Mr Lucado gets very serious and candid in this powerful chapter 10 of this great book. Our depravity is not a little, insignificant thing! Our sinfulness is absolutely horrific and deadly…we need only behold The Cross again if we forget. Our sinfulness has also left us so helpless, that we must come to grips with our desperate need for Jesus, or we will sink into the depths of darkness and all will be lost. If you are not secure in Christ, listen to this author’s words…please…and if you know you are saved by God’s Grace, then please share this quote with others, because it is that vital: “separating you and God is not 350 feet of ocean water but an insurmountable flood of imperfection and sin. Do you think that by virtue of your moral muscle you can push this vessel to the surface? Do you think your baptism and Sunday attendance will be enough to save you? Legalists do. They miss the gravity of the problem. By offering to help, they not only make light of sin, they mock God.” (pp 102-103) We cannot earn Heaven, and to think we can, belittles and insults God. It spits in the eye of our Savior who paid the high price for our sin. It irreverently tries to do the mighty work of the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life. I will say it again: we cannot earn Heaven, and to think we can, belittles and insults God.
If you are trying to be “good enough” to get into Heaven, stop. “Legalism is joyless because legalism is endless.” (p103) We do not do good works to obtain Salvation. We are given Salvation in Christ, so we can do good works, and point others to God’s Glory. Salvation is a free gift from God and it is meant to put the spotlight where it belongs, on God. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. (Jn 15:5) You and I cannot save ourselves…but God’s unending Love can. This is the Good News! What we cannot do, God has already done. Salvation comes through Christ alone.
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The First & Best Book Ever: The Bible
February: Love Is In the Air: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
March: Spring Growth: “Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson
April: Living the Resurrected Life: “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life” by Dr Charles Stanley
May: My Spiritual Mom: “Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits” by Joyce Meyer
June: Spiritual Dad: “It’s Not About Me- Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy” by Max Lucado
<>< Peace, Diane
