I love that this chapter refutes the current worldly encouragement that if you “just believe in yourself” or if you “want something bad enough” that you have the power to do it. As Murray says: “The will of the creature is nothing but an empty vessel in which the power of God is to be made manifest.” Amen!
There is also in this chapter a wonderful reminder of an often missed assurance of salvation. When we realize we are wretched – when we feel so terribly because we have fallen short of holiness when we commit one sin or another – that is a wonderful reminder that we do, in fact, belong to God. Otherwise, we wouldn’t feel that reaction to our own sin. We wouldn’t even recognize it as sin, necessarily. May we all repent of such sins and die to self that the power of God can work in us!
Murray agrees with Pastor Dave from his sermon yesterday – it is who we are outside of church that makes us who we are in Christ. Our lives must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
