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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Belief and Righteousness, #13
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. (Romans 6:12,13—NIV)
Can you see from the above passage that we have a decision to make concerning how we behave?
Some will say, "This is all well and good but even if we do not choose to offer ourselves to God in this manner we still will be saved."
They are incorrect. Paul's conclusion, in the last two verses of the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans, is that if we as a Christian do not choose to be the servant of righteousness we shall die spiritually. Paul repeats this warning in Chapter Eight.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:13—NIV)
It is not enough to believe God intends to change us into the image of Christ. We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the program of turning from the sinful ways of the adamic nature and embracing the righteous ways of the Lord.
Belief alone is not enough.
But what about the positive aspect of our salvation, not just the turning from sin. Does this also require action on our part or is belief alone sufficient?
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (I Timothy 4:15,16—NIV)
Belief alone is not enough. We save ourselves and our hearers by doing the things Paul commanded.
But what about entrance into the rest of God? Isn't this a matter of just ceasing from our own works and believing? No, it is not. Rather, the rest of God consists of doing God's works rather than our own works.
The Lord Jesus Christ always dwells in the rest of God. Notice how the rest of God operates. It is the eternal Sabbath.
First, in the Old Testament.
If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, (Isaiah 58:13—NIV)
The Sabbath rest is not a case of just doing nothing. Rather it consists of doing God's will in all matters.
Notice how the eternal Sabbath works in the life of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these." (John 5:19,20—NIV)
To be continued.