Love and/or consequences

As God's children, we are no longer ³condemned by God for our ¹poor choices (which always result in harmful actions). There is no ³condemnation for those who are in Christ.  

But neither are we protected from the short term consequences of those choices and actions.

There is a difference between a supernaturally changed heart and a morally restrained one. Love changes us. The law restrains us. Both are necessary and have their role.

These two truths are the positive and negative guard rails that are intended to help drive or guide all true believers words and actions. 

Love motivates believers to make the right choices (which leads to right actions). 

Fear (respect) of negative consequences motivates us to avoid the wrong ones. 

As God's child, we have no fear of rejection by God but should always recognize and fear that living contrary to His design always has negative consequences. 

As bearers of God's image all our choices matter because we are created to love and honor God. To live contrary to this results in harm and destruction to ourselves and others. 

As God's children our choices do not matter as far as being perfectly loved and accepted by Him. In Christ we are always infinitely and perfectly loved and fully accepted and embraced. 

But as the bearers of God's image our choices still must align with how God designed us and the world around us to operate.

These two realities appear to be at ⁵odds with each other. But being fully loved and ²experiencing consequences for poor choices are each as true as if the other does not exist. But because of Christ these ⁴exist and apply together and both for our ultimate gain and benefit. 

For a further discussion on the "anatomy" of motivation click here. 

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Footnotes:

¹By poor choices I simply mean disobedience. Disobedience is the resulting outcome (actions) of our rebellious distrust of God. And distrust is at the heart of our choosing to be our own god. Being our own god was the temptation our original parents bought into that brought pain and death into the world. We still operate this way to this day. And the present pain, suffering and death we still see in the world remind us our choices still matter.

²God may mercifully suspend the the full consequences of poor choices when we sincerely acknowledge them - i.e. "repent." But there is no guarantee. This would be a supernatural intervention and interference of their natural (organic) outcome. Without His mercy (intervention) the consequences will remain, hence His intervention is mercifull.

Plus only God knows the sincerity of our heart (and what best aids our maturing) and when we truly abandon (turn away or repent of) a poor choice or only pretend to in order to get some kind of relief or benefit. 

God's objective is our drawing nearer to Him, which is a matter of the heart first. This results in a change in behavior.

³Why are we no longer legally held accountable and condemned for our words and actions contrary to our design and God's will? Because Christ was condemned in our place. The very fact that someone (Christ) was condemned means God's law (will, design) matters. It is vital that these are adhered to. There are always consequence for violating it (them). Because of Christ stepping in for us and taking the condemnation we rightly deserve,  the long term legal consequences no longer fall on us but fell on Him. Instead of the judgment and death rightly due us we are given forgiveness and life. These were earned for us not by us.

For those who ask why there is still pain and suffering in the world after Christ bore the legal consequence of mankinds rebellion, it is because our choices that spring forth from our rebellious distrust of God matter. 

⁴ "Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other." - Psa 85:10 

⁵ Our natural inclination is to try to earn God's love. This is why those who claim to be believers have a hard time acknowledging how they come up short. In their minds this means our rejection by God. 

To believe this it is possible to earn God's love does not recognize we can never be perfect enough to earn it. This is why Christ came.