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Micah 6:7-8-Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Sarah (not her real name) was having a very difficult time with anxiety. She had been a Christian for several years, and had raised all three of her boys in church. Her husband had left her because she refused to renounce her faith in Christ. She helped the poor. She ministered to women who were mistreated and abused.
In many ways, Sarah was the picture of Christian living!
Now, as we were talking and studying the Word together, she expressed to me the root of her anxiety.
“I haven’t been good enough to go to Heaven.”
Sarah struggled with her personal imperfections, and was not sure how to face this in her relationship with God.
There had been times she could have gone to church service, but didn’t because of depression or tiredness.
She knew that there were times she could have spoken with someone about the Gospel, but hadn’t.
She was filled with regrets about her ex-husband, remembering occasions when she had flown off the handle at him when she should have been kinder.
How many other times had she failed?
How could she ever expect to get to Heaven with so many ways she had fallen short?
What about bad things she had done-or things that she had failed to do-that she had forgotten to confess to God?
Would those condemn her to a devil’s Hell?
As I sat there and listened, my heart broke for Sarah. The words of Jesus kept coming to my mind:
Matthew 11:28-30-Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
You see, I can relate to Sarah. Perhaps none are more keenly aware of personal sin and shortcomings then preachers who study the Word thoroughly.
Psalm 119:5-6 (ERV)-How I wish I could be more faithful in obeying your laws! 6 Then I would never feel ashamed when I look closely at your commands.
That day, I shared with Sarah a Greek word that gives me peace of mind when I grapple with my sins and shortcomings. I hope it will also encourage you if you wrestle with thoughts like ours at times.
Tetelestai
This word was used by Jesus when He died on the cross:
John 19:30-So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” (tetelestai) And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Missler tells us about the history and significance of this word:
“Tetelestai Jesus maintains the initiative all the way through here. He gave up the ghost. His life was not taken from Him; He gave it up willingly. Τετέλεσται. Tetelestai. “It is finished.” When Jesus says this, we feel the completion of His monumental task. He did it. It’s over. This phrase has an additional meaning we might not readily appreciate. When people were convicted of a crime in that day, a certificate of debt was posted outside their cell. As their sentence was served, it was marked off until the day they had finished paying their debt to society. At that point, the word “tετέλεσται” was written across the document by the jailer. When the prisoner was released, he was given that document as evidence that the crime had been paid for and never had to be paid for again. That was the system in those days. Paul makes reference to this in Colossians 2: 14, saying: Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. Paid in full. It’s already done. The work has been completed, and there’s nothing left for us to do to earn our salvation. Jesus has done it, and to pretend we can add to it is blasphemy. It’s empowering to know that the Holy Spirit did not delay because of our unworthiness, and we don’t have to delay because of our helplessness. We can stand before the Lord confident that He sees us as clean and pure and righteous, because Jesus is our righteousness. He has done it.” (Dr. Chuck Missler, Dr. Mark Eastman, The Agony of Love: Six Hours in Eternity, 57-58 (Kindle Edition): Coeur d’Alene, ID: Koinonia House)
Jesus is our righteousness my friends. No matter how much good we can do, we can never do enough to merit Heaven.
Isaiah 64:4 (ERV)-We are all dirty with sin. Even our good works are not pure. They are like bloodstained rags. We are all like dead leaves. Our sins have carried us away like wind.
1 Corinthians 1:30 (ERV)-It is God who has made you part of Christ Jesus. And Christ has become for us wisdom from God. He is the reason we are right with God and pure enough to be in his presence. Christ is the one who set us free from sin.
Through Christ and His righteousness, we have confidence to enter into Heaven.
So, what to take from this?
Very simply: rest in Jesus’ righteousness.
Accept that you can ever “be” good enough or “do” enough good to enter Heaven by your own righteousness. As I grow in understanding of this truth, I begin to slowly realize there is another reason for “working” as a Christian: gratitude.
Luke 17:10-So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ “
Ephesians 2:10-For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Father, thank You for Your amazing grace in Jesus. Help us as baptized believers to learn and better trust in His righteousness. In His Name we pray, Amen.