Balancing Comfort and Warning in the Christian Journey

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In our journey through the Christian life, we often experience a mix of emotions as we engage with Scripture. This emotional roller coaster is not just a personal experience but a design of our spiritual growth. The Bible, with its over 400 imperatives in Paul's writings and more than a thousand in the Gospels, is filled with both comforting promises and stern warnings. These elements are not contradictory but complementary, serving as God's means to shape us into the image of Christ. [00:00:14]

The Christian life is characterized by a dynamic interplay between comfort and warning. Promises from God lead us to confident faith, which in turn leads to obedience. Conversely, threats and warnings instill a healthy fear that drives us back to faith and obedience. This pattern is not only biblical but essential for our spiritual growth. [00:06:45]

The commands and warnings are not burdensome but are the tools God uses to guide us toward holiness and moral perfection. The positive reinforcement of God's promises assures us of His presence and help, while the negative warnings remind us of the consequences of disobedience, keeping us on the path of righteousness. [00:09:11]

God's commands are not burdensome but are His appointed means for our moral perfecting. They are rooted in the fact that we are already justified and accepted through Christ, and they guide us toward holiness. The interplay of comfort and warning in Scripture is akin to a loving parent's approach to raising a child, providing both encouragement and discipline to ensure growth and safety. [00:03:31]

Continuous confident faith is the norm for the Christian life, while fear serves as a temporary warning to drive us back to Christ and His promises when we are tempted to stray. This balance ensures that we remain grounded in faith while being aware of the boundaries set by God for our well-being. [00:09:11]

In this fallen world, the Christian life is designed to be a pattern of continuous faith punctuated by moments of fear that drive us back to Christ. This is how God, in His wisdom, nurtures us, ensuring that we grow in holiness and ultimately reach the glory He has predestined for us. [00:12:09]

The difference between the old Covenant and the New Covenant is not the absence of Commandments but the presence of power to keep them. I will write my law on your heart and cause you to walk in my statutes. That's the heart of the New Covenant. Obedience to Commandments is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of Faith. [00:05:25]

God motivates us to this obedience by using promises and threats. His experience is that threats make him feel sad and worried while promises make him feel happy and comforted. He wonders if this is normal. Is it the way God designed the Christian Life to be in this Fallen World? [00:09:11]

The biblical pattern is that God motivates positively with promises and negatively with threats and warnings. The positive pattern looks like this: God's promise leads to confident Faith which leads to obedience. The negative pattern looks like this: God's threat leads to fear which drives us back to confident Faith which leads to obedience. [00:06:45]

The Christian Life in this Fallen World is meant to feel like this by Design. There are over 400 imperatives in the writings of Paul, over a thousand in the four gospels. What this means is that when Paul says in Romans 8:29 that God predestined Christians to be conformed to the image of Christ, that is to be holy like he's holy. [00:01:23]

God uses both promises and threats to motivate that obedience to his Commandments. And lest anybody say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't even need the word Commandments. We shouldn't even use the word Commandments in the New Testament. That's an Old Testament idea. We don't live by Commandments in the New Testament. That's law. We live under grace." [00:04:21]

The Christian Life in this Fallen age is a pattern of continuous confident faith and occasional threatened fear. This is the way every healthy family raises kids. We want our kids to be overwhelmingly dominantly happy and confident that there's an ongoing continuous trust in the goodness and helpfulness of their parents. [00:10:32]

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