a reward.  When we are convinced that we already have all that we need in Jesus, then we are freed to serve and worship our God with hearts that are overflowing with love and devotion, not legalism and duty.  God never wants our hands without our hearts; when we give Him our hearts with our hands, we are right even . . . when we go wrong.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!