What difference it makes how we live once saved

I often remember a conversation with a Roman Catholic friend from the early days after I had become a Christian. When I spoke of salvation as by grace alone, she asked, ‘But why would anyone want to do good, if that were the case?’. If God loves us no matter what, then does it make any difference how we live once saved? At the time, I told my friend what I was taught myself that we act out of gratitude for what we have received. While this is true, I believe that there is more to it than that. In fact, if we are honest, we may find that at times we do not have the drive to change, to become better people, more loving, kind, compassionate, generous and so on. Or if we do, it is more a ‘should’ or an ‘ought’ rather than a delight and a desire. What is meant to motivate us? What would it take for change to happen in our attitudes?

God’s faithfulness and a life turned away from God

In the story of the three kings of Judah that follow, we see some of these issues play out. Rehoboam was of the Davidic line that God was committed to, and he reigned from Jerusalem, which the Lord had chosen (1 Kings 14:21). Yet, God’s faithfulness was no guarantee of a peaceful and flourishing life. The loss of most of the kingdom was partly a problem inherited from Solomon (1 Kings 11:11-13; 12:4), but Rehoboam’s earlier arrogance contributed to it (1 Kings 12). Now the worship of other gods in Judah provokes God’s jealousy (1 Kings 14:22-24). Unlike human jealousy that can be selfish and possessive, God’s is the healthy zeal of a husband who loves and wants His wife (His people) for Himself. What follows in the political realm (the Egyptian king’s raid into Judah) and the emptying of the temple and palace treasury to pay him off (1 Kings 14:25-26) are meant to be seen as God’s wake-up call for Judah. The ongoing war with Israel also underlines the consequences of a life that is turned away from God (1 Kings 14:30). It is possible to be saved by God, to be loved and chosen and not experience the blessings of that relationship with Him.

The consequences of our actions

The brief comment on Abijam, Rehoboam’s son who ruled next, confirms the same pattern. It juxtaposes the king’s sins with God’s continued commitment to the Davidic dynasty but then describes the ongoing wars with Israel (1 Kings 15:3-6). Despite the Lord’s faithfulness, there is no rest for the kingdom. The next king, Asa’s reign again connects actions and consequences. He is devoted to God, does away with false worship and even stands up to his mother’s idolatry, which bears fruit in the way the temple prospers (1 Kings 15:11-15). Yet, emptying the treasuries of temple and palace to buy Syrian alliance (Aram) against Israel (1 Kings 15:18-19) is a dubious manoeuvre that suggests a lack of trust in the Lord. Might the diseased feet in old age (1 Kings 15:23) be another wake-up call to turn to God? The book does not elaborate but the later Book of Chronicles makes these suspicions explicit (2 Chron 16:7-9, 12).

Why living for God matters

What these vignettes from Judah’s kings illustrate is that we misunderstand God’s grace when we think that how we live does not matter. Like marriage, salvation does not signal arrival but the beginning of a satisfying relationship with the Lord who loves us. In any happy marriage, spouses build a life together. That is what life with God is meant to be like. Imagine a young woman who gets married, then goes back to her old home. She lives as she pleases and spends little time with her husband. Living for God matters because when we walk away from God, we undermine our joy of fellowship with the Lord. Living faithfully for God matters not because we ‘must’ do good things to earn salvation or keep up God’s favour or even because we must show gratitude. Rather, it is the doorway into a fulfilling relationship with the Lord where we become what we were created to be. It is as we ponder His love and let it penetrate our heart that we come to desire Him more than the patterns of sinful living that appealed to us before. It is the joy of what we receive in Him that can truly motivate us.

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