Our Singular Most Important Accomplishment

By David Dombrowski

May I ask a question? Of all the things one might accomplish in this life, what would be the most important and far-reaching thing one could do?

Granted, there are many things a person could do to gain recognition or fame, or maybe a person could pursue a noble task of just trying to do something for the betterment of mankind. For me, I’ve personally found myself wondering if my life is really pleasing to the Lord. Perhaps you feel as I do that the problems of the world are escalating and encroaching on our personal lives. And yet, as Christians, we want to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

As I look back on my life, I think of what Scripture says of this life, that it is as “a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). When I was in high school, I was a miler on the track team. Four laps on a 440-yard, four-sided track was a mile, and when I ran that race, I would pace myself on the first three laps so that I wouldn’t be too exhausted to finish the fourth. Halfway through the last lap, I would pick up speed, then coming around the last bend, I would give everything I had to run the last 110 yards in a full sprint. I was an average runner, and looking back on my life as a Christian, it always feels and seems like I could have done more.  While living in Montana for nearly twelve years, I remember saying to a young man who was helping in the final construction of our building, “I want God to get everything out of me that He can.” I wanted to impart to this young man (who was from a Christian home) the idea that life is fleeting, and we should lay hold of the opportunities God gives us to serve Him.

Last year, my oldest brother, nine years older than me and a Roman Catholic all his life, became suddenly ill after living a life of good health. Two months prior to that, we had sent him a copy of our newly published book, The Truth Set Us Free, comprised of the testimonies of 23 former Catholic nuns. As my brother read it, he realized that the Catholic Church was requiring things that hindered rather than helped one obtain salvation through Christ. Subsequently, we talked to him over the phone whereby he asked us to pray with him, acknowledging his need for Jesus Christ alone to save him, and he was able to receive an assurance of salvation that he never had as a Catholic. A week later, I took a trip by train to see him, but by then, he was under hospice care, sleeping mostly and waking briefly. The day after I arrived, he passed away.

We praise God for that small window of time in which we were able to witness his calling upon the Lord for salvation and thus securing a place in Heaven for himself. This was a sober reminder to me of the brevity of life. None of us knows exactly when God will take us, but Scripture exhorts us to “number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

The Apostle Paul’s Truest Accomplishment

One aspect of my Christian walk that has often hindered me in giving my all to God is that of dealing with trivia in my life. Many times I would get too easily upset if things were not going the way I thought they should. Oh how important it is to keep our sight on eternity because all the things we see about us will someday perish. Colossians 3:2 reminds us to, “Set [our] affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” The Bible refers to trivia as vanities. The Book of Ecclesiastes is an excellent exhortation to prioritize our lives, knowing that material gain and earthly comforts and pleasures are not what makes us truly content and happy. The phrase “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” may be poetic, but it is also very real. The words of the apostle Paul put things into perspective:

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need . . . . But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. (Philippians 4:11-12, 19-20)

Yet, in his letter to the Philippians, Paul also does an inventory of his life, describing his great accomplishments:

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. (Philippians 3:4-6)

Then, what follows is his description of what really counts in life:

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14)

Of all Paul’s accomplishments, his epistles have been blessing millions over the centuries. Greek experts will also tell you that his command of the Greek language was second to none (when compared to the writings of Greek authors); yet, when writing to the Corinthians, Paul had this to say about his preaching when he was with them:

And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. (1 Corinthians 2:3-4)

His proclamation was that of the simple Gospel: “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). What Paul is saying here is that the most valuable thing he was able to do for them was not fancy speech but to give them the Gospel itself.

A “Great Accomplishment” Failure

In pondering the idea of a quest for a truly meaningful life, my thoughts go back to many years ago when I was studying literature at Portland State University. Much of one year consisted of studying 17th century English literature with a whole term solely on John Milton. Of all his accomplishments, Milton is best known for writing his epic Paradise Lost. Some praised it for being the greatest work of Christian literature ever written. Probably most people don’t even know that Milton went blind before writing this epic, presumably from the strain of spending endless hours reading and writing under dim candlelight. His only recourse was to dictate it all. So indeed, it was a great accomplishment to create this epic.

I was a relatively new believer when I read Paradise Lost, so I engaged my reading with anticipation of a positive benefit (I had heard that even Billy Graham highly praised it); but the more I read, the more uneasy I felt. While some patrons of this epic go so far as to believe that he wrote it under God’s inspiration, I felt like something was amiss. To search for answers, I went to the university library to see if there was something else he wrote that might help my confusion. I discovered that he had written a rather sizeable volume that no one seems to ever talk about titled On Christian Doctrine. Although that’s a rather bland title, I immediately recognized what Milton was doing in that Augustine once wrote a book titled De Doctrina Christiana which translates as “On Christian Doctrine.” While Milton had wanted to write the greatest of all epics, where the writing of epics has long been considered the most skilled effort anyone could undertake in literature, similarly, On Christian Doctrine would put him in the same league as, if not exceeding, Saint Augustine. As I thumbed through this book, I spotted things that made me uncomfortable. Then I saw his commentary on the Trinity. In essence, he said that the doctrine of the Trinity is complete nonsense, which invariably tainted his view regarding the deity and eternal nature of Christ (saying that He was “inferior to the Father” and was bound “within the limits of time”1).

What we have then, in Milton, is a man of acknowledged substantial accomplishments yet at the same time, he inadvertently diminished the Gospel; he succeeded at the cost of the Gospel—which is really no success at all. Might I add also that since I studied Milton in the late 1970s, he has been analyzed and scrutinized as to whether or not he was truly a believer; but nonetheless we have an example of how earthly accomplishments pale to insignificance from the perspective of what will help us for eternity. Jesus put this succinctly when He said:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36-37)

When Jesus went out to the desert and was tempted, Satan promised Him many things within the realms of fame and fortune. But Jesus stood fast to God’s Word and obedience to the Father. He gave up everything, even His own life, in a most torturous way, that all who believe in Him will have life eternal. That is a certainty that He purchased for us all.

Powerless Substitutes

When I was a Catholic (many years ago now), I was always taught that it is wrong, even sinful, to have an assurance of salvation—prideful and presumptuous to think such a thing. I was taught that Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was an incomplete sacrifice, and that is why, at the altar, the Catholic priest (and only the Catholic priest) performs a “non-bloody sacrifice” of repeating the substitutionary offering of Christ. Little did I know at the time that these teachings totally contradict chapters 9 and 10 of Hebrews in declaring that Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect and complete, for all time, never to be repeated. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He knew that too! Because of that finished work on the Cross, all our sins have been pardoned for all time. John was there on that day of Christ’s crucifixion, when redemption swept through the ages, redeeming all those who would put their trust in Him. That is why John could later say the words that are so precious, “These things [the Gospel] I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13, emphasis added)

Let us be cautious of the things that would convolute our beliefs and replace the Gospel with powerless substitutes. Aberrant teachings are everywhere: Some say that, in the end, everyone will be saved (universalism). Others say that if we believe in Christ, we can sin all we want; but how can we willfully wallow in the mire that God has saved us from? Others say that when we become Christians, it is impossible for us to sin again, and if we do sin again, it is because we were never Christians in the first place (the holiness movement). Then there is the relatively new trend known as the social justice gospel (or movement), in which we are told that personal salvation is passé, even selfish, because it focuses on self. No, they say, no more of this personal salvation. Rather, let’s go out and “save” or “redeem” whole cultures and societies. It is no longer about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ but instead is about embracing a kind of unified christ consciousness.

For the Sake of the Gospel

Sometimes, when I write, I am a bit afraid that the reader will think I am offering a newly discovered solution to “all your problems” that will “revolutionize your life.” But I find the Gospel is too precious to waste our time on trite solutions.

When I started attending university, I signed up for a science class that included students in the class pairing off for doing labs. Once, in preparation for the lab, I watched my lab partner going over the page of instructions; line by line her yellow highlighter flowed across the page. After watching for a minute, I said, “You’re nearly marking every word on the page!” But, as the page changed from white to yellow, I realized that when it comes to science, especially science experiments, it’s a good idea to follow instructions fully. Now, when I write, it is my task to “highlight” (and not change) the Word of God, and more specifically, to embrace the Gospel for all its beauty and glory. Also, I hope that I never mislead anyone into thinking that the Christian life should be easy, and therefore, I can show you how to make yours easy too. As I previously said, we struggle through life, but when we let God into our lives, in His way, there is an abiding peace and strength that accompanies us. I like what Harry Ironside said in this little statement in one of his sermons:

I have had many ups-and-downs since putting my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as the old folks used to sing in a camp meeting I attended: “I am sometimes up and sometimes down, But still my soul am heavenly bound.2

God allows struggles in our lives for a purpose in that they challenge us to depend more on and trust more in the Lord. An illustration that comes to mind is that of a ship at sea. If well equipped, it has an anchor (the Gospel) that keeps us firmly rooted in the faith. There is a rudder (the Word of God) that steers us in the right direction and a compass (prophecy in God’s Word) that keeps us looking in the right direction. When the wind blows (the Holy Spirit), we move. In stormy weather, the waves are there to challenge our faith. Yet, in all this, we have God’s Word helping and assuring us; and God has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). May we sail on in full assurance of faith—an assurance that others will witness—headed for the prize that God has set before us. Remember too, that when troubles or persecutions come, it could actually be a sign that we are doing the right thing.

With all this said, our singular greatest accomplishment in this life is to believe in the Gospel message for in that believing, God not only saves us, but uses our lives of faith as an example so that others may come to believe. May we live lives that allow God to use them for the sake of the Gospel message. What accomplishment can be more significant in one’s life than having the Gospel as the first and foremost of importance. For it is this Gospel of Jesus Christ that saves people, and it is what saves us. Being won fully to the Gospel is our greatest accomplishment because as we are fully persuaded of the finished work of Christ at the Cross, we will be enabled to have a similar impact on others. And how profound to realize that what is “our” greatest accomplishment is actually made possible, not because of merit to ourselves, but because of what God has done in us and for us.

As a final parting thought, life is fleeting, and eternity is in sight. May our efforts to live lives that are pleasing to God be seasoned with the salt of charity, which God has graciously provided for us through His own perfect love. (We love him, because he first loved us; 1 John 4:19.)

[T]he love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:5-6)


Endnotes:

  1. John Milton, A Treatise on Christian Doctrine (Hardpress edition, Kindle edition, 2017), location 550.
  2. Harry Ironside, taken from his sermon “Eternal Security of the Believer” (to be published in the Spring 2025 LT book, Changed by Beholding and 10 Other Sermons).

(image from istockphoto.com; used with permission)

2 thoughts on “Our Singular Most Important Accomplishment

  1. David, Amen!
    The Gospel is all inclusive and complete from Genesis to Revelation—from Creation and the fall in the Garden… to the Mosaic Law testifying to the coming Son of David… to Him, also the Son of God, Jesus Christ, victorious to become the Eternal and only High Priest over the House of the God of Israel… that we be reconciled having peace with God as we travel towards, preparing for as kings and priests of God, the Promises to Abraham.

    Matthew 25:19 “Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them. 20 He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’ 21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

    Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

  2. Thank you for this most thought provoking article Mr. Dombrowski. Your final two paragraphs answer the question nicely. Believing in the Biblical sense (complete trust and total reliance on) our Lord’s finished work brings Glory and Honor to Him. Worthy is the Lamb !!! Revelation 5:11-13. We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19. Maranatha!

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