The Sin Of Doing Nothing

"The best use of a life is to invest it in something that will outlast it."  (William James, psychologist).
"[M]aking the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16, NKJV).


Sloth, indolence, or acedia is known as the sin of doing or wanting to do nothing (laziness) and is better known as one of the so-called seven deadly sins of Roman Catholicism.  Analogous is spiritual inertia or getting slack spiritually and losing discipline.  It's hard to get motivated sometimes!    Inertia is one of Newton's laws of physics that says a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion!  We expend most of our energy just getting motivated and started just like when rockets launch and use most of their fuel just getting off the ground.  But we all need times of spiritual, mental, and physical R & R but we can get carried away and lose our work ethic. We love to take it easy and be entertained or have a diversion but often too much for our own good.  That's why God instituted the Sabbath (meaning "rest") to be taken on the seventh day of the week as God did so after Creation and hallowed it. "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God," (cf. Heb. 2:9). 

Today according to New Testament custom we are not under the Law to go through any strict observance of the Sabbath; therefore, we are not to judge our brother on his conscience.   Everyone should keep their faith to themselves and not judge.   In principle, as a rule of thumb, any OT command not reinstituted in the NT or repeated is not valid; for example, the only command of the Decalogue not repeated for Christians is Sabbath observance.  It is not mandatory for Christians, but they are free to exercise their own faith and conscience.  It is clear from Neh. 9:14; Ezek. 20:20; Rom. 15:4, and Col. 2:16 that Sabbath laws are not binding for believers and Christians ought not to judge one another on what he believes.  NB:  The Sabbath was originally meant as a sign for Israel only, though the principle is always intact.

It is wrong to believe that early Christians changed the Sabbath to Sunday in honor of or tribute to the Resurrection and called it the Lord's Day--this was their day of church gathering but it is clear from Scripture that Sabbath observance was never enforced in the early church.  The Sabbath was originally a sign for Israel to mark it out as God's nation-- its original intention was for man's benefit, not to be a burden ("the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath").  Though we are not under this kind of obligatory observance the principle of periodic rest remains and if we neglect it, it will be to the detriment of our wellness. 

If we don't observe this principle (and don't realize that life is more than work) we will pay the price in a possible nervous or mental breakdown and God will force us to lie down in green pastures so to speak.  We ignore rest at our peril and any short-term gain will have long-term effects.   It takes faith to give God back the time He has given us and to realize we can accomplish more in six working days with one for rest and dedication to God than if we work all seven days.

Time is of the essence and a commodity we must value and not waste!  The Bible exhorts us to redeem the time because the days are evil and Psalm 31:15 says that our times are in God's hands---it's not our time but only borrowed from God and we are mere stewards of it.  Therefore, there is no such thing as an interruption because God is in control and fixes our schedule.  When we live in God's time and walk with Him all things go smoothly according to Plan A.  We should want God's will for our lives and don't want Him to say, "OK, have it your way!"  

Some people are so stingy with their time that they think God is worthy of only one hour of it per week while at church!  There is this saying from an ancient people that they don't like to overwork and take breaks to let their souls catch up with their bodies!  Taking a break isn't a sign of laziness but may be wise in the sense that a rested person can work all the more (efficiently).  Our spirits, as well as bodies, need refreshment and rest--we are not machines.

Now, since we are stewards of our time let us consider what people do with it:  we can waste it, find it, lose it, spend it, borrow it, save it, redeem it, steal it, buy it, kill it, share it, while it away, wait for it, invest it, enjoy it, anticipate it, remember it, fill it, and so forth, ad infinitum.  Time is indeed our most precious commodity and Ernest Hemmingway said that time is the thing we have least of. Remember, love is often spelled T-I-M-E!  We all value quality time with our loved ones and must remember we will give an account of our usage. Time flies (tempis fugit in Latin) and we cannot control it, only manage it.   As far as investing it goes,  we never lose out by giving God our time!  Prayer is never a waste of time but an investment: Martin Luther started out the day with several hours of prayer, and if he was going to be busy--he'd spend more!  This principle works for everything we own and gives back to God--He returns to us more in return (we are never the loser!).

For example, if you are pressed for time and cannot ever find enough, start investing in giving Him your time and He will give you "more" as a gift in return!   When someone says he doesn't have the time, it's a lie and deception because we all have the same 168 hours per week as a gift from God--it's not our time to give but to use for God's glory.  Jesus always had the time!  We are only allowed a limited amount of time in this life and must seize the day (carpe deim in Latin).  What it means is that he doesn't have the devotion to God's time, because it all belongs to Him.  I am aware that there can be periods of depression or of having a depressed funk and to be in the doldrums, but one must learn to get out of the ruts and to avail of God's blessing and turn it into one's advantage and learning experience (chalk it up to experience and the school of hard knocks!).  We can learn from these down-times and timeouts and everyone must experience them or they will never grow up spiritually.

It's times like these that our habits form and influence our behavior and we find out that there are dividends to reap in having good time management habits--there is an intrinsic reward in knowing that we have been productive and wise investors of the time God has allocated us as a gift to be used for Him and the service of others.  We may retire from our employment, but never from God's service.  It is selfish to insist on too much "me-time" or personal time-outs and not see it as something we owe others and God.  In view of time as a God-given resource, we are all on borrowed time! 

Certain people don't have all the time in the world, some are just better investors of it to God's glory.  There is a tendency for people who have time on their hands to waste it, but he must realize that he too will give an account as to how he kept busy with God's time.  Remember the words to Esther (Esth. 4:14, HCSB):  "... Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this."  Remember that God orchestrates history and time and "when the fullness of time" (cf. Gal. 4:4) comes He will accomplish His will.  And so, learn to get with the program on God's timetable with your rhythms in sync with God's timeline, so you're on the same page with God!   Final food for thought:  We will always have enough time for God's will because He created the time-space continuum and can make time for us too.   He MAKES EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME.  (CF. ECCL. 3:11).    Soli Deo Gloria!  

Throwing The Book At Believers

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.  He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God"  (1 Cor. 4:5, NIV).

"Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.  One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ... Who are you to judge someone else's servant?  To their own master, servants stand or fall.  And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand" (Rom. 14:1,4, NIV).

"...[B]ut my people know not the rules of the LORD" (Jer. 8:7, ESV).

"[F]or they do not know the way of the LORD..." (Jer. 5:4, ESV).

Some law enforcement officials like to throw the book at hardened criminals because they never seem to learn and could be repeat offenders and need an incentive to go straight.  Some overzealous police officers like to go for the maximum penalty for criminals they are offended by and they tend to get personally involved in.  We must seek to be like God who in wrath remembers mercy!  Jesus didn't exactly throw the book at the Pharisees but condemned their hypocrisy in obeying the letter of the law and ignoring the Spirit of the law.  We must never be so obsessed with minor points or the little things that we lose track of the main focus and issue of our faith, to love God and our fellow man through the power of the Spirit.

This is everyone's problem:  we don't always see our own sin.  We all have the tendency to overlook our own faults and be offended by the sins of others when we should be offended by our own sins!  The faith had degenerated into merely an externalism and Jesus intended to make it a matter of the heart and something that starts from the inside and becomes real and sincere, not just for show. 

The Jewish faith had devolved into externalism of certain favorite practices:  circumcision, fasting, Sabbath observance, tithing, dietary laws, hand-washing, and various sacrifices.  They certainly didn't impress Jesus with their religiosity and neither do we with our legalism and of going through the motions and memorizing the Dance of the Pious.  The Pharisees were rules-obsessed and also wondered what they had to do to earn salvation as if there was some merited work involved.  Jesus answered that the work of God is to believe in His Son!

Even today we still have the issue of legalism in our churches which does nothing but strike a wrong impression of our faith and create a paralysis of spirituality.  It is a parody of the real thing or life in the Spirit, walking with God.  Some Christians seem to reduce the faith to just following the rules and are just converted to the program, not to Christ Himself--they haven't yet realized the fullness of the Spirit in their lives and what it means to walk with God like Enoch, Noah, and Moses did.  According to the record in Genesis, Noah was a "just man, perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God."  That's would look good on anyone's resume!  We have the resident Holy Spirit and the full revelation of Scripture and have no excuse for not doing likewise.  

Yes, we can become friends with God and know Him as our Father in our faith.  This is the Christian privilege and we ought to make our faith real and demonstrate or prove it by our good deeds or works of faith. After all, the faith you have is the faith you show!  Without any works, our faith is suspect; our faith must be validated by works and works must spring from faith!  The Reformers had the simple formula for our salvation of being saved by faith alone in this rallying cry:  Salvation is "by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone!"

An example of the legalism of the Pharisees was their fetish about the Sabbath Day.  There really wasn't any hard-and-fast rule as to what constituted work, but they concocted 39 additional definitions or categories to be construed as work or forbidden activities to do on the Sabbath.  Observance became a burden rather than the joy it was meant to be.  Jesus warned them that they missed the point of the intent of the holy day: in that, it was made for man, not man for it (cf. Mark 2:27).  We must not reduce our faith to simply following the rules or enforcing a code of conduct, for it's a relationship and way of a new, fulfilling, abundant life in Christ.  

Only Christians are truly free, the unbeliever is a slave to sin.  Christians are those whom Christ has set free--not free to live as we want but as we ought.  We may be free from the law but not from God's will!  The law was given to convince us we don't keep it according to D. James Kennedy.  It was never meant as a way of salvation but as a measure of a man and to show him where he falls short of God's standards.  Those who rely on the law are under a curse (cf. Gal. 3:13).

We must not be so confused with works and do-goodery that we lose track of the ultimate goal of our faith; i.e., enjoying fellowship with Him and getting to know God, the aim of our salvation.  In fact, being saved can be seen simply as knowing Jesus and making Him known!  We must not feel we have to do good deeds to impress others or show off like wearing our religion on our sleeves and flaunt it, nor should we privatize it; however, we ought to grow in our faith and make it real by a life that is honoring to our Lord and worthy of Him--free of all hypocrisy; for we don't need perfect, doubtless faith but only sincere, unfeigned faith.  We must realize that hypocrisy is what offends God, not a person who says, "I believe, help mine unbelief!"

The only thing that interferes with our fellowship with God is sin in the camp or sin in our behavior and conduct.  We must keep short accounts of our sins and confess them as soon as we get convicted and realize them, not letting them stack up until we feel like making a confession.  Note that our fellowship isn't merely with the Father and the Son, but also with our fellow believers!  We cannot and must not become Lone Ranger Christians or go, rogue, because no man is an island and we all need each other in the body--no individual has all the spiritual gifts, but they are all given for the benefit of the body.

Now there are certainly gray areas or matters of personal conscience (and we all should be convinced in our own minds) and we are not to judge our brother nor flaunt our liberty and ruin their conscience or make them stumble (cf. 1 Cor. 8:12). We must not judge our brother in matters of conscience and no one has the right to lord it over another.  The weaker brother needs to grow in knowledge, while the stronger one needs to improve in his love and understanding or sympathy.  We may have the right to do something but it's not always the right thing to do nor does it benefit.  

As Paul said in 1 Cor. 10:23, HCSB, "'Everything is permissible,' but not everything is helpful.  'Everything is permissible,' but not very thing builds up."  The important thing about our liberty in Christ, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17) is that we must not let anything control us or make us its slave.  As Romans 6:16 says, we are slaves to the power we choose to obey.

We all have a duty to obey our conscience, and to go against it is neither safe nor right according to Luther, though it can be wrong, it should be enlightened by the Word of God.    Jiminy Cricket told us to always let our conscience be our guide, but this is only valid if it's enlightened and informed by Scripture.  We must bear in mind that the old nature knows no law, while the new nature needs no law--we do what is right naturally and God convicts us when we go astray from the straight and narrow or the fellowship of God.

We must put aside the pointing of the finger and playing the blame game (cf. Isa. 58:9), for we only seem to condemn or judge in others what we are guilty of or is our weakness or area of pride.  What most offends us, we tend to look down on others for and we may have been guilty of it ourselves.  We must always give God the glory in our defeat of sin and of having a victorious Christian life--we can not walk with God in the energy of the flesh or without newness of life in Christ.  In the final analysis, I believe that man is religious by nature and tends towards legalism because he's incurably addicted to doing something for salvation as if it's a quid pro quo.

It's the job description of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin and we should never attempt to try this ourselves because He does it good enough without our help using the Word of God.  It is said that if we live in a glasshouse, we should not throw bricks and Jesus also said that he who is without sin cast the first stone.  We need to stop being so offended by the sins of others and look within at our own hypocrisy and how repugnant our sins are to God and should be offending us.  We must always make allowance for each others' faults and realize that we are all works in progress and God isn't finished with us yet (cf. Phil. 1:6)!

NB:  Christians are not under the law as the Old Testament saints, but we have a higher law to submit to--the law of love! The law of love can never be satisfied or fulfilled, for we will always be in God's debt.  Grace does mean this:  we cannot pay it back, don't deserve it, and cannot earn it!   We have the privilege as believer-priests to go directly to God and seek restoration and continued ongoing fellowship.     Soli Deo Gloria!

The Prototype Sin

"But sin took advantage of this law and aroused all kinds of forbidden desires with me!  If there were no law, sin would not have that power [to foment what it prohibits]" (Rom. 8:8, NLT).  

"... [S]in is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must not let it" (Gen. 4:7, HCSB). 
[sin is ready to destroy you, but don't' let it!]  

The New England Primer begins:  "In Adam's fall, we sinned all."  This references original sin in the Garden of Eden--the result of this first sin.  We are all subsequently "in Adam" and live out our solidarity in Adam experientially; it's the only doctrine that can be proved, said G. K. Chesterton in a tongue-in-cheek manner.  Yes, Adam and Eve jointly connived and plotted to take of the forbidden fruit, otherwise known as the proverbial apple, which was the only rule and off-limits.  I'm not saying they had aforethought or it was a premeditated act, but the sin had been hatching and this only incubated it.  They were indeed vulnerable and Satan took advantage of their weaknesses.

All sin has its root in this prototype sin that prefigures all our rebellion in one notorious and infamous act.  Adam acted as the head of the human race and that is why we are accountable and culpable as being represented by our race in Adam.  Likewise, in Christ, we are saved as the head of the new man.  It is worth noting in passing that Eve was deceived and Adam joined her revolt against God's authority knowingly and willingly.

In being in Adam, we are only capable of sin and not righteousness in God's eyes and are not as bad as we can be, but merely as bad off as we can be; we are as far from the kingdom of God as possible and need to repent and believe the gospel to be restored.  Salvation is a reconciliation with God or brings back ourselves into the right relationship with God that we should enjoy with Him.  The fellowship had been severed and broken as Adam broke faith with God in the covenant of works in the Garden of Eden.  Ever since man has had an alienation from God, being estranged from communion and a slave to his sinful nature. Jesus acts as the intercessor and mediator of a New Covenant of grace.   This depravity is the result of the original sin and is God's estimation of man, not man's own estimation of himself--for he may think he's all right.  The problem with man is that he doesn't see his own sin!

To be good we must see how bad we are (this is the catch-22) and to see how bad we are we must try to be good.  We all have feet of clay (sin not so readily apparent). But salvation is a work of grace transforming the heart of man from stone to flesh, making him willing to do God's will.  God can make the unwilling willing and causes us to believe.  We are not elected because God foresees faith (which would be meritorious), but elected unto faith as a gift.   We are all a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; i.e., we all have a dark side no one sees, but God.  God may expose us for what we are to make us have a spiritual wake-up call.

The first sin in a perfect environment prefigured all sins and we all would've done the same and dittoed Adam and followed suit.  It has been delineated:  He spurned God's grace; contradicted His truth; rejected His authority; disputed His wisdom; repudiated His justice; and resisted His grace.  Adam was not choosing evil over good even though the tree was called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he was choosing his way over God's way and to find fulfillment outside of God's plan for him.  He became selfish and saw things as they relate to him, not God's glory.

What is so sad is that we all confirm ourselves in Adam's sin and do the same thing--eating our forbidden fruit and apple of wisdom.  We all can say that there are things we wish we hadn't seen or heard.  We have lost the innocence of our own volition and it cannot be retrieved.  Consequently, we are all born in sin, and the slave to our "old sin nature" and can only be set free by the Son of God who is Jesus Christ.   In the meantime, Christians are justified sinners (cf. Gal. 2:17) or possessing a dual nature--in the nature of the old man Adam and the new man Christ. We are declared righteous, not made righteous! 

Ever since Adam, we have a legacy and virus of sin--our birthright!  Adam declared independence from God's sovereign plan.  Defying God's plan, we have all broken faith in the Designer.  We are not inherently good, but evil and not ever good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation.  Jesus sees through the veneer of our guise or semblance of righteousness (even hypocrisy and sanctimoniousness) and knows we all have feet of clay or flaws not readily apparent.  We all see the good and don't do it because of this slavery to sin--"Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" (Cf. Rom. 7:24).  It's no use just giving us rules to keep; we cannot keep them! We never ceased to be human but ceased to be good, inclined to please God.

In fact, every part of our nature and essence is tainted with sin:  our wills are stubborn, our thoughts are evil, and our conscience is corrupt, our minds are defective, and feelings selfish--every part of us needs salvation (intellect, emotion, will or heart, soul and mind).  We went from creation to corruption!  We all even stand self-condemned and in need of grace and mercy from God--and since we are great sinners, He is a great Savior.   In sum, we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners; i.e., we're born in sin enslaved, not free to become set free in Christ.  Only Christ can set us free!     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Lust At Ninety-Percent Containment

"'I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully [with desire] at a young woman'" (Job 31:1, NIV).

Wildfires may be considered under control when 90-percent contained (this fails the plumb line of God and we must not be weighed in the balance and found wanting--NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD!) but we must have absolutely pure minds that are 100-percent contained from the fires of immorality to be pleasing in God's eyes not ever guilty of playing with fire.  We must never let up and think we've got it under control once tempted--we'll always overestimate our self-control or virtue. 

By definition, lust is an unnatural or excessive desire and it can be manifested in multiple ways.  We need fire per se, by analogy, but it must be fully contained and harnessed for good.  The best proactive procedure is to flee all immorality and don't even test your limits or even go there thinking you may be able to control yourself.  We're all in the same boat and have our breaking point, much more, the devil knows our weaknesses.

In other words, don't play with fire or even matches!  There's no such thing as a small wildfire that poses no threat--they're all potential hazards to public safety:  When the damage of lost innocence is done and is permanent.  The only hope is to rebuild or let Christ transform your life with a new beginning, who can WIPE the slate clean and help us rebuild and begin anew from the inside out--the principle that we are not punished for our sins, but by them, resonates and RINGS SO TRUE.

People tend to think that God's so-called rules on sexuality are too binding and not up to date or even obsolete by modern standards.  But God made these rules for our own good and what was wrong at the time of Moses is still wrong!  Morality is not relative to culture and situation but is absolute and universal, applying to everyone all the time. Is it any wonder a woman feels violated by male, predatory, sexual advances against her will and unsolicited?  Sexual assault destroys innocence that leaves a permanent stain on one's psyche and soul.

 Sometimes it all begins with a fling or affair that seems so innocent or even platonic, and then the compromising position or situation presents itself and the rest spins out of control, beyond the point of no return.  The best inoculation is to be prepared, but knowing right from wrong and not letting yourself be put in such situations in the first place.  Don't think that your affair is innocent because you are wiser or more experienced than others or you know your limits and boundaries!

The world will tell you, "Turn on, tune in, drop out!" like Dr. Timothy Leary propagated in the 60s.  And "The Summer of Love" (1967) with the "sexual revolution" has not changed God's litmus test of purity--unstained from the world--these are mandated not suggestions!  The thing about purity and innocence is that you don't lose it by accident or fortuitously, but by one's own volition.  It's an overt act of the will succumbing to Satan's agenda and program.  The world will tell you that we are nothing but animals in heat, seeking pleasure, and avoiding pain!  But the Bible gives a bigger picture with God in the equation. If we are taught we are animals; is it any wonder we act like them?  But we are in God's image and the only creature responsible to God for our actions: we will stand judgment meeting our Maker one on one.

We must never play with fire or test our limits, for we are not strong enough to fight the onslaught of Satan ourselves once we've given in to temptation.  We all tend to overestimate ourselves and think we are strong enough, but we are testing God too, who always provides a way out to escape it so that we have no excuse (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13).  The best defense is a good offense, which is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.   We must always maintain a divine point of view and see it as God would, through His eyes, not the world's.  We need to approach the fire of the world with the fire of the Spirit!  Fight fire with fire!  If we do get exposed even we may not walk away without a first-degree burn or temporary setback.   But God is able to heal and we must not lose focus on our Creator who knows us and didn't design us for immorality or promiscuity for our own good.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life," according to Proverbs 4:23, KJV.    God has given us a message to proclaim to the world as salt and light and we must not jeopardize our testimony by sinning against the body, which sexual immorality is.  We have to choose purity to get it; the choice isn't automatic or made for us.  We must avoid any destructive lifestyle by allowing ourselves to be in compromising positions.   In other words, we must "walk worthy of our Lord" (cf. Eph. 4:1) for our bodies are not our own but have been bought (cf. 1 Cor. 6:20).   We are to seek "holiness, without which no one will see the Lord"(cf. Heb. 12:14). Moral laxity is always wrong.

The problem with immortality is that people don't know their own weaknesses and how to protect themselves.  The end result is never just bittersweet, an understatement because there are always consequences; the end result is reaping what we sow, for God always disciplines His children.  In other words, the best policy is zero tolerance with yourself--don't even experiment to see what you can get away with! Don't get too close to the "fire" because you're curious either--you will get burned--or too close for comfort!   Finally, going against God's perfect design for mankind breaks faith the Designer Himself.  FINAL CAVEAT AND WORD TO THE WISE:  "...But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it" (Gen. 4:7, HCSB).   Soli Deo Gloria!     

Awaiting The Final Verdict

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19, NIV).
"They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do" (1 Pet. 2:9, NIV).
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:9, NIV).

The verdict is that man is guilty as sin (AS CHARGED!) but doesn't even acknowledge his own sin--he's not aware of his predicament and dilemma before an angry God, who cannot tolerate any sin in His presence and is only postponing judgment--for justice delayed isn't judgment denied. Men love darkness rather than light and therefore won't come to the light, lest their misdemeanors are exposed. The final verdict has already been rendered in God's court and cannot be reversed. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (cf. Gen. 18:25).. 

We all stand condemned apart from the mercy of God. This is God's estimation of man, not our own. We are all guilty as charged and need to see how bad we are to recognize our need for salvation, and we cannot realize our depravity till we've attempted good or repentance--it's a catch-22. Only the grace of God opens our eyes to our plight, and we are as bad off as possibly could be, though not as bad as can be--God restrains some evil in the world out of mercy (cf. Psalm 76:10).

Now, a jury doesn't need all the evidence to render a verdict, but only needs to go in the direction of the evidence, i.e., the preponderance of the evidence. Likewise, we don't need all the answers to believe and repent or to have believing penitence or penitent faith. But here's the rub: you must want to believe and be willing to do God's will and repent before you are rendered capable of faith as God kindles or awakens faith in you. In a court of law, the evidence isn't always conclusive or final, but only an argument for or against a case. In other words, there is evidence pro and con! One must weigh the evidence and decide according to one's conscience and convictions. There's no such thing as perfect objectivity, and so the court system must err on the side of innocence, not guilt out of mercy.  But God is objective and knows all the evidence!  

They say that if the evidence is against a case (and it's stacked against us), plead the law; if the law is against the case, plead the evidence! Sometimes you have to plead the case for a change of venue if all else fails, plead guilty and work out a plea bargain! In our case, there are no pleas bargains possible except as charged. Christians believe that God is a God of justice and that no one will escape it in the end--in eternity if not in this world. There is such a thing as justice and just law because God is a God of justice and cares a lot about right and wrong.

We must never lose faith in the system and realize that God is always in control and that criminals and outlaws will someday meet their comeuppance. Our system of justice depends upon jurors taking their oath seriously and being fair and unbiased, hearing both sides without turning a deaf ear. We all will either face the Bema of Christ (Judgment Seat) or the Great White Throne Judgment of condemnation. Our justification isn't legal fiction but forensic and just in God's eyes.

God is able to save the worst of sinners and we can escape judgment by believing in His Son as Lord and Savior (cf. John 5:24). God is unjust to no one! He chooses to save some by having mercy and to bypass others who receive judgment and justice by virtue of His holiness demanding retribution. Mercy and grace are not forms of injustice, but forms of nonjustice. God reserves the right to have mercy on whomever He wills (cf. Rom. 9:15). God is under no obligation to save anyone at all! If He were obliged to save us for any reason, it would be justice, not mercy! 

To be saved, no one is entreated to believe despite the evidence nor to commit intellectual suicide--there are ample and sound reasons to believe based on reasonable circumstantial and historical evidence--but it takes a leap of faith. There is never enough evidence for the skeptic who doesn't want to believe and no one can disbelieve out of lack of evidence. There is just enough light to see for the willing and enough darkness to keep the unwilling from believing.  Jesus said that if a person is willing to do His will he shall know whether it's of God.

Finally, if the skeptic asks the person of faith to come up with evidence, he should be asked what evidence he sees that there isn't a God. God's existence is self-attested and He doesn't need to prove Himself. There's more evidence in the affirmative than the negative for you cannot prove a universal negative according to the laws of logic; in other words, both believer and skeptic are people of faith, it just depends upon what the presupposition is. 

If the believer must come up with proof, then the infidel must too. There's no smoking-gun evidence either way that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt--one must exercise faith on both sides. God doesn't need to give more evidence to convince the hardened heart but says that no one has an excuse for not believing the self-evident. There's plenty of proof, one must have his heart in the right place and not have moral issues--for intellectual issues are a sham and masquerade and cover-up for moral rebellion and an unrepentant heart.

CAVEAT: GOD'S VERDICT IS FINAL AND PERMANENT WITH NO APPEAL POSSIBLE, WHAT YOUR FATE IS DEPENDS UPON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST. Soli Deo Gloria!

Love Not The World

"He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin [for a season]" (Heb. 11:25, NIV). 
"We have met the enemy, and he is us!" (Pogo, Walt Kelly's cartoon character)
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4, NIV).
"These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings" (Col. 2:22, NIV).    

The title above is from a book by Watchman Nee, Love Not the World, who was a missionary in China during vehement Christian persecution which happened when the Mao regime was in power.  Loving the world is a trap and sideline from Satan that lures the unsuspecting believer away from God's way and his walk with Him, to get him off track. We can let the world squeeze us into its mold or worldview unawares.  John says not to love the world, nor the things of the world (cf. 1 John 2:15). Jesus said similarly, that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also!  Satan controls the world system--the entertainment industry, religion, the government, academia, the media, and he will give it over to whomever he desires--Christ refused it at His temptation in the wilderness.

When kids (and I'll focus on them) go off to college they are immersed in the devil's worldview, usually unprepared and unbeknownst to them, and many change their way of thinking pretty quick and become conformed to the image of the world, even losing their faith.  Satan is very subtle and uses mind games, engages in power trips and controls, psychological warfare, and authority figures to mold young impressionable minds in their formative years.  They become too busy for God in college and their priorities are turned topsy-turvy.  They eventually may become uninformed as to world affairs and tune it out in apathy and become ignorant--what's worse, they are unconcerned, disinterested, and nonchalant. They don't know and they don't care, nor care that they don't know!

With so many competing interests, God may seem boring in comparison--but this only happens to the immature, unseasoned, and uncommitted believers.  Much more, hormones are all the more active and they are growing up and discovering sex and show all the more interest in the opposite sexual persuasion.  Any unnatural desire though is lust and sinful--there is natural attractiveness.  Parties become frequent and easily accessed, challenging their morals and scruples. 

The odd thing is that they may still engage in refraining from certain taboos like not playing cards, dancing, going to movies, having long hair, drinking, doing drugs, gambling, smoking, listening to Rock music--an especially big no-no! (When I was young you had to watch the hemlines, the hairlines, and the movie lines) etc., but they must find out that refraining from activities is no guarantee or measure of spirituality.

The issue is that they lack a consistent walk with the Lord and don't even seek spiritual guidance, instead they fall through the cracks and get lost in the shuffle of growing up. They drift away, not so much as to rebel or fall away.  Kids don't learn the true value of success and what is really important to God.  God does promise to prosper us in what we do and kids have a worldly concept of success, thinking bigger is better and more is better, and forget that God is looking for our obedience and faithfulness, not our achievements or our success, which is His business. The Christian life isn't a performance, but the fruit of the Spirit and resultant faithfulness in one's gifting; NB: fruits are grown, but gifts are given.

When the kids get too entangled in the ways of the world, it chokes out the Word, and they become carnal and must be treated as infants in Christ, not knowing good and evil.  Christianity is about being free in Christ in order to bring Him glory.  "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36, NIV).  ("Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin,..." Acts 13:39, NIV).  If these kids knew the Christian worldview they wouldn't be sitting ducks and succumb to Satan's Anfectung or assault of evil in academia.

In conclusion, worldliness is not refraining from some religious taboo but whether we let it influence our outlook on life, or way of thinking, or even a belief system.  Remember: There's no compromising with the devil--show discernment!  "Don't provide an opportunity for the devil" (Eph. 4:27, CEB).  "Have nothing to do with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them" (Eph. 5:11, NIV).  You can watch TV, but don't be overly influenced by their take on world events or the world-system, if opposed to Christ, i.e., have a Christian worldview. 

Let God open your eyes to see good and evil (cf. Heb. 5:15) everywhere because the "devil seeks whom he may devour"(cf. 1 Pet. 5:8) because we are in an enemy-occupied territory and must remember that "the battle is the Lord's" (cf. 2 Chron. 20:15).    James 1:27 describes the believer with "pure religion" or devotion as one who is "unspotted" or uncontaminated from the world (system).    Soli Deo Gloria!

The Problem Of Legalism

"These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings" (Col. 2:22, NIV).
"They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules" (Matt. 15:9, NIV). 

Martin Luther realized the threat of Antinomianism and debunked it in his book, Against the Antinomians.  On the one extreme, there's the question of the Antinomian (anti-lawism or showing a distaste for the law) or libertine, on the other hand, we have the legalists.  They both are too obsessed with what right and wrong behavior is, not heeding the warning to watch our thinking and to be mature in our thinking and not infants (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20).  We are to be "renewed in the spirit of [our] minds."

Antinomianism suggests that since we are forgiven, we can live as we please, not as we ought.  Their slogan is: "Freed from the law, Oh blessed condition; now I can sin all I want and still have remission."  We are never granted carte blanche to live as we please or to do what is wrong.  We must not be like Israel that did that which was right in their own eyes (cf. Judges 21:25).  Antinomianism is nothing but moral liberty in Christ gone amok or plain moral laxity.

It is true that our faith is more than a list of dos and don'ts, and we are not under the law, but we are not lawless!  What did Paul say in Romans 6, but that we should not go on sinning, now that we are forgiven?  "Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more" (cf. Rom. 5:20); God will save the chief of sinners like Paul and that no one is too bad to be saved.  Christians do sin once saved (cf. Gal. 2:17) and perfectionism (entire sanctification) is unattainable this side of glory (cf. Prov. 20:9; Psalm 119:96), but we are not servants to sin as our master, but to righteousness, and are set free from its dominion.

We are all slaves to the power we choose to obey (cf. Rom. 6:16; 2 Pet. 2:19).  The point of being a Christian is being set free from our bondage.  We don't have the right to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit.  That's why "the letter kills and the Spirit gives life"--we must learn to walk in the Spirit in fellowship with our God.  We don't want to mimic the Pharisees who practiced the letter of the Law, without observing the Spirit.  What they were especially guilty of, is going beyond that which is written, as Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 4:4. Legalism is sheer spiritual tyranny and those who impose it are on a power trip and are control freaks.

Spiritual believers need no law, for they observe the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, but unbelievers know no law!  We must never major on the minors and become obsessed with a minor point or sin while avoiding major ones (cf. Matt. 23:23 where Jesus pointed out the Pharisees had neglected the heavier matters of the Law like justice, mercy, and faithfulness, cf. Matt. 23:23).   We ought to always respect the weaker brother's conscience and not be offensive, flaunting our liberty--we all should keep our convictions on disputable or questionable matters to ourselves and not publicize them.  We all have a right to an opinion on gray areas!

Grace, however, is not a license to sin and the Law still holds a place in our lives to be a mirror of ourselves, driving us to the cross, showing us we can't keep it and become convicted. But "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17).  We ought not to misuse liberty and take advantage of it, which would be a presumptuous sin!  By sinning we demonstrate our slavery, we don't prove our freedom.  We are free from sin, not to sin!  We are not under the Law but not lawless.

In sum, it's no use giving us a rule book, we cannot follow it!  The problem with legalism is that no perfect set of rules can be made and even if they could, man could not abide by it, for even the yoke of the Law was too heavy a burden for Israel--no list could be comprehensive enough and cover all the bases--we live under the easy yoke of God's will and abiding in Christ as we walk in the Spirit and fellowship.  The highest law is of love, and this can only be fulfilled in Christ! But God's Law is perfect and able to convert the sinner (cf. Psalm 19:7).

It's no use making up rules; we cannot keep them!   In the final analysis, the only way to avoid both extremes is the antidote of the Truth in the serious study of the Word of God.       Soli Deo Gloria!

Seeing Our Own Sinfulness

"The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.  Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God"  (Rom. 8:7-8, NIV).
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9, NIV). 
"... But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it" (Gen. 4:7, HCSB)
"It is no use giving us rules of conduct; we cannot keep them." --John Stott
"In Adam's fall/ We sinned all" (The New England Primer, 1727). 

We all are born "in Adam" (as opposed to becoming "in Christ" upon salvation) or with "original sin" (the result of the first sin) inherited from Adam, by virtue of his being the representative head of our race and acting on our behalf when he disobeyed God. When Adam ate of the so-called "proverbial apple" it was the prototype or model sin:  "He spurned God's grace; contradicted His truth; rejected His authority; disputed His wisdom; repudiated His justice, and resisted His grace" (Author unknown). 

Sin is our birthright and a virus we all have inherited.   It has been defined by the Westminster divines as "any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God."  By the way, it's "any thought, word, action, omission, or desire contrary to the Law of God" (Charlie Riggs of the BGEA) i.e., anything contrary to the nature of God--our Declaration of Independence from God--it's such a killjoy word for preachers but cannot be ignored without peril. It's our birthright and a virus we inherit.  We must be against it!

We must see our sinfulness to be saved and come to repentance.  The law was given to make us see our sin ("for by the law is the knowledge of sin," cf. Rom. 3:20).   It was never given to save us but to show us we need salvation. We don't know how bad we are, till we attempt to become good, and we cannot become good without knowing how bad we are--the solution to this catch-22 is knowing Jesus as our Savior.  This so-called doctrine of total depravity or more realistically, radical corruption. means our whole being--heart or emotions, mind or intellect, and will or volition--are corrupt and unable to please God--we're not utterly depraved or as bad as we can be. 

Even our reasoning powers and conscience are corrupt--spoiled by sin (cf. Titus 1:15).  We are stubborn, rebellious people whom God has to conform to do His will like a Potter working on clay.  G. K. Chesterton said tongue-in-cheek that this is the only doctrine "that can be proved."  "... [B]ut men loved darkness rather than light" (cf. John 3:19).

Our sinfulness becomes even more apparent to us as we get closer to God--the closer our walk, the more consciousness of sin. Peter exclaimed, "Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinful man" (cf. Luke 5:8).  Samuel Rutherford said to pray for a hearty sense of sin, because "the greater sense of sin, the less sin."  The point of being bad is not that we are too bad to be saved, but never good enough to be saved--Isaiah 64:6 says "our righteousness is as filthy rags."  

In fact, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (cf. Rom. 5:20).  Let's not play the "let's compare game!"   It doesn't matter that we may be better than our neighbor--we all look like saints compared to Saddam Hussein, because God doesn't grade on a curve--we're all in the same boat of falling short of God's glorious ideal per Rom. 3:23.

This solidarity in Adam means we have a legacy of sin as our inheritance and we cannot escape our birthright.  We were born in sin, not born free!   Our wills were in bondage too, not free till we were freed in Christ upon salvation (cf. John 8:36)!  We cannot even save ourselves and don't even meet our own standards of good, as Ovid said, "I see better things and I approve them, but I follow the worst." But the whole point is that the greater we are forgiven, the greater our love, as William Jay of Bath said, "I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior."

In Adam's fall, we all ceased to be good, though not ceasing to be human.  We all have a dark side or are like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--we all have feet of clay or a vulnerable side no one sees.  The world thinks a man is basically good, but he is inherently evil and cannot please God--all he can do is sin.  People think this means we are as bad as we can be, but we are as bad off as we can be.  We are not as corrupt as possible, for God restrains sin, but our whole nature is corrupt.--total depravity, not utter depravity.  Why?  God can turn the wrath of man to praise Him (cf. Psalm 76:10).  We see goodness in light of evil and evil brings opportunity for good.  The good news is that no one is too bad to be saved, but grace abounds to the chief of sinners, as John Bunyan wrote (cf. Rom. 5:20).

Sin has been our downfall and we must be reminded of our old sin nature or it will dominate.  "Sin wants to destroy you, but we must not let it" (cf. Gen. 4:7, CEV).  We need to renounce sin in ourselves and turn from it first to have discernment. "The absurd," according to Albert Camus, "is sin without God"--we must become aware of sin to repent of it; that's why knowledge and admission of sin is the missing ingredient (Whatever Became of Sin? by Karl Menninger, MD).

We are all guilty of rebellion, independent attitudes, lawlessness, godlessness, injustice, unbelief, iniquity, and all manner of transgression and unrighteousness--these are all evil violations of God's person and nature.  D. James Kennedy says the law was given to show us we don't keep it, the "law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul" (cf. Psalm 19:7). The Law doesn't convert us or save us, it measures and convicts us! 

In the final analysis, we all must exclaim to God as Paul did, "What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Cf. Rom. 7:24).  He answers his own question:  "Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Cf. Rom. 7:25).   The higher law Christians adhere to is the law of love, which is done willingly and gratefully.   Soli Deo Gloria!   

The Lukewarm Churchgoer

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." --Edmund Burke
"Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:21, NIV).  
"The Lord says:  'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught'" (Isa. 29:13, NIV).
"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.  Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the LORD" (Jer. 22:16, NIV).
"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth" (Mal. 2:7, NIV).  

But where there's a clear-cut command in Scripture we must fly our Christian colors and take our stand--only the coward stands aside according to James Russell Lowell:  "Once to every man and nation, Comes the moment to decide, In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, For the good or evil side, Then it is the brave man chooses, While the coward stands aside." 
"We must show our Christian colours, if we are to be true to Jesus Christ.  We cannot remain silent and concede everything away." --C. S. Lewis
"The bottom line is that at a certain point there is not only the right, but the duty, to disobey the State." --Francis A. Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto

By definition, you can hold opinions, but convictions hold you, according to Rick Warren: you may discuss an opinion, but you would be willing to suffer, even die for a conviction--Christ ought to be OUR conviction.  We ought never to be caught on both sides of the equation, straddling the fence as it were, unwilling to declare and our stand for or make known our convictions. Silence isn't always golden!  

CAVEAT:  DO NOT USE YOUR INFORMED CONVICTIONS AS TOOLS TO JUDGE OR CONDEMN A WEAKER BROTHER'S CONSCIENCE--WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO OUR OWN CONVICTIONS AND WILL BE JUDGED ACCORDINGLY.  AS AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO SAID CONCERNING THE CHURCH, "IN NONNEGOTIABLES, UNITY; IN NEGOTIABLES, LIBERTY; IN ALL THINGS CHARITY."  DON'T ARGUE OR CAUSE DIVISION ABOUT MERE DIFFERENCES OF OPINION!  AND NEVER BE CONTENTIONS, DIVISIVE, ARGUMENTATIVE, OR JUDGMENTAL IN SPIRIT!  NOTHING SO DESTROYS A CHURCH LIKE PARTY SPIRIT, WHEREAS SHEEP ARE TAKING SIDES BETWEEN LEADERS.  ALSO, WHEN SINCERE BELIEVERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUE CONFESS CONTRADICTIONS, ONE OUGHT NOT TO BE JUDGEMENTAL OR AN ACTIVIST--CUT SOME SLACK AND GIVE THE UNINFORMED AND UNEDUCATED A BREAK!   THE WORLD LIES IN THE POWER OF THE EVIL ONE.  


Christ will spew the lukewarm or tepid believer or churchgoer (ones having a bogus profession), out of His mouth in disgust and judgment, writes John in Revelation 3:16.  But the debate goes on about just what this means.  I contend that it doesn't necessarily just mean low-energy believers, or lackadaisical ones, or even ones with little sentimentality or feeling--OR NO FEELINGS.  Because God is pleased with faith, not feeling anyway.  What kind of believer is repulsive and ignominious or odious to God?  The believer who won't apply what he knows and stand up for Jesus when a time to give testimony is at hand and someone is needed to stand for the truth.  You cannot remain neutral on everything to please everyone, that's the path to failure.

People pleasers are losers!  It has been said that there may not be a formula for success but the sure road to failure is to try to please everyone.  If we are following Christ we will have people who despise us, hate us, and misuse us and even harass and persecute us, to the point of mocking on occasion--we will have enemies!  We must be willing to lay down our life and be ready to give Christ our life in the ultimate sacrifice.  We are not saved by martyrdom, but we must hate our very own life and love Christ will all our being, as number one priority. We are not to get a martyr complex, though, thinking that the more we are persecuted, the better believer we are, either--persecution comes with the territory.

There comes a time and opportunity when we not only have the right to disobey the state and even all authority but the duty.  Martin Luther said, "I dissent, I disagree, I protest" and the Reformation was born.   We must obey God rather than man!  Taking stands is progressive and God tests us:  some believers have never stood for anything!  They have never been against anything, nor even for anything.  We should not just see the evil and say "Why?" but see the good and say, "Why not?"

On a personal level, a real friend will not desert you in time of trouble and will come to your aid, sticking up for you.  If someone bad-mouths or disses your friend, do you defend his honor or integrity or do you just let it slide and let someone cast a slur on your ally?  Lincoln pitied that man who couldn't feel the pain when the whip was on another man's back.

And so the lukewarm believer (I use this term loosely because unsaved people can have head belief) is a persona non grata and in limbo or no-man's-land (out of fellowship), and no one knows where he stands so they exclude him from fellowship by virtue of God's judgment.  He may have worldly friends, but he's no friend of God. Christ calls us to make informed stands for Him and to show or declare our Christian colors to the world at large as its salt and light.  Christians can be wrong politically and still be good Christians!  We are not to render Christ irrelevant to the marketplace of ideas and rule Him out of the equation and public dialogue though.  Being silent when we ought to speak up is a grave sin of omission!

In a sense, God does respect those who take stands more than those who refuse to take a stand and remain neutral, even if they are wrong because He knows where they are spiritually and God respects moral courage more than a timid spirit.  He has not given us a spirit of fear.  That doesn't mean they are saved, but God can work with them and they have hope.  Jesus said He'd rather have us hot or cold, but not lukewarm.  To say we ought not to take stands because we could be wrong is a cop-out and fails to understand the condition of the unsaved.

Newsflash:  we all could be wrong!  "Whatever is not of faith is sin," (cf. Rom. 14:23) period.  God doesn't expect righteous deeds from the unbeliever, period.  It's the same in war, God hates cowardice and there's a special place in hell for cowards, regardless of which side they were on God expects bravery to the bitter end.

Remember, God starts small and works the way up to greater responsibilities of moral courage, but one must have moral authority as the prerequisite.  We must pick our battles or quarrels, and realize that some are not worth the adrenalin and cause more heat than light, but not to get into the habit of being neutral--we must stand for something, or we stand for nothing.  Stronger believers need to grow in love and weaker ones in knowledge.

The adage that sincerity is what matters doesn't hold water, for our God is the God of truth and all truth meets at the top as God's truth.  In the final analysis, all of us will give account of ourselves to Christ at His Bema (tribunal or Judgement Seat) and we have no right to do evil in God's name, nor to hijack our faith and declare that our cause celebre is God-given or that we speak for Christ as some kind of vicar as the Pope does when he pontificates.

In sum, we shouldn't just memorize the Dance of the Pious, go simply through the motions, nor follow the crowd of least resistance (for narrow is the way to eternal life and few there be that find it); this means not just going with the flow (for something dead can go with the flow!) but this entails knowing Christ with first-hand experience and knowledge and desiring to live it out the faith in love. But don't be a believer who wants the benefits without the Benefactor or the perks and privileges without the responsibilities.

CAVEAT:  HE WHO KNOWS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND FAILS TO REALIZE IT OR CAPITALIZE ON IT SINS: WE OUGHT NOT TO PRIVATIZE NOR FLAUNT OUR FAITH!   (cf. Js. 4:17).    Soli Deo Gloria!

Nature Versus Nurture 2?

"If God does not exist, all things are permissible." --Fyodor Dostoevsky 

This was a great debate a few years ago in the discipline of psychology, and even of sociology.  What if it's neither (i.e., nature nor nurture)?  They left out one important possibility or factor to insert into the equation as a constant and/or variable, a key player but ultimately sovereign, and a given:  God. Don't rule God out!  What if God says we are to blame?  But we are the clay and God is the Potter and guides the details of our lives.  Christianity is a type of psychology too and does offer real solutions, if taken seriously, to behavior issues, and offers counseling to help troubled individuals with unresolved personal problems and issues, or in some cases salvation, if they are lost.

Two people can react quite differently to the same stimuli or tragedy with divergent results: it's not what happens to you but in you that counts!  The same sun melts the butter, hardens the clay and the same hammer that forges steel and breaks the glass.  We all react according to our God-given nature and either become bitter or better for we are all mere clay in God's hands as our Potter.  Our worldview affects greatly how we interpret our world and react to it; it's not a matter of faith versus reason, but which set of presuppositions we accept as fact. Everyone has faith, even the secular person can have faith in science as the answer to problems.  God thus orchestrates our life to make us what we are.

No God means no sin as Albert Camus said, "The absurd is sin without God." We do well to heed the admonition of psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger's book Whatever Became of Sin?  This means we are responsible for our choices!   But guilt (from this sin) is real and cannot be denied--it can dog us all our lives, but it can be good to feel bad and it's therapeutic, forcing self-examination and soul-searching, though there is psychological guilt that is imagined and cruel, and this must be dealt with to bring healing to the soul, i.e., there's ultimate meaning in all suffering.  Note it was Freud who popularized the notion of a "guilt complex."  Perhaps we feel guilty because we are guilty!  We're fighting God!  We all make choices!  You simply cannot blame your genes for your bad behavior or weaknesses, they are sins--this is just inventing pretty names for them! You have no right to claim:  I was born this way!  It's a cop-out to blame the environment, family, upbringing, or society (the first sin was committed in the idyllic place known as the Garden of Eden), but we should never be in the blame game, period.

Sin is our fault and we are culpable!  We shall be judged if we do not find the mercy of God.  Sin is only a sign of the virus inherited from Adam and everyone has it.  Yes, no one is perfect nor can they put themselves on a pedestal.  We must assume individual responsibility and come clean.  Sir Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, said we are "not pawns of our genes," and therefore we cannot play the blame game.  Scientists do say that some people are more vulnerable than others and it's only stressors that trigger illnesses, but that is the case with all sin--some may be more vulnerable to committing rape or murder, but they are still going to be judged and are responsible.

Why?  Because God's grace is sufficient and can change us from having hearts of stone to hearts of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26) and regenerate us into new creatures (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17).  Christ is still in the resurrection business and changes lives!  The biggest miracle that cannot be denied is how He transforms sinners into saints!  We all have the opportunity to repent and believe in the gospel and if we turn our back on Christ and harden our hearts, it's our blame, not our genes nor our environment--there's no excuse, period!   Yes, we are worse off, but not too bad to be saved!  No one is too far gone.  Some people just need to come to an end of themselves to realize their need for grace in their lives, and that they aren't in control as the master of their fate and captain of their soul.  God can conquer anyone and is stronger than we are (cf. Jer. 20:7).

It's been postulated by John Locke, et al., that children are born with a tabula rasa (are blank slates), not prone to evil, but inherently or intrinsically good, merely spoiled or corrupted by the impure environment, which is to blame (favoring the nurture in the debate). This erroneous hypothesis arises from eliminating God from the equation and refusing to factor Him into consideration--it's a cop-out!  Where you start determines where you'll end up--this is a recipe for psychological chaos (for cosmos without Logos, the expression of God, the logic of God is chaos) and makes all scientific endeavor futile.  We must begin with God and explain our problem and not with the problem and explain away God!

What is the solution then?  Only in genuine repentance and saving faith in Christ, acknowledging our guilt before a holy God, seeking reconciliation, as we are personally culpable before God, to deliver us from the power of sin over us--though we must live with the consequences they are neutralized and turned to our benefit and overall blessing.  Remember, God will discipline the wayward child who persists in living a life of sin without repentance and will not countenance it.  To just make excuses or shift the blame only compounds the problem and evades the issue.  The missing link in the equation is that we're created in God's image and there's something about us that is like God, and we need to find out what it means to be human.  All worldviews must contemplate what's wrong with man--some only learn by the school of hard knocks. Soli Deo Gloria!

Have Thine own way, Lord!
Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after will,
While I am waiting yielded and still.
--famous gospel hymn, public domain

The Utter Damnability Of Sin

"You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong..." (Hab. 1:13, ESV).
"... Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6, ESV).
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way..." (Isa. 53:6, ESV).
"[T]he only part of Christian theology that can really be proved [is original sin]."--G. K. Chesterton, Christian apologist
"What's wrong with the world?" "I am. Yours truly, G. K. Chesterton."  
"We have done those things we ought not to have done and we have left undone those things we ought to have done."--The Book of Common Prayer (Anglican). 

God doesn't just frown upon sin or disapprove of it, He cannot stand the sight of it and it has no place in His presence (much like matter versus antimatter)--He cannot even countenance evil per Hab. 1:13.  Sin isn't a bad enough word to describe our virus of rebellion; it's the ultimate killjoy word that many preachers refuse to mention even in passing since it has offensive power, even to the elect.  It's the job description of the Holy Spirit alone to convict of sin (cf. John 16:13), but we must resort to the power of the Word of God to do the work.  We only need to be exposed to the light to see our darkness:  "the law is given to convince us that we fail to keep it," according to D. James Kennedy.

Sin has been characterized many ways to bring the point home that it's our legacy and birthright that we cannot escape--in fact, we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin by virtue of already being in sin!  Yes, we go astray and lie even from the womb according to Psalm 58:3.  To illustrate the essence of sin, one should see it as man's ultimate Declaration of Independence from the authority and government or sovereignty of God over one's life--to be the "captain of your soul and master of your fate" like in the humanist poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley.  It could be called an act of autonomy or self-rule over God-rule.   In this sense, sin is rebellion and being volitionally defiant.  We all miss achieving the perfect standard or "missing the mark" (hamartia in Greek) which was set by Jesus' perfect sin-free life of righteous obedience to the Mosaic law.

Many people feel that they don't commit many sins, but they don't realize that what we fail to accomplish or do in the Lord's name as we ought are sins of omission. "I coulda, woulda, shoulda!"  The Westminster Catechism (ca. 1646) defines sin as "any want of conformity unto or transgression of, the Law of God."  It has also been precisely defined as "any thought, word, action, omission, or desire contrary to the law of God" by Charlie Riggs of the BGEA. Clearly, all wrongdoing is sin!  What is ironic is that the closer our walk with Christ, the more clearly we sense our sin and get convicted--Samuel Rutherford said to"pray for a lively sense of sin, the greater the sense, the less sin."

Jesus revolutionized the concept of sin, since the Pharisees had merely externalized it and portrayed it only as certain behavior that can be seen, but Jesus read their hearts and said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and evil proceeds in Mark 7. Proverbs 23:7 reiterates:  "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."  Dr. Karl Menninger, MD, said that sin is the "refusal of the love of others" [namely, God's]" in his landmark book Whatever Became of Sin?  Even psychiatrists are putting it back into the equation as persons being responsible for their own choices and beginning to use the term again according to Billy Graham.  Sin is self-defeating and destructive as God warned Cain in Gen. 4:7 (NKJV):  "...And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.   And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it" ["sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it"].

There is no way to defeat sin apart from God's grace, we are slaves to it before salvation!  The paradox is that God really wants what's best for us, and even the rules concerning sexual immorality are only for our good and to watch over our soul and it's purity and health.  Sin is just not God's plan for man, but something He permits or allows, and will ultimately judge and do away with by sending it all to hell.  The point is that if we couldn't sin we would be robots and couldn't obey God of our own free will or choice.  We either choose for or against God with our behavior and thought life.  After salvation, we don't have the right to live in sin, but have the power to defeat it, the power to live in the Spirit.

We cannot blame anyone else for our personal sins, and we certainly cannot judge Adam and Eve for the Fall and believe we would've done anything different--we all repeat their sin.  Their sin was the prototype of all sin and if we analyze it we can see as they:  spurned His grace; contradicted His truth; rejected His authority; disputed His wisdom; repudiated His justice; even resisted His grace (unknown source)!   In short, they didn't take God's Word at face value or take Him at His Word, but were, in effect, unbelievers--Eve first doubted God's Word, then questioned it, she believed Satan's rationalization, then disbelieved God's Word, then finally disobeyed it outright of her own volition in rebellion--and Adam didn't intervene or help her, but was cowardly and irresponsible--both sins.

We all have eaten of the Proverbial Apple and have duplicated Adam's sin, and become defiled by a sin nature and stand in solidarity with Adam before our salvation! Note that the first couple didn't choose evil, they chose self over God--they didn't know what evil was yet.  (Idolatry is always putting self or something in God's place or where it belongs in God's plan or order.)  Adam and Eve thought God was holding out on them, with the help of the serpent's guile and deception.  Note that many scientists blame man's problems on the environment and society, especially psychologists, but the first sin was completed in perfect surroundings--the garden of Eden. We are just like our first parents seeking our own good, delight, and wisdom--the essence of sin is selfishness.  We must look inward and blame ourselves for our shortcomings and failures, not play the blame game and point fingers--we must assume responsibility for our own sins--"the soul that sinneth shall die" (cf. Ezek. 18:4).

You could say that we are great sinners and totally depraved--not utterly depraved, since God restrains evil--though we are not as bad as we possibly could be, we are as bad off as possible.  Every element of our nature falls short and is tainted with sin, just like being a little pregnant, we cannot be a little sinful or depraved.  If sin were yellow, we'd be all yellow!  Our wills, hearts, bodies, and even intellect are stained by sin and only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us and make us clean enough to enter God's presence. It has been said by William Jay of Bath:  "I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior." This is very humbling but also encouraging--no one is too far gone or too bad to be saved, but bad off enough to need salvation!

The catch-22 is, therefore, that we must see how bad we are to be good or repent, but we don't know how bad we are till we've tried to be good.  The terrible double whammy of sin is that it not only estranges and alienates us from God and others, but it enslaves and traps us and has power over us and the only freedom is to be set by Christ (cf. John 8:36).  Salvation is not only forgiveness of our sin but the power to overcome it and eventually deliverance from its presence.   We are not basically or inherently good, period, nor are we ever good enough to be saved; we are bad enough to need salvation!

There's just no escaping our birthright which is really a virus or disease that devours us and destroys us in the end apart from grace.  Sin becomes neutralized in effect for us when we make up pretty names for it and refuse to call a spade a spade--this is the mere escaping reality and not owning up to our sin as God sees it.   It is by grace that we get convicted of our sin, as Paul called himself the "chief of sinners" (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15) and John Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. This should be encouraging because this means there's hope for everyone and no one is beyond the reach of God's grace!

The real, cold reality of sin is that we don't break God's laws, they break us, but we break God's heart in our sinning.  Just like you cannot get away with violating the laws of nature without consequence, it's likewise with God's divine laws of morality defining sin.   We can praise God that Jesus is the Answer to the sin problem:  as our Prophet, He frees us of our ignorance of it; as our Priest, He is the offering and releases us from the guilt of it; and as our King, He frees us from the power of it.

In closing, let me mention that Christians are still sinners in that they sin (cf. Gal. 2:17), but we are called "saints" because in God's eyes Christians are justified, as God is both just and the justifier of the unjust by virtue of His grace and mercy.  In His mercy we don't get what we deserve; in His grace, we get what we don't deserve!  It is a sad commentary on mankind that he grows callous to his sins and has the tendency to justify them whatever way possible to silence the conscience.  Caveat:  we must refrain from making up our own rules or standards of right and wrong as if we judge God; He judges us and is the sole moral center of the universe!    Soli Deo Gloria!

Nature Versus Nurture

"What have you that you did not receive.  If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift" (1 Cor. 4:7, RSV).
"God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices" (Eccl. 7:29, RSV).
"[B]ut who are you, a man, to answer to God?  Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me thus'" (Rom. 9:19-20, RSV). 
"But the one who did not know; and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating.  Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48, ESV).
"The mass of men lead live lives of quiet desperation."--Henry David Thoreau


What makes us individuals is not merely the interplay of genes in action in an uncontrollable, impersonal fate, but the byproduct of the destiny of God who planned out every detail of our lives and all the contingencies.  Sir Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, declared that we are not "pawns of our genes."  We are individuals and responsible for our behavior despite our genes, and cannot blame God for our wrongdoing nor think our DNA is fixed and we were born this way.  We may inherit music talent, but no God-given passion for it; just like we can have all the food we need, but no appetite; or everything to live on and nothing to live for--there are certain blessings that only God provides.

Many factors went into making us the people we are: environment; education; culture; family; friends; vocation; experience, etc.  If you had been born in Russia, you would not be the same person, only Russian, you'd be a different makeup and personality.  Isaiah 45:9 says, "Woe to him who strives with his Maker." However, no one can say he is a thief because God made him one!  We all have input into our nature and there's no iron-clad karma or law of cause and effect that forces us into some role or part in life.   A person may become a math instructor because of natural intelligence inherited from parents in the genes, but God makes him what he is and the passion and opportunity--there are manifold contingencies.   Siblings can be so different and even without natural affection for each other.  How do you explain a family where everyone is a lawyer or doctor?  I would attribute it largely to natural intelligence and family background and experience.  What is admired in that family is the legal profession and no wonder they lean that way rather than be the black sheep of the family.  God is able to work all the events and circumstances out for our good and destiny, foreseeing every possible outcome and exigency.

The point is that we have a destiny in which we participate and cooperate with God, not a fate that we have no control over and is the impersonal blind fate of kismet in Islam.  God wants to personally involve us and desires our input.  God's sovereignty is in no way, shape, or form, influenced nor interrupted, restrained, hindered, or even frustrated by man's so-called free will.  When I say free will, I mean we are never coerced into anything to do something we don't want to do, which would be determinism--we make the decision of accepting or rejecting Christ's plan for our life.  It is wonderful news that God has a plan for our lives and we can achieve a fulfilling life in Christ if we are willing and obedient.

The Christian life is a relationship of knowing God personally and growing in a living love-life.  We really fall in love with Jesus, but some have left their first love found at salvation and their hearts have grown cold.  The theory that we are pawns of our genes is because secularists believe in monism or that the only thing that exists in the natural world is matter/energy but there is something they must reckon with: intelligence and where it came from--the Ultimate, Supreme Mind behind it all; this view is called dualism and is the Christian worldview that there is a spirit world that doesn't take up form as matter/energy.  This must be pointed out because of the laws of thermodynamics;  the amount of energy in the universe remains constant, and it cannot be destroyed nor created, but only decreased in usefulness.  This is how we know that the universe had a beginning and that the energy clock began ticking at some point in the past.

How is it that two siblings can be so different and contrary?  They not only have different natural talents, abilities, and gifts, but so many variables are at play that they are still individuals and not clones of their parents nor of each other.  It is rare that a son is a real chip off the old block or in the image and likeness of the parent.  There are so many combinations of genes and DNA that there is a nil chance of there being anyone exactly like you in the whole world.  Sometimes you can look in the mirror and start seeing your parents and thinking you've become like them, but sometimes we do bear physical resemblance without any personality profile likeness too.  It is thought that we inherit our sin nature from our fathers because Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.  It is also true that the consequences of the sins of the fathers are passed down to the children.

But the point is that we are totally responsible for our own sins and will die for our own sins, not our fathers'.  No one can say he was on the wrong list and think God couldn't save him--he had his chances and no one is treated unjustly by God.  The people saved are those who were shown grace, not justice, while the damned were rendered justice, but no one suffers injustice from God, the perfectly Just One.  "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham declares in Gen. 18:25.  We must be assured that God always does the right thing and destines no one to hell, they went there of their own choice and volition, and God never made them do or think anything they didn't want to.  That is to say, that the Christian cannot give himself any credit for his salvation, while the damned can only blame themselves, for they were never without witness (cf. Acts 14:17).

It is said, as an excuse for bad conduct and to avoid the responsibility, that we can blame our genes for our sexual desires, and the sexual deviant or pervert is only captive to his nature and that he "was born this way."  They have found that drunkards seem to have less of the dopamine receptor gene, but he is still responsible for his behavior in God's sight and no drunks will inherit the kingdom of God, regardless of genes.  By this line of reasoning, you could say that you inherited a desire to commit adultery or fornication and lust more than the average Joe, so you can't help it--poppycock!  Everyone has an old sin nature and is still responsible and culpable for his sins and will be judged accordingly if he doesn't repent.   The reason is that God can transform the individual from the inside out and it's not a matter of an AA pledge or turning over a new leaf, but of regeneration by God and having a born-again experience that is life-changing and altering.  We cannot shift the blame to God for our sins!

We are indeed "fearfully and wonderfully made" and the formulae that made us is nothing short of a miracle to behold, we are surely unique, and when God made us He broke the mold!  We are all interconnected and need each other--"No man is an island" (John Donne).  Man has always gone on record as pointing the finger (which is forbidden in Isa. 58:9) and playing the blame game, trying to shift the fault to God for his own failures, misdeeds, shortcomings, weaknesses, and sins (this goes back to Adam blaming God for giving him Eve), but with God there's no excuse and man will be judged and held culpable by Him who is coming to judge the living and the dead.

We must all look inward to give ourselves a spiritual checkup and take inventory:  "The unexamined life is not worth living" (Socrates).  Remember:  Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled in the perfect environment and wouldn't take personal responsibility for their wrongdoing--they sinned because they chose self over God, they didn't choose evil for they didn't know what it was, but wanted to rule themselves and be independent; therefore, sin is the declaration of independence from God.

Even though scientists do believe we can inherit a vulnerability towards certain sins or mental illnesses, we are still responsible and cannot point the finger at God. In the final analysis, we're all hard-wired for purpose, dignity, and meaning in life and this can only be found in knowing, trusting, and obeying God, not blaming Him.  Soli Deo Gloria! 


Amen!

The Guilt Complex

"[B]y means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron" (1 Tim. 4:2, NASB).
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our consciences, but shouts to us in our pains; it's His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."--C. S. Lewis

Dr. Sigmund Freud relegated all guilt to suffering some form of "guilt complex" to be healed when he came into vogue.  He denied its reality.  People do suffer for doing wrong and condemn themselves, even if society doesn't.  You cannot convince a person who feels guilty that it is okay and he just has a complex.  It is good to have feelings of guilt and to feel bad because we become cognizant of wrongdoing--it is even therapeutic. Yes, guilt can be good for you and the development of your conscience.    Guilt is not a psychological disorder, but a real phenomenon and there is only one cure for it:  confession and restitution or reconciliation.  Wrongs must be made right and one must believe he is forgiven justly

Jesus does this by having the authority to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and to forgive us of all our sins.  A man may forgive you for what you trespassed against him, but Jesus can forgive all sins against everyone.  Guilt is no disorder to be cured nor a psychological phenomenon to be explained away but must be dealt with for a person to live in the real world of right and wrong.  It is entirely possible to feel guilty because they are guilty!  Just like we act human because there's such a thing as human nature.  Animals are not conscious nor responsible for wrong and will not be judged, but man will face Judgment Day (cf. Heb. 9:27) and having guilt only shows him he's got something to deal with before eternity.

The only way to live guilt-free is to have a relationship with Jesus and to have all your sins forgiven past, present, and future.  Moral relativism denies any absolute standards of right and wrong or universal truth, and people should make up their own values as they go along, basically according to whim.  Everyone has a conscience, and it can become muffled or ignored, but it's still there.  Even in prison, there's a prison code and convicts have a warped sense of right and wrong.  When we violate our own standards or even those we aspire to, we feel guilty and sense something wrong, no matter what terminology we use.  There is psychological guilt that is mean and cruel, but also God-given guilt that we must deal with.  It is not maladjustment, and no matter how you try to convince someone it's unreal, he knows it is and suffers as a result.  You cannot just explain away guilt psychologically!

Some guilt is unnecessary, of course, but that doesn't preclude the existence of genuine guilt.  Christianity is the only faith that deals decisively with this issue and solves it; for nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away our stain and flaw of guilt.  We must not only be forgiven but have some cognizance of why and how it's accomplished righteously.  Only God can ultimately forgive one's sins.  We instinctively know that justice must be done, and God didn't sacrifice or compromise his justice in justifying us by His mercy and grace through the blood of His own Son.

The reason people deny guilt as real and only a psychological problem, or even illness, is that they deny absolute standards of right and wrong and our responsibility to live up to the universal moral order, and more specifically they adhere to the belief that nothing is our fault, but the blame should be placed on the evils of society--for we are all innocent and even victims. Our salvation is threefold according to the offices of Christ:  as our Prophet, Christ frees us from the ignorance of sin; as our Priest, from the guilt of sin; as our King, from the dominion of sin.

In the final analysis, a man can say he has forgiven you for the trespasses against him, but only God can forgive all trespasses and can solve the guilt problem and issue definitively and set a person free from it, mainly because God is both just and the justifier in the cross of Christ.  Remember:  there's nothing wrong with our nature or personality if we feel guilty as if it's a complex or flaw, but it's God-given to awaken our conscience and has therapeutic value to warn us and keep us on track and in line with God's will.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Law And Gospel In Their Proper Domain

"And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws"  (Ezek. 36:27, NIV).
"Whoever has my commands and obeys them he is the one who loves me" (John 14:21).
"The law is given to convince us we don't keep it."--Dr. D. James Kennedy
"No man can justify himself before God by a perfect performance of the Law's demands--indeed it is the straight-edge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are" (Romans 3:20, Phillips).
"... [T]hrough the law we become conscious of our sin" (Rom. 3:20, NIV).  
"[F]or by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20, NKJV).  

Real theologians can distinguish law and gospel, works and faith, law and grace like the Judaizers didn't, faith and repentance (cf. Acts 20:21; 26:20; there is no genuine repentance without saving faith: we are saved by believing repentance or penitent faith), merit and grace (like the Romanists don't, cf. Eph. 2:8-9; the Reformers taught sola gratia or grace alone), fact and feeling (the divine order should be "fact, faith, feeling"), faith and faithfulness (the same Hebrew word, ethics or practice of faith must be fruit).  They know that you cannot divorce certain doctrines:  faith and works, faith and faithfulness, assurance of salvation from the eternal security of the believer, or perseverance with the preservation power of God.  Law lays down what man must do; gospel proclaims what Christ has done.

It is by the law that we have a consciousness and knowledge of sin--it condemns but does not exculpate--it adjudicates and brings guilt (points the finger), but no freedom of conscience.  The evangelist must learn to get the person lost before getting him saved, and making him aware of his own sin, not sins (for that is the problem when people get hung up on some certain sin that offends them and doesn't realize the problem is the whole sin nature itself). The Law has a purpose: "So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good" (Romans 7:12, NIV; cf. 2 Tim. 3:16).

We must also realize how bad we are to be made fit for salvation, Jesus didn't come to seek nor save the righteous, we come as sinners!  The sinner is enslaved to his old sin nature and has no power over it, and what is separating him from God is the fact that he doesn't believe in Christ, and for this reason he is in sin and God can have no dealings with sin in His presence.  We find out how depraved we are by trying to be good on our own and end up in failure.  We are not born free as free spirits, but into slavery and servitude to sin and our sin nature and must be set free by the regenerating work of the Spirit.

We must distinguish law and gospel ("For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came [were realized] through Jesus Christ," John 1:17, NIV), but not separate them unduly, we must never divide asunder what God has joined together (cf. Mark 10:9; Matt. 19:6).  In similar fashion, you can have no assurance of salvation without joining it to the security of that salvation (if one can lose it, how can he be assured?), and you cannot divide faith and faithfulness, nor faith and works, for we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone--that kind of faith doesn't save.   Saving faith is not achieved, it's received; it's not conjured up but a gift (cf. 2 Pet. 1:1; Acts 18:27)!

Likewise, the abundant life isn't something we achieve or merit, but receive as a gift with our salvation and it begins instantly.  Grace is antithetical to merit, for salvation is by grace alone and we have no merit to boast of in God's presence--we cannot earn it, don't deserve it, and cannot pay it back, but are forever indebted to God.   Whenever the Bible tells you to repent or commands you to act, it is law, and whenever it tells you what God does on your behalf and to save you, it's gospel.  Obeying the Law out of gratitude, not necessity nor obligation, is law, but having faith that we will be rewarded by God is gospel.  The Christian doesn't "have to" but "wants to" do good deeds, for you can never reduce the faith to do's and don'ts or a to-do list.

We speak of what we do for God, but actually, we do nothing for God, He just uses us as His vessels of honor and we are honored and privileged to be in His service for glorifying Him. Paul did not venture to speak of anything but what Christ did through him (cf. Rom. 15:18).  All that we have done, He has accomplished through us (cf. Isa. 26:12; Amos 6:13; Hos. 14:8).  God isn't looking for our achievements, but our obedience and faith, for faith alone pleases Him and is demonstrated through obedience alone (cf. Heb. 3:18-19).  We don't impress God with our good works because no one can boast in His presence.

Some churches emphasize what God can do for them as if they are cashing in on God and getting something in return for worshiping Him; but we must see ourselves as His servants who are willing to do His will and obey Him in faithfulness--the Christian life costs, in this sense, but our reward is meant to be in glory; we are not meant to always have our portion, reward or comfort in this life like the wicked do

"Law and gospel go together hand in hand and complement each other and can not be divorced, but must be distinguished--not separated;  we are not under the law but under grace and the day we are set free from the law is one of heaven on earth!  Christ is the end of the law for them that believe (cf. Rom. 10:4; Eph. 2:15).   We are not under some performance standard as if we have to measure up or we will fail God, we have a relationship with HIm and learn to depend on Him and walk in the Spirit by faith.  That's why we can not compare ourselves with each other (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12), for only God knows where the goal is for us and our measure of so-called success.  God doesn't call us to success, though, but to faithfulness (cf. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1979 and now canonized).  

The spirit of the law is good and we follow that, but the letter of the law kills and we cannot obtain the standards nor become perfect, but we must obey the law better than the Pharisees, who were hypocrites.  Perfection is still the standard, but the direction is the test!   We are constantly being shaped into Christ's image as icons of Him on earth.  The old nature knows no law, the new nature needs no law!  We will do by nature what is required because we have the Spirit, for one who doesn't have the Spirit of Christ is none of His.  We are not under the law, but we are not lawless, we must rebuke the so-called antinomians who think that they can presume on God's patience and goodness and live unrighteous lives with impunity--God disciplines His own and holds them accountable.

We are never to become legalists and major on the minors nor overemphasize some minor sin while ignoring major flaws in our character,.  Remember, the legalist sees sins (plural), not sin (singular or the sin nature).  The problem we have is our sin nature which can be changed as we are made into Christ's likeness and grow in grace.  Regeneration, as God's work of grace, changes us from the inside out; we don't just sign an AA pledge or turn over a new leaf of trying to be a better person.  The miracle is that God changes us and makes us new creatures in Christ.

The only way to avoid the two errors of Antinomianism and legalism is by studying the Bible and growing in Christ--being illumined by the Spirit.  Two other errors are emphasizing what God can do for you like He's a genie or good-luck charm versus thinking we can do something for God independently of just surrendering to His will and being used by God for His glory--we are to enjoy God in this life as well as in glory.  To obey is better than sacrifice or following the letter of the Law.  We can do nothing apart from Christ's power working in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22; Phil. 2:13).

God just wants us to know Him, for this is the essence of faith and eternal life (cf. John 17:3; John 5:24). "I desired ... the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hos. 6:6, NIV).  We are to avoid both extremes:  exalting law above grace, with adherence to the letter of the Law while excluding its Spirit; and moral liberty run amok or thinking our works don't count for anything.

We are not to become somewhat Jewish before or after salvation, and not to despise the Law either, for it serves its purpose.  For as many as are seeking justification by the Law or who rely on it are cursed! (Cf. Gal. 3:10)  The Jews had the so-called yoke or burden of the Law to submit to, but Jesus promised an easy yoke (cf. Matt. 11:29), which is knowing His will and following it, and we are privileged to know because all believers are priests and we don't need the Urim and Thummim to enlighten us for we have the Spirit as our Counselor! "Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:35, NIV).

Christ didn't give us the Law to keep, but to break, it was never meant to be the way of salvation but to show us our need for it.  We don't break God's law when we sin--it breaks us--we break God's heart!  In the final analysis, we realize that other religions say, "Do!" and Christianity says, "Done!" There is no limit to God's grace, for "where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more" (cf. Rom. 5:20). As John Bunyan pertinently wrote:  Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.  No one is too sinful to be saved and shouldn't be written off as untouchable by grace!  We are bad, but not too bad to be saved.  The law is good if used righteously and is not sin, though it foments what it prohibits or forbids, instilling in us all the more desire to disobey, but sin could not be reckoned without the law and not fulfilled in Christ either, who lived for us as well as died for us. In sharing the gospel or witnessing, we must be sure to present the bad news of their sin along with the good news of salvation through faith in Christ all by grace alone!

The Christian actually lives under a higher standard than the Law of Moses, the law of love, and realizes that love is the fulfillment of the Law, for the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (i.e., all that we have!), and likewise the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Jesus added another commandment to love one another even as He loved us! He who loves has fulfilled the Law (cf. Eph. 2:15).  Christ by no means abolished or abrogated the Law of Moses, but kept them perfect for us, and the law we are obliged to be the mere law of love.  Caveat:  Rome adds works to faith, merit to grace, the authority of the tradition to Scripture, and the church to Christ's glory and power.   It is indeed our privilege to know His will and with this comes responsibility as the flipside (cf. Acts 22:14).    Soli Deo Gloria!