God's view:
Eph. 2:8-9
; Phil. 2:12-13
; Rom. 12:1
; Tit. 3:3
-Nothing you could
do to save yourself but we were delivered from darkness to eternal
light by God's mercy in sending His Son to death on the cross
in our place. Now it is up to us to work out our salvation, God
will not do it for us. We have to choose to do the doing. Our
souls are still corrupted by residuals of the old life impacting
our minds, emotions and will evidenced by diseased attitudinal
habits and patterns revealed when we react to life.
Hope:
Rom. 5:1-2
;8:17
, 18
; 2 Cor. 4:17
-By God's grace we are brought
into His Presence for the purpose of service. The believers hope
is based on the presence of God's Spirit who dwells within the
believer to enable him to confront and work through trials and
tribulations.
John 16:13 ; Gal. 5:22-23 ; Rom. 8:23-27 -The believer suffers and struggles for deliverance from corruption. The believers hope is based on the inward experience and witness of God's Spirit. God has chosen us to be saved by hope and not by sight. God is after one thing: our being patient in hope, the more we persevere the more we hope for salvation and redemption, the closer we draw to God. For only as man hopes in God , will he draw near to God, the more he will trust, believe, love and depend on God. Trials and tribulations are God's chariots to lead us to the vestibule of heaven.
l Pet. 2:24 ;3:18 ; 2 Pet. 1:3-4 ;His (Jesus) death stands for and covers our sins and death and , in turn, counts us as righteous by faith. We become partakers of the divine nature whereas the Holy Spirit indwells the heart of the believer. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer is enabled to be an overcomer by renewing and restoring the mind, emotions, and will.
Change:
Rom. 12:1-2
;6:7
, 8
; Eph. 4:22-24
; 2 Pet. 1:5
; Titus 3:3-5
;God
did all He is going to do to accomplish our salvation, now it
is up to us to work out the details. Our human spirits are regenerated
and made one with the Holy Spirit, but our souls need continuing
renewal. We are to take action to complete and add on to our faith
'virtue' which is moral excellence, goodness of character, moral
strength and courage.
2 Pet. 1:6-9 ; Rom. 5:3-5 -Alongside of what God has done, we add virtue and to virtue knowledge which is knowing what to do in every situation and doing it, seeing trials and temptations and knowing what to do with them. To this we add temperance, mastering and controlling the body and its fleshly lusts.
This requires patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, constancy.
As we do, we develop godliness, being Christlike, to live upon
the earth just as Jesus did, being a blessing to others, exercising
brotherly kindness and love.