"Christianity is full of contradictions."
How many times have you heard that? *sigh* How many times have *I* heard that? And I'm now going to say something which might surprise you: that statement isn't too far off the truth.
Oh, calm down, calm down! Trust me, you may not be hearing what I'm actually saying. I said "not too far off the truth," but the point I'm angling after is that the word "contradictions" isn't quite right. I would rephrase it as "Christianity is full of tensions."
I have often heard altar calls and evangelical sermons which lull the hearer into assuming that, once you accept the salvation offered by Jesus' sacrificial death, everything is smooth sailing. Goodness, there's even a heretical theology ("prosperity theology") which basically claims that because God works all things to the good of His people, then obviously He wants all His children to be healthy and wealthy! Unfortunately, that sort of theology overlooks the fact that our best learned lessons of trust and faith do NOT come from being "at ease in Zion." No. Usually we have to go through a trial by fire, we have to be broken and remoulded, we have to descend to the depths before we can be reborn.
Do you begin to have an inkling of what I mean by "Christianity is full of tensions"? I very deliberately chose the title of this post to give you a vivid image of what the life of a Christian is like. Certainly, there are times - "mountaintop experiences," if you will - when everything is going well and our lives are full of prayer and joy and righteousness, but I think in some ways those times are the exception, rather than the rule. We don't learn a lot in mountaintop experiences: they provide a respite and a glimpse of glory to come, but I think that the lessons they may contain can only be digested when we are back in the valley.
How about the tension of God's Sovereignty and man's accountability? The Bible clearly teaches that God chooses whom He chooses: it is His choice as to who He calls to His service. However, the Bible also clearly teaches that it is man's responsibility to respond to the Call of his Maker, and submit to Him in holy fear and love. This is one doctrine in particular that is difficult for me to comprehend: God has already made His choice, and yet it is still my responsibility to make up my own mind.
I am completely certain of God's sovereignty - I know that there is nothing made that He has not made, and I know that no one can thwart His will. I know that there is nothing too difficult for Him, and I know that all His will is good and perfect and holy. I am confident in His provision and in His power to accomplish all that He has planned.
I am also certain of my (and everyone's) personal responsibility to believe His word and obey it, which of course includes very specific requirements for how we may avoid the eternal torment of hell and instead live in everlasting joy and holiness with Him.
God's choice, my responsibility. The best way I ever heard it described (and it's still a pretty poor analogy, as are all analogies that attempt to illustrate God) was by Madeleine L'Engle, in her book A Wrinkle in Time. As best as I can remember the quote, it goes like this:
A sonnet is a very specific type of poem. It has a certain amount of lines in it, which must follow a particular rhyme pattern. Each line must conform to a certain rhythm as well, and if the poem does not follow these rules, then it is not a sonnet.
Life is like that, too: It must conform to a certain pattern and rhythm. But within those rules, one is free to say whatever one wishes.
God has set the pattern, and I can say what I want within that pattern. See? Not a great analogy, but it works for me...
Would you like to try another tension in Christian life? How about another "biggie:" works vs. faith. Yes, this touches on God's sovereignty, too (what doesn't?!), but that'snot what I'm going to focus on.
Works cannot possibly save me - it is only by my faith in Christ, wholly trusting in Him for my salvation, that I am received into Heaven. And yet, if you turn it around, my faith is shown and proven by my works. This is the apparent incongruity of "Let go and let God" and "work out your own salvation." I am supposed to trust in Christ for all that is needed for my redemption... and yet God has prepared good works for me to do.
Perhaps this is a little less mysterious than the first issue, because it's easier to put this on a timeline, so to speak. First it's a) God saves me, and then it's b) because of my love and gratitude, I obey and serve my God and Savior. Yet, it is still too easy to fall too far into the Martha attitude: if I do this for God, if I do that for God, then He'll love me more. Or, there's the opposite - the Mary problem: if I just stay at the feet of Jesus and listen to and worship Him, all will be will. The fault with the first is that you're doing everything in your power, and with the second is that your doing nothing in His power. We need to balance the Martha in us with Philippeans 1:6 -
...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ...
"God will perform this work!" Then we need to balance the Mary problem by remembering the injunction
... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling...
We are responsible to go out and DO the works God has planned for us to do. Interestingly, those two quotes are both from Philippeans...
One last tightrope to walk: the balance between legalism and antinomianism. A legalist is so concerned with the law and the "correct" way of doing things, that he forgets the wonderful grace of God. He forgets that Christ came to free us from the tyranny of the law of sin and death, that we are no longer under the law, but under grace (and for the biblical passages I'm mentally working with, just go and review Romans 5-8). The antinomian, on the other hand, is so obsessed with the grace of God and the forgiveness of sins, that he forgets that Jesus Himself said "If you love Me, keep My commandments!" Since God's grace is so infinite, and since it abounds so richly, the antinomian thinks he can sin all he likes, so long as he asks God for forgiveness - and God, of course, will give it.
That's not what God is after!
Instead, God is interested in the balance at the center of the opposition. God calls us to obedience, and yet provides a way for forgiveness when we fail. God calls us to trust Him absolutely, and yet He directs us to be active and working to further His kingdom. God calls us into His family, and yet we are responsible to answer His call in faith and love.
Now you see why I have to laugh in bemusement when people think being Christian is so easy: it is... and yet it isn't. I'm not under the law, but I need to obey the law. I am saved from eternity past since before time began, yet I must cherish and guard and prove out my salvation. God expects me to do the work He has put before me, but He's not going to give me a grocery list of all the things I need to do today.
Tension and balance: a Christian walks a line that wavers from side to side, forever going off to the left or to the right of the perfectly straight line that God has suspended above the world. But our Perfect and Loving Father does not leave us to walk this difficult path alone: His hands are forever cupped beneath us, ready to catch us when we fall, and to lift us up and place us back on the rope to try again. He surrounds us with His provision and His forgiveness, and He continually offers His guidance and reassurance if we will only slow down and listen to Him with willing hearts.
Second Corinthians 4:7-10 says
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
We have this infinite treasure inside our earthly bodies, like (here we go with the imperfect analogy again) carrying the Hope Diamond around, wrapped in used toilet paper (yeah, "YUCK!" I know.) We as Christians have the Living God, the One God, the Holy and Righteous God living inside us, to give us power and guidance and assurance and love...
And that is why we can walk the tightrope with uncertain and faltering steps, unbalanced and feeble, yet still walk in triumph and confidence and joy. Because the life of Jesus dwells in us, and He has called us to be His own. Therefore we can shout and sing in transcendant joy:
Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
"For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
"If God is for us, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?!" Praise be to God, Who calls the sheep of His pasture, and they listen to Him. Praise be to God, Who holds us in His hand, and none can steal us from His grasp. Praise be to God, Who was, and is, and is to come: all glory and honor be unto Him, forever, and ever!
And all the Saints will shout,
AMEN!
Both 
!
