Apples of Gold
Radio Script for December 30, 2008
“How Can We Live Up to God’s Standard?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Over there is God’s standard, and over here is us.
We are supposed to live up to His standard. We are supposed to be holy and righteous. We are supposed to be all good and no bad.
At least we know what we are supposed to be like. That’s a start.
But just because we know God’s standard doesn’t mean we can live up to it.
It’s like knowing we are supposed to eat right and exercise. We know it, but that knowledge provides no power to actually do it.
So how can we live up to God’s standard?
Or maybe the first question is, why don’t we already live up to His standard?
Paul addressed this in Romans 7. He admitted that he did not live up to God’s standard. And why not? Because of the “sin living in me,” he said. It’s because of “my sinful nature,” he said.
Paul said he wanted to live up to God’s standard, but the sinful nature inside him had its own ideas.
He said, “…in my inner being I delight in God’s law…” Boy, I know that feeling. Something inside me thrills at the thought of God and His righteousness. Have you ever felt that? Just thrilled and awed and overjoyed while thinking of God and His holiness and His purity.
Paul felt that. But he also felt something else. It was his sinful nature. It was sin rattling around inside him, pulling him away from God and toward sin.
I know that feeling, too. I don’t want it, but I feel it.
Paul described it as sin at work in the members of his body. He said, “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”
In fact, it frustrated him so much that he declared in Romans 7:24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
This is where Jesus comes in.
Romans 8:3 indicates that we cannot live up to God’s standard because our sinful nature prevents us from doing so. That leaves a big gap. God’s standard over there, and us over here.
Then God sent His Son Jesus who died as a sin offering for us.
Now listen to what this did. It cleared the way for God’s Holy Spirit to come and live inside of us.
Before, we were powerless to live up to God’s standard. But now, through Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit – and there is our power!
Listen to Romans 8:1-2. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
Yes, we still have a sin nature. But we are no longer its slave. Through Jesus, the Holy Spirit has come inside of us and broken the chains. We are no longer slaves to sin.
So now, as Christians, we have two guiding voices inside of us. We have God’s Spirit, calling us to God’s standard, and we have our sin nature, calling us to sin.
It is now our choice. Which voice will we listen to? We can either set our minds on what the sinful nature desires, or we can set our minds on what the Spirit of God desires.
One voice leads to death. The other voice leads to life and peace.
One voice is hostile to God. Can you hear that voice calling out from inside you? The voice of the sin nature, it’s hostile to God.
The other voice tells us we are God’s children and cries out, “Abba, Father!”
So how can we live up to God’s standard? Romans 8:4 says it’s by living “according to the Spirit.” It’s by listening to God’s Spirit inside of us and heeding what He says.
This is why it is important not to grieve the Spirit or quench the Spirit; because it is only by the Spirit of God inside of us that we can overcome our sin nature with its stench of death.
So if you are looking for a New Year’s resolution this year, here is a good one.
“This year I will make a more concerted effort to listen to, and heed, the Spirit of God inside me.”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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