Godly Balance

We seize the opportunity of Christmas to consider the Godly balance between keeping the law and living by grace. In John 1.17, the Bible says, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many believers still attempt to approach God on the basis of the law. Such people have no access to the promises of God.

They are like the Pharisee who listed his religious achievements in Luke 11. If the promise of God tarry in your life, take the time to read that chapter. The Bible says that he prayed with himself; he was not praying to God, but was bragging about his goodness. God resists such people, and on that occasion, God resisted him.

However, there is another way to approach God, the way of grace, trusting in the finished work of Jesus. And that is where this godly balance comes in. It is tempting to refer to this balance as divine tension because it creates a constant pull in our spirits. Where does the law end and grace begin? If we lean heavily on grace, shall we not be guilty of abusing God’s goodness? If we go too far into the law, will that not be setting aside the death and resurrection of Jesus?

It is a real tension, but I choose to refer to it as a godly balance because you and I are believers. By coming to earth to die on the cross, Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. He also adopted us into His Father’s family. We are now children of God, and if children, then heirs and joint heirs with Jesus. I was certain someone would shout Hallelujah.

Enjoy The Godly Balance

We revel in Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection because, without that, we would still be slaves to the devil. But now, we are children, and it does not yet appear what we shall be. Here is the full text of that thought. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Please note that the bible reserves ‘beloved’ for those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If you are not sure that you have done so, you can invite Jesus into your heart right now, right here. The Bible says this is the accepted time. Otherwise, the godly balance will be a divine tension in your life.

For believers in Jesus, who are now children of God, the future is even brighter. That verse says we shall be like God, glorious. Why would we not enjoy such wonderful privileges and the hope of a glorious future? One word. Sin. And why would anyone sin against the God who loved us enough to send Jesus to take our punishment? We do not know Him as we should, which is a result of failing to read God’s word.

David, the man after God’s heart, knew that connection. He said in Psalm 119.11: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” To enjoy the godly balance, you must consistently study the bible. God has done his part, Jesus, too. Ours is to read and study so we will know how much we are loved.

Do Not Live In Tension

The child of God who knows how much God loves them is no different from your biological child. You love your child, no matter what. You pick them up even when their clothes are dirty. If they are still young in the relationship, you even clean them up. Of course, when they become an adult, you expect your child to appear in clean clothes. They know to clean their faces and other parts of their body.

It is the same with God, where we live in grace as a result of what Jesus did. As we grow, we learn the house rules, written in the bible. God does not have to correct us often. That is when we enter fully into the godly balance. We live in the “grace” but keep to the house rules. This concept of balance is not so difficult.

However, we pretend that it is a difficult biblical concept to balance grace and law. No, it is not, except we wish to continue in sin. Paul addressed that very question in Romans 6.1: Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not” God forbid.”

Will you continue to wallow in the mud so that your father can keep hugging you in dirty clothes at the age of 20? God forbid. If you did that, you could not possibly enjoy the godly balance. Someone in the house, perhaps a servant, will say to you one day, “Grow up!”. You may not like that, so it is better for you that you live in the godly balance of grace and law.

Maranatha!