January 2
“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change; he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved,” Psalm 15:1-5.
If a non-Christian would read this psalm, he might well conclude that in order to abide and dwell in the presence of God he must do certain good works and avoid certain evils. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Such a conclusion would fly in the face of the clear teachings of God’s Word. In his Epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul wrote, “By the deeds of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin . . . Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the Law,” Romans 3:28. The Ten Commandments show us our sins and our failures. They do not show us how to be saved. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast,” Ephesians 2:8-9. When the jailer at Philippi asked the apostles, “What must I do to be saved,” they did not give him a long list of things to do. They responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,” Acts 16:31.
However, does not the psalmist say that to abide and dwell in God’s presence you will walk uprightly, work righteousness, speak the truth from the heart, control your tongue, do no evil to your neighbor, not ruin a person’s reputation, not oppress people with excessive interest, and not take bribes?
Indeed, that is what the psalmist says. However, he is not contradicting that we are saved by God’s grace for Christ’s sake through faith. He is pointing out that while we are saved by faith in the Savior alone, that faith is never alone. As the apostle James writes, “Faith without works is dead,” James 2:20. In essence, the psalmist is saying, “If you are a child of God, then live like one!” Often we hear people say, “We all believe in one God,” as if to say, “We will all go to heaven!” That statement is not true. James also writes about this: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble!” James 2:19. James is saying, “You believe that there is one God! That’s great! Do you know something else? The devils believe that, too!” You are not in good company when all you have is a faith of the head and mouth – a faith in words, but without deeds!
If you have saving faith in Jesus as God’s Son and the only Savior, who lived the perfect life in our place, who shed His blood on Calvary’s cross to wash away our sins, who suffered and died to redeem us, and who rose from the grave to conquer death and the devil, then demonstrate that faith by the way you live. Live a truly Christian life by word and deed.
“Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone,
And rests in Him unceasing;
And by its fruits true faith is known,
With love and hope increasing.
Yet faith alone doth justify,
Works serve thy neighbor and supply
The proof that faith is living.” Amen.