I don't mind telling you that the idea of complete and perfect and sinless obedience to God in Jesus Christ by the empowering and indwelling Holy Spirit has, in the last few years, somewhat troubled me. Not that I want to live in sin. God forbid! Sin destroys lives. Sin wrecks families and friendships, ministries and fellowships, brings shame to the believer and dishonor to Christ and His Church. But when I read passages like these from John, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin" (1 John 2:1 NIV), and "We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His Commands" (1 John 2:3 NIV), and "Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands, is a liar and the truth is not in that person" (1 John 2:4 NIV), and "Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did" (1 John 2:6 NIV), I become anxious, thinking there is no way I can live my life in Christ in perfect obedience. If living in sinless obedience is my assurance of salvation then I am certain I can never be sure that God has saved me, that Christ loves me and has died for me, and the Spirit of God dwells within me. I cannot be my own assurance of salvation. I cannot look to my righteous behavior (and the lack thereof) for assurance that I have been and will be saved.
The three years I spent reading Pelagius (2020-2022) were also anxiety-inducing. Pelagius obviously has a passionate heart that longs to live in perfect obedience to Christ, and what motivates him to write extensively and to engage people in his theological writings is the carnal lives of clergy and professing believers he discovers during his visit to Rome, and this is why he can write such statements as "If you wish then to be with Christ and to share with Christ, you must live by the example of Christ [which is lifted straight out of 1 John 2:6] who was such a stranger to evil and wickedness that He did not retaliate even upon His enemies but rather prayed even for them."1 He repeats this ad nauseam: "The heavenly palace will admit none but the holy and the righteous, the simple and the innocent, for evil has no place in God's presence; and he who wishes to reign with Christ must be free from all forms of wickedness and deceit."2 But he is partially correct and partially in error.
BLAMELESSNESS: DEMANDED AND REQUIRED
"Who may ascend into the Hill of the LORD," asks the Psalmist regarding entering God's presence, and "who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands, and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully" (Ps. 24:3-4 NASB). "By this we know that we are in Him [in Christ Jesus, Eph. 1:4, 5, 6]," writes John, "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk [live] in the same manner [way] as He walked [lived]" (1 John 2:6). "Therefore," commands Paul, "be imitators of God, as beloved children" (Eph. 5:1). "As obedient children," writes Peter, "do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Pet. 1:14-16); and also:
Yet he writes: "Those who have been redeemed by Christ's passion through His dutifulness to His Father have been redeemed to this end, that by keeping the Laws of their Redeemer, they may prepare themselves for the life laid up for them in Heaven; and there they may in no way be said to arrive redeemed unless they follow the Commands laid upon those who seek to obey, as it is written, 'If you [want to] enter [eternal] life, keep the Commandments' (Matt. 19:17)."5 I think Pelagius misunderstands Jesus and inevitably concludes with errant theology.
The Rich Young Ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit and, thus, enter Heaven (Matt. 19:16). Jesus drove the man to the Law (Matt. 19:17-19). The Ruler informs Jesus that he has kept the Law since he was a child so he asks if there is any other Command he should follow (Matt. 19:20). So Jesus tests the validity of his claim, stating, "If you wish to be complete [or perfect], go and sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven; and, come, follow Me" (Matt. 19:21). "But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property" (Matt. 19:22). A land-owning Ruler would have been considered wealthy in Jesus' day. He did not want to sell his possessions and become a disciple of Jesus. What are we, then, to conclude? Why the use of the Law here?
When Jesus uses the Law, He is revealing two states of reality, thus testing the motives of the sinner. The young man should have responded, "But, Rabbi, no one can perfectly keep the Law. Who, then, can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven?" Instead, the young man boasts about his own righteousness, and is self-deceived. When he alleges to have kept the Law since he was a child, Jesus presses the issue a bit farther, and actually exposes the man's self-deception: "If you want to be perfect," responds Jesus, "then sell all your possessions and become My disciple." First, the young man had not truly kept the Law perfectly, for if he had then he would have "loved his neighbor as himself" (Lev. 19:9-18) and used his wealth to help the poor. So, in reality, he had not kept the Law. "For whoever keeps the whole Law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). Second, the young man failed to recognize Jesus as Messiah, for in Mark he refers to Jesus as "Good Rabbi" (Mark 10:17), to which Jesus responds, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18). The young man does not respond to this claim of "goodness." From the perspective of the Ruler, was Jesus the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, the eternal One (Micah 5:2)? If so then Messiah, Jesus, is good--for the sole truly good person is God. Fallen sinners, however, are not good (Rom. 3:10, 11, 12).
The Law should cause anxiety within us (Gal. 3:19-22). If God's Law must be kept perfectly, without ever defaulting on any one Command in the slightest, then the person will be forever separated from God (Isa. 59:2), he will never enter Heaven, and there remains no hope for the Law-breaker. Yet no sinner has ever perfectly kept God's Law (Rom. 3:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). How, then, can anyone be saved?
FOREIGN RIGHTEOUSNESS
If someone is to be redeemed, forgiven of sins, and justified by God from His perspective then the person must be sinless. Since none of us sinners has ever attained to sinless perfection then how will God reckon us justified? "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:19-20 NASB; cf. Rom. 7:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). "For while we were in the flesh [still in our unregenerate state and spiritually dead to God and all that pertains to God, Isa. 59:2; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3], the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death" (Rom. 7:5).
Sin brought forth death--physical and spiritual (Rom. 5:12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; 1 Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3, 12, 13). We need resurrection--physical and spiritual (1 Cor. 15:22, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49; Eph. 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). But we need not only a regeneration, but we also need a justification--a reckoning of God that He will accept us as His children in Christ Jesus--as well as an imputed righteousness that is divine. Jesus had to be born in flesh just like us in order to redeem us from our sins (Heb. 2:14, 15, 17, 18). Our Messiah had to both human and divine: a holy and divine sacrifice acceptable to God the Father (Heb. 10:5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18) in a human being--for, since a human being faltered from his relationship with the Divine Creator, then the High Priest (Heb. 3:1, 2, 3, 6; 5:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 9:15), and Redeemer (1 Cor. 1:30 NIV; Eph. 1:7; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19) must Himself be both human and divine.
We must be "found" as possessing not a righteousness of our own, since we are morally repulsive and tainted by sin (Isa. 64:6), but "found" in Christ Jesus, "not having a righteousness of my own derived from [obedience to] the Law [since we have all failed to be perfectly obedient], but that which is through [that righteousness that is gifted to the one who has] faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Phil. 3:9). God reckons the believer to be just, holy and sinless, even though the believer is not holy and sinless. He takes all of our sin and places it upon Christ Jesus; and He takes all of Christ's righteousness and places it upon the believer (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28). We are "found" to be in Christ Jesus because of God's will; and then Christ Jesus "has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30 NIV). God the Father views us through the sinless and holy lens of God the Son by the divine work of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Titus 3:4, 5). God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
THE LIFE OF SANCTIFICATION
So, when we think about the life of the regenerate believer, we attest to the redemptive and reconciled relationship of the triune God to the one who now trusts in Jesus. The believer is called of God to live a life of obedience. Obedience to the ceremonial Laws God gave the Jewish people? No (Col. 2:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). Obedience to the dietary Laws God gave the Jewish people? No (Acts 10:9-17, 34, 35; Col. 2:16). Obedience to the Ten Commandments? Yes (Rom. 13:9; 1 Tim. 1:8, 9, 10)! Obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ? Yes (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10, 11, 12, 13, 14)! Obedience to New Testament teaching given to the Church? Yes (Rom. 1:5; James 1:22; 2 Pet. 3:14, 15, 16, 17, 18; 1 Pet. 1:14; 1 John 5:3)! But we do not live a life of obedience in order to be saved but because we have been graciously saved by our loving heavenly Father. We do not obey God and His Word for salvation, justification, and the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We obey God out of love for Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3), gratitude to having received His lavish grace (Eph. 1:6), and because the very desire to obey God originates from a heart that He by His grace has changed (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26; 2 Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10). But obedience is not meritorious.
You do not earn God's grace by being obedient. You do not get God to love you more by being obedient. His love for His own does not increase and decrease--ebb and flow. His love for His own is eternal (Jer. 31:3; John 17:23; Eph. 1:4; Rev. 13:8; 17:8). Obedience to our Lord is not the cause of God pouring out His goodness and love upon us but the fruit of God having poured out His goodness and love upon us.
But know this: though God has redeemed us in Christ (Eph. 1:6), and though He has poured out His Laws into our hearts so as to cause us to walk (live our lives) in His ways (Jer. 31:33), our obedience will be inconsistent because of indwelling sin (Rom. 7:14-25). We now want to be holy even though we fail to attain perfect holiness (whereas, prior to God exerting His grace within us, we did not want to be holy). We recall Jesus' words that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (cf. Matt. 26:41); and we recall Paul's words to the same effect: "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh [my old sinful nature]; for the willing [desire] is present in me [by grace], but the doing of the good is not [because of sin]" (Rom. 7:18). But our varied failures do not threaten the salvific work that He has begun and which He will complete (Phil. 1:6). He has eternally foreordained and promised to finish the work that He has begun within us (Heb. 7:25; Jude 1:24). We have no fear of losing salvation. We did nothing to gain it and we can do nothing to lose it. This is His work and not ours (Rom. 8:29, 30).
Even progressive sanctification, being made more and more like Jesus, is His work within us and not ours alone to accomplish (2 Cor. 3:3, 4, 5, 6, 18). We cannot make ourselves become practically more holy. This requires a divine work from One innately holy. When God saves and regenerates us, He positionally sanctifies us, and considers us entirely sanctified / made holy / set apart from the world of ungodliness and set apart for His own purposes (Acts 20:32; 26:18; Rom. 6:19, 22; 8:29, 30; 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:2, 30; 6:11; Eph. 5:26; 2 Thess. 3:13; Heb. 2:11; 9:13; 10:10, 14, 29; 12:14; 13:12). This is the divine work of God. But we are called by God to be holy (Lev. 11:44, 45; 19:2; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Tim. 2:21; Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16; 3:15), to separate ourselves from ungodliness (Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 Thess. 4:3, 4, 7; Titus 2:11, 12), and in this sense, then, we do proactively seek holiness of heart and life by the work of God within us. We are commanded to work out (bring to completion, accomplish, or effect a result) our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12b); but we are also informed that God is the motivating factor in our hearts to will or desire to work out our salvation and to actually perform the work (Phil. 2:13) of seeking obedience unto the Lord (Phil. 2:12a).
THE LIFE OF OBEDIENCE
Though God the Father has graciously accepted us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6 NKJV), imputing the righteousness of God the Son to our spiritual account (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:7, 8, 9, 10, 11), the apostle John and others are serious (1 John 2:1) about the believer seeking to live their new lives in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in obedient holiness. First, John quotes Jesus thusly:
We know that every imperative in Scripture ("do this" or "don't do that") is a command. When Paul writes, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal. 5:1), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. When James writes, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. When Peter writes, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Pet. 1:14-16), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. So, too, when John writes, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world" (1 John 2:15), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. We are called to obey all imperatives.
Though we know that we are not obedient to the Lord in order to receive His grace or mercy or salvation, but that we are obedient because we have already received His grace and mercy and salvation, we are still called to a life of obedience. Paul confesses his ministry in the Lord is to help bring about "the obedience of faith" (Rom. 1:5) and, so, even our faith in Christ includes the notion of a life of obedience. But, at least from the perspective of John, the Christian life of obedience is a paradox: we are called to live a life of holiness ("I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin," 1 John 2:1a) and, yet, we ask for forgiveness if / when we sin ("And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," 1 John 2:1b). Dr. Douglas Sean O'Donnell writes: "In view of God's holiness, we should admit our sinfulness. We are not to say that 'we have no sin' or 'we have not sinned' [1 John 1:8] but rather that 'we have sin' and 'we still sin.'"6 He adds:
OBEDIENCE AND WARFARE
What this means is that we are not alone in our struggles against indwelling sin, the world, and the devil (1 John 2:15). The indwelling Holy Spirit is also our Advocate, our Trial Lawyer, our Helper and Comforter (John 14:26; Rom. 8:26, 27). The evidence / produce / result of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is also referred to as "fruit," Gk. karpos, i.e., the "visible expression of an inward change or the evidence of one's faith and character," includes such attributes pouring out of our everyday lives as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal. 5:22, 23). We know that these attributes must be divinely inspired within us because there is no truly good and holy disposition within us to motivate us to live in such manner (Rom. 7:18). Then Paul encourages us: "Since we live [have new life in Christ] by [because of the work of] the [Holy] Spirit then let us keep in step with [or follow the promptings of] the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25).
Paul adds: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful desires to His cross. They don't want these things anymore" (Gal. 5:24 NIRV); cf. "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (NASB). The language here appears at first glance to be a once-for-all action: the born again believer has once-for-all crucified the old sinful nature and its desires so that he does not still struggle with evil desires (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). But we know this cannot be so: "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death" (James 1:13-15).
Our problem in this life is that, though God has performed a miracle in our humanity by the act of regeneration (John 1:11, 12, 13; 3:3, 5, 6, 7, 8; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3; Titus 3:4, 5; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:1), we still war against the old fallen nature (Rom. 7:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25; Gal. 5:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). Sometimes the old nature wins and sometimes the new nature wins. Ultimately, the new nature will win, for Christ has won the War on our behalf (John 19:30). What we experience here is not the War (against Sin, Death, and Hell) but the Battle (against what remains of the old nature, the world, and the devil). Sometimes we lose the battle because we are exhausted by the warfare (Gal. 6:9). Sometimes we are addicted to old ways (Eph. 4:22, 23, 24). Sometimes we are blindsided by a tactic of the enemy (2 Cor. 10:3, 4). Sometimes our perspective is tricked by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13). But still we press onward.
Paul calls believers to "mortify the [misdeeds] of the body" (Rom. 8:13 KJV; cf. Col. 3:5), the word "mortify" referring to "putting to death," the Greek word being a present active indicative: to kill and to always be killing the evil desires of the old nature. This exercise is perpetual until we die or until Christ returns and we finally shed all that pertains to the Fall. Until then we are called to be "destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God" and to be "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
Dr. Philip Graham Ryken notes that The Holy Spirit "does not produce fruit in the Christian life without our cooperation."10 This means that we can hinder our own spiritual growth. We are warned: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30); "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thess. 5:19). So we can grieve and we can quench the fire of the Spirit of God within us. Thus we are called to always be crucifying the remaining old nature with its evil desires. Dr. Ryken continues: "Crucifixion was [not only a shameful but also] a painful way to die, as painful a means of execution as human beings have ever devised. It was excruciating, in the full and proper sense of the word. Likewise, the mortification of sin is painful. ... The reason sanctification is such a painful process is that there is always something excruciating about putting our sins to death. Our sinful nature loves them so much that we secretly hope that they will live."11 This is a tragic yet profound truth. Even though we have been born again by the grace of God, given a new and spiritual disposition to obey God, the reason why we sin is because a part of us still wants to live in sin. That part of us is what we are called to mortify--to always be crucifying.
The problem with us being "a living sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1, 2), so I have heard from pastors, is because a living sacrifice keeps jumping off the altar instead of laying there and dying. But this death is a gradual death--and what could be worse? Dr. Ryken informs us with the heart of a true and loving pastor: "When it comes to eliminating sin, there are no shortcuts, only a long, slow, painful death."12 Let that encourage and not discourage you. Living toward a Christian life of obedience will be a constant struggle for the rest of your life. But in this you can still rejoice! How? Because those who have not been saved and born again by the grace of God do not care about killing sin in their lives. The fact that there is a new creation within you that hates your own sin is evidence of the saving grace of God within you. Truly you belong to Christ!
I belong to Christ even though I fail? Even though you fail. The Heidelberg Catechism addresses the Christian life thusly:
__________
1 Pelagius, "On Virginity," in B.R. Rees, Pelagius: Life and Letters (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998), 2.84.
2 Ibid.
3 Pelagius, "On the Divine Law," in Rees, 2.90.
4 Pelagius, "On the Christian Life," in Rees, 2.106.
5 Divine Law, 2.94.
6 Douglas Sean O'Donnell, 1-3 John: Reformed Expository Commentary, eds. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing Company, 2015), 32.
7 "Admittedly," writes O'Donnell, "knowing God by not sinning is a goal as lofty as climbing Mount Everest without food, shoes, gloves, and an oxygen supply. Yet it is obtainable through Mount Calvary. How do we prevent sin, which once controlled our lives, from ruling our lives? We cling to the finished (but ever-working) work of Jesus. The answer is Jesus' advocacy and example" (34). In the Greek New Testament, the Advocate, the appropriate word for Jesus at 1 John 2:1b, refers to His work as our Trial Lawyer before the Father. "We have been assigned the greatest defense attorney in the universe, an Advocate who, every time we commit a crime against the divine, seflessly and justly 'pleads' (Rom. 8:34) our case: 'Father, I have suffered for this sinner. My righteousness is his now and forever'" (34). This defense breaks my heart; and, yet, I am so grateful for Jesus' advocacy. May the Holy Spirit use Jesus' ministry in keeping me from sin.
8 Ibid., 32-33.
9 Ibid., 34.
10 Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians: Reformed Expository Commentary, eds. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing Company, 2005), 236.
11 Ibid., 237.
12 Ibid.
The three years I spent reading Pelagius (2020-2022) were also anxiety-inducing. Pelagius obviously has a passionate heart that longs to live in perfect obedience to Christ, and what motivates him to write extensively and to engage people in his theological writings is the carnal lives of clergy and professing believers he discovers during his visit to Rome, and this is why he can write such statements as "If you wish then to be with Christ and to share with Christ, you must live by the example of Christ [which is lifted straight out of 1 John 2:6] who was such a stranger to evil and wickedness that He did not retaliate even upon His enemies but rather prayed even for them."1 He repeats this ad nauseam: "The heavenly palace will admit none but the holy and the righteous, the simple and the innocent, for evil has no place in God's presence; and he who wishes to reign with Christ must be free from all forms of wickedness and deceit."2 But he is partially correct and partially in error.
BLAMELESSNESS: DEMANDED AND REQUIRED
"Who may ascend into the Hill of the LORD," asks the Psalmist regarding entering God's presence, and "who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands, and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully" (Ps. 24:3-4 NASB). "By this we know that we are in Him [in Christ Jesus, Eph. 1:4, 5, 6]," writes John, "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk [live] in the same manner [way] as He walked [lived]" (1 John 2:6). "Therefore," commands Paul, "be imitators of God, as beloved children" (Eph. 5:1). "As obedient children," writes Peter, "do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Pet. 1:14-16); and also:
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and, while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls [and therefore our lives should demonstrate it] (1 Pet. 2:21-25).For Pelagius, the one who entrusts his life to Christ will choose to imitate Him, and that is certainly biblical. He reminds us that Jesus washed us "by the washing of water with the Word of Life" so that He may "present [us] to Himself glorious and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27)." Pelagius concludes: "He said that the Church is cleansed by water and the Word; and we undoubtedly are the Church if we live without fault and blemish, as it is commanded."3 But whose work is it, for us to be reckoned faultless and blameless, ours or Christ's? Did Pelagius obtain sinless perfection? No. He writes: "The only reason which compels me [to write], the greatest of sinners, more foolish than other men and more ignorant than all of them, to venture to advise you in a letter of some length to follow the path of holiness and righteousness is not confidence in my own righteousness [Phil. 3:9], not expertise in wisdom, not reputation for knowledge, but my personal regard for you."4
Yet he writes: "Those who have been redeemed by Christ's passion through His dutifulness to His Father have been redeemed to this end, that by keeping the Laws of their Redeemer, they may prepare themselves for the life laid up for them in Heaven; and there they may in no way be said to arrive redeemed unless they follow the Commands laid upon those who seek to obey, as it is written, 'If you [want to] enter [eternal] life, keep the Commandments' (Matt. 19:17)."5 I think Pelagius misunderstands Jesus and inevitably concludes with errant theology.
The Rich Young Ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit and, thus, enter Heaven (Matt. 19:16). Jesus drove the man to the Law (Matt. 19:17-19). The Ruler informs Jesus that he has kept the Law since he was a child so he asks if there is any other Command he should follow (Matt. 19:20). So Jesus tests the validity of his claim, stating, "If you wish to be complete [or perfect], go and sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven; and, come, follow Me" (Matt. 19:21). "But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property" (Matt. 19:22). A land-owning Ruler would have been considered wealthy in Jesus' day. He did not want to sell his possessions and become a disciple of Jesus. What are we, then, to conclude? Why the use of the Law here?
When Jesus uses the Law, He is revealing two states of reality, thus testing the motives of the sinner. The young man should have responded, "But, Rabbi, no one can perfectly keep the Law. Who, then, can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven?" Instead, the young man boasts about his own righteousness, and is self-deceived. When he alleges to have kept the Law since he was a child, Jesus presses the issue a bit farther, and actually exposes the man's self-deception: "If you want to be perfect," responds Jesus, "then sell all your possessions and become My disciple." First, the young man had not truly kept the Law perfectly, for if he had then he would have "loved his neighbor as himself" (Lev. 19:9-18) and used his wealth to help the poor. So, in reality, he had not kept the Law. "For whoever keeps the whole Law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). Second, the young man failed to recognize Jesus as Messiah, for in Mark he refers to Jesus as "Good Rabbi" (Mark 10:17), to which Jesus responds, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18). The young man does not respond to this claim of "goodness." From the perspective of the Ruler, was Jesus the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, the eternal One (Micah 5:2)? If so then Messiah, Jesus, is good--for the sole truly good person is God. Fallen sinners, however, are not good (Rom. 3:10, 11, 12).
The Law should cause anxiety within us (Gal. 3:19-22). If God's Law must be kept perfectly, without ever defaulting on any one Command in the slightest, then the person will be forever separated from God (Isa. 59:2), he will never enter Heaven, and there remains no hope for the Law-breaker. Yet no sinner has ever perfectly kept God's Law (Rom. 3:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). How, then, can anyone be saved?
FOREIGN RIGHTEOUSNESS
If someone is to be redeemed, forgiven of sins, and justified by God from His perspective then the person must be sinless. Since none of us sinners has ever attained to sinless perfection then how will God reckon us justified? "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:19-20 NASB; cf. Rom. 7:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). "For while we were in the flesh [still in our unregenerate state and spiritually dead to God and all that pertains to God, Isa. 59:2; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3], the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death" (Rom. 7:5).
Sin brought forth death--physical and spiritual (Rom. 5:12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; 1 Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3, 12, 13). We need resurrection--physical and spiritual (1 Cor. 15:22, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49; Eph. 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). But we need not only a regeneration, but we also need a justification--a reckoning of God that He will accept us as His children in Christ Jesus--as well as an imputed righteousness that is divine. Jesus had to be born in flesh just like us in order to redeem us from our sins (Heb. 2:14, 15, 17, 18). Our Messiah had to both human and divine: a holy and divine sacrifice acceptable to God the Father (Heb. 10:5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18) in a human being--for, since a human being faltered from his relationship with the Divine Creator, then the High Priest (Heb. 3:1, 2, 3, 6; 5:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 9:15), and Redeemer (1 Cor. 1:30 NIV; Eph. 1:7; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19) must Himself be both human and divine.
We must be "found" as possessing not a righteousness of our own, since we are morally repulsive and tainted by sin (Isa. 64:6), but "found" in Christ Jesus, "not having a righteousness of my own derived from [obedience to] the Law [since we have all failed to be perfectly obedient], but that which is through [that righteousness that is gifted to the one who has] faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Phil. 3:9). God reckons the believer to be just, holy and sinless, even though the believer is not holy and sinless. He takes all of our sin and places it upon Christ Jesus; and He takes all of Christ's righteousness and places it upon the believer (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28). We are "found" to be in Christ Jesus because of God's will; and then Christ Jesus "has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30 NIV). God the Father views us through the sinless and holy lens of God the Son by the divine work of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Titus 3:4, 5). God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
THE LIFE OF SANCTIFICATION
So, when we think about the life of the regenerate believer, we attest to the redemptive and reconciled relationship of the triune God to the one who now trusts in Jesus. The believer is called of God to live a life of obedience. Obedience to the ceremonial Laws God gave the Jewish people? No (Col. 2:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). Obedience to the dietary Laws God gave the Jewish people? No (Acts 10:9-17, 34, 35; Col. 2:16). Obedience to the Ten Commandments? Yes (Rom. 13:9; 1 Tim. 1:8, 9, 10)! Obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ? Yes (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10, 11, 12, 13, 14)! Obedience to New Testament teaching given to the Church? Yes (Rom. 1:5; James 1:22; 2 Pet. 3:14, 15, 16, 17, 18; 1 Pet. 1:14; 1 John 5:3)! But we do not live a life of obedience in order to be saved but because we have been graciously saved by our loving heavenly Father. We do not obey God and His Word for salvation, justification, and the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We obey God out of love for Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3), gratitude to having received His lavish grace (Eph. 1:6), and because the very desire to obey God originates from a heart that He by His grace has changed (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26; 2 Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10). But obedience is not meritorious.
You do not earn God's grace by being obedient. You do not get God to love you more by being obedient. His love for His own does not increase and decrease--ebb and flow. His love for His own is eternal (Jer. 31:3; John 17:23; Eph. 1:4; Rev. 13:8; 17:8). Obedience to our Lord is not the cause of God pouring out His goodness and love upon us but the fruit of God having poured out His goodness and love upon us.
But know this: though God has redeemed us in Christ (Eph. 1:6), and though He has poured out His Laws into our hearts so as to cause us to walk (live our lives) in His ways (Jer. 31:33), our obedience will be inconsistent because of indwelling sin (Rom. 7:14-25). We now want to be holy even though we fail to attain perfect holiness (whereas, prior to God exerting His grace within us, we did not want to be holy). We recall Jesus' words that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (cf. Matt. 26:41); and we recall Paul's words to the same effect: "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh [my old sinful nature]; for the willing [desire] is present in me [by grace], but the doing of the good is not [because of sin]" (Rom. 7:18). But our varied failures do not threaten the salvific work that He has begun and which He will complete (Phil. 1:6). He has eternally foreordained and promised to finish the work that He has begun within us (Heb. 7:25; Jude 1:24). We have no fear of losing salvation. We did nothing to gain it and we can do nothing to lose it. This is His work and not ours (Rom. 8:29, 30).
Even progressive sanctification, being made more and more like Jesus, is His work within us and not ours alone to accomplish (2 Cor. 3:3, 4, 5, 6, 18). We cannot make ourselves become practically more holy. This requires a divine work from One innately holy. When God saves and regenerates us, He positionally sanctifies us, and considers us entirely sanctified / made holy / set apart from the world of ungodliness and set apart for His own purposes (Acts 20:32; 26:18; Rom. 6:19, 22; 8:29, 30; 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:2, 30; 6:11; Eph. 5:26; 2 Thess. 3:13; Heb. 2:11; 9:13; 10:10, 14, 29; 12:14; 13:12). This is the divine work of God. But we are called by God to be holy (Lev. 11:44, 45; 19:2; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Tim. 2:21; Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16; 3:15), to separate ourselves from ungodliness (Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 Thess. 4:3, 4, 7; Titus 2:11, 12), and in this sense, then, we do proactively seek holiness of heart and life by the work of God within us. We are commanded to work out (bring to completion, accomplish, or effect a result) our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12b); but we are also informed that God is the motivating factor in our hearts to will or desire to work out our salvation and to actually perform the work (Phil. 2:13) of seeking obedience unto the Lord (Phil. 2:12a).
THE LIFE OF OBEDIENCE
Though God the Father has graciously accepted us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6 NKJV), imputing the righteousness of God the Son to our spiritual account (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:7, 8, 9, 10, 11), the apostle John and others are serious (1 John 2:1) about the believer seeking to live their new lives in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in obedient holiness. First, John quotes Jesus thusly:
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. ... He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and will disclose [reveal] Myself to him. ... If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him [cf. 1 John 1:3]. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me (John 14:15, 21, 23, 24).The person living in obedience to Christ--his obedience is obvious to everyone. Then John writes his own words to the same effect: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk [live our lives] in the darkness, we lie, and do not practice the truth" (1 John 1:6); and, yet, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8; cf. 1 John 1:10); so, then, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). The balance is perfect here: the regenerate believer is not going to live his life completely in sinful living; but, he is also not going to live as though he has no sin, either. Still, though, John continues to demand "the obedience of faith" (cf. Rom. 1:5; 15:26) in the life of the believer, to which God has called Him:
- My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin (1 John 2:1);
- By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 2:3-6);
- Do not love the world [cf. 2 Tim. 4:10: to love sinfulness, wickedness, perverseness] nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17);
- Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him (1 John 2:28-29);
- Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2, 3);
- Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness [cf. Matt. 7:21, 22, 23]; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him [will continue to live his life in] sins [in a life dominated by sin; cf. Rom. 6:14]; no one who [continues to live his life in] sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning [John 8:44]. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed [His Word; James 1:18] abides in him; and he cannot [live his life in] sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother (1 John 3:4-10);
- Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer [a "soul-murderer," in the Ethiopic text, says John Gill--love is light and hatred is darkness]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:13-15);
- But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him [not supplying what his brother needs, cf. Matt. 25:40, 45, 46; James 2:1-7], how does the love of God abide in him [meaning that the love of God does not abide in him]? (1 John 3:17);
- This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given us (1 John 3:23-24);
- They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (1 John 4:5-6);
- Beloved, let us love one another [an echo of Jesus at John 13:34, 35; 15:12, 13, 17], for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God [He regenerated them] and knows God [personally]. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8);
- Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God [John 6:29; 1 Cor. 12:3], God abides in him, and he in God [John 14:20, 21, 23, 24; 16:26, 27; 17:6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24]. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us [God the Father loves us just as He loves God the Son, cf. John 17:23]. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because, as He is, so also are we in this world (1 John 4:15-17);
- If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also (1 John 4:20-21);
- Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome [cf. "for My yoke is easy and My burden light," Matt. 11:28, 29, 30] (1 John 5:1-3);
- We know that no one who is born of God [overtly continues to live his life in unrepentant] sins [with no remorse]; but He who was born of God keeps him [preserves him, cf. Jude 1:24] and the evil one does not touch him [do violence to him]. We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:18-20; cf. John 17:3);
- Little children, guard yourselves from idols [from the love of anyone or anything more than loving devotion to the triune God] (1 John 5:21).
We know that every imperative in Scripture ("do this" or "don't do that") is a command. When Paul writes, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal. 5:1), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. When James writes, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. When Peter writes, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Pet. 1:14-16), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. So, too, when John writes, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world" (1 John 2:15), that is a Command / Commandment / Law. We are called to obey all imperatives.
Though we know that we are not obedient to the Lord in order to receive His grace or mercy or salvation, but that we are obedient because we have already received His grace and mercy and salvation, we are still called to a life of obedience. Paul confesses his ministry in the Lord is to help bring about "the obedience of faith" (Rom. 1:5) and, so, even our faith in Christ includes the notion of a life of obedience. But, at least from the perspective of John, the Christian life of obedience is a paradox: we are called to live a life of holiness ("I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin," 1 John 2:1a) and, yet, we ask for forgiveness if / when we sin ("And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," 1 John 2:1b). Dr. Douglas Sean O'Donnell writes: "In view of God's holiness, we should admit our sinfulness. We are not to say that 'we have no sin' or 'we have not sinned' [1 John 1:8] but rather that 'we have sin' and 'we still sin.'"6 He adds:
Sin is inevitable but not excusable. Sin is inevitable, not excusable, and yet forgiveable! It is forgiveable because of Jesus' constant advocacy7 [cf. 1 John 2:1b; cf. Rom. 8:34; Heb. 2:14, 17]. ... After what John said about sin in 1 John 1:8 and 10, does he genuinely believe that Christians can transcend their transgressions [being entirely sinless]? Is John hopelessly idealistic or realistically serious? Oh, he is serious, and he is realistic. He doesn't believe in "sinless perfection," but he does believe in lives transformed by the power of the Gospel. He does believe that "there is no room for sin in the Christian life." ... [For John,] to know God transends intellectual understanding. It involves believing the right truths about Jesus, but also obeying Christ's commands, especially living out His law of love.8What, then, do we do with our failures and our many sins we commit after we have been born again by the grace of God? We confess them (1 John 2:1b). We agree with God that we have sinned, making no attempt at justifying the sin, and we ask our Father, in and through Jesus Christ our High Priest and Advocate, to forgive our sin. We certainly are not to think that our sin does not matter. Our sin drove Christ to the Cross! God despises sin! That His redeemed (Eph. 1:7), renewed (Eph. 4:23), and recreated (Eph. 2:10) people would choose to sin instead of being obedient to Him is, in a sense, unthinkable! Yet, we do--and if we are truly born again by the Spirit of God then we hate the sin. But we need to be honest with God and with ourselves. The Christian Life of Obedience will be a challenge. Dr. O'Donnell confesses: "Knowing God by saying 'no' to sin is hard work. But it is work that God's Word calls us to. It is work, however, that is grounded in the finished work of Christ."9
OBEDIENCE AND WARFARE
What this means is that we are not alone in our struggles against indwelling sin, the world, and the devil (1 John 2:15). The indwelling Holy Spirit is also our Advocate, our Trial Lawyer, our Helper and Comforter (John 14:26; Rom. 8:26, 27). The evidence / produce / result of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is also referred to as "fruit," Gk. karpos, i.e., the "visible expression of an inward change or the evidence of one's faith and character," includes such attributes pouring out of our everyday lives as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal. 5:22, 23). We know that these attributes must be divinely inspired within us because there is no truly good and holy disposition within us to motivate us to live in such manner (Rom. 7:18). Then Paul encourages us: "Since we live [have new life in Christ] by [because of the work of] the [Holy] Spirit then let us keep in step with [or follow the promptings of] the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25).
Paul adds: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful desires to His cross. They don't want these things anymore" (Gal. 5:24 NIRV); cf. "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (NASB). The language here appears at first glance to be a once-for-all action: the born again believer has once-for-all crucified the old sinful nature and its desires so that he does not still struggle with evil desires (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). But we know this cannot be so: "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death" (James 1:13-15).
Our problem in this life is that, though God has performed a miracle in our humanity by the act of regeneration (John 1:11, 12, 13; 3:3, 5, 6, 7, 8; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3; Titus 3:4, 5; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:1), we still war against the old fallen nature (Rom. 7:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25; Gal. 5:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). Sometimes the old nature wins and sometimes the new nature wins. Ultimately, the new nature will win, for Christ has won the War on our behalf (John 19:30). What we experience here is not the War (against Sin, Death, and Hell) but the Battle (against what remains of the old nature, the world, and the devil). Sometimes we lose the battle because we are exhausted by the warfare (Gal. 6:9). Sometimes we are addicted to old ways (Eph. 4:22, 23, 24). Sometimes we are blindsided by a tactic of the enemy (2 Cor. 10:3, 4). Sometimes our perspective is tricked by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13). But still we press onward.
Paul calls believers to "mortify the [misdeeds] of the body" (Rom. 8:13 KJV; cf. Col. 3:5), the word "mortify" referring to "putting to death," the Greek word being a present active indicative: to kill and to always be killing the evil desires of the old nature. This exercise is perpetual until we die or until Christ returns and we finally shed all that pertains to the Fall. Until then we are called to be "destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God" and to be "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
Dr. Philip Graham Ryken notes that The Holy Spirit "does not produce fruit in the Christian life without our cooperation."10 This means that we can hinder our own spiritual growth. We are warned: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30); "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thess. 5:19). So we can grieve and we can quench the fire of the Spirit of God within us. Thus we are called to always be crucifying the remaining old nature with its evil desires. Dr. Ryken continues: "Crucifixion was [not only a shameful but also] a painful way to die, as painful a means of execution as human beings have ever devised. It was excruciating, in the full and proper sense of the word. Likewise, the mortification of sin is painful. ... The reason sanctification is such a painful process is that there is always something excruciating about putting our sins to death. Our sinful nature loves them so much that we secretly hope that they will live."11 This is a tragic yet profound truth. Even though we have been born again by the grace of God, given a new and spiritual disposition to obey God, the reason why we sin is because a part of us still wants to live in sin. That part of us is what we are called to mortify--to always be crucifying.
The problem with us being "a living sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1, 2), so I have heard from pastors, is because a living sacrifice keeps jumping off the altar instead of laying there and dying. But this death is a gradual death--and what could be worse? Dr. Ryken informs us with the heart of a true and loving pastor: "When it comes to eliminating sin, there are no shortcuts, only a long, slow, painful death."12 Let that encourage and not discourage you. Living toward a Christian life of obedience will be a constant struggle for the rest of your life. But in this you can still rejoice! How? Because those who have not been saved and born again by the grace of God do not care about killing sin in their lives. The fact that there is a new creation within you that hates your own sin is evidence of the saving grace of God within you. Truly you belong to Christ!
I belong to Christ even though I fail? Even though you fail. The Heidelberg Catechism addresses the Christian life thusly:
60. Q. HOW ARE YOU RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD? A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ [Rom. 3:21-28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8, 9; Phil. 3:8-11]. Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them [Rom. 3:9, 10], and am still inclined to all evil [Rom. 7:23], yet God, without any merit of my own [Deut. 9:6; Tit. 3:4, 5], out of mere grace [Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8], imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ [Rom. 4:3-5; 2 Cor. 5:17-19; 1 John 2:1, 2]. He grants these to me as if I had never had, nor committed, any sin and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me [Rom. 4:24, 25; 2 Cor. 5:21], if only I accept this gift with a believing heart [John 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom. 3:22].Our spiritual gaze must always be upon Christ and not upon ourselves. If you are always obsessed about not sinning, consumed with despair at your lack of holiness, you need to trust Christ. Look to Christ. He is your righteousness and your justification and your sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30). We are never called to keep our eyes fixed on our own lives but on Christ (Col. 3:1, 2, 3, 4). If you are unconcerned about your lack of holiness then you, too, need to look to Christ--He is your example that you are called of God to follow and to imitate (Eph. 5:1; 1 Pet. 2:21). In Christ Jesus we must avoid both extremes: being obsessed with or being uncaring about our failure. Failure is ours. Victory is in Jesus.
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1 Pelagius, "On Virginity," in B.R. Rees, Pelagius: Life and Letters (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998), 2.84.
2 Ibid.
3 Pelagius, "On the Divine Law," in Rees, 2.90.
4 Pelagius, "On the Christian Life," in Rees, 2.106.
5 Divine Law, 2.94.
6 Douglas Sean O'Donnell, 1-3 John: Reformed Expository Commentary, eds. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing Company, 2015), 32.
7 "Admittedly," writes O'Donnell, "knowing God by not sinning is a goal as lofty as climbing Mount Everest without food, shoes, gloves, and an oxygen supply. Yet it is obtainable through Mount Calvary. How do we prevent sin, which once controlled our lives, from ruling our lives? We cling to the finished (but ever-working) work of Jesus. The answer is Jesus' advocacy and example" (34). In the Greek New Testament, the Advocate, the appropriate word for Jesus at 1 John 2:1b, refers to His work as our Trial Lawyer before the Father. "We have been assigned the greatest defense attorney in the universe, an Advocate who, every time we commit a crime against the divine, seflessly and justly 'pleads' (Rom. 8:34) our case: 'Father, I have suffered for this sinner. My righteousness is his now and forever'" (34). This defense breaks my heart; and, yet, I am so grateful for Jesus' advocacy. May the Holy Spirit use Jesus' ministry in keeping me from sin.
8 Ibid., 32-33.
9 Ibid., 34.
10 Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians: Reformed Expository Commentary, eds. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing Company, 2005), 236.
11 Ibid., 237.
12 Ibid.
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