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COMPLETION BY GOD
by A.J. Wilson

“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests.” Exodus 29:43-44 (spoken by God)

“Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” Proverbs 27:2

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

“But "he who glories, let him glory in the Lord." For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.” 2 Cor. 10:17-18

“For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,” Hebrews 2:11

I consider this a continuation of last week’s piece reflecting on the mercy seat of the tabernacle.  An issue constantly disputed within the church (as a whole) is the balance between the work of man, and the work of God in salvation and sanctification.  On the one hand we have verses like: Leviticus 19:2,24; 20:7,26; Eph 1:4, 5:27, & 1 Peter 1:15-16 which continually tell us as God’s followers to be holy, as he is holy.  While on the other hand, verses like: Romans 9:11, Galatians 2:16, & Ephesians 2:9 tell us that it is not by works of the law or of man that we are saved, but only by faith through the work of Christ/God.  What is the balance?  Where do we cross the line from working out of obedience to God, and working to do ENOUGH to earn/become worthy for our salvation?

Here are some things for us to remember while pondering these questions.  We will never be able to work enough to be righteous or holy; this is what God can do, only.  If you have personal pride in the activities you complete for the Lord; watch out because we should not commend ourselves.  Even though we cannot work to attain holiness, God will still sanctify us if we obey him.  In Exodus above God says He will sanctify the tabernacle and the things in it, yet there are 11 chapters which show God’s requirements for the tabernacle and the Israelites obedience.  The sacrifices, gold, rituals, and so on did nothing to sanctify the tabernacle, God did that, those things were just hurdles of faith for the Israelites to follow.  As for us, our tithes, songs, bible reading and so forth do not sanctify us, but are symbols of our obedience to God, asking for his sanctification to cover us. Are you being obedient?

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