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One of the most important aspects of the Christian life I learned about in seminary has to do with our freedom in Christ to love and obey God. I'm always thankful to my professor R. Scott Clark for emphasizing the following point, and it's something I wish I had learned as a new Christian.
The point Dr. Clark made to his students is that as Christians we need to distinguish between contingent and consequent duties. When it comes to our salvation in Christ, a contingent duty would be something we need to do to be saved and/or remain saved, whereas a consequent duty is something we need to do because we are saved.
Jesus kept all the contingent duties of God's law on our behalf that we should have kept.
Since Adam's fall in the garden of Eden, there is no path via performing contingent duties to earn eternal life because we “all have sinned and fall short of God's glory” (Rom. 3:23). Thus, when it comes to our salvation there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. We are dead in our sins and trespasses, and only God can give us new life in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus and Paul make the following points:
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. (Eph. 2:1-2)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)
Even one sin prevents us from having a righteous status before our holy God (Rom. 3:23). God sent his Son to be born in the flesh because there was no other way we could be saved. Christ Jesus did all the work to keep God’s law, so that we could have peace with God and eternal life (Rom. 5:1).
Jesus, the God-man, obeyed God perfectly and was the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf, and his completed work on our behalf means that his righteousness is counted to us and his atoning death has paid for our sins in full. Nothing can change our status as God’s children, co-heirs with Christ:
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Col. 2:13-14)
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39)
Christians have the consequent duty to honor their heavenly Father by striving to do God’s will in all things.
Once slaves to sin (Rom. 6:20), believers are now free to live to God’s glory and love him wholeheartedly in all things. God has given his children new hearts that desire to do God’s will and bring glory to him.
Christians show gratitude to and love for God by keeping his commandments (John 14:15; Heb. 13:15; 1 John 2:3; 5:3), and this obedience is a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving the believer offers up freely to God. Our obedience is never a means to earn—or keep—God’s grace; rather, it is an outworking of our love for God and all he has done, and continues to do, for us in Christ:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:10)
The believer’s status as a child of God is safe and secure, both now and for all eternity.
Just as sometimes children disobey their parents and are disciplined for their own good, God disciplines us because we are his beloved children in Christ, and he will use our failures to teach us through the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Earthly children don’t stop belonging to their parents when they are disobedient, and likewise God's children are never forsaken by their Father in heaven.
In his sanctifying work the Spirit lovingly convicts believers of their sin and leads them to repentance (John 16:8; Rom. 8:14). Believers will experience true sorrow over their sin because they have been bought with a price and have the Spirit living in them (Rom. 7:14–25).
Dear saint, remember the difference between contingent and consequent duties and don't let the devil rob you of experiencing true joy as you rest in Christ’s finished work on your behalf. In your freedom in Christ continue to strive to love your Savior with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and look forward to eternity in his presence.
This article is adapted from “Freedom to Love and Obey” in the BCL July 2023 newsletter “Freedom in Christ.”
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