Here's how one man, Joseph Prince, sees it....
People are afraid to preach the gospel of grace because they think that if they preach grace, believers will go out and sin. They seem to have more confidence in man’s flesh to keep the law than in the power of the cross. Yet, it is not grace that stirs up sin, it is the law. (Romans 7:7,8)
Don’t forget that after Israel boasted to God, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do”, (Exodus 19:8), they broke the very first commandment and made a golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. Have you ever read, “the strength of sin is the law”? (1 Cor. 15:56) The more you try to keep the law and not sin, the worse it becomes. For example, if I tell you not to think of a purple dinosaur right now, what is the first thing that pops into your head?
Come on, I told you not to think of a purple dinosaur. Get that picture of the purple dinosaur out of your head! (Say, are you thinking of Barney?)
The more you try not to see a purple dinosaur, the more your mind is occupied with that silly purple dinosaur. You see, you cannot help it. The harder you try, the more you will see that purple dinosaur. In the same way, the more you put yourself under the law – the more you try not to sin – the more conscious you will be of sin.
Imagine a man who knows that he has a problem with lust. When he gets up in the morning, he tells the Lord, “Lord, give me victory today. Help me not to lust after women. I do not want to lust, so help me not to lust today. I will not lust. I will not lust. I will not…”
But the moment he steps out of his apartment and sees someone walking by in a skirt, what do you think would be his first thought? It would be a lustful thought! The more he tries not to lust, the more his mind is occupied with lust. In fact, anything in a skirt would trigger his mind to lust, even if the person walking by in a “skirt” is a Scotsman in a kilt!
Imagine another scenario where a lady says to herself, “I really can’t stand that colleague. She always seems to say things to me that make me so angry. But since I am a Christian, I will do my best to love her. I will obey the law. I will love her. I will love her as myself. I will…” Even as she drives to work, this lady thinks to herself, “I will not be angry with her when I see her. I will love her.”
But guess what? the moment she steps into her office, the colleague that she is trying to love greets her with a bright and chipper “Good morning!” Instantly, instead of love, she feels anger and irritation – “It’s the way she says ‘good morning’. It’s so pretentious! She’s a hypocrite! I hate her!” And the more she tries to like her colleague, the worse it becomes. Have you been there before?
Let’s take another Christian who has a problem with lust and anger. But this Christian believes in grace, so when he wakes up, he tells the Lord, “Lord, I am not even going to try today. I know I cannot overcome this on my own. Lord, I rest in You. You live the victorious life for me. I cannot overcome lust by my own strength. I cannot love that colleague by my own strength. My eyes are on You. Even though I cannot, I know that You can. Thank You for Your grace. I will just be cool.”
Then he leaves his home and goes to work. As he is driving to work, he sees a huge billboard showing a woman in a bikini. And when he feels tempted to lust, he says, “Thank You Father, I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I know that You are here with me. I have not lost Your presence. Even when I fail, You are with me. Thank You for Your grace.” The temptation comes and the temptation goes. He is at rest. He does not pull over to the side of the road and lament, “Oh God, why is this happening again? Please forgive me, Lord!” because he knows that the more he confesses and focuses on his weakness, the worse it becomes.
Topic: believers in the Holy Spirit, believers in the gifts NOT a DEBATE (Read 2380 times)