RENDERED INNOCENT

By Clinton White

So many people write to me and say, "Clinton, pray for me that I may be worthy." Some say, "I can't even pray effectively because I feel so unworthy." When I tell people of the wonderful promises of God concerning eternal life, joy, peace and healing, many of them sigh and look longingly, then say, "Yes, but I can't get myself worthy to receive these things." Sometimes I say, "I thought you were a Christian?" They say, "Yes, I am . . . but . . . I feel unworthy."

What about this problem many Christians have of feeling unworthy? Let's look at a parable Jesus told in Luke, chapter 18, starting at verse 10: "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican." Notice how the Pharisee prayed: "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." That was the prayer of the Pharisee. How did he feel? He felt worthy. He felt as if he had attained spiritually. He was giving thanks to God that he had been able to get so religious and become worthy.

Now let's look at the other man. How did he feel? The Bible says, "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." He felt unworthy. He felt like a sinner.

Who was worthy? The Pharisee or the publican? Neither one. One was lifted up with pride and self-righteousness, and the other had been involved in many works of unrighteousness. The Pharisee felt righteous, but he was not. The publican felt unworthy, and he was right. He was unworthy.

But notice what Jesus said about these men. He said that the publican, the sinner, "went down to his house justified rather than the other." This is the man who struck his breast and said, "Be merciful to me, a sinner." The Pharisee felt worthy, but Jesus indicated that he was not justified. The publican felt unworthy, but Jesus said he was justified. Why was he justified? For one reason only: Because Jesus said he was justified. It is only the word of God that justifies, not the deeds of men. One man boasted in his deeds, but he remained unjustified. The other was a sinner but he was justified, because Christ said he was. The man who recognized his sin and asked for mercy was justified. The man who depended on his works to justify himself felt righteous, but was not justified. His feelings lied to him.

Do you suppose that your feelings have ever lied to you? You cannot gauge your spiritual life by your feelings. Many people who feel righteous are only deceived by their own hearts into believing that they are justified. But it works the other way also. Many who are justified feel as though they are not.

Look back again to the man beating on his breast. He felt like a sinner, but Jesus said that he "went down to his house justified." Here is a Greek word to think about. It shines a very bright light on this subject. The word is dikaioo (dik-ah-yo'-o). It is the Greek word for "justified." It means, "to render just or innocent, to regard as innocent, holy or righteous." That is what happened to the man who was beating on his breast, telling what a sinner he was. He went home innocent. Why? Because the word of God rendered him just and innocent. He was unworthy, guilty, unrighteous . . . but . . . dikaioo!

Suppose you stood before a judge. You were guilty and in your heart you knew it. You even confessed your guilt. But suppose it were possible for the judge to ignore your confession and say, "I find you innocent." You would go forth from the court innocent, not because you were actually innocent, but because of dikaioo, being rendered innocent, made innocent by the declaration of the judge. So from that moment on you would be regarded by the court as innocent. This is what the Bible means when it says that the publican went home justified, dikaioo, he was rendered innocent.

How does all that apply to you? Ask yourself a question. How do you approach God in prayer? Are you depending on what you have done or are you relying on dikaioo? You know what I mean. You might say, "God, I can't understand why you haven't answered my prayer. I've fasted; I've given to my church; I attend every Sunday; I witness every chance I get; I read the Bible . . . " You are trying to justify yourself. Or you might pray, "Oh, God, I know you don't hear me. I don't read the Bible enough; I don't witness enough or fast or pray or do enough; I'm so weak; I fail you so much; help me so that I can do more." This is just the other side of the first prayer. It is the prayer of the backslidden Pharisee. One prayer is naming all you have done, and the other prayer is naming all you haven't done. But the second prayer is as lacking in understanding as the first, don't you see? You believe that if you really did all those things, then you would be all right and righteous in the sight of God. But you would be wrong.

Both prayers fail to take dikaioo into consideration. Romans 8:33 says: "It is God that justifieth" (or renders innocent). And in Galatians 2:16 it says: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Remember that word "justified" is dikaioo, made innocent. We want to stand innocent before God, but the Bible says we cannot do this through keeping the law. The law is good, but it has its weakness in the flesh. Then how can we be made innocent? By God's word of declaration. He declares us innocent or justified, and that brings it to pass. That and only that makes us justified.

I want to speak to Christians who are having a desperate time trying to feel worthy or justified, those who feel that they fall so short of God's glory, who feel all the evil that lurks in their old nature. I am talking now directly to those of you who feel that you cannot stand righteous before God until you somehow have killed out every tendency of the flesh so that it will line up in perfect submission to all of God's will without a trace of rebellion. Hear me carefully. You are on a dangerous, dangerous path. You are trying to make the human self spiritual. That is impossible. Jesus taught us to deny ourself. If it were possible for us to make self totally submissive to God's will, then we would never have to deny ourself because our self would never be in opposition to God's will.

The natural man cannot understand the things of God for they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor.2:14). If you are trying to make your natural man understand and desire the spiritual, you are facing an impossible task. Just as impossible as a leopard trying to change its spots (Jer.13:23). You will always be discouraged and depressed; you will spend most of your time grieving over your spiritual condition; you will flounder and falter and be introspective; you will always be telling God how worthless and wicked you are; and you will be waiting for God to do some elusive miracle in your will. But you will wait and wait and wait and it will not happen--it never will, because you are struggling against the way of God. You are trying to justify yourself, and the Bible says it is God who justifies. Like the Galatians, you began in the Spirit and now you are trying to finish and perfect yourself in the flesh (Gal.3:3).

You would resent it if anyone told you so, but you are becoming a Pharisee! It has been a constant struggle. You read about freedom from condemnation, yet you feel condemned. You read about peace, yet you have upheaval in your heart so much of the time. You think about helping others, but you know that you yourself are the one who is in need, desperate need. Sometimes you become more embittered about religion than the man in the world who does not even know the Lord. This is only because you have failed to understand the meaning of justification, dikaioo.

Christian, what are you trying to accomplish with your struggle? Can't you accept God's proclamation of your innocence? The Bible says you are "crucified with Christ" (Gal.2:20), yet you are trying to do what He says has already been done. He says you "are complete in Him" (Col.2:10), yet you are trying to finish what He says has been finished. Jesus said, "It is finished"! (Jn.19:30).

Meditate very carefully on the following verses from the Bible. Let them work in your heart and release you from your burden. Remember, each time that you see the word justified, it means dikaioo, rendered innocent or righteous. Think about the man pounding on his breast. He felt like a sinner, but he was declared righteous. The fact was what Christ declared, not what the man felt.

Christ has declared you justified. The Bible says in Romans 5:9: ". . . being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." This is what God has declared. The fact is what He has declared, not what you feel. Romans 3:24: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Romans 4:5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

You have accepted Christ. Don't you realize what this means? You are a Christian, a justified one. He has pronounced and declared you just and innocent. Can you stop wrestling with your flesh and gazing at your old dead self long enough to consider that? Can't you simply accept the fact that God said you are innocent and that is what makes you innocent? Nothing more you can accomplish will make you any more innocent. It is what the Judge says that establishes the fact. Can't you believe the verdict and rejoice in it?

Now that leaves you only one thing to do. That is, thank Him, rejoice and praise Him for what He has already done, instead of demanding that He do again what He did almost two thousand years ago. Stop using your prayer time as a confession of all your flesh feelings and start using it to thank your Heavenly Father for declaring you innocent--dikaioo--because of Jesus.