Hurrah for grammatical distinctions! (Anyone who knows me would not be surprised I just wrote that very cheesy phrase.) Who would think that two terms such as indicative and imperative would be so important to our understanding of the gospel. By God’s grace, we have been told who we are in Christ…(indicative). We have been raised with Christ. We will appear with Him in glory. We are forgiven, we have been declared righteous! Because these truths are real in the life of a Christian, we are then to live in light of them…or, “be who we are”. So often though, we try to live out the commands (imperatives) all the while forgetting why…or how…it is because of who we now are…or more importantly Who’s we are.
I appreciated Elyse’s descriptions of the happy and unhappy moralist. It is so easy to fall into these camps instead of being in the camp of the Christ-follower who is empowered by the Spirit of God living inside.
Elyse states that the Happy Moralist believes that “avoiding certain external behaviors, ‘do not handle, do not taste, do not touch’ is all God demands of us, then we can be happy with our righteousness and while we’re at it, it’ll be easy to be judgmental and look down on others.” She also states, “the problem that the Happy Moralist must face is that all of his conformity to mere external regulations is of ‘no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh’ (Col. 2:23). The sinful heart is never transformed by conformity to the imperatives but only by relationship with the One who cleanses hearts….in fact, his self-styled successes only serve to make him blind to his weaknesses and proud of his accomplishments.”
While I do certainly trust the Lord and am in relationship with Him, I can see myself here at times. I am drawn to the idea of external relations that hedge me in. I can tend toward the “all or nothing” mindset. Don’t misunderstand me…while there is wisdom in setting boundaries for oneself, apart from dependence on the Lord, these external constraints have NO VALUE in stopping the indulgence of the flesh according to Colossians 2:23. None. They do not transform my heart…they only adjust my circumstances.
I can also see myself in Elyse’s description of the Sad Moralist. She says, “The Sad Moralist is the person who understands the profound depth of God’s demands: to love Him with all that we are, to love our neighbors as ourselves. He sees that true holiness is not a matter of mere externals and in this he is right; but he is also crushed by the depth of his inability to even begin to achieve the righteousness God requires. He conscience always accuses him…” She also says, “Like the Happy Moralist, this unhappy soul will continually be tempted to fall into self-indulgence, perhaps by spending hours and hours in introspection, self-recrimination, and what might be called depression or anxiety.”
There are times when I get discouraged over certain areas of my life where I struggle to once and for all tackle them unto obedience. I may not spend hours and hours in introspection, but way to much time has been lost in being discouraged by them over and over. In this area I must remember that Jesus is greater than my sin! Fitzpatrick states, “He (the Sad Moralist) needs the humility that a true embracing of utter depravity brings and the reassurance that a true embracing of God’s sovereignty over his sanctification produces.” I say AMEN to this! As we read in prior chapters…there is such freedom in just accepting our weaknesses and embracing God’s strength. It is not about excessive introspection, though it is healthy to examine ourselves. But, it is about agreeing with God, even in our weakness, about our sinfulness and embracing Him.
Fitzpatrick says, “The grace of God trains us to renounce ungodliness, live temperate, godly lives, and be zealous for good works. Yes, God rules sovereignly, and in the live of His beloved ones He rules with sovereign grace, mercy and love. But, we mustn’t assume that His grace trumps the expectation that we should be holy, for He is holy and His Holy Spirit indwells us. Yes, God is sovereign over our sanctification, but recognition of that truth doesn’t excuse us from zealously pursuing it.”
Two grammatical terms… indicative and imperative…so important. It is because of who we are (indicative), that we can do what we are called to (imperative). To get that wrong leaves us a moralist…and without hope. Doing the right thing (moral behavior) for the wrong reason (anything apart from Jesus), doesn’t save our souls. As Christians, we can obey because He loves us and has freed us from the power and penalty of our sin. We are righteous…not by what we do, but because of whose we are.
Such great reminders! May we endeavor to live in light of these truths!
