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Compelled by Love

Tuesday is Valentine’s Day. It is a day we set aside to celebrate those who are closest to us. We spend money purchasing flowers, chocolates and other gifts at significantly higher prices than other times of the year. Roses go from $20 a dozen to $75… the things we do for love!

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

While there is a lot of spiritual truth in this passage, the essential teaching is that Christ’s love compels us to live no longer for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised again.

What it comes down to is our commitment to the lordship of Jesus in every area of our lives. We are to no longer live for ourselves, rather we are to live solely for Him. We are to make His will the rule of our lives and His glory the goal for which we live. But what is the primary motivation for this commitment? What is the motivating principle that will cause a person to turn from self to live for God?

Paul says it is the love of Christ that compels us to make this kind of commitment and carry it out day by day. The word, “compel” is a strong word and often has negative connotations like force or coercion. But here its meaning is positive. As one commentator put it, the love of Christ “coerces or presses and therefore impels. It is the governing influence which controls the life.” In other words, it is not the fear of consequences or expectation of reward that motivates Paul. Rather the love of Christ manifested in dying for him is the driving force of his life.

Another translation of this passage says, “For the love of Christ continually constrains me…” Again, it is a reminder that God’s love is the continual wellspring for Paul’s motivation every day. Paul never lost sight of, never forgot, never took for granted the death of Christ for him. And as he reflected on that love, he was motivated, no, he was compelled to live for the One who died for him and rose again!

Sometimes when I talk about living by grace instead of by works, I see people begin to get nervous. Some people really have a hard time seeing their salvation based solely on the work of Christ. Now there are usually two main reasons for this struggle. The first reason is many believe there are some who have committed such grossly evil sins are undeserving of God’s grace. Secondly, some cannot believe that their “goodness” doesn’t contribute to their salvation. What it boils down to is people don’t understand grace.

Grace is often misunderstood to mean we are now free from the law. Freedom from the law is a result of grace and something we should apply and live out in our lives, but it is not the same as grace. To teach about freedom from the law without first grasping grace is like building a house without a foundation.

Salvation starts with and ends with the work of Christ. He fulfilled all the requirements of the law thereby setting us free. The reality of freedom wasn’t ours until grace was achieved through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Grace isn’t just an intellectual concept, rather it is something that is transformational, down to the very core of our being. It doesn’t lead to a life of lasciviousness, rather it leads to a life of holiness.

In Romans 4:7-8, we find these words: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” When I read these words, it elicits words of praise and thanksgiving to God. Can you imagine what it will be like to not have our sins counted against us? And it isn’t just the big ones, but it also includes the subtle ones we often cling to like selfishness, pride, impatience, and a judgemental spirit.

But what then is the next step? I am tempted to think, “If God is not going to count those sins against me, then it really doesn’t matter whether I deal with them or not, right? Since God isn’t going to hold these things against me anyway, I might as well not bother at all with trying to put those ungodly sins to death?”

Of course, that isn’t the response we should have. Instead, there should be a measure of thankfulness and contriteness in our hearts to ask God for strength to purge those things from our character. We should ask Him to enable us to become more and more aware of specific instances when we were committing these sins so that through the power of the Spirit, we can put them to death. As Paul would later say in Romans 8:13, “I was compelled by His love to seek to pout away those sins.”

So what is your motivation to living a God honouring life? Is it fear of God’s judgement? Is it a sense of duty? Is it a sense of trying to pay back God? Or is it the love of Christ which compels us? When we think about all the things which motivate us in our lives, love is the purest one. May we all grow to be like Paul and live our lives compelled by the love of God shown to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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