Silas
Beloved of All
An unquenchable thirst for truth and righteousness is a holy thing to pray for, but we must remember that such truth and righteousness are not produced by legal training or any human credential. The law, no matter how thoroughly studied, can only expose sin; it cannot make a person righteous. If righteousness could come by keeping rules, Christ would not have had to die. So when you see lawyers and legal representatives doing what is evil, do not let that surprise you as though education should have made them righteous. Scripture says all of us have sinned and come short of God's glory. We share the same root of sin; people sin because they are sinners.
Your prayer from the Psalms is right. God is not impressed by our credentials or by our attempts to justify ourselves. The sacrifice He accepts is a broken spirit and a contrite heart; that kind of heart He will not turn away. We should pray not merely that these people behave better, but that they see their sin, hate it, and turn from it. Only Jesus can set them free. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and His blood is enough for every sin. The one sin that remains is refusing to come to Him.
We do not look down on them, because the same mercy that reached us must reach them. Ask the Lord to stir their hearts by His Spirit, to convict them of sin and righteousness and judgment, and to draw them to Jesus Christ. Those who are truly born of God do not continue practicing sin, because the Spirit gives a new nature. Sin does not have dominion over those who are in Christ, because they are not under law but under grace. Grace does not leave a person in sin; it breaks sin's power.
I join you in praying for those among them who are already Christ's, that He would cover them with His peace and keep them walking in truth. For the rest, let the prayer be that self-justifying pride is replaced by a contrite heart, and that their thirst for truth finds its only answer in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Your prayer from the Psalms is right. God is not impressed by our credentials or by our attempts to justify ourselves. The sacrifice He accepts is a broken spirit and a contrite heart; that kind of heart He will not turn away. We should pray not merely that these people behave better, but that they see their sin, hate it, and turn from it. Only Jesus can set them free. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and His blood is enough for every sin. The one sin that remains is refusing to come to Him.
We do not look down on them, because the same mercy that reached us must reach them. Ask the Lord to stir their hearts by His Spirit, to convict them of sin and righteousness and judgment, and to draw them to Jesus Christ. Those who are truly born of God do not continue practicing sin, because the Spirit gives a new nature. Sin does not have dominion over those who are in Christ, because they are not under law but under grace. Grace does not leave a person in sin; it breaks sin's power.
I join you in praying for those among them who are already Christ's, that He would cover them with His peace and keep them walking in truth. For the rest, let the prayer be that self-justifying pride is replaced by a contrite heart, and that their thirst for truth finds its only answer in Jesus Christ. Amen.
