“Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the law. Nothing can take away sin but the grace of God.”- Martin Luther
Tullian Tchividjian (One Way Love) concluded in the last post that fight, flight, and appeasement don’t work, at least not in the long run. Fighters essentially spend their time punching a brick wall. The end up bitter, bruised, and alone. Flight is ineffective because the Law is not circumstantial. It goes much deeper, and we carry it with us wherever we go. With appeasement, we become discouraged and exhausted attempting to satisfy another’s demands.
As St. Paul indicated in Romans 5:20, the arrival of the Law leads not to life, but to disobedience and death. The Law, Pastor Tchividjian notes, cannot change the heart from self-seeking to self-sacrificing. Human DNA, he adds, simply can’t bear the Law’s weight indefinitely. Tullian asserts that the Law, by itself, is not the answer to bad behavior. In fact, it only stirs up more of such behavior. The Holy Spirit uses both Law and Gospel in our lives and for our good. Once we have been “recrushed” by the Law, we need to be told over and over again that nothing can separate us from God’s love.
“The law was added so that sin might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”- Romans 5:20
Today’s question: How has God’s grace increased in your life following your ministry downsizing or vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Cheap law”
