Thesis 83- We must see our good deeds as filthy rags.
It is easy enough to laugh at the folly of Tetzel. The crass salesman of indulgences that played such a vital role in the Reformation is something of a stock character, Elmer Gantry, a carnival barker and a traveling salesman all in one. We pride ourselves in our sophistication, thinking ourselves above being snookered like those rubes who wrote checks to get their lost loved ones out of purgatory more quickly. No, we pay for our own souls with our own good deeds.
Of course we confess with our lips that we are justified by faith alone. But in the dark recesses of our hearts we still tend to think He is pleased with us because we’re such fine fellows. We would never, like the Pharisee in Jesus’ story, boast in our tithing or our fasting. No, we boast in our giving and our feeding others. We boast of our theological acumen and our moral superiority. We boast of our ideological lineage and our signed copies of the books of the finest scholars. If you think you have no such boast, congratulations- you boast in your humility.
The Bible says our works are rubbish (Philippians 3: 8-9) and filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The trouble is, we already know that, and still don’t believe that. We are double minded, confessing what the Bible says while believing the lies our deceiving hearts tell us. Paul calls on us to throw our righteousness overboard that we might have the righteousness that comes by faith. He tells us this, I suspect, because we are prone to not do so.
How then do we get this biblical truth from our minds to our hearts? First, we stop boasting. When we find ourselves, whether speaking to others or to ourselves, cataloguing our great deeds, we should bring these verses to mind, realize that we while we think we’re showing off our trophies we’re actually airing our dirty laundry, perhaps we will stop. Perhaps we will blush.
Second, we will devote our minds to contemplating the perfection of Jesus. In John 13 we know Jesus is about to begin His passion. He is moments away from the greatest hardship any human has ever faced. And that, He determines, because of His love for the disciples, is the perfect time for Him to wash their feet, the perfect time to pray for them, the perfect time to give them a lesson in love. Somehow, in the face of that, that time I did my daily devotions 272 days in a row seems plenty small.
Third, we own His righteousness. The more we are persuaded that we are beloved of the Father the less likely we are to think we’re bringing something to the table. The more fully we grasp the riches that are already ours in Christ Jesus the less likely we are to break open our piggy bank of rags and rubbish.
Last, we repent. We repent for both our best works and for believing our best works are anything other than rags and rubbish. And we believe the gospel, and rejoice.