INTRODUCTION
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”—Romans 3
This is where we begin when we discuss human goodness. We are fallen. We are sinful. We are not worthy of rewards from God, but punishment.
Yet, within all of us is a knowledge that we ought to be good—that even if we are not perfect, we ought to do our best to do good. Within all people is the feeling that life is better when people behave well, and, furthermore, God prefers we try to behave at all times.
We wrestle with the reality that none of us even behaves up to our own personal standards, and we are certain that we fall short of God’s. Yet we are compelled to put forth at least a minimal effort towards doing right.
Then in comes the good news of Jesus Christ:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 6:23
Here is the hope of the world: eternal life is not earned. Forgiveness of sins is not earned. In other words, we gain eternal life based on a currency other than our own righteous behavior. We gain it by the currency of faith in Jesus, who gives us eternal life freely.
Jesus died on a cross in order to do the work required to save us. We are born again into the family of God not based on our behavior but by the mercy of God. Faith in Him is all we need. We remain in the family of God not based on our behavior, but on that same trust in His grace.
This is the gospel.
Since the gospel is true, what are we to do with this desire we have to behave? What are we to do with this feeling that if we don’t behave then we are in trouble? How do we deal with the fear that we will never be perfect, but that we might fail and disappoint God?
There are two answers to those questions, depending on whether one is born again or not. If you have never run to Jesus and asked Him to save you, then you are right to fear your own poor behavior. You must run to be Him now and find mercy.
But if you have already placed your trust in the Savior, now what?
Does this mean that we no longer need to concern ourselves about doing good and avoiding doing evil? What do we do with this gnawing feeling that if we do not do well that we are still doomed?
Today we will begin our long and winding journey through Psalm 119. As we begin, we will tackle the problem of seeking to live a good life without the constant fear and pressure of getting it wrong.
Psalm 119:1–8 (ESV)
1Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
2Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
3who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
These three verses celebrate the good ways of God over the ways of evil by declaring that the people who walk in those ways are blessed. What does it mean to be blessed? Being blessed means having God look on you with pleasure. To be blessed is to have the approval of the God who arranges all matters from heaven and who controls the eternal destiny of us all. To be blessed is to have the favor of God.
In these three verses we are given a list of 6 ways to identify the one who is blessed: Ones with a blameless way; Ones who walk in the law of the Lord; Ones who keep His testimonies; Ones who seek him with their whole hearts; Ones who do no wrong; Ones who walk in His ways.
Of course, this is a repetitive list in that all of these are the same. The one who walks in the law of the Lord is the same one who does no wrong, who is the same one whose way is blameless, etc.
The one part of this list that stands out as different from the rest is this:
who seek Him with their whole heart.
The other five phrases are interchangeable. But this phrase is unique. The others are general, this one is a specific action: seek God with one’s whole heart. We must not pass too quickly over this one. To seek God with one’s heart is different than all the other Laws of God. For example, one need not seek God in order to try to avoid sexual sin, or coveting, or stealing, or murder. There are many people who do not seek God at all, yet they seek to avoid such bad beahvior.
To “seek Him with one’s whole heart” indicates a desire of God that goes beyond keeping personal piety; God wants a relationship with the ones He blesses.
Piety can be a lonely business. It can wear on a person to try to be good all the time, to be perfect, to keep all the rules. Many people even become so lonely and defeated at trying to be holy that they begin to resent God and hate other people who do not try as hard as they do. It’s a tough business to be the holiest one can be, isn’t it?
But God blows that loneliness apart by including that the ones who are blessed “seek Him with their whole heart.” In other words, to walk in the way of the Lord is equivalent to “seeking Him with one’s whole heart.” Work that out in your mind. God sees wanting to know Him as the necessary action for walking in His ways.
4You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
6Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
Following God is not a weekend warrior event, is it? The righteous ways of God can easily become intimidating. Looking forward over the years to come, seeking to walk the straight and narrow? That can wear a person out, can’t it? But that is what God wants.
But how can the Christian life be free and joyous if we are saddled with the burden of perfection over a long life? We will come back to that question in a moment.
The writer here shows his understanding of the requirements of God, that His precepts be kept both diligently and in a way that requires steadfastness. In other words, to be blessed of God requires one who seeks to life a godly life over the long-haul. Perseverance is needed.
It is not the one who endures for a moment or two that is saved, but the one who perseveres to the end.
7I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
8I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
This section ends with the writer asking God to hold him closely. His goal to being able to praise God with a clean heart. He wants a conscience that is not racked with regret and guilt. He wants to walk in God’s ways. He acknowledges his need for God to stay close.
Now, if these 8 verses were all the words we had from God, we might give up on trying to follow Him because this seems impossible. We have already established that we are fallen, and that perfect behavior is impossible for us. So, what are we to do? How can the Christian life be free and joyous if we are saddled with the burden of perfection over a long life?
The Bible gives us the answer to this question. Let me show you a few things said by Jesus and His apostles:
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, --Romans 4:5
Paul says that righteousness comes not from the one who lives a perfect life, but one who trusts in Jesus. Now, let’s add this to the equation. We know from Psalm 119, that the man who walks in the ways of the Lord is the one who is blessed. We know that God requires perfect obedience. What we learn here is that our righteousness does not come from pleasing the Lord with our good ways, but by trusting in His Son.
This leads some immature people to say, “Well, then, I don’t have to walk in the ways of God. I can do as I please, not as He pleases.” But they are missing the point. God does not say that He does not want you to walk in His good ways. He does want that. He simply declares that your reason for walking in His ways is not your own justification.
In other words, your righteousness is secured in Jesus’ perfect life, and death on your behalf. God still wants your obedience, but the motive for doing so is no longer fear of punishment!
You might ask then, “What other motive for being good is there besides fear of being punished?” The answer in obvious in daily life: love. Once a person meets Jesus, being good takes on a new and better motive. No longer do we do what is right because of fear of punishment but out of love for God.
Let me show some texts that will put this all together for us:
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. –1st John 4:18
A drill sergeant causes fear and gets compliance. The young soldiers to be go through boot camp fearing doing anything wrong lest they be punished by the sergeant. The obedience that the drill sergeant receives comes from fear, not love.
But when a young woman has a crush on a young man, and she wants to please him, it is out love. She seeks the things that he likes trying to participate in them. She studies his interests, what he eats, the music he likes, his hobbies, the kind of clothes he wears. She sees at his interests and buy gifts for him that are along those lines. She changes her schedule to make room for his priorities. And when a jealous person says, “Well, you are just his slave,” she smiles to herself, and says, “No, I love him. I do what I do to make him happy.”
Do you see the difference?
Why should we love the ways of God? Because they please the One we love. We need not fear being perfect, for He has already cared for our righteousness, hasn’t He? Instead, we want to know His ways because He is wonderful, and His ways are good, and it is our joy to love what is good instead of what is evil. It is our honor to pay the price it costs to obey, because we love Him.
The Psalm 119 writer showed us the glimmer of this truth when he wrote that the one who is blessed is the one who seeks Him with his whole heart. Who seeks anyone with his whole heart unless He is motivated by love? Now, watch how Jesus makes these things clear to us:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”—Matthew 11:28-30
His yoke is easy, because He has won righteousness for me. My behavior now is out of love, not fear of punishment. I am not perfect. I will not be perfect. But I will never quit because I want Him! I want His yoke. He is the primary object of my life’s affection.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”—John 15:12-14
This is not a heavy yoke, is it? What does He want us to do? Love one another. He has showed us the greatest love by laying down His life for us, His friends –not His slaves, His friends. Friendship is a love-based relationship. He loves us, and so He came to earth and lived a perfect life and died in our place and rose again. He did this to win our souls, motivated by His love and the love the Father and the Spirit.
And He Himself showed Himself loveable.
So, how can we have a joyous life of obedience, instead of the constant pressure to be perfect? First, every day remember that you received your righteousness at the cross. Second, every day make finding Jesus your goal, rather than good behavior. The lover forever chases the beloved, even after she has already found Him.