Released

Ray Ortlund post:  We are delivered

“When Jesus judges our imperfection, he does it with such compassion that he releases us from the fear that we must pretend to be better than we are.  He assures us that if we will be honest with God, God will be gracious with us.  And the moment we enter into a gracious relationship with God, we not only fall heir to the promises of the gospel, but we are also ready to accept our present duties in the kingdom of love.

With pride dethroned, we are able to accept a much more modest concept of the self.  We are delivered from the error of thinking that we must prove ourselves all the time.  Kindness and truth become acceptable signs of status.  Destructive anxiety cannot overwhelm us, for we are content to leave the work of salvation to God.”

Edward John Carnell, The Kingdom of Love and the Pride of Life (Grand Rapids, 1960), pages 152-153.