Out of the Blocks

I wrote this post eight years ago, when Cheri and I were mentoring a group of newly married couples. Although the apostle Paul’s discussion of love in 1 Corinthians 13 is easily applied within the context of marriage, he was actually addressing love from the broader context of the church. When Christians walk by the Spirit, love is the motivation for all that we do. It is the greatest of all of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus commanded his disciples, “... just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (Jn 13:34b). Paul helps us understand what love is.

LOVE IS

It has been a real joy the past couple of months to get to know the young couples in our small group. It’s exciting to listen to them share their experiences as they relate to the topics that we discuss. It’s also inspiring to know that they are committed to each other, and they want to grow together in their marriage relationships. One of our discussion questions last night caught my attention. In order to answer it, I had to think back to about 30 years ago when I first met Cheri. The question was “How have your ideas about love changed as you’ve gone from dating to engagement to marriage?”

After our first date, I was smitten. There was just something about Cheri that made me stop in my tracks and say “Wow!” She was drop-dead gorgeous, extremely smart, and she seemed to like me. I spent every moment with her that I could because I wanted to get to know her. But looking back at that phase of our relationship, I realize I was more interested in receiving her admiration and attention that in learning how to love her.

After three years of dating, I proposed to her on her 21st birthday. I had playfully asked her if she would marry me a number of times, just to see what she would say. She would hold our her hand, smile at me, and say, “Where’s the ring?” That was always assuring, because she never said “no”. She always left the door open for when we were ready to make a lifetime commitment to each other. When I did officially propose, she asked, “Where’s the ring?” and held out her hand, just as she always did. This time, I slipped the ring onto her finger, and she said yes!

If salvation is by God's grace, not by works, there is nothing you can do to earn God's forgiveness of sin. And since Scripture teaches that once you have trusted in Christ, he will never leave you, what motivation is there to not continue to sin?

This is a common question from many who are hearing the gospel message for the first time. It's also the rationale that is used by Christians who decide to return to sinful habits and practices. After all, life is short and there is pleasure in sin. Doesn't God want us to be happy?

Four Reasons to Abandon Sin

1. Jesus shed his blood to atone for your sin.

Sin leads to death … always. Romans 5:12 says, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” The wages of sin is death, and sin is the reason that Jesus died for you. His blood paid the penalty of death for your sin. Think about that — anytime you sin, the blood of Jesus is applied as payment for your sin. Would you choose to trample on such a great sacrifice?