Constraining or Protecting?

Some people think of the Christian life just a bunch of rules ... that you can't have any fun..... you're restricted. But it makes you wonder which of God's commandments they are struggling with. Does the fact that God forbids stealing, lying, and murdering people really bother them?

There is this story of a man who found a brightly colored little bird nestled in the grass of our backyard that looked like someone's pet. When my son borrowed a cage from a neighbor, the little bird hopped in, jumped on the perch, and started swinging away. He didn't see the bars of that cage as a prison that kept him in, but as walls of protection that kept predators out.


In the same way we can either look at God's commandments as constraining... or we can see them for what they really are: a barrier of protection.

Are you a sinner saved by grace? Really????

1 Corinthians 15:10
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain

If you believe that you are part light and part darkness, part saint and part sinner, you will live in a very mediocre manner with little to distinguish you from the non-Christian. You may confess your proneness to sin and strive to do better, but you will live a continually defeated life because you see yourself to be only "a sinner saved by grace" who is hanging on until the rapture. Satan knows he can do nothing about who you really are, but if he can get you to believe you are no different from the natural person, then you will behave no differently from the natural person.

Why does this profile describe so many Christians? Because we are ignorant of our true identity in Christ. God's work of atonement in changing sinners to saints is His greatest accomplishment on earth. The inner change is effected at the moment of salvation... this is justification. The outer change in the believer's daily walk continues throughout life... this is sanctification.  But the progressive work of sanctification is only fully effective when the radical, inner transformation of justification is realized and appropriated by faith.

"But didn't I read somewhere that Paul referred to himself as the chief of sinners?" you may ask. Yes, but he was referring to his nature before his conversion to Christ (1 Timothy 1:12-16). He made a similar statement in 1 Corinthians 15:9, but continued by saying: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain" (verse 10). Paul knew that who he was before Christ and who he became in Christ were two separate identities.

If you claim to be just a sinner, what will you do? You will sin! You are professing that sin is at the core of your identity. That's not what the Bible teaches. Why don't we just believe God that Jesus is at the core of our being and then begin to live like it by His Spirit?

Are you out of control? No? Think again!

Have you figured out yet that a lot of times you are your own worst enemy? It’s your own reactions, your own fears, your own inadequacies that cause you to act in foolish ways. I know that’s true for me.
I need to be saved from myself because there are things I don’t like about me – things I wish I had done differently, things I’d like to change. But I can’t change them, not on my own power. I need an outside power source.
You may be saying, “I can change.” I hate to say this, but you can’t. Every year about this time, we make a list of New Year’s resolutions. But, by the end of January, that list will be in the dumpster. Why? Because you can’t change on your own; you need God’s power. You need a Savior, someone who can make the changes you can’t make yourself.
God never wastes energy. He doesn’t waste effort on things that are unnecessary. In other words, if you didn’t need a Savior, he wouldn’t have sent one. The very fact that God sent a Savior means you need one.
The truth is, if you are honest about it, sometimes you feel like your life is out of control. That’s a pretty common feeling. Welcome to the human race!
The apostle Paul felt that way 2,000 years ago. Paul says this in the Bible: “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does” (Romans 7:24-25, The Message).That’s the answer!
You may be looking for salvation in the wrong places, that’s why you’re frustrated. You’re looking for that one thing that’s going to give you fulfillment and meaning and peace in life.
Some of us think that if we could just get married, or if we could just get a certain job, or a promotion, or attain a certain level of wealth, or have a baby – or if our babies would grow up and graduate! – things would be great.
You’re looking in the wrong places. The answer is not in a place. It’s not in a program or a pill. The answer is a person: Jesus Christ. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life is never going to make sense.