Curt Russell April 28th, 2013 3:12 pm :
De MariaIn my comments above, I somehow lost a paragraph.
I thought something was missing.
After the “You said” blockquote, I intended to include this:Yes and much more. Doing the “will of the Father” is not to be confused with doing good works of our own “free will”. Thus Pauls can say (Galations 2)…20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.It is, again, about relationship… Christ living in me.
There are two things here. First, I think we agree on one of them. If you review my response above, at one point I said:
I don’t know what you mean by that. We consider it His grace at work in us:Philippians 2:12-13
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Are we saying the same thing? Because it certainly sounds to me as though we are, with reference to Christ living in us and God working through us, it sounds as though that is the same idea. But let me know what you think.
The other thing is this. We believe we do it of our own free will. We don’t believe that God forces us to do good. The Scripture says:
Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
“Yield yourself”, implies that we relinquish control of ourselves to do one or the other. Here is what the Merriam Webster online says about yielding:
Definition of YIELD
transitive verb
1 archaic: recompense, reward
2: to give or render as fitting, rightfully owed, or required
3: to give up possession of on claim or demand: as
a : to give up (as one’s breath) and so die
b : to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another : hand over possession of
c : to surrender or submit (oneself) to another
d : to give (oneself) up to an inclination, temptation, or habit
e : to relinquish one’s possession of (as a position of advantage or point of superiority)
1 archaic: recompense, reward
2: to give or render as fitting, rightfully owed, or required
3: to give up possession of on claim or demand: as
a : to give up (as one’s breath) and so die
b : to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another : hand over possession of
c : to surrender or submit (oneself) to another
d : to give (oneself) up to an inclination, temptation, or habit
e : to relinquish one’s possession of (as a position of advantage or point of superiority)
I think definitions 3.b and c are relevant here. We have a choice to surrender to righteousness or to evil.
That is how we do the will of the Father… not through my free will choosing to do good, but through Christ living in me.
But first we must choose to believe Christ. And then to obey Christ. And this is an ongoing choice we must make everyday. I’m a married man. And every time a pretty girl passes by me, I have to choose to do the right thing and be faithful to my wife. But I don’t want to project my troubles unto you. I have heard that there are people who are not tempted to sin on a daily basis. Are you one of those? Or, are you, like most of us, tempted to commit one sin or another on a daily basis?
If so, then, wouldn’t you say that you must make a choice to abide in Christ?
Now you can pick up with…So… to your conclusion, etc.Sorry about that!
No problem. Unfortunately, I replied before I saw the additional info. But I don’t think it made a really big difference in the end.
Sincerely,
De Maria
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