[ Bottom of Page ]

By God's grace, still presenting the same old message from the same old Book...

Be Ye Always Abounding In The Work Of The Lord

1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Peter 2:2 (KJV) As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Salvation, our coming to Christ, is all of grace. Even our faith is given us, by the operation of God (John 6:29; Col 2:12). When we are in Christ, we are to actively go about to serve the Lord Jesus. God makes us accepted in Christ, that is, in the beloved. 

Ephesians 1:6 (KJV) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Our Believing Is Begun In The Spirit. 

Galatians 3:3 (KJV) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

References To “In Christ”

Romans 8:1 (KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 1:2 (KJV) Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

It is of God that we are in Christ. Salvation is of the LORD.

1 Corinthians 1:30 (KJV) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Before a person is born again, they are active at resisting Christ, but after the new birth, one is active in Coming to Christ, because they have new desires and new understanding, a new view (John 9:25,39). The grace of God actually brings salvation to the sheep, and does not merely try to bring salvation. The one that is saved is not given license for sloth, and when we are saved we are not to be passive recipients of salvation, but are to be active in serving our Lord. Each is to be actively about doing those things they learn from the Bible (Heb 13:15; James 1:25; Rom 10:17; 1Cor 15:58).

God is not passive in our coming to faith. The unsaved man, the natural man is active in rejecting our Lord , and would not come to the Lord (John 3:3, 5; 6:44; 1Pet 2:4), but our Lord is active in salvation (John 6:37-39,44; 15:5). One must become a new creature (Jer 13:23). The one given new life, the Christian, is to be an active participant in living for the One that has died for us. The saved man is to be active in serving God (Ephesians 2:10; Hebrews 12:25; Romans 8:8-14), our being active in showing our faith, being a new creation, old things passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17-18), and kept, our enduring to the end according to the power of God (1Peter 1:5). With this being said, I reject tests that are designed to show exclusively those that are not saved because of their works. Nevertheless, the walk in the Spirit is not passive, but involves an intentional fighting of the desires of the flesh and a yielding to and performing of the desires of the Spirit according to the Word's of the Bible, by the believer (Rom. 7:22-23; 8:11-17; 2Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:1-10). The promise is not that we will have no evil desires, but rather that by the Spirit we will not be at ease by the desires of the flesh. Thus the active warfare (Rom. 6:1-23). We are to be actively resisting temptation and with our strength giving ourselves to the performing of the will of God for our lives (1Th. 4:3-8; Jas. 1:12-16; 4:7; 1Pe. 2:15).

We should not forget we are called to the battle of, and not to the enjoyment of that which is forbidden by the law of Christ. There is a very real battle, that many show they do not care about. Our foot is ready to slip and then we are taken "away by our own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death"" (James 1:14-15). When Paul wrote in the seventh chapter of Romans he wrote about his own present experience, being a saved man.

With that in mind, looking at Galatians 6:1 consider these comments of John Charles Ryle:

"...It would not be difficult to point out at least twenty-five or thirty distinct passages in the Epistles where believers are plainly taught to use active personal exertion, and are addressed as responsible for doing energetically what Christ would have them do, and are not told to "yield themselves" up as passive agents and sit still, but to arise and work. A holy violence, a conflict, a warfare, a fight, a soldier's life, a wrestling, are spoken of as characteristic of the true Christian. The account of "the armour of God" in the sixth chapter of Ephesians, one might think, settles the question. Again, it would be easy to show that the doctrine of sanctification without personal exertion, by simply "yielding ourselves to God," is precisely the doctrine of the antinomian fanatics in the seventeenth century (to whom I have referred already, described in Rutherford's "Spiritual Antichrist), and that the tendency of it is evil in the extreme. Again, it would be easy to show that the doctrine is utterly subversive of the whole teaching of such tried and approved books as "Pilgrim's Progress," and that if we receive it we cannot do better than put Bunyan's old book in the fire! If Christian in "Pilgrim's Progress" simply yielded himself to God, and never fought, or struggled, or wrestled, I have read the famous allegory in vain. But the plain truth is, that men will persist in confounding two things that differ that is, justification and sanctification. In justification the word to be addressed to man is believe only believe; in sanctification the word must be "watch, pray, and fight." What God has divided let us not mingle and confuse."

By grace,
Bob Krajcik
Mansfield, Ohio
June 8, 2005

Bible Study Letters

A message of comfort from the Scriptures,
that we through patience and comfort
of the scriptures might have hope.

Come and hear, all ye that fear God,
and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
Psalms 66:16

[ Home Page ] [ Main Menu ]

Bob Krajcik
[ Bible Study Letters ]
 Your Comments Welcomed
Your Privacy Respected
Send Your Comments, Questions,
Praise Reports or Prayer Requests

[ Top of Page ]