Good day
In Part 3 (Who is the spotlight on?) we realised that as we grow and develop in shining "our" light that we must acknowledge God; recognize that He gets the glory for all that He is and who He's chosen to be towards us; and remember that the spotlight must shine on Him at all times ... Therefore we must never become prideful and think we've achieved any form of "spiritual success" apart from Him.
This brings us to today's message: We need Him!
We must never forget that we couldn't save ourselves. We needed a saviour to take our place of punishment for our sins so that we can be redeemed, saved and justified in order to have eternal life with God and live out our covenant with Him.
He did it all - it wasn't our idea, it wasn't based on our good intentions or efforts - He decided to do it because of His love towards us.
Romans 5:1-11
Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). Through Him we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [our great] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power]. And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
While we were still helpless [powerless to provide for our salvation], at the right time Christ died [as a substitute] for the ungodly. Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to willingly give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a good man [one who is noble and selfless and worthy] someone might even dare to die. But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today]. Not only that, but we also rejoice in God [rejoicing in His love and perfection] through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received and enjoy our reconciliation [with God].
Ephesians 2:4-10
But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment). And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus, [and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption]. For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation]. For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].
The above passage makes it very clear that the salvation we've received wasn't based on our efforts to keep God's commandments but rather based on what Jesus Christ did for us. In other words, there was nothing we could do to make this salvation possible - He came up with the idea, He accomplished it, He made it all possible! ... and it's only by faith in what He's done for us that we have right-standing with God.
Galatians 2:20-21
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Galatians 3:2-3, 5-7
This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
In the above passage, the Apostle Paul asks an important question to the believers, "Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?". In other words, given everything we've just read above about how we couldn't earn salvation based on our own efforts but that we needed God to make it possible, what makes us think that - after having received the free gift of salvation through faith - that we can now perfect/change ourselves (shine our light) in our own strength/efforts ... If we need God for our eternal salvation/right-standing with Him, then surely we need Him to help us live out and become everything He desires of us as well. If we want to "shine out light", we must recognize that we need God's help in doing so. We cannot produce what God desires of us in our own ability - we need Him to help us do so!
Amen
(in Part 5 we'll discuss being honest with God)