‘Cause we’re all stillborn and dead in our transgressions
Now we’re shackled up to the sin we hold so dear
So what part can I play in the work of redemption
‘Cause I can’t refuse, I cannot add a thing
‘Cause I am just like Lazarus and I can hear Your voice
I stand and rub my eyes and walk to You because I have no choice
So I am thankful that I’m incapable
But I’m doin’ any good on my own
I say that I’m so thankful that I’m incapable
Of doin’ any good on my own
It’s by grace I have been saved
Through faith that’s not my own
It is the gift of God and not by works
Lest anyone should boast
So I am thankful that I’m incapable
And I’m doin’ any good on my own, yeah
I say that I’m so thankful that I’m incapable
And I’m doin’ any good on my own
Listen while you read!
Written by Derek Webb, Alex Band, Aaron Kamm Kamin
Performed by Caedmon’s Call
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For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Anytime I see or hear the above verse, I think of an old saying that my dad used to say to me as a child… “The road to heaven is not paved with good works.” Only as I grew up and grew, hopefully, wiser did I start to understand what he meant. As a teenager I learned that to be “saved” you had to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and confess with your mouth that you believed He died on the Cross for you. Yet, as anyone goes through life and accepts Christ, they learn that it is more than that—it is having a personal relationship with Him.
Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted,“Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
John 11:40-44
Just like Lazarus we are dead—not physically but spiritually—until we believe and confess that Jesus died on the Cross to defeat the sentence of death for our sin. Our spirits are asleep as long as we refuse to “wake up” and see the true teachings and miracles of Jesus. We are in a spiritual grave until Jesus calls to our hearts, and we answer. We come stumbling out of the tomb just as Lazarus did when Jesus gave him life.
Just like Lazarus, we are products of God’s glory and work. We are created to worship God and bring Him glory in all that we do. We are incapable of doing His work without having Him in our hearts and at our sides. When we acknowledge that God is with us and that He died for us, we grow stronger, and unbelievers can see the work of God in us. Jesus unwraps us from the tangled web of sin and sets us free. We become capable when we have Jesus with us.
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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for untangling me from the web of sin. Thank You for making me capable of showing the glory of God in my everyday life. Thank You for making me capable. In Jesus name, Amen.
