aiki
Regular Member
"You don’t obey your way into faith (the Pharisees proved that); you believe your way into obedience."
--- Bob Sorge
What do you think? I never heard of Bob Sorge until this evening.
This is entirely too human-centered, I think. As Scripture makes very clear, God must move toward us first before we are able to make any move toward Him (John 6:44; Ephesians 2:1-4). He enables us to see and choose Him (2 Timothy 2:25; John 16:8; Romans 12:3). And this dynamic continues in our walk with Him after our conversion (John 15:5; Colossians 3:4; Philippians 1:21). God works in us first all that He calls us to work out in our daily living. (Philippians 2:12-13) Love, joy, peace, holiness, faith, self-control, humility - these all are imparted to us from God in the Person of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:9; Galatians 5:22-23; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9-11). Our obedience, then, is a reflection, an expression of, the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in us, not merely an effect of our capacity to believe.
It is Moralism that places the onus and emphasis on the believer to achieve a holy, obedient life. Such a life is merely a stepping-stone, the means to joyful communion with God; it is not an end in itself. Again, a holy life is the result of the Spirit's transforming work in us, not the product of our effort to be who God has called us to be.
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