Word for Your Week - "God Does Not Want You To Change Your Behavior"

God Does Not Want You To Change Your Behavior

 

I know, I know. This is perhaps a scandalous title for this week, but please read the content before jumping to any conclusions! Before I dive into that more, I need to warn you that this post is long, I’m sorry for that, and It also has a decent amount of cited scriptures. I encourage you however to take time to read the verses this week and I pray that this post speaks to you and encourages you in your relationship with Jesus.

Sadly there are many people in the church today who are deeply struggling with feeling unworthy of the Lord and who feel like they are distant from Him because of their behavior. Some of us believe that He is so holy and we are so unholy that he just has to be up there while we are down here, and if we could just get our behavior in order long enough to where we are doing enough good and not to much bad then maybe someday God would be okay with us and come close to us, more so than He is right now. If this is you I want you to know out the gate that that is simply untrue. It is a lie. The scandalous truth is that God is not focused on your behavior (good or bad) or who you think you are because of it, rather He is focused on having a relationship with you and through that relationship revealing how much He loves you and who you truly are in Him.

This is perhaps a radical statement, but God does not want or expect you to change your behavior! This sounds so strange I admit, but it is thoroughly scriptural. Just stop and think about it for a minute. Does the gospel teach that we can really change our behavior by our own ability and strength? If we could change our behavior, wouldn’t we have done it by now? If we could get our act together, wouldn’t the law have been sufficient to save? Why, if we could perfect or even drastically improve our own behavior would we even need to prefer Jesus to Moses? The answer is, we can’t… and so we as Christians have placed our full and complete trust in Him who alone can save.

The Apostle Paul tells us that the whole intended purpose of the law was to cause sin increase to show us our own inability at making ourselves righteous before God (See, Romans 5:20 & Romans 3:20). That was its sole intended purpose, and now in this New Covenant of Grace we have been saved by the perfect performance of Jesus Christ who has made us both forgiven and free forever in Himself (See, Romans 5:19 & Romans 6: 6-7; 11;14). He has declared us holy and has brought us back to the Father (See, Colossians 1: 20-22 & II Corinthians 5: 14; 19; 21). All of this (salvation) is a gift of His grace to be received by trust (See, Ephesians 2: 6-9).

The truth is that the Father is solely interested in a relationship with you even as you are right now in your darkest struggles, failures, and sins. He wants to know you now in your imperfections. He wants to know you now in your weaknesses. He is not looking to beat you up for it. He is not looking to make you work harder to perform better. He does not expect you to get your act together before you come to Him, undermining the grace of the cross of Christ. No, He only desires an alive and thriving relationship with you. This is what Jesus died for! This is the joy set before Him as the reason for Him enduring the cross (See, Hebrews 12: 2).

He really is this good, and yes we really can get it oh so legalistic, backwards, and wrong! See, the Apostle Paul also spoke on this very issue to the Galatian church who had become riddled with a performance based system of unbelief where he tells them the following:

“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh (your own ability and strenuous efforts)?” (emphasis mine)

Galatians 3: 1-3

To put it in layman's terms, what the Apostle Paul is essentially saying here is this:

“Jesus Christ and Him crucified is alone what has saved you, and He has given you everything in Himself:

Forgiveness, a new identity, a new heart, a new Spirit, and even the gift of His righteousness.

Now, why are you going to go back on that to return to a system of do-it-yourself under the law of performance when it is only by His grace that you have been given all of these wonderful gifts to begin with? Not to mention the fact that since it takes the Holy Spirit birthing newness of life within you, it also takes that same Holy Spirit to empower and journey with you to bring about a completion of that work to begin with!”

See, it is God who works in you to cause you to even desire to do what is pleasing in His sight (See, Philippians 2:13), and this is ultimately accomplished through a loving and trusting relationship with Him. It is not through striving to perform better by desperately attempting to change your behavior. It is through knowing Him and Him showering you in His love and acceptance of you in Christ that you begin to not only realize that you have become altogether new (See, II Corinthians 5:17 & Song of Solomon 4:7) but you find yourself naturally beginning to desire to walk in it. And that which we get to begin to walk in by His grace is His nature that He shares with us through our union with Christ, which is perfect love (See, I John 2: 1-6 & I John 4: 16-19).

So, I want to encourage you this week, that not only is God who began this good work of love in you going to bring it to completion, but that this will ultimately be accomplished through you ceasing to strive and entering into His rest of love, relationship, and the scandalous acceptance of His mercy and grace (See, Hebrews 4: 10, Ephesians 1: 3-14, & John 17:3). Now don’t get me wrong, He does indeed care about our behavior but that is because He hates sin and what sin does to destroy His children that He dearly loves. Sin is anti-love and His nature is fundamentally opposed to all that is not of love. He ultimately knows that we cannot overcome sin on our own, so He invites us into a safe, loving, and empowering relationship with Him where He endows us with empowering love and truth that set us progressively free in time. He only wants a relationship with you, not your performance. Come to Him this week and receive freely His gifts of Grace! Be blessed this week beloved!

 

- Shane