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NASB | Philippians 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Philippians 3:9 and may be found in Him [believing and relying on Him], not having any righteousness of my own derived from [my obedience to] the Law and its rituals, but [possessing] that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. |
Subject: ?self effort 2 B holy now vs befor saved |
Bible Note: Thanks for your comments. I am familiar with the whole Keswick "Higher Life" thing, and it is quite a mess. You wrote: 'After recognizing all of that, I now think MY part in my practical / experiential sanctification is that āIā am supposed to PURSUE holiness.' Yes, as Hebrews 12 tells us and 1 Peter 1:14-16 tells us. We are called to work for God's glory (NOT for our own justification, which was applied to me on the basis of faith in Christ), and those who have been truly justified WILL work. "Personal Holiness is not attained by faith, like justification." I would qualify this by saying that it is not attained by a faith that is alone. I recommend reading Hebrews 11, the so-called "Hall of Faith." These examples of godliness did what they did "by faith," but the fact is that by faith they DID things. Whatever is by self-reliance is futile, but relying on God for the strength to obey Him is not a passive experience. 'It is work. āIā need to MAKE EVERY EFFORT to be like Jesus, and get rid of every attitude, action and motivation that is unchristlike.' Yes, by the power that God supplies. I cannot conquer sin by Joe's effort alone, but because the Spirit of God is sanctifying me and empowering me both to hate my sin and love God's law (see Psalm 119 for the supreme example of the right attitude toward God's commands), I am graciously equipped to fight the good fight of faith. "But then the question arose in my mind as to what is Gods part in my practical / experiential sanctification? I believe that God plays the whole part in both my positional sanctification and my ultimate santification. But what is Gods part in my practical / experiential sanctification?" God supplies the power and works in our hearts to expose sin, causing us to acknowledge it, confess it before Him, thank God for the pardon that comes through Christ, hate that sin, and get to work killing it. "I suppose part of it is that the Holy Spirit reveals to me through reading the bible where I am missing the mark so I can fix it." Yes. "But whats the difference between my self effort to be holy now that I am saved and my self effort to be good when I was unsaved?" The latter is impossible and turns the law into a means of justification. The former is aided and motivated by God himself and is possible because an omnipotent God is bringing it about, even as we participate. Again, I wholeheartedly recommend the books of Jerry Bridges, who has written some very biblical and fascinating things about this. Try to get _The Pursuit of Holiness_ and _The Discipline of Grace._ They both should be available at your local bookstore or any of the usual online Christian booksellers. They are very much worth your time. The bottom line is that even though *we* are working out our salvation in fear and trembling, it is *God* working within us both to WILL and to WORK for His good purposes (Philippians 2:12-13). Both aspects of that must be understood to get the biblical notion of sanctification down. --Joe! |