The Will SALVATION AND YOUR WILL
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Rom. 9:16.
One of the major breakthroughs in understanding how to live the Christian life is to learn how the will operates in sanctification. We were told a long time ago that we would be in constant danger until we understood the right action of our will in living the Christian life, and that through the proper understanding of the will, an entire change could be made in our lives (see Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 513; Steps to Christ, p. 47).
It all has to do with the question of whether sanctification is by faith alone or whether it is by faith plus works. The question of divine power and human effort is still awaiting our careful study. Many people accept the premise that justification is by faith alone, but find it hard to turn loose of the idea that there is something we can do to save ourselves in the process of sanctification. Some consider it dangerous to give up the idea that the method of living the Christian life is by faith plus works. "The third angel's message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory....In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it."---Selected Messages, book 1, p. 372.
The problem is that if we do not understand how to use the will properly, we are likely to use it improperly. That's where the danger is. If we put our effort and our willpower toward that which is impossible for us to do, then we will end in defeat. If we don't understand properly how our will and human effort operates in living the Christian life, the devil is going to have a ready-made method of discouraging us, and short-circuiting the whole relationship with God. We will lose the assurance that we gained when we first accepted Christ, because we will not understand how to maintain that assurance by keeping our attention directed away from ourselves to Jesus. Genuine faith and trust in His merits is our only hope at the beginning and all through the Christian life.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Rom. 9:16.
One of the major breakthroughs in understanding how to live the Christian life is to learn how the will operates in sanctification. We were told a long time ago that we would be in constant danger until we understood the right action of our will in living the Christian life, and that through the proper understanding of the will, an entire change could be made in our lives (see Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 513; Steps to Christ, p. 47).
It all has to do with the question of whether sanctification is by faith alone or whether it is by faith plus works. The question of divine power and human effort is still awaiting our careful study. Many people accept the premise that justification is by faith alone, but find it hard to turn loose of the idea that there is something we can do to save ourselves in the process of sanctification. Some consider it dangerous to give up the idea that the method of living the Christian life is by faith plus works. "The third angel's message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory....In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it."---Selected Messages, book 1, p. 372.
The problem is that if we do not understand how to use the will properly, we are likely to use it improperly. That's where the danger is. If we put our effort and our willpower toward that which is impossible for us to do, then we will end in defeat. If we don't understand properly how our will and human effort operates in living the Christian life, the devil is going to have a ready-made method of discouraging us, and short-circuiting the whole relationship with God. We will lose the assurance that we gained when we first accepted Christ, because we will not understand how to maintain that assurance by keeping our attention directed away from ourselves to Jesus. Genuine faith and trust in His merits is our only hope at the beginning and all through the Christian life.
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