David was a powerful king of Israel. He had everything a man could want. But power, as we know, often corrupts. David was not immune to such corruption. In the deepest pit of his sin and despair, he cried out to God. He petitioned his Heavenly Father in the follow way, recorded in the 51st Psalm

“Create in me a clean heart, God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

We might have never prayed such a prayer. I fear my prayers are often about what I can do in order to correct my mistakes. “Lord,” I say, “help me be better. Help me find a way out of this mess I’ve made of things.” While this might seem like the appropriate response, it’s not the same thing as David shouted to the heavens. The difference is subtle but monumental. 

There’s an interesting thing about the word “create” in scripture. We use that word to refer to almost anything a person can make. We create a new dish in the kitchen, a new work of art on canvas, or a new approach to medicine. We think of ourselves as creators when we make new things. But in scripture, the word create is exclusively reserved for things that God makes. In other words, when David calls on God to create a clean and pure heart in him, he is not asking, as we do, for God to help in cleanse his own heart. He is literally asking for God to do what only God can, create something out of nothing. 

We think far too much of our own capacity for righteousness. We keep a spiritual score in our heads and believe if we can just do more good things than bad things that we will be ok. Some of us believe that it’s not that simple of an equation. Rather than just balancing good and bad, we convince ourselves that we must actually pursue good works. But in an effort to flee the simplistic approach of moral scorekeeping, we wind up over complicating our salvation. 

The Apostle Paul wrote about this very thing in Romans 8:1-2. 

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

Did you catch that? We can’t reach salvation by just doing more good than bad.  We can’t even make it if do an overwhelming amount of good. There’s no magical formula or set of rules that we can keep to be righteous. The mistake is thinking “we” have anything to do with it. In the end, it truly is a simple equation.  We just have the wrong variables in that equation. We can’t create a righteous heart. It’s impossible. As David realized, only God can create. Through Jesus Christ, we are made righteous. How we choose to live in response to that will produce many good works but not a single one of them saves us, only God through Christ can do that. Take your burdens and cares to Him and lean on His word. 

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Derek Glover is pastor at Monroe Church of Christ.