ChristianiD-Day

"For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree..." Galatians 3:10-13

On June 6, 1944, during World War II, thousands of Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in an attempt to assault German positions. That day has come to be remembered as "D-Day." It was the largest amphibious attack in history. In the 1998 film, Saving Private Ryan, one of the most memorable scenes in movie history attempts to capture what it was like for the soldiers who stormed the beaches on that day. As one of the amphibious vehicles approaches the beach front, soldiers are seen in various stages of emotions in response to the fear of what seems like certain death waiting for them. Some are shaking uncontrollably, others have blank stares, a few are shown vomiting and one says a prayer as he kisses a cross worn around his neck. Upon reaching the beach, the vehicle's door flings open and is instantly met with a hail of bullets from German machine gun nests protecting the beach. Without warning, men are killed where they stand. Those who aren't killed immediately jump into the water trying to escape the gunfire. The water affords little safety as we witness soldiers being shot and killed while under the water and others drown as they are tangled up in their gear and unable to reach the surface. The violent realities of war unfold before our eyes. History records that more than 9,000 troops were killed or wounded during the invasion.  When it comes to being a Christian, how often does the Christian life, or religious life in general, Christian or otherwise, seem to be like storming the beaches of Normandy? In the book of Genesis we read, "But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will BE LIKE GOD, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5, emphasis added)." Satan tempted Eve by saying she would "be like God" if she ate the forbidden fruit. This is not any different than what you hear Christians telling each other today. If you ask someone, "What is the goal of the Christian life?" you will get many responses that sound like these people have been talking to the serpent. Responses like, "another way to describe our goal in life is to become more like Christ." What is becoming "more like Christ" if it is not to say to "be like God"? After all, Jesus is God, so to try to become more like Him is to try to be more like God. It is accepting the lie of Satan all over again. And not only is it a lie, it is an impossible task.

To be like God or more like Christ, the first thing one would have to do is to stop sinning! Jesus asked the Jews, "Which one of you convicts me of sin (John 8:46)?' Nobody responded. Regarding Jesus, Peter said, "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth (1 Peter 2:22)." If we are honest, we know we have sinned and have had deceit found in our mouths. Therefore, we are disqualified from the attempt to "be like God" or "more like Christ" before we even begin. Furthermore, in order to come up with a way to stop sinning, we have to come up with the laws to tell us what is good and evil. Another example of how we have accepted the lie of Satan. The only law we can subject ourselves to is the Law of God. And what does the Bible say about the Law? "Now the law came in to increase the trespass ... (Romans 5:20)" "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:21)!" "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10)." It is clear that if we feel the goal of the Christian life is to be like God and, therefore, have to subject ourselves to God's law in order to reach that goal, the only result will be complete and utter failure! We will not only increase the sin in our lives, we will also be telling Jesus that His death was in vain! That is why being under the law is putting ourselves under a curse. The curse is that we are trying to live a life we cannot live in order to reach a goal we will never attain! We will be left to be like those soldiers storming the beach on D-Day; deathly afraid, sick to our stomachs, praying to survive and waiting to die. God does not want us attempting the impossible in order to be like Him. God wants our attempts at doing the impossible to lead us to the realization that the only thing we can rely on His complete grace and mercy. The goal of the Christian life is to learn to trust Jesus to live it out in and through us because only He can. That comes by resting in His finished work on the cross for our sins and allowing His indwelling life to lead us and guide us. As you learn to do this, not only will you see a decrease of the sin in your life, but also the fear will begin to subside as you are beginning to receive His unconditional love, complete forgiveness and total acceptance of you. Your life will not be one of storming beaches in the face of imminent death. Your life will be one resting on a beach as you glorify your God as He does His work in and through you.