Failure

Recently I posted a story about the famous evangelist Billy Graham on Face Book and it immediately evoked a couple of responses from some friends, both of which are very astute Bible men. Their comments, though brief, I think expressed some concern over what Billy said. Here is the story I posted:

While being interviewed by Diane Sawyer on 20/20 Billy Graham was asked “What do you consider to be your greatest failure? Was it your association with Nixon? Your involvement with Russia?

Billy looked at Diane and said, “Well, Diane, I consider my whole life pretty much a failure.”

So what exactly did Billy Graham mean by that statement? I don’t really know; I was not able to locate the entire interview to view it in its complete context, nor did I see what the follow-up dialogue included. One of the responses I received was a comment that basically said that it is doubtful that Jesus would want us to call our lives lived as believers, as a failure. To that I must honestly say that I don’t know what Jesus would have said to Billy Graham if He were doing the interview. I do know that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and thus become “Born again”, then basic Christian Theology tell us that we are justified immediately and made pure as snow in the eyes of God. For the sake of brevity I will not devote much ink to that discussion and instead provide one scripture to support that (feel free to delve deeper onto the Word if you wish to on that topic). Romans 3:28 (NKJV) says, “ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”

But we have to stop a moment and consider this term justification. You see that involves our standing with God. Isaiah 1:18 reminds us of this “"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” And we know that it is the Blood of Christ shed on Calvary by which we have remission of sin. But you see that is about salvation. That is about being able to enter into the presence of a Holy God who simply put, cannot tolerate sin. That is about our eternal destination. And that has nothing to do with “us” having accomplished something, you see, that is about Calvary.

The reason I posted that comment from Mr. Graham was about something else. It was presented in Jon Courson’s Commentary on the New Testament and he included it as an example of the type of humbleness and humility that Billy Graham displays. I put it out to challenge Christians to consider their own Christian lives. I did not present it to suggest people should consider their Christian lives as failures; I presented it in the hopes that it would strike others as it did me. You see what it said to me was this; Whatever evoked Billy Graham to make that statement (and I think he was sincere-not trying to publically present himself as humble), I felt a tremendous conviction of the Holy Spirit to evaluate just who I am as I walk this earth representing Christ and trying to be His ambassador. And yes, I do have a “log in my eye” so I cannot tell you about your “splinter” until I get the “log” out of my own.

There is another term that is often used in many theological discussions whenever the term justification is used. That term is sanctification. I think simply put, sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in making the changes in our lives on this earth which will go on until the day the Lord comes calling for us to go be with Him for eternity

Consider sanctification for a moment. You see I believe the Bible teaches us that we have no real part in justification, Jesus paid that price. But sanctification, now that appears to be a process that involves our participation.

Let me offer two scriptures which I believe present a case for us to have an involvement in this process we call sanctification. First the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:12 tells us to “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Then James writes, " Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18) What these two men are telling us is that though we are not saved by our works, our works are evidence that we are truly committed to Christ. As the famous theologian Bill Bandy once told me, (well, maybe he’s not really famous, but he is pretty smart sometimes), while we aren’t saved by our works, we should live our lives as if we were.

Now it isn’t my intention here to delve into the theology of sanctification, nor is it my goal to try and explain what role the Holy Spirit specifically plays in the life of a believer. I will leave that to the individual to seek God’s wisdom in that area. What I would like to do, is to examine my own personal walk with Christ, in light of scripture to see how I line up. What I want to test here is this: If I had the opportunity to answer the question, “What is the greatest failure in my life?”, might my answer have to be that it is my Christian walk? You see it is a Biblical command to do just that. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says we are to “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.” That is a very important question; my eternal destination rides upon this test.

First I want to test myself against the Ten Commandments. According to Jesus in Matthew chapter 5, to violate these commandments even in your thoughts, is to violate the commandments. Ah, but you are forgiven for those sins. Well, sure I am, but when I accepted Christ wasn’t I supposed to stop, not only doing those things, but to also stop thinking about them? Well, I fail there. I have not mastered my mind yet. Daily I seem to fail at keeping the law of the Ten Commandments. Praise God for sending Jesus and that my eternal destination is not dependent on my own ability to keep the law. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 (NKJV) "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Bottom line…I have not even mastered these 10 simple commandments.

I’ll tell you what…let’s go straight to Jesus and listen to what He commands. He makes it simple and clear in what we are commanded to do. We pick up the story in Matthew 22:34-40, “But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." I hate to admit it, but though I say I love God, I have not loved others as I have been commanded, nor have I really loved Him as I should.

Let us look at my prayer life. Again we have Biblical command in this area. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Again I miss the mark.

By now I bet you are saying, “Mike, you being too hard on yourself. God doesn’t expect you to do all this perfectly.” Really? Well, then I guess Jesus was just fooling around in the Bible. Read on. Direct Bible quotes.
Matthew 5:48 (NKJV) Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

John 17:20-24 (NKJV) "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

The Apostle Paul calls us to perfection.
Colossians 4:12 (NKJV) Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

And then James.
James 1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

The bottom line here is this: The Biblical standard is perfection. We are called to be like Christ. That is our mark. Anything short of that in this life could be considered failure. When we come to Christ we are called to repentance. Remember what Jesus told the adulterous woman in John 8:11? He said, “Go and sin no more.” As a matter of fact He told some whom He healed the very same thing, see John 5:14. And we have the same calling. Yet I have not been able to master the temptation of sin in my life. How about you? As to giving; well there again we really are to give everything, not just write some check or hand over a few bucks that really isn’t going to bring a deep sacrifice in our lives. How many of us can say on Sunday that we “put in all” we own, as the widow did in Mark 12:41? Ponder this one for a bit: John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” Am I dying to self daily? I struggle just to overlook one sentence my wife utters that I (presumptuously) perceived to not be spoken in complete love and snap back at her. This is the love of my life and I still don’t always love her as God has called me to. When I do that I fail.

Praise God for His grace. Yes, we are saved by grace and that is an awesome gift of God. But because of that gift we simply must set our standard higher. We must be the salt and light of the world. We must be a witness to the saving power of Christ in how we live out our lives. We have got to stop patting ourselves on the back and letting pride engulf our lives. I am not saying that we should never compliment others who we see doing God’s work. On the contrary we are commanded to encourage each other. But humbleness and humility has got to characterize who we are.

Listen to the words of Paul from 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

The goal is to be like Christ. Consider anything else in this life that does not present that as failure. The only success is Christ. Run the race to win and that means run towards perfection and only perfection. We will fall down and we will even run off the path occasionally. But whatever happens in this life, if you see me basking in my own glory and pride; strike me down. If I fall down, point me back towards Christ…towards His way and His way only. Point me towards the finish line which has only one conclusion…the perfect and Holiness of God.

Satan has deceived us. Post-modernism has convinced us we are good enough. We settle comfortably into our salvation and when we do that, we can become ineffective in our walk. We stop growing as Christians. Personally I have a lot of growing to do as a Christian. But whatever I do I must never grow complacent. I think that is what Billy Graham might have meant.

Paul sums it up for me in Philippians 3:12-21: “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

May God bless you.