Instead of being all wrapped up in trying to please people, the genuinely humble believer is concerned only about their relationship with their Saviour. It is the only one that truly matters. When Christians do this they let everything else go as they cling to their Saviour at all costs. It is these believers that God uses as He fulfills His purpose through their lives.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB)
There are two extremes that Christians must avoid at all costs. The first is over confidence in one’s own ability, which is pride in its positive form. This causes believers to rely on their own abilities to do “good works.” The other extreme is to become paralyzed into inactivity because of pride working in its negative form. It tries to resemble humility by proclaiming things such as, “I’m not sanctified enough to do that sort of work.” Both are attitudes of pride and are in rebellion against God.
When we talk about our own ability to do good works then we are not relying on the Grace of God to work through us to do His will. All that is accomplished is empty works that are designed to be a sign to everyone about how spiritual we are. This is rampant in the 21st Century Church. As a result, we have neo-Evangelism with its golden calf of easy-believism evangelism at all cost, leaving the work of the Holy Spirit and the Bible completely out of the process. It is all man-made religion and it does not bring God glory.
When we talk about our own inability to do good works and follow that up with by doing nothing as a result, we are insulting our Creator God. When we say we are incompetent to do a certain work that is laid before us to do then we are proclaiming that God has overlooked us in our sanctification and gifting. This is slandering God.
When we say this sort of thing to men it may sound humble, but when we turn that around and speak it to God then we are actually telling Him that He is incapable of changing us and enabling us to do good works. This defiant attitude is a huge insult to our gracious God.
