|
Someone wrote the following statement to a forum:
"The Holy Spirit continues a sanctifying work with us, that we
can choose to resist."
This is a sobering statement, and a fact that I've been thinking
about lately.
We can choose, as regenerated children of God to
either walk after
the spirit or walk after the flesh. We can choose either to sow to the
spirit or sow to the flesh. We can choose to either commit iniquity or
depart from iniquity. We have the ability to be servants of
righteousness or to continue to serve sin. We can choose to deny
ourselves and take up our cross or to look after our own things and not
the things of Jesus Christ. We can choose grace which reigns through
righteousness unto eternal life or we can choose to sow to the flesh and
reap corruption.
I realized that the unbelievers can't
make this choice. The only
choice they can make is serve sin or to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and be saved. Once they are saved, and have the Holy Ghost, THEN they
are freed from the power of sin and of Satan, and can walk after the
Spirit and not after the flesh anymore.
It struck me that Christ not only imputes righteousness to us, but he
also IMPARTS righteousness to us through the ministry of the Holy
Spirit. He gives us power to become the sons of God! We have the power
to serve righteousness instead of serving sin, we have the power to be
led of the Spirit. Who is led of the Spirit? "For as many as are
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."-Rom. 8:14 Can
an unbeliever be led by the Spirit of God in their daily walk? No, they
do not have the power: they don't have the imputed righteousness of
Christ OR the imparted righteousness of Christ (the power of the Holy
Ghost) for holy living.
Paul told Timothy to turn away from those who have a form of
godliness but deny the power thereof. (See 2 Tim. 3:5) I wonder if Paul
was thinking about days like ours where so many deny the power of God in
the life of the
believer? The power to depart from iniquity, to walk in newness of life,
the power to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, the power to live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (see Titus 2:12-a
description of grace that brings salvation) is being denied by many
today.
We are saved from not only the penalty
of sin, but also from the
power, the pleasure, and pursuit of sin. And our salvation begins in
this PRESENT world, and is continued until the day of Christ Jesus. The
blood of Christ has accomplished all of this, and it is God who works in
us, to will and to do of his good pleasure.
We cannot cleanse ourselves of sin, but we
must cooperate with the
Spirit of God as he works in us to accomplish His purposes for our
lives. Submitting to the will of God is not a dead work, but a holy
mandate to every believer.
True
Gospel Vs False Gospel Articles
|