ectypal.net

...conflict is inherent in the very nature of the glory of what God has already done for us. The magnitude of grace, when it impacts fallen humanity in a fallen world, inevitably produces conflict. The New Testament provides several perspectives on this conflict which together present a unified picture. The conflict is the result of our now being in Christ and yet, at the same time, living in the world ( compare 1 Cor 1:2, "in Corinth" and "in Christ Jesus"). Since by nature we were dead in sin and used to live according to the fashions of this world, gratifying our own lusts (Eph 2:1-3), our new lifestyle in Christ is bound to be on a collision course with the lifestyle of this world. Why else would Paul "insist ... that [we] must no longer live as the Gentiles do" (Eph 4:17)? The goals, motives and energies of our lives now stand in complete contrast to the world around us. That radical difference makes tension, conflict, even stress inevitable (compare to 2 Tim 3:1-9).