6) Faith Again: There is no Motivation

Unfortunately, the Bible largely regards this question as an absurdity.  Consider Paul’s words again:

What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Rom. 6:1-2 NIV)  

When confronting a possible hole in his argument, Paul states that we should not sin because we (the Christians) have died to sin.  But if I was really arrogant, I might then ask, “Why should I die to sin?” to which he would probably be forced to answer, “Because you should.”  You see what has happened?  We are talking in circles.  Now, I do not disdain the Bible for writing off the question, “Why should we do what is right?”  Indeed, if we explore the basic logic of the original question, we realize that it is intrinsically absurd.  We have essentially asked, “Why should we do what we should do?”  Well, there’s no point in asking why we should do what we should do.  We simply should do it.  There may well be reasons for abstaining from sin; for instance, a Christian may abstain from premarital sex to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.  But these possible downsides do not fully explain why a wrong deed is wrong and a right deed is right.  Things are not wrong because they are detrimental, they are detrimental because they are wrong.  Why are they wrong?  That answer remains rooted in the character of an inscrutable God.