Grace for Growth and Obedience
I have the wonderful privilege of talking with students and young adults daily. For those who are Christians, the conversation often turns to their relationship with God. Many express their frustration with where they are compared to where they want to be as a Christian. Struggles with sin, a lack of desire to read and study the Bible, inconsistency in prayer, and many other issues come to light in the conversations. In talking about their faith and frustration, we often discover that they are discouraged by a lack of growth and uncertainty of their standing with God. They are trying to live as a Christian by working hard to follow the rules—rules like reading the Bible, memorizing Scripture, going to church, praying, fasting, not drinking, not smoking, not swearing, not thinking lustful thoughts. And when they struggle and fail to do or not do those things, doubt and frustration creep in. In response, they then try harder, putting even more effort into following the rules and doing “Christian” things. Their ability to obey the rules becomes the measure of their standing before God. Thus, they see being a Christian as directly related to what they do and how well they do it. Growth as a Christian simply means getting better at doing good things and not doing bad things. And so, following the rules becomes the status indicator of their relationship with God. With each failure, questions flood in: “Why am I still struggling with sin?” “Where is the peace that God promised?” “Am I really a Christian?” “Why am I not growing closer to God?” These questions are all coming from a place of genuine desire to grow in faith and obedience to God. However, I want to suggest that growing in faith and obedience are a result of our relationship with God—not a measure of our status with God.
Not By Works of the Law
Paul writes in Galatians 2:16 and in Romans 3:20 that “No one is justified by works of the law.” You probably read this and thought: “I know that. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that salvation is by grace through faith, not a result of works.” But have you ever thought about what happens after the moment of salvation, after you have been justified by faith in Jesus? It seems that we tend to take one of two paths—both have the same root cause and destination, however. The first is where we get so wrapped up in knowing more about the Bible, wanting to answer all our questions and doubts. The second is where try to start doing all the things that we think make someone a Christian, defining our relationship by lists of do this and don’t do that. Both paths lead to a life filled with rules and regulations, where we have essentially placed ourselves back under the law. Let’s unpack both further and then look at a third path that I believe leads us to sanctification through God’s grace.
Knowledge Does Not Equal Growth
Let me first say this: there is nothing wrong with knowledge. Indeed, Christians should want to learn more about the Bible and more about God—and more about nature and science and many other areas of study. However, knowledge alone does not lead to growth, specifically growth in faith. Knowledge enhances my faith. Knowledge provides evidence in support of my faith. But knowledge on its own does not grow my faith. Look at what Jesus tells the religious leaders: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40, ESV). The religious leaders had great knowledge of God’s Word, but they failed to act on that knowledge. Faith is lived out, it is experienced. Faith requires action. Thus, gaining knowledge without putting it to use is a fruitless endeavor. We become puffed up by our knowledge. Jesus does not tell us to know him to bear much fruit. He says: “…Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit...” And so, when our relationship with God is characterized by knowledge without fruit, we tend towards doubts. Our failures to do what we know we should be doing pile up. The abundant life we expected from our relationship is not what we are experiencing, so we begin to question whether we are even a Christian. If this is where you find yourself, the good news is that there is hope beyond your current experience!
God’s Rules By My Effort
Again, I want to clarify that God’s rules are not the problem. They are good. They show us God’s nature and character. Yet, many of us struggle to understand our relationship with God and the purpose of His rules. We are given the impression that as Christians, we must keep all the rules. And so, what happens? We search for all the rules that we can find in the Scripture and make lists of what is okay for Christians to do and what is not okay. We begin to evaluate our standing with God based on how well we are following the rules. And as we struggle to live out these lists, we find that there is no joy, no deepening of relationship. Any obedience is simply what is expected of us, and appropriate punishments are anticipated following our failures. Doubts flood in: “How can I be a Christian and still be struggling with this sin or that sin?” “Why can I not obey what God commands?” To counter those doubts, we redouble our efforts to obey the rules and to resist sin. Hence, we fast for weeks, try to pray hours a day, seek to read more of the Bible each day, go to church as often as possible—and when we find ourselves continuing to struggle with sin and obedience, we begin to lose hope. We resign ourselves to the idea that the Christian life must be a joyless struggle and we may even begin to resent those who seem to have overflowing joy. If this is where you find yourself today, take heart! God has provided hope for you, as well!
Grace as License
I briefly want to touch on this idea that grace grants us a license to sin without accountability. This comes from a misunderstanding of grace and its effects. The argument is that Jesus has paid for all sin, therefore Christians are free to live in whatever manner they please. Paul clearly refutes this in Romans 6. Christians have died to sin and its passions. We are not to allow sin to have dominion over us. By grace we are dead to sin and alive in Christ! I am not saying that Christians will never sin or that they can reach a point in this life where they can live without sinning. Rather, God’s grace, through the Holy Spirit living in us, empowers us to fight against sin. We can battle the desires of the flesh and live in the power of the Spirit. We can resist and stand firm. And most importantly, by God’s grace, we have the freedom to no longer live in sin and for sin.
The Underlying Problem
Why do so many Christians struggle to live out their freedom in Christ? I think the answer lies in our misunderstanding of God’s grace in the process of becoming more like Christ. We recognize God’s grace in the moment of salvation, and we recognize His grace for eternity when we die. But somehow, we miss how His grace enables us to live freely between those moments. Instead, we turn to gaining knowledge or increasing our efforts to live as Christians. But at their core, these are man-centered, not God-centered, ideologies…I know, I need to, I do, I don’t do. Our relationship becomes about how much we know about God, what we can do for God, or making up for what we did not do. We may find short-term comfort here, but we are putting ourselves back under the law. Remember Ephesians 2:8-9? Our relationship with God is not based on what we have done or how much we know—it is built on who Jesus is and what He did! Grace—God’s undeserved favor—is the foundation of our relationship with Him. And when we try to earn grace, it is no longer a gift: “…to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.” (Romans 4:4).
Moving Towards Grace
If this is where you find yourself today, don’t panic! Indeed, I would venture that every Christian has found themselves here as some point. Christians have struggled with this for nearly two millennia. It is why much of the New Testament speaks about who we are in Christ and understanding the law in light of God’s grace. The Galatian church especially struggled with this. After reminding them of the gospel and the grace of God, Paul writes: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1a). And turning back to the law means that “Christ will be of no advantage to you.” (5:1b). There is comfort in the law, in the explicit commands and regulations it provides. But the law, though good, cannot save anyone from sin. Knowing more and trying harder to keep the law does not save. That only happens through faith in Christ. But knowing more and trying harder also does not deepen our relationship with God—like the older brother in the Parable of the Two Sons (or the Parable of the Prodigal Son), it instead leads to resentment and anger. So, while the law is good and brings us to a knowledge of our need for a Savior, faith in Christ by the grace of God leads to salvation. There is freedom in Christ that we cannot find in following the law—this freedom is because of what Jesus did. It is not based on how well we know or keep the law, but is based on His perfect work in keeping the law.
This is why Paul can write: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2). Sin no longer condemns Christians because Jesus has already taken the condemnation himself. Instead, God’s grace reveals sin so that we can recognize it and repent. The paradox that we are free from sin and still struggle with sin will one day be resolved. Until then, know this: “…we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us…For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…” (2 Corinthians 4:7,17). The struggles and battles against sin are preparing us for the day when we can glory in God without any hinderance of sin and shame.
So, how does one move from living under the law to living under grace? I would like to offer three suggestions:
Ask God for what you need to grow. Under grace, we can come freely to our Heavenly Father and express our need for Him. And ask Him to give us the desire and the strength to obey. When you are unmotivated to pray, to read the Word, to fellowship with other Christians—ask the Father to give you the desire. When you are struggling with sin or with certainty—ask the Father for the strength or knowledge you need. Our growth flows out of this grace and our freedom to ask God for all that we need.
Slow down. A tree does not grow from sapling to maturity overnight. It takes time, sun, rain, nutrients, and more time. Same for our relationship with God—it takes time. Focus on applying one truth from your Bible study in your daily life. Look for one way to apply the knowledge you have gained—then do it! Resist the urge to rush to the next application and the next and the next.
Compare yourself to yourself. Living under the law becomes a lifestyle of comparison—am I doing better than this person or not as good as someone else? It becomes a competition. And so, while Paul does exhort us to “outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10), that comes after telling us “…not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment...” (12:3). An amazing encouragement of the Christian life is that we can see God’s work in real time. And if you are struggling to see where God has changed you, ask your fellow Christians or your friends who knew you prior to your salvation. In fact, others often recognize God’s work in our life before we do. So, instead of comparison and competition with others, we can look at who we used to be and who we are today and praise God for His goodness and grace!
Conclusion
In the book Transforming Grace, Jerry Bridges describes the Christian life under the law as being on a performance treadmill. A person can expend much effort on a treadmill, but they have gone nowhere. Christian obedience and growth require stepping off the performance treadmill and embracing our relationship with God. Relationships are not built on rules, but love. Rules say this is exactly how far you can go and still be within the boundary. Thus, obedience is brought about by the desire to avoid punishment for breaking the rules. Love, on the other hand, brings about obedience from a desire to serve and please the other person in the relationship. Thus, God’s grace sustains Christians in our desire to please God in ways that trying to keep the law never can. Growth and obedience flow from resting in the completed work of Jesus on the cross—God’s love and grace fully displayed. Won’t you rest your growth and obedience in the grace of your relationship with Christ?
