I Should vs. I Can

As so often happens with scripture, I was reading along minding my own business this morning (meaning my mind was drifting all over the place – partially because my reading included the portion of Leviticus dealing with infectious skin diseases) when I had to do a double-take. In the last verse of the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians, Paul said something incredible:

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV)

Right there, Paul summed up how the gospel actually works through us. If the gospel is the power of God to us who are being saved (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18) then here is that power in action: it makes us worthy of our calling and fulfills every resolve for good and every work of faith, it glorifies the name of Jesus in us and us in him. All of this is done according to the grace of God. Paul says he is praying for the Thessalonians that they are enabled by God to do these things, not that they ought to do them out of a sense of repayment.

In a nutshell, there are at least two perspectives on our relationship with God. One says that because of all that the Lord has done for us, we should bow to him and obey his commandments. The operative word is should. The other side would say that because of what Christ has done for us, we can bow to him and obey his commandments. The operative word is can. I cringe more and more at the message that we should be motivated to love and good works by what was accomplished at Calvary, and here is the reason why; because ‘should’ relies on us. Should is running under our own steam.

As Christians, we all know what we should do, and if we don’t know we won’t have any problem finding someone who can tell us. But what does ‘should’ appeal to? Is it not an appeal to the flesh to ‘do better’, to ‘straighten up and fly right’? Should implies that we are able do the things that God requires and causes us to try to love harder, to live better, to repent more sincerely, to sin less. In short, should means that we must, by works, please God. Even if the work is loving God more.

In Paul’s theology, it is clear that “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13 ESV) Lest we think that this is Paul’s theology alone, it seems to be Christ’s stance as well: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 ESV) This statement has no ‘should’ in it. If apart from him we can do nothing, then in him we can do everything. He will fulfill every resolve for good (which God has placed in us according to Philippians 2:13) and every work of faith in us, just as the branch produces fruit because it is supplied by the vine.

Most importantly we must remember that it is the gospel truth, the announcement of Christ’s victory on our behalf, which enables us to do anything for God. If we feel that we should do or not do certain things, we are leaning on the arm of the flesh. God may have changed my will to where I want to do certain things or don’t want to do certain things (and if so He will fulfill those desires in us) but there is nothing that I should do for Him. There are only things that I can do only because of him.

God Bless