Motives Matter

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: Motives Matter------------------------------ Date: 7/30/2001
Keywords: "motives" "religion" "spirituality"

Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation.

Passage: Galatians 5:4*

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Questions

1. What does the Apostle Paul mean in this verse?

 

2. Are you trying to "justify yourself" in your struggle against pornography?

 

Practical help

You can do the right thing for the wrong reason. The ends don't justify the means. Motives matter.

These ideas capture some of what Paul says in Galatians 5:4: In our pursuit of spiritual excellence, we must never swap the biblical motive of pleasing God with the religious motive of doing the right thing. Grace proves we don't need the law to be right with God. We only need Jesus. Likewise, when we battle against our desires to view pornography, we should act out of the proper motive for the blood, sweat and tears: to honor God -- not to be good.

Otherwise, what good is grace?


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Copyright 2001 by eXXit
*
Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version © Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.