What am I doing with God’s gift of faith?

Yesterday I wrestled with the idea of giving someone a gift. While I’ve spent many hours creating this gift and know gift-giving is supposed to be without strings attached, I wonder if it will be appreciated or cared for. Cutting those strings is challenging. What will happen to my investment?

Then I thought about the gift of eternal life. A person I know became a Christian as a youngster. He lived for the Lord for a few years, then drifted. He now seems uninterested in the Gospel or spiritual matters without any concern about his sin. God invested in him and he genuinely received it but the gift lies gathering dust and is uncared for, much like the prodigal that wasted what his Father gave him. God’s gift is like that too — no strings attached. We can and do mess up but He does not get disgusted at our failures and take His gift back. Grace is unconditional.

Then God reminded me of my own tendency to fall into sinful attitudes or actions like grumbling or being critical or not being satisfied with His care for me. God gives new life by grace through faith — both are gifts. He also works to bring fruit from that marvelous and generous grace, but I can be stubbornly unfruitful by my selfishness. The Bible calls this grieving the Holy Spirit.

Through ignorance or stubbornness, Christians sometimes get the notion that free salvation means we are free to do whatever we please. This is foolishness and most of us quickly discover that even though God forgives, we cannot sin without consequences. The Bible explains why this is true:

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:15–16)

The Apostle Paul also says this:

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12) and “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. (1 Corinthians 10:23)

Sin does nothing for anyone. It does not build me up; it only dominates my life and makes me a slave of it.

Tozer’s words in today’s devotional are sharp and I repeat them with considerable thought. He writes, “A selfish desire for happiness is as sinful as any other selfish desire. Its root is in the flesh which can never have any standing before God.… People are coming more and more to excuse every sort of wrongdoing on the grounds that they are ‘just trying to secure a little happiness.’”

He adds that this modern hedonism has affected Christians too. Sometimes the Gospel is made to sound as a means toward happiness, peace of mind and security, particularly in those who use the Bible to “relax” them, as if it were a drug.

Some parts of Scripture do bring peace of mind. For instance, it assures me that I am at peace with God and no longer condemned. That being true, the Bible also pokes at me if I have sinned and am not concerned about it nor have confessed and repented. God’s Word is truly a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) and able to both ‘hug’ me and give me a good swift kick at the same time.

As Tozer says, those who read Scripture with an open heart will quickly discover that God hates sin and seems to hate it even more when His own people are guilty of it. He saved us to be holy, to love and obey Him, to reflect His nature to a lost world. We are not here to do what we please but to glorify Him. He is more concerned with the state of my heart than with my comfort or my feelings. Even though He gives joy to those who obey, His focus is not on my happiness but my holiness.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, faith in You may not be real unless it changes the way I think about sin. Sinful habits reveal that I am not trusting You and have become a voluntary slave to something other than You. Thank You for the desire to do what glorifies You and builds up the faith of others. I’m glad that You keep reminding me that I have died to sin and am no longer under law. You have given me new life that I might live for You.