Note: This is a guest post since I am currently away. This is by Micah. If you have thoughts and questions, feel free to comment and when he has time he will respond. His blog can be found here. He also tweets.
If you are truly Calvinistic, you’ve heard the popular passage from Isaiah 64:6, “And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” It is a passage frequently quoted to kill the monster of works righteousness and legalistic salvation, a monster that tends to pop its head out in religious circles. And rightly so, God does not take notice of the deeds of the man whose heart has not been cleansed by Christ and who has no love for Him.
Though this teaching is true, it may lead some Christians to wonder if God could ever be pleased. The war against the flesh is real, and sometimes believers can wallow in defeat and in doubt, even though they are saved. They ask, “Could God ever be happy with my life?” Christians get stuck in this kind of discouragement during seasons of weakness and sin struggles so they search for a way out.
Thankfully, Scripture has examples of men who, as sinners, displayed a type of obedience that truly and genuinely pleased God. It showed that God’s people are capable by His grace to exhibit real obedience to God without accomplishing perfect obedience. Since Christ was the only perfectly obedient man to ever live, we’re not required to be perfectly obedient. Nevertheless, our new life in Christ demands we strive for holiness and express the good works we were predestined to do.
This blog assumes that you are a Christian, not trusting in works for your salvation, but saved and washed by the blood of Christ. With that said, here are a few examples to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. They are instances of God’s people who were imperfect yet still lived a life pleasing unto God.
The Domain for Truth 