We can do nothing in and of ourselves to please God or walk worthy of Him. However, He has prepared works that we are to do. The only way to do these works is to abide in Jesus and follow Him. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing,” John 15:5. If we don’t do this, we are illegitimate children, for only those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.
Even when doing these works, we are acutely aware that it is not us doing them, but God who is working in us. As Jesus did nothing on His own initiative, neither should we.
Even during times of temptations and striving against sin, we escape temptation, not because we’re strong, but because God has made a way of escape for us, and He guides us through our trials, all the while fashioning us into obedient children. He does this in order that when we mature we will be without stain or blemish, thereby having reached the maturity of the first creation, Adam, without the sin of the first creation.
“For Jesus [the last Adam] appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him,” 1 John 3:5,6.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come,” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Do you, as I do, feel too weak to sustain a life of abiding in Christ? The Lord has provided for this; for just as He told Paul, so it is with us, “My grace is sufficient, for power is perfected in weakness,” 2 Corinthians 12:9.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light,” Matthew 11:28-30. I’ve found it so, I’ve found it so.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
Please weigh everything I say on the scales of the word of God.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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