LORD OF GLORY, we know that You are a righteous God
who holds every person justly responsible for his or her own sins.
This is consistent with Your holy nature.
We cannot condemn the sins of others
without condemning our own selves, for we are not free from sin.
We deserve Your judgment, yet You withhold that judgment
because You are rich in kindness, longsuffering, tolerance,
and patience for the purpose of leading us to repentance.
You mercifully warn us that those who remain
unrepentant are storing up wrath
for that final day when the fullness of Your wrath will be revealed.
We know that in the end everyone will be brought
before Your judgment throne.
The passage we have just read says those who do evil will perish,
and those who do good will enter into eternal life.
We confess that we have done evil,
and we stand in need of Your grace and forgiveness.
Yet Your Word also teaches from cover to cover that salvation
is not a reward for good works; eternal life is granted to sinners like us
by grace alone through faith alone.
We furthermore know and freely confess
that the good works done by believers
are fruits of Your saving work, not the cause of it.
So our only claim to heaven is grounded in the promise that
Christ is our righteousness;1
His own perfection covers believers like a spotless garment.
We also confess that it is not within our capability
to do anything truly good or contribute any merit toward our salvation.
Left completely to ourselves, we would do nothing but evil.
Even the very best of our works are flawed by fleshly imperfections
and tainted with mixed motives.
Thus we understand and confess that those whom this text speaks of
as “doing good” receive eternal life because of Christ’s work,
not as a reward for their own works.
Whatever is truly good in any of our deeds is the fruit of
Your grace and empowerment.2
Our hope therefore lies not in any merit or good works of our own.
We trust Christ alone for salvation,
and we humbly and fervently pray that
our lives might reflect His character,
show forth the glory of His righteousness,
and be living examples of His goodness.
Clothe us not only in His righteousness, but also in
His wisdom, His virtue, His holiness, and His humility.
Conform us perfectly to His image, according to Your eternal purpose.
We do not deserve such favor. On the contrary, our only plea
is that of the publican who prayed,
“God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”3
And when we come to that final judgment, may we be found in Christ—
and therefore in the company of the One who,
by perseverance in doing good,
sought for glory and honor and immortality on our behalf.
In the words of the apostle Paul, may we be found in Christ,
not having a righteousness of our own derived from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ,
the righteousness which comes from God
on the basis of faith.
We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lived and died and rose again
in order that we might have life. Amen.
1: Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:16; Romans 4:6; 1 Corinthians 1:30
2: Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-10
3 3 Luke 18:13
Source: MacArthur, John, Jr. 2014. A Year of Prayer: Growing Closer to God Week after Week. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers.
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