Free will can be confusing. How can the will be free if it continually chooses what is unacceptable to God? God said to Israel that it was within their power to obey His law (Deuteronomy 30:10) yet Israel constantly failed to keep it (Acts 15:10). Yet God also holds mankind responsible for their choices. How can God be just if people are not free to choose?
It is important to know that the will of man follows the desires of his heart. And that is the root of the problem. God's OT law is not too hard, it is the heart of man that is too hard. Man's desires are not God's desires because man's ways are not God's. Humanity is quite content with itself. The book of Judges, where some terrible sins were committed, says, "Every man did what was right in his own eyes". Deuteronomy 12:8 rebukes this idea.
God's solution to this problem is to give mankind a new heart, if they will receive Jesus. This is what it means to be born again, as God revealed to Ezekiel (36:26). When we have this wonderful transformation, we will find that our desires change, some instantly and some progressively.
It's not all smooth sailing. We retain the self of soul that is in conflict with the new life of Christ within us. This is the life that we need to lose in order to gain the new life in our experience.
If we find that we struggle in some areas (I've yet to meet someone who does not), we can ask God to help us. Perhaps we are not keen on studying God's word. It may be a natural thing such as laziness. We may have a project we have to do but we are not motivated. We can ask God to establish the desires of our heart according to His will. We often find that our minds argue against God's will. We can ask God to help us with our thoughts so that they do not conflict with the desire of our hearts.
If the Christian life seems to hard, that is because it is too hard - for us. God expects nothing but sin, failure and defeat from us. So He gives us Jesus to do the living instead of the natural life we inherited from Adam. When we quit trying to be what God has already made us to be in Christ, and let Christ do the living, life becomes so much easier.
Some think that all we need is the Bible. Can you imagine picking up a book on surgery and attempting brain surgery from reading the instructions? All the book will show you is the impossibility of learning surgery by reading a book. God knows that we need more than a set of rules to follow. Christians have Jesus dwelling in them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Let Him do the motivating and empowering. That's why He came (John 10:10)
It is important to know that the will of man follows the desires of his heart. And that is the root of the problem. God's OT law is not too hard, it is the heart of man that is too hard. Man's desires are not God's desires because man's ways are not God's. Humanity is quite content with itself. The book of Judges, where some terrible sins were committed, says, "Every man did what was right in his own eyes". Deuteronomy 12:8 rebukes this idea.
God's solution to this problem is to give mankind a new heart, if they will receive Jesus. This is what it means to be born again, as God revealed to Ezekiel (36:26). When we have this wonderful transformation, we will find that our desires change, some instantly and some progressively.
It's not all smooth sailing. We retain the self of soul that is in conflict with the new life of Christ within us. This is the life that we need to lose in order to gain the new life in our experience.
If we find that we struggle in some areas (I've yet to meet someone who does not), we can ask God to help us. Perhaps we are not keen on studying God's word. It may be a natural thing such as laziness. We may have a project we have to do but we are not motivated. We can ask God to establish the desires of our heart according to His will. We often find that our minds argue against God's will. We can ask God to help us with our thoughts so that they do not conflict with the desire of our hearts.
If the Christian life seems to hard, that is because it is too hard - for us. God expects nothing but sin, failure and defeat from us. So He gives us Jesus to do the living instead of the natural life we inherited from Adam. When we quit trying to be what God has already made us to be in Christ, and let Christ do the living, life becomes so much easier.
Some think that all we need is the Bible. Can you imagine picking up a book on surgery and attempting brain surgery from reading the instructions? All the book will show you is the impossibility of learning surgery by reading a book. God knows that we need more than a set of rules to follow. Christians have Jesus dwelling in them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Let Him do the motivating and empowering. That's why He came (John 10:10)
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