I got a speeding ticket the other day. Yes me, the one people pass all the time because I won't drive faster than the posted speed limit, unless I am driving on a freeway in some parts of California where it would be life threatening to drive the posted speed...but in general...I don't. I was on a road I don't travel often, and I missed the sign that told me the speed went from 55 to 45. I was only a few feet into the new speed zone when the Highway Patrol officer turned his car around and turned his lights on. I pulled over, unsure of what I had done, and half expecting him to go flying by me. He didn't. As he wrote the ticket I thought of how I might get out of it and get that mark off my clean driving record. Then I realized that even though I didn't know I was breaking the law, I was guilty of speeding. It is my responsibility, as a driver, to know the rules of the road, and to pay attention to the posted limits.
It's the same way with us as Christians. It is our responsibility to know God's word - to hide it in our heart - but we also have to pay attention so that we don't miss the trap Satan sets for us to fall into sin before we realize it.
Read Psalm 119:9-12 and 2 Tim 2:15
Hopefully, if I go to court, they will be merciful and reduce my penalty to a non-moving violation, whereby they get their money, and I can have the black mark taken off my record. That's where We need God's grace - when we fall into sin - but we need to bring those things to the advocate. Just like I will probably have my lawyer take my ticket before the court, we need Jesus to take our appeal to the Father. He is our advocate. But that does not mean we should go on sinning willfully. Our entire relationship with the Lord is based in His love for us and our love for Him. That love, requires our fidelity, not putting anyone or anything before our relationship with Him.
Read 1 John 4:19
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