It appears difficult for many to fully grasp the truth that salvation from the unending penalty of sin is the work of God and of Him alone. It is the work of God for man; it is not the work of man for God. When man’s work intrudes on God’s perfect work his imperfect work can be no more than the imperfect work of imperfect man. All that is accomplished in redeeming, reconciling, justifying, and providing eternal life, is in, from, and because of God alone. Man may try vigilantly, but he can never live perfectly enough to acquire eternal life. More especially, he is incapable of living the remainder of his life in sufficient perfection to maintain that life. As difficult as it may be to understand no one can ever generate sufficient perfection to acquire everlasting life. It may be even more difficult for a saved believer to realize that the life expected by God is not of, by, or from himself, but by God’s own power. Due to this deficit in understanding many believers labor, by means of their own strength, for moral perfection instead of living under the enabling power of GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. It is this supernatural power that enables the believer to produce divine good versus unacceptable human good. The Christian way of life is not natural. It is supernatural; therefore, a supernatural means of execution is an absolute necessity. When the high calling of grace, from a lowly human being, is seen as a necessity and not an option it may then be understood that divine power alone is required to produce a divine order of life. Therefore, it becomes evident that something much more than human resources or strength is required. Divine power cannot come from the source of any human being as the best anyone born of a woman can generate is human and not divine power.
The dynamic life under grace must be executed by means of the controlling ministry of God the Holy Spirit. When the believer is controlled by the indwelling Spirit, he is equipped to live by means of a power that is far greater than anything that can be generated by human flesh. If a dynamic spiritual life could be lived by the power that resides in the flesh of a believer it would become a life of dependence upon self and not in dependence upon God. A sure and consistent outcome can only be generated when God is doing His work in man and certainly not when imperfect man is doing his work in the energy of the flesh. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). “Now the God of peace . . . make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight” (Hebrews 13:20,21). “So then neither is he that planet anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7). Concerning spiritual gifts Paul wrote: “And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (1 Corinthians 12:6). In essence, it is the work of God in and thru man and not the work of man in and through himself.
To show that the power of a believer’s life under grace is of God, and not of man, attention is directed toward the weakness of man. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God” (2 Corinthians 1:9). “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). Did I hear an AMEN?
Your encouragement to “yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13) clearly shows that the power is of God and not of man as the instrument is powerless apart from God’s control. This understanding makes it imperative to distinguish between attempts to serve God and actually being used of God. It should also be realized that God does not desire to HELP believers do things for Him; He desires to do the work Himself through them. Because grace is that which God, and He alone, does for the believer to execute a powerful and meaningful life under grace. All divine operating assets and resources are provided to the believer by means of the controlling, indwelling, and filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit. There are no accidents in the plan of God. He never says “woops, let me try this again” No re-do’s or retreading comes from God, only perfection. Whenever there is failure in the life of a believer it is due to a dependence upon self, instead of God. The failure comes from the stumbling believer who has quenched or grieved the Holy Spirit through sin and is operating in the energy of the flesh.
Salvation is of God and through Jesus Christ; so also, productive living is of God and through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). He also stated, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
The Apostle Paul declared “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Then a most familiar verse, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). “Nay, in ALL these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). “Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ and make manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place” (2 Cor.2:14). Paul did not suggest but commanded, “Be filled with fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:11); “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).
All of these Bible references teach that accomplishment of divine good, in this life under grace, is much more than a denial of human functions such as meat, drink, and certain behaviors. These things can only be perfectly accomplished through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible to live a meaningful and dynamic life under grace apart from His indwelling presence. The limited thought that Christ simply goes alongside to lead does not adequately describe His abiding presence and work in and through the believer. He is in, not merely with all who believe in Him. This powerful and effective manner of life is not imposed upon the believer from without; it comes from within and flows out naturally as pure water from a stream. It is the out flowing of the Holy Spirit of God that comes from His indwelling. Jesus declared, “He that believeth on me, as the Scriptures hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him were to receive for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:38-39).
It is abundantly clear that the Christian way of life is not merely a suppression or denial of the desires of the natural man. Paul described the struggle, in life, where an effort to suppress sin and evil is sincerely desired but most difficult. He stated, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; for what I hate, that do I.”
“For I know that in me (in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me: but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil that I would not, that I do” (Romans 7: 15,18,19). Sound complicated? Try living it to determine this statement is not true. Following this amazing statement Paul concludes “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death” (v. 24). At the same time, he provided an answer to the who in this question, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord”. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us (in us, and not by us) who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 7:25 and 8: 2,4). The command to the Galatians was, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Gal 5: 22,23). Please notice, these golden things are the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit is not by a law that restricts and restrains, it is by a law of the Spirit that lives within. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17). This verse opened my eyes and released me from the man-made bondage of legalism many years ago.
These portions of scripture convey that a Christ centered life is the natural result of the operation of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This kind of production comes from a Spirit controlled believer and is just as natural as ripe fruit that is waiting to be harvested. When low hanging fruit is not evident in the life of a believer, there may be things in the life which are hindering the operation of the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Therefore, every believer should consistently examine himself and walk by means of the Holy Spirit in order to ensure he is doing that which is right and good. Peter attributed to the ministry of the Holy Spirit “the purification of souls in obeying the truth” (1 Peter 1:22). Paul made a similar statement by saying all things that Christ wrought by him were through the power of the Spirit of God and prayed for all believers that they might “be strengthened with might by his (the Father’s) Spirit in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16). The power and effectiveness in a productive and impactful life, as is taught by God’s grace is not, as is commonly thought, a life lived by the individual with some assistance from God at critical and convenient times; but it is a life of and from God Himself, by Jesus Christ His son, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This kind of life will be manifested in those who walk in fellowship and serve in and under the power of the Holy Spirit and not as men under the influence of the fading self-seeking human flesh.
There is no greater responsibility of the Christian than to convey to the watching world a clear and understandable Gospel message. To witness to others is to extend the believer’s ambassadorship and to give the gospel in the critical ministry of reconciliation. The believer must provide pertinent and clear information regarding the central issue of Salvation in Christ. Christ is the issue! The attitude of the unbeliever toward Him is the determining factor in salvation. It is a fatal mistake to put the cart before the horse. No one can live the Christian way of life until he is born again. The gospel is good news; it is bad news that man is a sinner. He surely is but you will be privileged to bring good news that liberates from the bad news of sinful behavior that Christ died and paid for in full. Do not add to the good news of the Gospel of the grace of God. Salvation is extended as a gift from His blessed hands as it was purchased without cost to you, in you or because of you. Jesus paid it all! Man can pay nothing for what is paid in full and finished forever and ever. The debt was owed by man, and he could not pay, he was bankrupt, away from God and lost in trespasses and sin. Jesus did what man was not qualified to do and could not do. The just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous, the perfect for the imperfect. Nothing can be accomplished in persuading the unbeliever to give up all of his sins. Christ died for all of his sins, and he cannot draw nigh to God by changing his behavior, joining a church, being baptized, giving money, or turning over a new leaf.
Salvation is appropriated by grace through faith in Christ and not by the unbeliever’s unacceptable works (Eph. 2:8,9).
It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to open a closed mind or an unbelieving heart. An emotional appeal, no matter how sincere, is not the Holy Spirit. The gospel is designed to persuade, not to compel the unbeliever to accept Christ. It is the responsibility of believers to be fishers of men. Notice some of their characteristics in Matt. 4:19. To be fishers of men you must go fish. That means to have a desire to get up and go out. A strong desire will take you to many white harvest fields where there are lakes, rivers, and streams that are filled with many who may not know anything about the message you are bringing. You must be equipped to be a fisher of men by having a clear understanding of the gospel and who you are representing. You must get up and go … the fish are not in front of the TV as you recline on the couch. Use the right bait, which is Bible information and truth that is pertinent to the gospel. You must be patient, this is the work of God, you are only a messenger, you are not the message. Your reward will be waiting for you in Heaven.
Effective conveyance of the gospel must be accomplished after the shoreline of heaven is barraged with loving, caring, and concentrated prayer. “It is not by might nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord” (Zach. 4:6). God did the greatest thing for you when He sent His son to do something no human could ever do. Even if a human volunteered to go to the cross for all of humanity, the sacrifice would be repugnant to God as the effort would be from a corrupt and condemned Human who can only be redeemed with the precious, impeccable, blood of Christ. “For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
“Be it known unto you men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that BELIEVE are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13: 39,39).
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
