Credit No Good - Martin Wiles

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this. Ephesians 2:8 NLT

Just because I have it doesn’t mean I should use it. 

Credit. The amount of money a particular lending institution is willing to loan me because they believe I’ll pay it back. Perhaps I’ve borrowed from them before or they have checked my borrowing record. Credit cards have a credit limit. If my charges exceed that, the institution may honor my purchase, but I will pay a penalty. And everyone has a credit rating. A number that is calculated based on their borrowing and repaying history. A low rating means I won’t be able to borrow money, or if I can I’ll pay an exorbitant interest rate. Credit is something I build based on past borrowing behavior.

If I’m timely with repaying my loans, my credit line increases and my credibility with lenders rises. Not so with God. He issues no credit limit based on my current or past behavior. My sinful nature kills my credit line, and there are not enough good works to resurrect it. I can’t pay my sin debt, and because of that my credit rating is the pits. I may be able to repair and rebuild my credit rating so lenders will risk lending me money again, but I can’t restore my credit with God.

Fortunately, the credit picture with God isn’t all bad. What I can’t do for myself, God decided to do for me. He won’t issue me credit personally, but he will take another’s credit and give me something based on his rating.

Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has a wonderful credit rating. Perfect. Sinless. Pure. Righteous. Spotless. Completely obedient to his Father’s plan and will. When I ask, God will credit his Son’s righteousness to my account. This makes it possible for him to forgive my sins, see me not with my sin but with the righteousness of his Son, involve himself in my life, and grant me an eternity with him. 

Are you trying to get credit from God through means other than his Son? God has only one way of approving our credit: our connection with Jesus.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your wonderful grace that allows us to be forgiven and cleansed. 

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