Earnest prayer

"Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit" James 5:17-18.

We know that God is a good and generous God, and anything good that comes to our lives is through His grace. Yet, God wants us to do something so that we could see more blessings in our lives What is it? He wants us to pray. Prayer is a form of conversation with God. By using it we develop deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father and open up even more for good things to come from Him.

James gives us an example of Elijah. He prayed even though God said that it would not rain, and later that it would rain. In both cases, Elijah knew the word of God. Yet, He prayed. Why? God wants to do things together with us. Of course, He does the bulk work, but He allows us to be part of His work and enjoy it. You don't have to be a spiritual Superman to pray and see answers. James assures us that Elijah wasn't one either. We all have flesh, but God does not answer to our prayers because we are perfect, but because we are His children and He sees us through the sacrifice that Jesus made. So, let's pray earnestly for every need that comes our way, let's fellowship with our Heavenly Daddy and watch Him answer our prayers.

Everyone gets God's grace for some work

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men" Ephesians 4:7-8.

We have already figured out that we are not saved by our works, but by God's grace. However, for everyone of us God gives grace to do something in life. In fact, He gives grace daily for specific jobs that we need to do, and also for some bigger works or you may say to fulfill your calling. God has called us to His kingdom and He destined us for some work to do to bless the world, to help save others.

This grace may come as a gift/talent, something that you like to do and it will serve greater purpose and have eternal value. Maybe you will find that you want to go to missions, or do something specific in your community, or church, or start a business and use the resources for the work of God. It may come in a million ways. God does not leave anybody empty handed. He gives His grace for you to do anything He has destined you to do. You will like it. Pray to Him to guide you. He will.

Shall we sin if we are no longer under law

"For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?" Romans 6:14-15.

When people hear the message of grace and justification, they will always ask the question "Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under grace?" The apostle Paul repeats the question 2 times in the epistle to Romans. Does grace give us a green light for sinning? Nope. An attitude of a Christian should be 'I am dead to sin, and I live for Christ'. Christ died for our sins, and we died for sin with Him. We live focusing on Him, following Him, staying in His word, and then allowing the word to transform us inside out. No, grace is not a license to sin. It is a door for us to spiritual freedom.

The fact is that the law with its' commandments actually strengthens the power of sin in us, and the grace of God weakens it. Grace of God draws our attention from us to God, while the law draws our attention from goodness of God towards ourselves. These are ideas that the apostle Paul said. The law was given to show how hopeless we are without God, and how strong sin is in us. The grace of God is given to set us free from our sins as it comes with power that regenerates us. So, we shall not sin, because the grace of God gives us strength not to.

Grace came through Jesus Christ

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" John 1:17. 

I remember watching a move "Saving Private Ryan". I probably saw it 5 times. It is good. One scene from the movie came to my mind recently. It was  one of the last scenes. Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) was shot and dying. Private Ryan (Matt Damon) rushed to him to hear the last words from the captain. What were those? "Earn it". It took a lot for the special team to go and search for Ryan. They sacrificed themselves to bring him home to his mother. So, it was a very natural statement by captain Miller before his death. He wanted to be sure his death was not in vain and Ryan lived worthily of the sacrifice that the team made to bring him home.  

Jesus made a great sacrifice to bring you back to the Father. However, you cannot earn it. The sacrifice was a gift given to you and me for free. In the times of law that was given through Moses, you had to earn your righteousness by following the commandments. If you followed them, you were blessed, if you disobeyed, you were cursed. So, you had to earn it. There was no grace in the law. Nothing was for free. You earned either blessing or curse. The process of justification was reversed through Jesus. He paid the price for our sins and justification for us. We don't have to earn it. It is for free. It is the grace of God. Yes, God expects our gratitude and worthy living, but even if we don't, it is a free gift, which you can accept or throw it away. Which one are you going to do? The gift is very precious! God Himself died for you and me!

Throne of grace

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16. 

We are encouraged by the apostle to come to the throne of God with boldness. Have you ever thought why we can have boldness when we come to God to pray? Have you noticed how the throne of God is called in this verse? Is it throne of judgment? Is it the throne of condemnation? What is it called? It is the throne of GRACE. That's right. That's where God gives favor upon favor for everyone who asks. If you need mercy, it is there. If you need God's favor for your needs, it is there. 

You need to have faith and boldness to go there. Whether you have it or not, depends on what kind of God you believe. Is He angry, judgmental, holding a grudge against you, does He punish you for your sins? What kind of God do you believe in? The Biblical God sits on the throne of grace and you cannot earn his favor. He forgives your sins for free, He answers your prayers without reminding you your past, or reproaching you for something wrong that you have done. That's right. God gives freely, with a loving heart, out of His tremendous grace, and He accepts your prayers at the throne of grace with a merciful heart. What a great God He is!

Saved by grace

"Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work" Romans 11:5-6. 

Grace is an unmerited favor of God. God loves you not because you are great (maybe you are), but because He is love. He shows us His favor, not because we deserve it (we don't), but because He is a gracious God. He saves us not according to our works, but because Jesus sacrificed Himself for you and me. You cannot earn the grace of God. It is for free. You cannot please God by your works, because you are sinful. You cannot do anything to earn His salvation. It is for free. 

We cannot mix up grace with works when we talk about salvation or justification. It all comes from the grace of God. Our part is to accept it with faith. If salvation came through our good works, then, anybody could earn it. You would try hard enough, push up your score up in the eyes of God, and bam, you gain salvation. This kind of idea is alien to the spirit of the New Testament. Jesus' sacrifice would be unnecessary. But Jesus did not die in vain. His sacrifice is the only valid argument for God to justify us and save us from our sins. After Jesus died and resurrected, God justifies the ungodly by faith. Let's accept that. And be grateful. Works will follow, but they never, ever come before the grace of God.

Jesus is the same forever

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" Hebrews 13:8.

Christians are called to live by faith. What is the solid foundation for our faith? It is the character of God and His Word. Good news is that neither the character of God, nor His word change. His will for us does not change. His love, patience, mercy, grace, and anything we know about God does not change. His plans have not changed either. His redemption still works. Whatever Jesus was 2 thousand years ago, He is today, and will be forever. He saved, healed, forgave back then, He is doing it today and He will do it forever.

This kind of stability of the character of God and His immutable will are the solid foundation for our faith. There is no one like Him. It's often hard for us to believe that kind of God, because there is not a single living being in this world that would be so stable in his/her character. But God/Jesus is. His is the Savior. He is your Father/Daddy. His will is always good for you. You can come to Him any time you have a need, or you want to pour out your soul to Him. Trust Him now and forever. 

Why Old Testament sacrifices were not good enough

"For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year" Hebrews 10:1-3.

The main subject of the epistle of Hebrews is the difference between the Old and the New Covenants. Apparently, the sacrifices that were offered under the law were far from perfection and they were merely a shadow or symbols of the things to come. We see that God was not pleased with those offerings and they could not cleanse people from their sins. Their consciences would still feel guilt for their sins despite the fact sacrifices were offered to remove the sins. Their sins could not be removed due to inferior blood. People, in the Old Testament developed a consciousness of sins and the sacrifices reminded them that they were constantly guilty before God. Fortunately, that changed.

Jesus came and offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins once and for all. He was innocent and His sacrifice was enough to remove the entire sins of the world and make us right in the eyes of God. His perfect sacrifice makes our consciences perfectly clean. You have to believe it. God no longer counts your sins if you come to Him by faith in Jesus. All of your sins were put on Him. His sacrifice is enough. You can come to God with boldness knowing that you are forgiven and clean. You shouldn't have consciousness of sins, but consciousness of righteousness that Jesus gave to you. Praise God, Jesus took your sins, and gave you His righteousness. You are guilt free. And God accepts you with His hands wide open.  

His care for the lifetime

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" Isaiah 46:3-4. 

People are scared of being left alone when they age. A lot of them feel lonely and forgotten. However, God is different than people. His love never ends. He never loses sight of you. He cared about you when you were born, He cares about you now, and He will care about you forever. People value youth, strength and beauty, and neglect the old people. God is different. He cares about everybody despite of their age. Trust Him whatever your age is. God loves you and cares about you, and He will do it FOREVER. 

He chose us before creation of the world

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" Ephesians 1:4. 

You are not an accident in this world. You did not start because your father and mother decided to have a child. The Bible says, that you were on God's mind before the creation of this world. He was thinking about you. He was making a plan for your life. This is a very comforting message. We sometimes feel lonely as if God is millions of miles away. He is not. Not only He made a plan for you, He is always right beside you and makes sure you are protected, loved, cared for. He never leaves you. 

We often look at others and compare ourselves with them and as a result often feel depressed. We feel inferior to those who have achieved more than ourselves, or are more talented than us. We should shift our focus back to how God created us. Everything He does is good. You are created with dignity and to be valuable. His plan for you is good. Therefore, it is not right for you to compare yourself to others. Better, thank Him every day for His plan for you. This will bring satisfaction and progress His good plan for your life. He is always thinking about you. Think about Him too. 

What makes the Heaven rejoice

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent" Luke 15:4-7.

Pharisees who considered themselves just and righteous people scorned Jesus as a lot of tax collectors, and sinners came to Him. Jesus responded by giving three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. All of them dealt with repentance and with the fact that the entire Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.  

If you read carefully the parables you will see that God is really interested in bringing back the lost to His kingdom. He is the one who initiates the search for the lost sheep, or coin. He finds them, and brings them home, and then makes a great celebration over the fact that He found them. You should clearly see from those parables that it is not us who find God, but He who finds us lost in our sins. Some people say "I found God". Well, who was lost, you or God? Who is the sheep and who is the shepherd? We were lost, and He found us. We consented to His love, did not resist Him to bring us to our heavenly home. And that can be called a real repentance. 

People think that repentance has to do a lot with remorse of your conscience, beating of your chest and swearing not to do the bad things you have done before. Well, looks like that is not the real repentance. It is His goodness that melts our hearts and causes us to see that we were wrong. It is His love working in us that causes us to change our minds. And that change initiated by God Himself is a real repentance. Allow yourself to be found, give in to His love, let His grace change you and you will lose taste for the worldly things. His unmerited favor causes us to admit our faults and change (repent). He found us. The Heaven is rejoicing. We can rejoice too. 

The Lord is my shepherd

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing" Psalms 23:1.

Last week I discussed one of the names of God that Jesus revealed to us. That was the Father or Daddy God. Today, we can briefly look at what it means to have God as our shepherd. If you read the whole psalm 23 on your own you will find many benefits that you have when you have God as your shepherd. 

Firstly, it is provision for you (body, soul, and spirit). Verse 1.
Secondly, it is guidance. Verse 2.
Thirdly, it is strengthening. Verse 3.
Fourthly, it is protection and comfort during difficult times. Verse 4.
Fifthly, it is victory over enemies and abundance. Verse 5.
Sixth, it is loving care for you through your entire life. Verse 6.

There could be more, but have these ones in mind when your read and meditate on the Psalm in good times and bad. Let it sink in your mind deeply. You can rightly expect all of the above mentioned things when you let God to be your shepherd. Jesus referred to Himself as a good shepherd too. So, the name was used to refer to God in both Old and New Testaments.

From self to Jesus

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" 2 Corinthians 3:18.

If you focus on yourself, look inward, you will always be depressed. Inward we find the original sin, the works of the flesh, imperfections, weaknesses, and if you look long enough at yourself you will lose hope, confidence, and possibly develop various destructive emotional states like fear, anxiety or the above mentioned depression. Self search hardly ever does any good. Where are we supposed to look then?

At Jesus. Faith never looks inwards, it always looks outwards and at Jesus. This is how you get hope. This is how you change from weakness to strength, go from fear to courage, from depression to hope, from anxiety to love. As you look at Jesus, you see the Redeemer, the One who paid the price for your salvation on the cross. He always uplifts you, never throws you down to the ground. Shift your focus from yourself to Jesus. And keep the focus that way. You will always be changed and become more like Jesus daily. 

Forget your past and move on

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland" Isaiah 43:18-19. 

We may have a lot of good things in the past, but most likely there are lot of things that do not bring pleasant memories to us. Those can even stop us from moving forward and imprison us by taking away our confidence, putting shame and guilt on us. We have to forget those things, maybe forgive ourselves, or others and move forward. We have to shift our focus. To what?

To what God is doing in our lives and to the things He wants to do in us and through us. His grace renews every day, so we do not have to be stuck in our past failures, sins, or disappointments. Never allow your past to control your present or your future. Your God is a good God that has great plan for you now, tomorrow and till the day you move to the other side of eternity. Focus on what He wants to do in your life and break free from your past. The best is yet to come!  

Assurance of salvation

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" 1 John 5:13. 

There is a floating opinion in a lot of Christian circles that you can never be sure if you are saved, and you will probably never be. They believe this kind of attitude helps you to stay humble and God even likes this kind of attitude. A lot of Christians believe that they can easily lose salvation that Christ has given them. Very often, when they sin, they lose confidence in God and their assurance of salvation. The assurance that all sins: present, past, and future are forgiven is somehow forgotten. We should never forget that His blood cleanses from all unrighteousness 24/7.

Furthermore, the apostle John states here very clearly that he writes so we may have assurance of eternal life. Christ has already paid for it, and nobody can take it away from you. If you were born again, Jesus is in you and you are in Jesus and nobody will take you away from Him. There cannot be an accidental loss of eternal life. You have to deliberately denounce Jesus as you Savior in order for that to happen. But who would want to do that? Jesus is our eternal hope, He loves us. He is the best person that has ever lived. He gave His life for us. Your salvation has been paid for. Nobody can take it away. Let's give Him thanks for that and walk in confidence daily that we are saved by the precious blood of Christ. 

Faith pleases God

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" Hebrews 11:6. 

Hebrews 11 is filled with descriptions about faith heroes. People got answers, miracles, strength, endurance, even resurrection from the dead because they believed God. Nothing else can move God to do something for you. You can try good works, you can pray, sacrifice, but if there is no faith in your actions, it won't please God. 

What are the elements of a faith that pleases God? 1. You believe that He is. 2. You must also believe that He will reward you when you earnestly seek him. It is interesting, you not only have to believe His existence, but you have to believe that God will reward for your efforts to seek him. It may sound egoistic, or manipulative, but God through faith invites us into personal relationship with Him. As we enter it by faith we may confidently expect a reward from Him. We don't know what form it may take, but the fact remains simple: we have to trust Him in every situation in life. Then, the Bible says, He will provide for us anything we need at a given time. 

Not that we loved God

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" 1 John 4:10. 

We can boast as much as we can about our love for God, but the fact is that He loved us first and we can only love Him back. And we can love back when we experience His love, get soaked in it, saturated with it, and spend a lot of time thinking about it. He is the source of love. In the Old Testament, the law required people to love God. In the New Testament, God came in the person of Jesus and showed love, He supplied love. That is the only reason why we can love Him back. 

But we must stay in His love. Peter wanted to prove his love for Jesus, and said that even if all the apostles rejected Him, he would never reject Jesus. The fact is that Peter rejected Jesus the same night and 3 times with swearing and cursing. You cannot trust yourself or your love for God. It's is not stable, and fluctuates to often. You need to have a source to draw from. God is our source of love. So, it is not about our love. We have to receive first before we can give. Why? Because you cannot give what you do not have. And if you want to continually show God's love for others you have to continually receive and experience God's love for yourself. Let's stay in His love. 

God the Father

"Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17.

In the Old Testament God revealed Himself to His people by a variety of names. The names indicated some specific quality of God. For example, God Almighty, Lord, the Lord who heals, the Lord provider, the Lord who sanctifies, the Lord our Peace, and etc. It is good to know what our God is like. Studying the Bible helps us to do that. Yet, above other names, Jesus came and revealed God as the Father, or Daddy God.

And that is exactly who God becomes to you when you repent of your sins and believe Jesus. God becomes your Daddy. What kind of image arise in your head when you hear the word? Do you feel fear or peace and joy? God is a good Daddy, who loves every one of his kids, cares about them, provides for them, forgives and does a lot of other good things. Daddy God invites you into family type of relationship. You do not have to be scared of Him as His intentions for you are only good. You can open your heart to Him and tell Him everything that troubles you and He will listen to you and give peace, joy, heal your soul. Remember, you can always come to Him. He is always there for you. He is your Daddy. You are His kid. Welcome to the family of Daddy God.

Adam's disobedience and Jesus' obedience

"For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" Romans 5:19. 

We didn't do anything to become sinners, and we didn't really do anything to become righteous before God. One act of disobedience by Adam caused generations of people and every single individual to be born into this world with the original sin. We were doomed against our choice to be born into slavery to sin. This is what one act of Adam caused. We all suffered under sin. However, God loved us so much that He had a plan to change the situation. 

He sent His son Jesus and his obedience to God, and His deliberate sacrifice on the cross makes every one who believes in Jesus righteous in the eyes of God. You cannot do anything to please God, or become acceptable in His eyes. No, everything has been done for you. Jesus did it for you. Just accept His grace by believing His sacrifice and you are transformed out of a sinner into a righteous person.  

The pattern of justification

"What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” Romans 4:3. 

We know that the Old Testament was full of symbols of what is about to come in the New Testament. Long before the law was given to the Jews through Moses, God set a pattern of how He was going to justify people. We see it through the example of Abraham. How was Abraham justified? God gave a promise to Abraham that He would give him a child and told him that his descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky. It was a promise of God that showed how God cared about Abraham and was ready to accomplish the greatest desire that he had - to have an offspring. Abraham believed in this promise of God and this belief was credited to him as righteousness.

The same pattern or principle of justification by faith works in the New Testament. We don't look at the stars though, but at the cross where Jesus hung. We look at Him and believe that He died for our sins for our justification and our faith is credited to us as righteousness. That is the only way how you can become right with God. Look at the cross, and believe. And boom, you are right with God. Don't ever try any other way. Your good works won't do the job. They are the result but not the cause of becoming right with God. 

Jesus became sin

"For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 2 Corinthians 5:21. 

The Scripture reveals us a tremendous thing that happened on the cross. Jesus was (is) God and He became a man. A sinless man. On the cross, He deliberately took off his righteousness and gave it for everybody who repents of his/her old ways and believes in Him. He also took the sins of the entire world upon Himself. Thus, on the cross He became sin. And He was punished on our behalf. 

We on the other hand, were cleansed of our sins and got the righteousness of God. This is a historic exchange between God and man, initiated by God himself. He took away our filthy sinful nature, and imparted into us His own holy nature. This becomes a reality in our lives when we look at the cross, repent of our sins and believe Jesus. The sinful nature disappears and the new one is imparted in us. What a great gift we have received from Jesus! 

The scary Hebrews 10

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" Hebrews 10:26-31. 

The tenth chapter of Hebrews has been one of the scariest excerpts of Scripture for most Christians. But should it be? It states that those who sin deliberately no sacrifice for sins is left for them but only upcoming judgment. Most having read those verses get scared about their salvation. Well, let's figure out 2 things. 

First of all, most of the sins we commit are committed deliberately (time of weakness or succumbing to temptation), excerpts those we commit unconsciously. Which would mean that all of us have no longer sacrifice for our sins left, but a fearful expectation of judgment. Is that true?

The second thing about the verse is that we need to look at the context. When you read the whole epistle to Hebrews you will understand that it is written for Jews who have heard the message of salvation through believing in Christ and justification through faith. Some never believed it and continued keeping the law, sacrificing animals for the forgiveness of sins. Even some who were once converted started doing that. And that is one of the most terrible things discussed in the New Testament, both in the epistle to Hebrews and in the epistle to Galatians. It is rejection of  the message of salvation through grace and believing in Jesus Christ and coming back to the keeping of the law of the Old Testament.

This is a deliberate rejection of the ultimate plan of God for salvation of every human. You reject Jesus, try to be saved by your own works, and you are condemned, because through the works of the law no human can be justified. So, do not insult God by rejecting His grace and trying to be good by your own works, but accept Jesus sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins is always there for you. No more condemnation for you as God justifies you through His Son. We are saved by believing what Jesus did. Do not ever try to add anything to that sacrifice by trying to get justified by God. He has already justified you once and for all. You cannot add anything to it, nor deduct from it. Receive grace and stay in it. The Old Testament is over. Sacrifice of Jesus is perfect. Your sins are forgiven.

From death to life

"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life" John 5:24. 

In the Old Testament, you had to do good works to be justified by God. If you kept all commandments but failed at one thing, you broke all law. You were guilty. You could only be justified by observing the entire law. If you failed at something, judgement of God was in store for you. The law demanded for you to be righteous. It was a heavy burden on the shoulders of the Jews and nobody could really fulfill the entire law. If they thought they could, they actually were lying to themselves. 

Christ came. He was the only person in the world who never sinned and fulfilled all the commandments of God. He died for you and me. The New Covenant was established. On the cross, God poured His judgement on Jesus for all the sins that the entire world committed: past, present and future. Now, what you have to do to be saved and have eternal life is to listen to the words of Jesus and believe. If you do, you are saved and pass from eternal death to eternal life. You don't have (can't) to be good in order for God to justify you. In the New Covenant, God does not demand righteousness from you, He supplies His own righteousness for you. You cannot be good enough. You have to accept (believe) the gift of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and you will never be judged by God. You will pass from death to life. What a glorious gift God has given us! Thank Him for that. 

2 categories of people

"The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18: 11-14.

In the eyes of God all people belong to one group - sinners. Within this group there are 2 subgroups: those who understand it, and those who don't. Some might have high standards of morale (no robbing, no evil doing, no adultery, paying the tithe and bla, bla, bla) and even follow it, but God's standards of morale is still higher. Nobody can fully reach those without being born again and with the help of the Holy Ghost. Those that follow their own standards without admitting need for God's forgiveness, do not get it. They walk in self righteousness and fail to get God's righteousness.

The other group, that generally understand their sinfulness typically have failed with the standards of morale that the pharisee referred in his prayer. This leads to humility and repentance. These two, Jesus said grant one God's justification without actually doing good works. We have to understand, justification that God provides for us, comes through repenting for our sins and believing in what Jesus did for us. You cannot earn God's favor. He gives it freely for everybody who believes.

Our God is perfect

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" Matthew 5:48. 

One thing that unifies all of the character of God is perfection. He is perfectly Holy. We people tend to see God as a little bit holier than us. We do not do this bad thing, or that bad thing, and we think that God is a bit better than us in that respect. The thing is that He is perfectly Holy, and does not tolerate any sin, even the smallest one. He is also a perfect love. We tend to love good people and forgive only the good ones. As God is perfect, He loves all and forgives all, not just 'the good ones'.

The same is true with other character features of God. He is a perfect Father, perfectly patient, perfectly gracious, and the list could go on and on. The fact is that Jesus calls us to perfection. This becomes only possible when we know God as He is, not as we imagine Him. Secondly, this becomes possible by the power of the Holy Spirit that writes all the laws of God in our hearts. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to fulfill the laws of God. But, hey, all of them are built on 'Love God' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. So, if the Spirit of loves inside of you, you can fulfill it all. Eventually, children become like their parents. We are to imitate our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit will help us. 

Foreigners and exiles

"Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul" 1 Peter 2:11. 

This planet is only a temporary place for us. Our home is not here. Our souls long for a real home, which is heaven. If you are a stranger somewhere, you behave in a specific way. That specific way for us Christians here on earth would be to abstain from sinful desires and search for a perfect will of God in our lives. We are supposed to be different and not conform to this world. 

Everyone of us have a fight to fight, which is not easy as our flesh longs for the things that are earthly. Yet, as I stated in my previous post, we have a new nature and the Spirit of God living in us that helps us in our struggle. Let's not give up fighting even if we fail again and again. Christ is our example. He conquered the world, and so can we. Let's live like foreigners and exiles on this earth and work to reveal Christ to those who do not know Him yet.