‘To Do….’

‘To Do….’

To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Proverbs 21:3

The contemplation of Christ leads to the imitation of Christ.  Yesterday, we spent time considering that it is impossible for us, ‘to do righteousness and justice,’ in and of ourselves.  For us to be ‘acceptable’ to God, we must rely upon the righteous obedience of Christ, ‘imputed to us and received by faith alone.’  Having said that, being justified, the Scripture calls upon us to behave along certain lines, all of which, if we trace them to Christ, He exhibited in His life and ministry.  Therefore, although we do not rely upon our works to make us acceptable to God, we do look to Christ as the Great Pattern for our behavior. How may we ‘do’ that which is ‘righteous’ and execute ‘justice?’  The only way for this to become a practical reality is for the Holy Spirit to do His sanctifying work in us. It is by this work that He ‘renews us in the whole person after the image of God, and enables us to die more and more unto sin, and to live unto righteousness.’  He does so by taking the things of Christ and showing them to us. We make use of the means of grace: the reading of and meditation upon the Word of God, the sacraments, prayer, and other aids to faith. By them, the Holy Spirit points us again and again to Christ. As we contemplate Him, we grow to imitate Him.  This enables us, ever so slowly, to become like Him. As He does, so we learn ‘to do.’

Our Blessed and Holy Savior,
we rejoice that You have shown us, by Your life,
how to do righteously and justly.
We praise You that by Your Holy Spirit,
You will conform us into Your Image,
that we may do as You do.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning