Never Give Up

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” ~Romans 7:24–25

The Christian life is a fight to the brighter end. We battle a stubborn sin nature that resists God and our best efforts to put it to death. At times it can feel like we take one step forward and two back. Old habits rise to the fore, the same ole vices trip us up, and it can often feel like we are making little or no progress. This is true for ministers like me, not just pew-fillers like you. To be honest, it is a miracle that I am still a Christian. In fact, I would go so far as to say the only reason I am still striving to walk with God is that the risen Christ has not stopped walking with me. He alone can deliver me from this body of death. In our text this morning, Paul assures us that He alone will deliver us from this body of death.

My friend and mentor Dr. Ligon Duncan reminded me of this at the yearly minister's fraternal, Twin Lakes Fellowship. Last night, in his closing address on the book of Titus, he left us with this gem: Your Heavenly Father is more committed to making you like Jesus than you are committed to being like Jesus. He doesn’t give up on us, even when we have given up on ourselves.

Do you believe that, Christian? God is faithful. Though we are often faithless, He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself. He will complete the good work which He began in you until the Day of Christ.

The work which His goodness began,

the arm of His strength will complete;

His promise is yea and amen,

and never was forfeited yet.

Things future, nor things that are now,

nor all things below or above,

can make Him His purpose forgo,

or sever my soul from His love.

My name from the palms of His hands

Eternity will not erase;

Impressed on His heart it remains

In marks of indelible grace.

Yes, I to the end shall endure,

As sure as the earnest is giv’n;

More happy, but not more secure,

The glorified spirits in heaven.

~ Augustus Toplady, “A Debtor to Mercy Alone”

Always remember: In the Christian life we love because He first loved us. His love always precedes ours and is never based upon any goodness found in us. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to love God in the hope that He will love you back. We have all been in earthly relationships governed by that dynamic, and it is soul-destroying. If God loved you when you were nothing but sin, He will surely not stop loving you now that Grace has begun an as yet imperfect work in your soul.

As I write this devotional, I am stuck at the gate in Atlanta. The plane's self-starting mechanism has broken. We are waiting for an external starter to come and “jump us off.” Our hearts are like that, even in our most intimate relationships. At times we don’t have the wherewithal within ourselves to love people who hurt us, who fail to meet our expectations, or who betray us. GOD IS NOT LIKE YOU, Christian. He does not need you to jump-start His heart. This is what makes Him so very wonderful. Unlike human beings, His love doesn’t need a spark of beauty, goodness, or truth to activate it. He is so full of goodness, beauty, and truth that He can love the ugliest sinner on earth because He is the altogether loveliest Being in existence.

Rest in your Father’s love, my friend. “In this is love, NOT that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). We live the Christian life not to be loved by God. We live the Christian life because are, have been, and always shall be loved by God.