Does Behavior Matter?

In my previous post I made the assertion that God pours out His blessings on our lives not because of anything we deserve or do to earn such kindnesses. He blesses us out of the abundance of His grace, not based on any "right" behavior on our part. But does this truth mean that our actions don't matter? Because God is kind to us regardless of right actions, does this therefore mean that our actions have no meaning or value? Absolutely not!

Behavior matters, but not in the way you might be trained to think. Our behavior does not change God's love for us - ever. His love is constant. He does not love us more if we do "mighty things" in his name, nor does he love us less if we act deplorably. But our behaviors do matter when it comes to enjoying abundant life, experiencing daily peace, and reaping eternal reward.

Jesus said, "...I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Jesus came to give us life, abundant life. Jesus wanted to offer us something we didn't have apart from him. And by his sacrifice he offered us not only reconciliation with God through the forgiveness of our sin, but also the overflowing riches of a full life. But reconciliation and abundant life are achieved differently. Reconciliation occurs the moment a person believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior, the one who bore the sins of the world to appease the righteous, holy God. When a person believes in Jesus they are immediately and permanently reconciled to God. Nothing must be offered by the person to receive this position before God - simple belief is all it takes. Full, or abundant, life, however, requires a bit more.

Jesus saves us to change us. Jesus did not come to save sinners simply for a trophy to present to God as a reconciled human being (as incredible as this is!). No, he envisioned far more for his children. Therefore, once a person is saved (reconciled) he begins the process of transformation into a new person. In essence, the Christian life is a process of growing out what God planted in you at salvation. And this "growing out" requires changes. These changes have no bearing on the position you have as a reconciled child of God, but they do have profound influence on whether or not you will enjoy a truly abundant life. You cannot enjoy abundance as God defines it while harboring sin or living in pride. Therefore, to enjoy abundant life, behaviors must begin to match the characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control that God has placed in you through His Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). This growing out begins to reap abundant life.

Peace, in God's system, only comes through death. Even reconciliation, or peace, with God did not come without the death of Jesus Christ. The same is true in the transformation to being more Christlike. The experience of peace in life only comes when you choose to sacrifice your pride, envy, lust, even your very life for Christ. By dying to self you gain peace. This peace is not the same as comfort. Dying is not comfortable. Peace is harmony with God. You can be a child of God (reconciled), but not be living in harmony with God (i.e. living in habitual sin). Therefore, to be at peace is to line up your life in every way with what God desires. This includes behavior. Because, even though God's grace is offered regardless of behavior, our peace is dependent on walking in harmony with our Savior.

God loves to give gifts. It is in his nature to give. And because he is thoroughly good in every way, he delights in giving good gifts. God will reward his children someday. Some of his kids will receive many more rewards than others. Call this unfair, but it's the way things are. And the way you act, or behave, in this life does affect the rewards you receive in the next. All who are saved will receive the reward of eternal life, but there are many other rewards for faithfulness, integrity, evangelism, and more. These "other" rewards are largely based on stewardship of time, money, and resources (i.e. behavior!). Your behavior matters when it comes to eternal rewards.

The bottom line is that behavior does matter in being a person of purity, but it matters for us, not whether God will continue to love us or "keep us saved." As you work through the process of improving behavior, keep in mind that you are doing so to become more like Christ, never to try and get Christ to like you. He loves you, He saved you, and one day He will reward you. I pray your mansion is enormous!

Behaving,

jonathan