By Allen White
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you
now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Galatians 3:3
There
is a tension in the Christian life between what we do and what God does. While
the Bible tells us that “without Him we can do nothing” (John 15:5) we argue
back that “if we do nothing, it’s without Him.” Our Christian walk requires
both our effort and God’s grace. It’s a lopsided balanced that depends on God
much more than us. It’s not
up to us. But, it does involve us.
If
we fully depend on Christ for our salvation (as we should), but live however we
want, then we have to wonder if we’re saved at all. Salvation should make a
radical difference in our lives. If we say that we follow God, but we don’t
have any desire for Him, then we should question whether we belong to God at
all.
But,
on the other side, if we feel that rule-following is the guarantee of our
salvation, then we’ve got it wrong. The guarantee of our salvation is the Holy
Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21-22), not rule-keeping.
When
the people of God live as if they don’t need God, then we’ve got a problem. I’m
not talking about believers that are so caught up in the things of the world
that they ignore God. I’m speaking of those of us who attempt to live our lives
so perfectly that we don’t need grace and forgiveness. In our minds, we’ve done
nothing wrong. If you’ve done nothing wrong, then you don’t need God.
The
problem is that those who don’t feel the need for a daily dose of grace are
living well according to a list, but it’s not God’s list. They put a heavy
burden on themselves and attempt to live a life that God hasn’t called them to.
The
Bible addresses the tension between God’s work and our work this way: “Therefore,
my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now
much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to
fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13). Who’s working? Is God
working? Yes, God is working. Are we working? Yes, we are working. It’s not a
competition. Believers and God work together to fulfill His good purpose.
Where
are you tempted to depend on yourself for your spiritual well-being? What do
you do or intentionally avoid to maintain your salvation? Are you fully
trusting God or are you trusting your own efforts? There are no self-made
believers.
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