How are we saved? I agree fully that we are saved by grace alone. Period.
But here is where the issue lies. What do we do then to work the works of God in us? You mentioned that we should obey, and again I agree fully, but HOW? That is the million dollar question.
How can we obey?
If the truth is that it is not just about outward obedience, not committing adulterty, or fornicating, etc, but about the heart of the matter, our heart, what acts of obedience can we do that will purify our minds, our thoughts, our innermost being? Is this not where our real battle lies?
No wonder people fall into the trap of doing outer works! We start out in grace, but then we are thrown onto our own strength, our own resolve, our own efforts to hold our flesh down. We tie it up, sit on it, discipline it, and all to no avail. it is still as active as ever. And if we do have moderate success with our efforts outwardly, we then become religious pharisees and are proud of our accomplishments.
This is the fly in the ointment we Christians fight with. How do we deal with out flesh? We all agree that it is all by grace that we are saved, but then what do we do from there? Our full obedience, heart obedience, must be by grace as well.
Our old nature, our fleshly nature is not to be disciplined into submission. This error is why men and women spend decades trying and not succeeding in real tangible growth into the likeness of our Lord. Our flesh must DIE, and not in the time payment plan.
Paul tells us in Romans, by a radical act of faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross and with his ressurection, to reckon ourselves dead indeed to sin, to put off our flesh as one gets out of a soiled garment. In the same way, he tells us to put on the new man...by faith alone. We must believe we are new, that victory is ours...now.
We are asked to fight, but not for the victory, trying our best to attain it. This is works just as surely as if we try to work for our salvation. We are trying to work for our sanctification, and it is a gift! We are to fight IN the victory and with His strength in us, hold onto it. it is called the good fight of faith. We ARE new creatures and the old man is dead.
This is our shield of faith. We are light in the Lord NOW. We have tried to "become light" by outer obedience, thinking that we will eventually get to the inside where the crud is. We never get there.
New wine must be put into what? New wineskins! If we are not believing that, fighting the accusations of satan with our shield up, that we were fleshly sinners, but we are now children of the most high, with Him inside us, then we are sitting ducks, and it is only a matter of time until we fall....again.
Blessings,
Gideon