Arrogance or Confidence?

We wrote last time that there is no place for arrogance in our understanding of Christ making us glorious.  One of the unseen but incredible facts of our new birth is that “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).  The love of God has so filled us that the love of God is what comes out when we share our lives together.  And the love of God is love without arrogance.

The apostle Paul explained this God-love that is to flow from us in the beautiful love chapter of I Corinthians 13.  And one of the hallmarks of that love is a very simple phrase, “Love is not arrogant” (I Corinthians 13:4).  How is it even possible to express that humble kind of love?  We can only do it because Jesus is loving through us, Jesus is living His resurrected life through us.

There is no place for arrogance in the Christian life.  The New Testament writers often compare and contrast the humility we are to practice and the selfish ambition we are to put off.  But God would not ask us to do something that He has not provided the means to do.  Our new life in Christ is what frees us from selfish ambition.

But there is a gift we receive that can sometimes look like arrogance.  That gift is confidence.  There is no room for arrogance in the Christian life, but there is a wide space opened up to us for confidence.  “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-20).

We have confidence to enter the very holy place of God.  We have confidence to enter God’s presence.  We have confidence to jump into our Abba’s lap.  We have confidence to walk with Jesus, our brother.  And all of this was provided for us by the death of Jesus; washed as we are by the blood that flowed from His flesh.

And this confidence is activated by our faith.  Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.”  Our assurance that we are even allowed to “draw near” comes from our faith in the promises of God.  God said you are His precious child.  Do you believe it?

A proper understanding of grace keeps our arrogance in check (God did it, not you!) and allows our confidence to soar (God did it for you!).  Do not let your confidence become arrogance.  But likewise, do not downplay your confidence as some show of false humility, refusing to receive the new identity He gifted to us.

You are a child of God.  “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).  “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are !!!” (I John 3:1).  This is where our confidence finds its home and its power.  You are a child of God.