Power to Obey
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phil. 2: 13.
The grace of God in Christ is the foundation of the Christian's hope, and that grace will be manifested in obedience.
Christ is the sympathetic, compassionate Redeemer. In His sustaining power, men and women become strong to resist evil. As the convicted sinner looks at sin, it
becomes to him exceeding sinful. . . . He sees that his faults must be overcome and that his appetites and passions must be subjected to God's will. . . . Having
repented of his transgression of God's law, he strives earnestly to overcome sin. He seeks to reveal the power of Christ's grace, and he is brought into personal
touch with the Saviour. Constantly he keeps Christ before him. Praying, believing, receiving the blessings he needs, he comes nearer and nearer to God's standard
for him.
New virtues are revealed in his character as he denies self and lifts the cross, following where Christ leads the way. He loves the Lord Jesus with his whole heart,
and Christ becomes his wisdom, his righteousness, his sanctification, and his redemption. . . .
The miracle- working power of Christ's grace is revealed in the creation in man of a new heart, a higher life, a holier enthusiasm. God says: "A new heart also will
I give you" (Eze. 36: 26). Is not this, the renewal of man, the greatest miracle that can be performed? What cannot the human agent do who by faith takes hold of the
divine power?
Human effort avails nothing without divine power; and without human endeavor, divine effort is with many of no avail. To make God's grace our own, we must
act our part. His grace is given to work in us to will and to do, but never as a substitute for our effort. . . . Those who walk in the path of obedience will encounter
many hindrances. Strong, subtle influences may bind them to the world; but the Lord is able to render futile every agency that works for the defeat of His chosen
ones; in His strength they may overcome every temptation, conquer every difficulty.
From God's Amazing Grace - Page 254
