Not Duty, but Devotion

Text: Rev. 2:1-7

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”

Introduction

Christianity, is has been said, is not a spectator sport. We often speak, and some of us have preached, sermons using the same kind of terminology as a sporting event. The apostle Paul used the same kind of sport-commentator language in 1 Corinthians 9:27 when he says, “but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” The picture Paul paints with his words is training for a boxing mach.

> What is the most important motivation in Christian behaviour?

The search results converge on a central insight: Christian behavior flows from two interconnected motivations that form the foundation of ethical living.

Love stands as the most important motivation for Christian living[1], functioning as the organizing principle for all ethical conduct. For Paul, this manifests as motivation rooted in love for others and a strong sense of belonging to Christ[2]. Rather than viewing ethics as a system of rules to follow, the whole of ethical conduct can be subsumed in the principle of love, which fulfills the demands of the Law[1]. This reframes Christian morality away from external compliance toward an internal orientation.

Underlying this love-centered ethic is a second crucial motivation: gratitude for the grace of God in Jesus Christ stands as the primary motive for Christian obedience, with all other motives secondary to this[3]. Gratitude emerges naturally in the converted believer, and those who do not undertake the Christian life primarily from grateful recollection misunderstand redemption’s cost[3]. This gratitude-shaped perspective prevents Christian ethics from devolving into either fear-based compliance or reward-seeking behavior.

The practical implications are significant. The believer’s life is never simply about asserting personal rights or fulfilling desires; rather, Christian freedom means the liberty to serve others and thereby serve Christ[2]. In matters of secondary importance, the critical question concerns motivation rather than external behavior[2]. This motivation-centered framework allows believers to navigate ethical complexity by asking whether their choices reflect love for others and gratitude toward God, rather than getting entangled in legalistic distinctions about what is merely permitted versus forbidden.

[1] George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, ed. Donald A. Hagner (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), 567. [2] Roger Mohrlang, Gerald L. Borchert, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 14: Romans and Galatians (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007), 216. [3] Carl F. H. Henry, Christian Personal Ethics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977), 529.