The Unnatural Drifter

People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward Driftgodliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom. – D.A. Carson

There’s something unnatural about drifting upstream. I hope, then, to always be an unnatural man.

What other word than “unnatural” could explain some of the life-changing, radical decisions we make for the sake of holiness? Or some the things we say “no” to when everything in us screams “say yes?” How else can I make sense of the fact that already today, I’ve resisted thoughts and actions that would have come so naturally to me, yet I said no to them, and I feel great about that?

What a life we live as believers in this decaying world, within these carcasses housing both the flesh and the Spirit! Feeling good saying no to what comes naturally; feeling lousy saying yes to basic impulses, with what comes naturally being on the To Not Do list, making the natural immoral and the moral unnatural. Like I said, what a life.

So I say Amen to Carson’s point in the quote above: we don’t naturally drift towards holiness. We’re not by nature prayer warriors, scripture verse meditaters, flesh crucifiers. Let yourself go in the direction you’re most naturally inclined towards and I’ll bet good money none of those three will be on your route. So if we’re ever to live in holiness, it will be by the work of grace in us, inspired and provided by God, enacted and driven by the Holy Spirit’s work, mediated and shepherded by our Great High Priest Jesus.

And, of course, it will also be because we said “yes” to that work. After all, we have the choice to live for the old or the new nature, and free will, whether a burden or blessing, will always be intact. We have a say in whether or not we live holy lives.

Then again, I’m reminded of what Paul told the Philippians:

For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

That is, even my will to do His pleasure is a result of His work in me, so when I make the right choice it’s ultimately because He gave me the right desire.

I don’t fully get that and, in fact, I wrestle with two seemingly contradictory truths, both of which I fully believe: we have the choice to say yes or no to God and His will in our lives, yet even our willingness to say yes is ultimately given us by Him, so was it ever really a free will choice?

Dunno. Maybe when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ we’ll find we never really had a choice, because we were foreknown, chosen, and predestined (Romans 8:29) so it was all marked out for us; no real choice involved. Or maybe we’ll see with infinite gratitude that we miraculously chose Him over self and could, in fact, have refused Him had we so chosen.

But then again, I remember Chuck Smith, my first pastor and favorite bible teacher, expounding on what Jesus said in Matthew 22:14: “Many are called but few are chosen.” He pointed out what a mental dilemma that scripture poses, and how many rail against it. “Seems unfair!” he said, “and lots of people agonize over that. Are we predetermined to be saved and nothing can stop it, or likewise predetermined to be damned? Is it fair for God to say ‘This one’s in; this one’s out’?”

The he flashed that beautiful Chuck Smith grin and said, “I’ve given up trying to figure predestination out. I just like to revel in it.”

Why not? If I was chosen, whether I had a lot, some or nothing to do with it, praise God. And if I by His grace drift against the tide towards a holier life, all the more praise to the One who implants submission in a rebel’s heart. That, whether I get it or not, is something to revel in.

So I hope to always, in this world at least, be unnatural. The tide goes where I’m forbidden to even glance, yet without divine power I’ll drift there.  (Drift? Heck, I’ll crawl stroke!) So when that power shows itself I appreciate His grace and remember His decisive, even aggressive statement of ownership when He declared, regarding his own:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  (John 10:28)

Comments

Tom | Apr 24, 2017

Because of all the admonitions, commands, and beseeching (Rom.12:1,2) to walk in the Spirit, to willingly obey and follow Christ, and His Word, after God does a work of grace in our hearts, at the time of salvation, I believe we are accountable to God by "our choices". Sure He gives us the peace, and joy when we choose right.. but we have the ability to still be deceived by our own hearts, and outward influences, and rebel, and "drift".
That being said, "he who began a good work in you shall complete it", even in the face of the consequences of wrong choices..which may lead, and most likely will lead to chastening and disciplining. "Whom the Lord loves, He chastens..

Jim | Apr 24, 2017

What a great sermon, Joe. Have you ever preached it? I'd order the recording. By the way, who's the guy with all the gray hair masquerading as Joe Dallas?

Of course, you remind me of Paul's comments about doing what he doesn't want to. ..Thanks for your contribution to my spiritual wellbeing. I've lived with those questions about why can't I do _______ , when it seems so right and feels so good.

Jim

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