Obedience by Faith THE FRUIT OF THE FRUIT OF THE FRUIT
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Rom. 6:22.
If obedience or disobedience is the last issue to be decided in this world (see The Desire of Ages, p. 763), but if, because I am a sinner by nature and cannot obey, then there is only one possible thing for me to do. That is to give up on myself, admit that I cannot do it, and realize that the only way obedience can happen is through faith and trust in the One who does have the power to change me from the inside. "We cannot keep ourselves from sin for one moment. Every moment we are dependent upon God....Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to God's law, and in this He set an example for every human being. The life that He lived in this world we are to live through His power....The Saviour took upon Himself the infirmities of humanity and lived a sinless life, that men might have no fear that because of the weakness of human nature they could not overcome. Christ came to make us 'partakers of the divine nature,' and His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin."--The Ministry of Healing, p. 180.
Right here many people become nervous. When we look to ourselves, we realize how far short we come. But we are not to look to ourselves, but to the power of God. This is how it works: the relationship with God, based on communication with Him day by day, results in the fruit of faith. Faith results in the fruits of the Spirit. And the fruits of the Spirit results in obedience. All of them spring from the relationship of personal fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Jesus lived His life in this world through the power of His Father, the power that came from above--not from the power that came from within. In so doing He became our greatest example of how to live the life of faith.
We will never be just like Jesus. Jesus was sinless from the start--we weren't. Jesus was the Son of God--we aren't. Jesus never needed a Saviour--we do. But just because we will never be exactly as Jesus was does not mean that we cannot obey as Jesus obeyed. There is a difference. By depending on Jesus as He depended on His Father, we can have victory.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Rom. 6:22.
If obedience or disobedience is the last issue to be decided in this world (see The Desire of Ages, p. 763), but if, because I am a sinner by nature and cannot obey, then there is only one possible thing for me to do. That is to give up on myself, admit that I cannot do it, and realize that the only way obedience can happen is through faith and trust in the One who does have the power to change me from the inside. "We cannot keep ourselves from sin for one moment. Every moment we are dependent upon God....Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to God's law, and in this He set an example for every human being. The life that He lived in this world we are to live through His power....The Saviour took upon Himself the infirmities of humanity and lived a sinless life, that men might have no fear that because of the weakness of human nature they could not overcome. Christ came to make us 'partakers of the divine nature,' and His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin."--The Ministry of Healing, p. 180.
Right here many people become nervous. When we look to ourselves, we realize how far short we come. But we are not to look to ourselves, but to the power of God. This is how it works: the relationship with God, based on communication with Him day by day, results in the fruit of faith. Faith results in the fruits of the Spirit. And the fruits of the Spirit results in obedience. All of them spring from the relationship of personal fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Jesus lived His life in this world through the power of His Father, the power that came from above--not from the power that came from within. In so doing He became our greatest example of how to live the life of faith.
We will never be just like Jesus. Jesus was sinless from the start--we weren't. Jesus was the Son of God--we aren't. Jesus never needed a Saviour--we do. But just because we will never be exactly as Jesus was does not mean that we cannot obey as Jesus obeyed. There is a difference. By depending on Jesus as He depended on His Father, we can have victory.
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