Being the Person God Wants Me to Be - Part 4

It is easy to be accused of passivity by some well-meaning believers who think passages about abiding in Christ, relying on His empowerment, etc., are telling us we don’t have to do anything to be pleasing to God. If such skeptics (or lazy Christians) would only realize that the true way of life is a constant battle, they would not be so critical. Paul describes his own struggles between his old and new nature in Romans 7. Listen to his assessment and his answer: “What a wretched man I am? Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” He did not underestimate the struggle or his inability to do anything about it. He obviously knew the secret of power, evident by the fruit in his life and ministry. God transformed him from a person who was determined to be perfect in his religious commitments into a man who realized the wretchedness in his soul and discovered the solution was to trust Christ’s life within him. We would do well to learn from Paul.
            Paul also shared in Col. 1:29 that this life of faith is not a passive one: “To this end (his desire to present all perfect in Christ) I labor, struggling WITH all his energy which so powerfully works in me.” There is a struggle, but it should be a struggle against ourselves, our old nature, and a struggle WITH the energy He works within us. Our responsibility is to struggle the correct way. Instead of struggling to BE and to DO what He desires, we must struggle to stay connected with the empowerment already inside of us. It is a battle to the death every day. The old nature has been condemned to death but it does not want to die. It will do anything in its power to stay alive, even being religious and ‘spiritual,’ attempting to live the life that will appease us.

I want to make some observations as I close these reflections:
      It is helpful to study the instructions given in the Bible for how we are to BE and what we are to DO, but ONLY if such a study helps us realize just how impossible it is to BE or to DO those things by our own efforts. If the study helps us realize our desperate need of the Spirit and spurs us on to deeper surrender and faith, then the study is helpful. If, on the other hand, our study either discourages us or makes us determined to try even harder on our own to do these things, then the study digs a deeper hole for us. But to truly understand that all of these traits and behaviors are possible because of what Jesus has done for us and who the Spirit is in us, then we will have a wonderful study that will result in greater joy, more power, a fulfilled life, and one that glorifies our Lord. That is my desire, and my goal for teaching these truths.