Deuteronomy 9:4. “Speak not thou in thy heart, after that the Lord thy God hast cast them out from before thee, saying, ‘For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee.’” NOT FOR THY RIGHTEOUSNESS. We dare not claim rights over what God alone can give. It is not within our power to determine that I live. God Himself has the keys over life and over death – He is the Source of life alone – He alone can give us breath.
We dare not claim we deserve to be given God’s salvation. If we had our just desserts we never would be forgiven. God Himself let us hear His Word; by His Spirit we were awakened – He showed us by His Holy Word, Christ all our sins had taken.
We dare not claim we have been saved by any works which we have done. The only work acceptable to God was done by His own Son. God Himself laid our iniquities on the Lord Jesus that He might bare All the punishment they deserve, for His only Son He did not spare.
We dare not claim after receiving the Lord, that any work that we do now Has any merit or that by our efforts we have earned God’s grace somehow. God Himself has saved us, by the blood of Christ alone – No “after-works” can add to grace or for any sin atone.
We dare not say we are deserving now of life’s blessings we receive, It is only by God’s mercy that we live and move and breathe. God Himself keeps us and preserves us to live from day to day – Because we have an adversary who wants to us take out of the way.
We dare not say we deserve to be in heaven when we die. I am grateful for eternal life promised by God who cannot lie. God Himself assures us because of imputed righteousness – That we will be in His “promised land”, in the company of the blessed.
“O God my Father, reading the words in this chapter keeps my from thinking I deserve all the blessings and benefits Thou dost daily load us with. Yet greater than that is the privilege of being not just in a nation of the blessed, but in the family of the blessed. I praise Thee for this wonderful calling and I am humbled by Thy promises of all the wonders of the future. Until the Lord comes, help me to keep on calling sinners to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”