God Helps Those Who Help Themselves?

Perhaps you've heard it said that God helps those who help themselves, which is arguably the most quoted verse not found in the Bible. The quote is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin written in poor Richard's almanac, but an earlier appearance shows up in 1698 in an article entitled Discourses Concerning Government written by Algernon Sidney.

Reliance on the Lord, Not on Self

That's just a bonus fact for you there. God helps those who help themselves is not anywhere in Scripture. The Bible actually instructs us to rely fully on the Lord and not on ourselves. Proverbs 3 .5 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Proverbs 28 .26 even says, Whoever trusts in his own mind trusts in a fool. And as we read in Jeremiah 17 .5, Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.

Salvation by Grace, Not Human Works

Our works do not earn God's favor. As the prophet Isaiah said,. Even our best deeds are like filthy rags. Romans 3 .10 says that there is none righteous, not even one. The only work that God accepts as righteous is the work that Christ completed on the cross.

Christ's Finished Work and the Wages of Sin

The wages of sin is death, Scripture says, and Christ took that penalty upon himself. All who are in Christ Jesus, God looks upon as righteous, not because of what we did, but because of what Christ did and is still doing in us.

Mercy, Humility, and God's Way of Saving Us

As it says in Titus 3 .5, He saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. So God does not help those who help themselves. He comes to those who humble themselves.

That's the attitude we should have when we understand the text.