I’ve recently come across your writings on this particular subject, and I very much appreciate your contributions here. I find both Tullian’s work and your commentary interesting as this is something I’ve been struggling to grasp as of late.

There’s something that you wrote in the article above that I’m hoping you might be able to shed some more insight on. You mention, “God may withdraw the assurance and the daily experience of His Fatherly love because of my disobedience”.

My question in response to that is, if I didn’t earn the experience of God’s love through my obedience, why would my disobedience cause God to withdraw my experience of it?

If my obedience stems from my desire to keep the assurance and daily experience of God’s love and not from God Himself, what does that say about my motivation to obey?

There are times when God disciplines us because of our lack of obedience (aka when we trust in anything other than Christ to provide for us), but that discipline itself is an expression of God’s Fatherly love, not His withdraw of our experience of it.

Did God withdraw the experience of His love from the Exodus generation, when in their disobedience they failed to trust God to provide for them manna daily? No… He lovingly disciplined them for their disobedience.

Regarding the commingling of justification and sanctification, what does Paul mean in Galatians 3:1-3, which states,”O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now perfected by the flesh?”

What Paul is stating here is that the grace that saved you
is the same grace that sanctifies you.

Finally, I don’t think that we can conclude that Tullian’s assertions lead us to abandon any physical effort on our part. On the contrary, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me”.

I think that what Paul is communicating there is the notion that it’s God’s grace, working in and through him that caused him to “work harder than any of them.” God, through His indwelling Holy Spirit, produces and continues to produce obedience in and ‘good works’ through us.

This is evidenced in Proverbs 3:5-6 which states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

I think that Tullian is asserting the same idea, here. Only when we fully submit to the Lordship of Christ and the promptings of His Holy Spirit (i.e. trust) will we fully experience the rest that is made available to us through the gospel. Only then will we truly desire work because our love for God compels us to, not because we want to earn the experience and assurance of His love.

I apologize in advance for the lengthy comment; I would certainty appreciate your thoughts as this is something I’m obviously trying to work out.

Again, Pastor Murray, I sincerely appreciate your contributions as they have been most helpful!

God Bless!

James