On Being Balanced

Before jumping into chapter 2 of 2Peter I want to post a series of three pieces that are all interrelated. They deal with the common Christian problem of balance.

I am not a balanced Christian. But then, neither are you. Not perfectly. You might be more balanced than me, but there will always be someone else further along. Yet the plain truth is that the standard is not each other, but Christ. A preacher who I once heard put it this way.

Two of our most difficult areas as Christians - places where we all stumble towards one extreme or the other - are the areas of legalism and antinomianism. He explains that we make the mistake of seeing these as the extreme ends of a straight line upon which there are an infinite number of relative positions. Thus, we think that the best way to correct our legalism is to move towards antinomianism. Or the best way to right the ship when we find ourselves taking too many liberties with grace is to steer more towards the law. These notions he declares to be false. I agree. The relationship between these extremes is not a straight line, but as the base of a triangle, the apex of which is the gospel. The right direction to steer in whenever we detect ourselves astray is never to go the opposite direction, but towards the gospel. It is the corrective for both conditions.

When I heard this, it touched so near to the thoughts of my own heart that I remembered these three pieces I had written. Recent manifestations I have noticed in myself have shown the need for me to revisit the issues personally.

And so, starting today and God willing, I give you this 3-part series:

1) How to Be a Perfect Christian Without Mr. Legalism
2) How to Be a Perfect Christian Without Mr. Libertinism
3) Et Tu Brute (touching on the abuse of grace by the Christian)

Enjoy. I hope they cut you to the heart, let in some light and bless you greatly. I certainly need the truths contained in them to reach deep into my own soul - and I pray that I will be laid low by revisiting them.