“Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross … How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?
…But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 3:1,3;5:5,6 NLT)..
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say-living lives that lead others away from sin], having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude” (Col 2:6,7 Amplified Bible).
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“How did you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior? By faith. And that is exactly how you grow into maturity–by faith. Through faith you depend upon God’s Spirit to mold you into the image of Christ.”[1]
“One day we came to Him in utter need and reliance, and received life. Every day we are to abide in Him in utter need and reliance, that He may live that life in and through us. We are born again by faith, and we are to live anew by faith. ‘He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing'” (John 15:5 KJV). [2]
“There are earnest Christians who are jealous for a free Gospel, with acceptance of Christ, and justification by faith alone. But after this they think everything depends on their diligence and faithfulness. While they firmly grasp the truth, ‘justified by faith,’ they have hardly noticed the larger truth, ‘the just shall live by faith.’ They have not yet understood what a perfect Saviour the Lord Jesus is, and how He will each day do for the sinner just as much as He did the first day when they came to Him.
“They know not that the life of grace is always and only a life of faith, and that in the relationship to the Lord Jesus the one daily and unceasing duty of the disciple is to believe, because believing is the one channel through which Divine grace and strength can flow into the heart of man. The old nature [the flesh] of the believer remains evil and sinful to the last; it is only as he daily comes, all empty and helpless, to his Saviour to receive of His life and strength, that he can bring forth the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God.” [3]
“He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 4:29-31 NKJV).
“Our Father, it is so easy for us to slip into a performance-based view of our walk with You. Remind us of the finished work of the Lord Jesus as the basis of our salvation, and the adequacy of the Holy Spirit’s enablement to live abundantly. We reaffirm our dependence on the indwelling life of Christ to be expressed in and through us one day at a time. Amen”
[1] Charles Stanley, Life Principles Bible Notes (emphasis added)
[2] Miles Stanford, None but the Hungry Heart
[3] Andrew Murray
Edited by JBW
Honorable Mention
Abiding Life Ministries has made an abundant supply of grace-oriented audio teaching available online. Hear Michael Wells and other ALMI speakers on their internet radio channel: https://www.almitools.com/radio/