Good driving

1 Corinthians 15:34
Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

Have you ever noticed that the more you think about what not to do wrong, the more you do that very thing wrong, but when you don’t think about it, you don’t do it? Take driving a car as an example. How many times during the course of a trip do you honestly stop to think about whether or not you’re within the lines? I would guess none! What about your speed? Are you constantly looking at your speedometer thinking, “I’m speeding...now I’m going too slow...now I’m speeding...”? Or do you just simply drive and naturally settle into the speed limit?

Why do you suppose this is? Well, I believe it’s because you’re not conscious of your weaknesses as a driver; instead, you are secure in your confidence as a driver. The confidence that you hold in your ability to drive a car actually causes you to do the right thing without thinking about doing the right thing.

What happens, though, when there’s a police officer parked on the shoulder or driving right behind you? You become self-aware, right? You begin looking in the mirror and checking your speed. You fix your hands at ten and two. You begin to look at the lines on the road. Suddenly, what seemed like an easy drive has become a stressful event! Not only are you feeling the stress and pressure, but now, most likely, you’ve drifted in your lane because you’ve put your focus on the law. You’ve either dropped or increased your speed because of your focus on the law. You’ve broken the law because of your focus on the law.

This phenomenon doesn’t just apply to operating an automobile. This is prevalent in our spiritual lives as well. The Bible is clear in telling us that the law actually gives strength to sin (1 Corinthians 15:56). In fact, God gave the law, not for us to live by, but to show us that we needed Him (Galatians 3:24); we needed a Savior, Jesus Christ.

When you are constantly reminded (awakened) to what you need to do to be a good person, when you are constantly told what you are doing wrong and where you are failing in life, you actually sin more! When, however, you are awakened to your righteousness in Christ, the result is this: you do not sin.

This isn’t a result of your work. This isn’t a result of your obedience to the law. This is a result of Christ’s work; it’s His obedience to the law. This is the result of grace in your life. When you are not conscious of the law, you are not conscious of yourself. When you are not conscious of yourself, you’re free to be conscious of Christ and what He has done. It’s not only that Christ’s righteousness makes you righteous before God, covering your sins. It’s that Christ’s righteousness works within you, through grace, to actually stop you from sinning.

Back to our driving. Once you passed by that cop on the shoulder; once that officer behind you passed by or turned off, what happened? You relaxed, right? The same should be true in your life in Christ. The law was nailed to the cross with Him (Colossians 2:14) so that you could be free!

Awake to righteousness: not yours, but His! Your increasing knowledge of Jesus Christ is what will effortlessly transform you into His image. It isn’t your trying, your works, your “good” living that will transform you into the image of Christ. No, it is your understanding of His righteousness which has been imputed to you. This is what makes you sin no more (1 John 3:6)!