The person whose heart loves the things of the Lord does not have to grit his teeth to obey. The lovestruck young woman whose sweetheart asks, “Will you marry me?” does not struggle with how to answer. The elite athlete may occasionally groan at the thought of a workout, but wholeheartedly submits himself to the regimen out of zeal for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24). The believer who has been made alive in Christ faces the same choice—sin or obedience—but with a new heart that makes all the difference.

The “third way” is a common literary plot device in which a character is presented with two impossibly difficult choices. The solution is found in an unseen third option, often the unexpected intervention of a savior.

After Edmund’s betrayal of his siblings in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the White Witch lays claim to his life. She comes before Aslan and prosecutes Edmund according to the law of the “Deep Magic,” which states that every traitor must die. Because every traitor must die, Aslan can either allow her to execute Edmund or, unfathomably, “Work against the Emperor’s magic.”

These are the two options that the Pevensies and Narnians can see: Edmund dies, or the laws of the Deep Magic are broken.

The Reality of the Binary Choice

People who come to biblical counseling are looking for the third way. They are tired of dealing with the problem day after day, yet the alternative seems even more hopeless. As one counselee put it, “Either I give in, or I grit my teeth and endure.”

This is how so many people view God’s commandments. Counselees dealing with anger, lust, self-harm, spending sprees, or a hundred other problems face the reality that there are only two choices: Give in and please yourself, or grit your teeth and endure out of obedience to God’s word.

Let’s pause here to acknowledge that this binary is the reality: We obey God, or we don’t. The law of the Deep Magic is upheld, or it is not. Those who struggle do so because they know it is wrong to sin, but choosing not to sin takes every ounce of strength and self-control for every relentless moment of the rest of their lives.

Resisting temptation simply seems impossible. No one has that much willpower.

The Third Way

This is where the doctrine of the cross meets the doctrine of regeneration.

Read More