During the trial of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospel of John, the Jewish leaders said a curious thing. They said, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

As he often does in his gospel, John highlights the irony in this story.
The Jewish leaders refused to recognize the authority of Rome to occupy and govern the Nation of Israel. They despised the tax collectors who were rightly seen as collaborators with the occupying army. They did not accept Rome as the rightful sovereign over the Nation of Israel. As a result, they longed for the day when Messiah would come and liberate Israel from Roman occupation.

But, because they were so desperate to have Jesus killed, they paid lip service to Caesar as their rightful sovereign. They wanted to use the Roman authorities to aid them in the removal of Jesus from society.

The difference between a compliment and flattery is that when we use the latter, we don’t mean what we say. Flattery is saying what your listener wants to hear while you know what you are saying is not entirely true.

Have you ever been tempted to use flattery to get what you want?

Have you ever told only part of the story to improve your chances of obtaining the desired outcome?

Have you ever used religion or spirituality as a means of appearing superior to someone?

We have these stories in the Bible, and we profit by reading them, so that we come face-to-face with our own sin. Honesty requires us to admit that given the circumstances and without the work of God in our lives, we would likely respond in the same way the religious leaders did.

The good news is that by taking warning and seeking wisdom and power from God, we can avoid such pitfalls. Not because we are better but because Jesus came to pull us out of the muck.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes:

” . . . forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal . . .” (Philippians 3:13b-14a)

Paul starts this chapter by describing his accomplishments as a religious leader within Judaism. He went so far as to claim that he was blameless with regard to how he lived according to the law.

The things he lists are good things. They are things that anyone in his day and in his nation could be proud of. What Paul is putting behind him is not a life of hedonistic pleasure or flagrant sin. He is putting all his “goodness” behind him. He is telling us that none of the good things count toward what really matters.

He is not telling us that how we live doesn’t have consequences or that it is OK to do whatever we want. What Paul is saying is that the one thing that really does matter is having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The point is that all his religious accomplishment was not able to produce anything of ultimate value. When he came face-to-face with Christ Jesus, he understood that all his achievements totaled up to a pile of rubbish, trash, waste. He is forgetting what lies behind because it is of no value.

But it is in our nature to do stuff. We feel pressured by church leadership to take on responsibilities and make ministry happen. We can fall into the trap of pursuing constant activity without taking a single moment to ask ourselves why we’re doing all this stuff. We can find ourselves feeling guilty if we are not exhausted from serving.

What we should learn from Paul is that all the good things amount to nothing if they are not done in response to a deepening relationship with Jesus. We don’t have to work to please God. He is already pleased.

Keep in mind the goal that Paul was pressing toward. He pursued “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Jesus himself is the prize. So take a break from the activity and enjoy him.

I have been told that the deeper one goes in his walk with Christ, he is aware of the need for a deeper application of the Gospel to his life. My experience would support this idea. The closer I get and the better I understand Jesus, the more I see my need for grace.

But the deeper I go in my walk with Christ, I also find that there is in me a stubborn and deep seated resistance to the application of the Gospel. In brief, I have the desire to work hard enough and be perfect enough to not need grace. I want to be above criticism.

At the same time that I give mental assent to Romans 3:23 (“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”) I can be disconnected from the implications of that truth. I resist grace because I want to create the illusion that I don’t need it.

Of course I know that this is self deception in its purest form. It does not take more than a moment’s observation to see that none of us lives up to our own standard. We grade on a curve and still fall short.

Just think of how often we use the word “ought” with reference to how our behavior should be different. I ought to eat more vegetables. I ought to be more disciplined in how I spend my time. I ought . . .

The point is that I very much do need grace, lots and lots of it. I don’t want to need it but I do need it.

Thankfully, Paul reminds us in Romans 5:20, “but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (NASB). And later in the same letter, Paul tells us that if we are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1).

The grace of Christ is always more powerful than my imperfection. And, that grace is freely given. I do not have to worry about whether my next failure has used up my full allotment of grace.

I don’t want grace (or at least I don’t want to need grace) but I am eternally grateful that it has been given to me.

What about you? Your thoughts are always appreciated. Feel free to comment below.