July 2, 2018

 
The Will                        THE USE OF YOUR WILL
 
        For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  Rom. 7:18.
 
    The question of the will, how our will and our willpower operate in living the Christian life, is a vital one.  The two major texts, from Paul, on the subject of the will are Romans 7:14-21 and Philippians 2:12, 13.  Romans 7 talks about the frustration of the converted Christian who has not yet learned to depend upon the God's strength, and is trying to depend on his own strength.  The predominant word in this passage is do.  That which he wants to do, he doesn't do.  And that which he doesn't want to do, he does.  And right in the middle, verse 18, he says, "For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I fond not."  The person whose emphasis is on doing what is right is not going to find how to perform.
 
    In Philippians 2:12, 13, we are told to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."  It is God that does both the willing and the doing when it comes to performance in the life of the Christian.  God does not do both the willing and the doing in the life of the Christian when it comes to seeking the faith relationship.  Is there a difference?  It is not God that does the willing and the doing in the fight of faith.  It is God that does the willing and the doing in the fight of sin.  God has promised to fight sin and the devil for us, if we will allow Him to do so (2 Cor. 10:4, 5).  And the way we allow Him is by doing the willing and the doing in the area of relationship and fellowship with Him, which He can never do for us.
 
    There is a part in the Christian life, at the beginning and in the continuing process, where there is something we have to do.  Admittedly, faith is from God's initiative all the way along.  But there is still a point at which we must choose to respond to His initiative.  And the proper use of the will is in choosing to respond to God's knocking at the door for relationship with Him.  If we choose that, and continue to choose that, God will demonstrate in our lives, more and more unto the perfect day, that He can do the willing and the doing through us concerning the fight of sin.