If I Don't Have To Be Good, Why Would I Want To?

For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” Romans 6:14 (Emphasis mine)

In my most recent blog, TooMuch Grace?,  I discussed the fact that what puts us in danger of leading ungodly lives is not hearing too much about grace, but hearing too much about law without grace.  Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “If your preaching of the gospel of God's free grace in Jesus Christ does not provoke the charge from some of antinomianism, you're not preaching the gospel of the free grace of God in Jesus Christ.”  “Antinomianism” comes from the Greek word meaning “lawless”, and biblically speaking, it refers to someone who advocates the position that because we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, we are free to sin.  Some took it further and claimed that we actually honor God by demonstrating this freedom, because our sinfulness shows off God’s goodness. What Lloyd-Jones meant is, preaching of the true gospel of grace sounds enough like this perversion called Antinomianism that the two will sometimes be confused.

This charge was leveled against Paul because he was preaching the gospel of free grace in Jesus Christ, and it obviously got under his skin.  In Romans 3:7-8 Paul says, “Someone might argue, ‘If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?’ Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—‘Let us do evil that good may result’?  Their condemnation is deserved.”

After his great treatise on grace presented in Romans 1-5, Paul begins chapter 6 with the question he knows his detractors will level at him, “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”  And his answer was, “By no means!”  Again, as he concludes a section in that same chapter with verse 14, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” he feels the need to follow with verse 15, “What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” followed once more by his exclamation, “By no means!”

I have recounted earlier that when I wanted to know once and for all if the gospel of grace was true, I locked myself away with just the Book of Romans and the Holy Spirit and wrestled until I knew that it was the truth of scripture.  It was not an easy process. My experience was, I would read the first five chapters and my heart would thrill with the glorious news of the gospel.  Then, I would hit chapter 6 and my heart would freeze with fear.  

As I have said before, we will initially view everything, including scripture, through the lens of Action/Consequence*and, through that lens, this chapter appeared to me to be in complete contradiction to the very foundation Paul had so carefully laid down in chapters 1-5, which was that now, a righteousness from God, apart from law, had been made known, and this righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe.  To me, chapter 6 seemed to be saying that, as a believer, I should now be living without sin because of all that Jesus had done for me.  My legalistic upbringing had led me to fear this was the case, and this very issue was the reason I was so desperately searching to understand the truth.  Did my salvation depend on me and my actions, or did it depend solely on the grace of Jesus Christ?

I reasoned with myself, that Romans chapter 6 was written by the same author who wrote the first five chapters, and that Paul would not suddenly completely contradict himself; and concluded that, either I was confused about the first five chapters, or I misunderstood chapter 6.  I read that chapter over and over until I was in utter despair; then I would run back and reread chapters 1-5, to find comfort and peace again. 

I can’t say how long this process repeated itself, but I know it seemed like a very long time. Blessedly, even during that process, I felt the Spirit assuring me that I was close to finding the answer. I began to feel an increasing sense that what I was searching for was right in front of me, but I just couldn’t see it.

The verses I zeroed in on were Romans 6:1-12.  I’m going to quote the whole passage here in case you don’t have a Bible handy, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.  Now, if we died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him.  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.  The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.” 

Once I had interpreted those verses from the viewpoint of Action/Consequence, the rest of chapter seemed to fall in line and led straight to hopelessness, as far as I was concerned.  Yet, I felt these were the verses that held the key.  I prayed and prayed for God to show me the truth, even if it was not what I hoped against hope it would be.

Finally, I was compelled to do something I had never done before. I actually felt silly, but I got a piece of paper and a pen and drew a picture of what those verses were saying; a sort of diagram.  I’m not an artist, so the picture was done with stick figures, much like a child would draw.  On the far left-hand side of the page I drew a stick figure of me and above me a crude drawing of the tablets of stone, representing the law. Underneath them I wrote “condemnation” with an arrow pointing to my head.  Then, on the far right-hand side of the paper, I drew a big circle and inside it I wrote “God”.  Then, in the middle, I drew the cross and on the cross I drew another circle.  Inside the circle I wrote “Jesus” at the top and “Me” underneath.  Then I drew an arrow from the stick figure of me on the left side of the page, going under the cross, and coming up on the side where God was.  I looked at the picture for a few minutes, and then I knew.

The picture showed the Death/Resurrection* meaning of the scripture:  In Christ, I had died on the cross in payment for my sins, I had been buried with him, and then I had been raised with him on the right-hand side of the page, with God.  The law, with its condemnation, was still on the left hand side, separated from me, now, by the cross.  Because I had died (in Christ), my sins had all been paid for by that death and the law could never have one word of condemnation to say to me again. There was nothing left with which to threaten me. I had already died; I could not die again! 

Because I was resurrected, I stood on God’s side of the page with my debt completely satisfied.  As far as God was concerned, I was now living a life without sin, because all of my sins were erased. I was freed from sin! Paul said I should “count” myself dead to sin, but alive to God.

I realized that, In this chapter Paul is simply answering the ridiculous charge of teaching people to offer themselves as slaves to sin in order to bring glory to God.  I could see that my resurrected self was now standing with God, knowing that no sin could ever be charged against me again, and how insane it would be for me to want to offer myself as an instrument of wickedness!

If I don't have to be good, why would I want to? Precisely because I don't have to! I understood then that the answer to my question of whether my salvation depended on me and my actions, or solely on the grace of Christ, was unequivically on the grace of Christ; and I also knew that I wanted to live my life in the service of that grace.  In the more than thirty years since that day, that desire has never waned! I will never live it perfectly, but that's all right; I am simply offering myself to God as one who has been brought from death to life.





*For a more detailed understanding of Action/Consequence versus Death/Resurrection, please read my previous blog, Which Lens.