One of the most common Christians struggles is the knowledge that believers stand before God already forgiven and holy even though our actions do not always reflect that reality. This causes a real tug-of-war within our hearts as we try to live the way that we know we should.1 Peter 1:16 contains the very convicting command "to be holy because God is holy." How can that be? Isn't that some sort of works-based salvation?
I don't think so, at least not if we understand the proper order of salvation (the horse) and Christian living (the cart). Jerry Bridges explains it like this "God wants us to walk in obedience -- not victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self."
Anyone who studies mathematics will tell you that it matters how you lay out the equation. For Christian living the equation should look something like this. First God loved us. Therefore He made a way to save us from our sins. Next we accept His gracious offer for forgiveness. This causes us to love God. Our love for God results in a desire to obey God. This is very different from legalism which teaches people to obey God to make God love us.
Practically speaking, the more we love God the more we will want to obey God. The more we obey God the more we will be holy like God.
- Aaron
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