How Could I?
About 20 years ago, I had a conversation that profoundly impacted my life. It was with Dr. Ramesh Patel, who was teaching a class that I was auditing at Antioch University. The class was about world religions, and I was fascinated by it and by him. Dr. Patel had multiple doctorates in Eastern and Western Philosophy and Religion, and he devoted his life to learning about what motivates individuals to pursue God through different religions.
I have had a difficult time understanding what would make someone believe wholeheartedly in any deity or belief system other than Jesus. He was fascinated by why I believed that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and He is the ONLY way. Our conversations were long and intense, and one stands out to me in particular. Dr. Patel asked me sincerely, “If salvation in Christianity is based upon grace, God’s undeserved blessing, what would motivate a person to be a good person, do the right things, and avoid sin? If Jesus paid it all, what motivates a person to live any other way than what they want to? They have been given a license to sin.” His question had a significant impact on me.
What motivates a Christian to be sanctified? What motivates a Christian to make God-honoring decisions in their life, to care about what God cares about? I was studying God’s Word after one of my conversations with Dr. Patel, and I came across these wonderful words: “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4 NIV) I rushed into his office later the next day. We discussed the fact that we are inspired to make real changes in our life when we understand what it means to have a relationship with God; when we know He loves us, and that we have experienced His grace. Why? Because we love Him.
I admire the words of Joseph, long after his coat of many colors, who responded to the amorous advances of Potiphar’s wife by saying, “...How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9 NIV) Jesus said quite simply in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” (NET) As we consider what it means to be wholly sanctified by Jesus – to look more and more like Jesus in our lives – it is essential to remember that holiness (rejecting sin in our life) can and should be a direct response to our love for Jesus.
So my friend Dr Patel was asking a great question, which has a great answer. The reason a Christ-follower honors Jesus’ commands is that they are responding to and receiving the love of Jesus. He is the reason for our desire to do what He wants. I pray today that each of us considers what it means for us to be a work in progress. Like the imagery of the wonderful little book by R. Munger, “My Heart-Christ’s Home,” I pray that we all allow Jesus into every area of our lives and allow Him to be the reason we choose what we do and don’t do.
Expectantly,
Shawn
P.S. This Sunday, we will be doing an overview of the seven churches referenced in Revelation 2 & 3. In 2022, we had a sermon series where we went through each of these more in depth. Click here to link to those messages.
