Can A Man Be Pure Before God?

Maybe you sit here today not meaning to go your own way, necessarily. Maybe you sit here desiring to honor the Lord. Your faith is in Christ, but deep down, you're haunted. You're haunted by the thought that you need to do enough for God, that he would be happy to welcome you into his joy forever. You're haunted by the thought that you need to live a spiritual enough life, that he would, in fact, find you righteous when it's all said and done. You feel that you need to pay a portion of the fare. Well, friends, let's reason together from the scripture. The only ones who will ever be justified by God are those whom God judges to be without sin and to be acceptable based on their righteousness - without sin - acceptable based on their own righteousness. Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? Even in his servants, he puts no trust and his angels he charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust. Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight; how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? Who can stand before his indignation? Friends, we will, when it comes to standing before God, we will never pay the fare - not any part of it - and stand before him. We are justified, the saints of God, those to whom he will look and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Everyday Grace 017