The Thankful Fallen

04.01.12

Psalm 50.23 23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.” NASB

At our church these days we have an interim pastor. At first, I admit, I was a little hesitant but I’ve since come to know and love this man because the Lord has helped me to see he is just what we needed during this time of transition. Times of transition are difficult and they're made easier by the right people and God has supplied the right people for this time of change. I'm thankful for that.

Now then, my (interim) pastor has made it clear he is big on biblical principles. He sees in the Scriptures principles that we are to live by. He makes it clear that we don’t live in relationship with principles – we live in relationship to God. But in the word there are guiding principles that help us in our walk with God. A principle for living with God is we treat Him right by honoring what He says by paying attention to it; and obeying His commandments. So the Bible teaches this principle: treat God right by listening to what He says and doing what He commands.

Now, I need to be very clear: His commands are not the Ten Commandments; nor the Mosaic Law. The Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law contain principles by which we should live, but we are – according to Paul – not under Law but grace. Well, who is Paul!? Paul is one who understood relationship with God and how it is we should live in that relationship. I think where we get hung up with God is in the whole Law thing. We think that God is some kind of cosmic government and we’re to live under the authority of that government. While it is true that God is all-powerful and all-knowing, it is also true that He desires to have a personal, intimate relationship with all of us: corporately and individually.

The problem for us is God is sinless and we are sinful. God is perfectly and eternally upright and we are fallen. Our capacity to understand Him is limited and our limits are exacerbated by our fallenness. But these things are eased by our coming to understand that God desires to be our Friend – the Perfect One wants to befriend and love the broken ones. He simply cannot stoop to our level of living and therefore, instead, He lifts us up to His. What is impossible with men is possible with God. Principles help us in that regard.

The principle in Psalm 50 is: He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me. A simple Thank You goes a long way with God. Thank You for the day. Thank You for the sun and the rain and food to eat and life to live and on and on. God is responsible for all we have and so to at least stop and give Him thanks is a principle of honor. We honor God by thanking Him for what He has given us, thereby acknowledging His provision. It’s the very least we can do.   

And the next part of the verse is the principle of behavior: and to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God. In other words, proper behavior starts with something as simple as a “thank you.” God is willing to work with the thankful-fallen because they seem to get the principle that says: if one honors God, He will honor them. And He will show them His salvation which will, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1: so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. (V. 11) Thanks leading to more thanks! The saved are thankful for what they are saved from and what they are saved to. You tell a person who becomes saved that you prayed for them and they will show you what thanksgiving is all about. It is the gift of God, not of works so that no one can boast; but of love and right-living: according to the principles of God.