22 Oct Half-hearted Measures Yield Half-hearted Results
Philippians 2:12–13 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work within you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
We will be looking at some other passages in a moment, but notice the Scripture here says, “work out” your salvation – not “work in” your salvation. We don’t work to get saved. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:10).
But once we are saved, we need to express our faith by how we live.
The Christian life is a matter of interplay between us and God. God leads and prompts, while we trust and obey.
The call to commitment
We will not have a robust Christian life if we are careless, lazy, or halfhearted about our spiritual pursuits. It requires effort on our part. In fact, the Bible talks a great deal about commitment and dedication:
- I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. – 1 Corinthians 9:27
- I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son God who loved me and gave Himself up for me. – Galatians 2:20-21
- I urge you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. – Romans 12:1
Indeed, a robust Christian life is built on a life of deep faith and full obedience. Half-hearted measures will yield half-hearted results. Only whole-hearted measures will yield whole-hearted results.
The power of commitment
Listen to what some wise individuals of history have said about commitment:
- “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge
- “The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” – Benjamin Disraeli
- “I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
- “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.” – Louis Pasteur
Angela Duckworth wrote an acclaimed book titled Grit, in which, after studying success and successful people, she determined that grit was the one characteristic that was common to all successful people. She defined grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.”
Yes, commitment is widely recognized as an essential ingredient in life success.
Conclusion
C.S. Lewis speaks eloquently to this reality:
“Christ says, ‘Give me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work; I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you myself.’”
As we progress into the 21st century, we move deeper and deeper into spiritually hostile territory. There will be less and less ground for casual Christianity. The call for extreme ownership of our faith will be more and more necessary. The need to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind will become more and more apparent.
The good news is, we can be spiritually stronger today than if we were living in friendlier times, because just as greater physical effort results in greater physical strength, so greater spiritual effort can result in greater spiritual strength – as we respond in faith to the work God does in our lives.
In God’s plan and timetable, wholehearted efforts can yield wholehearted results.
If you don’t have a game plan already, or would like additional help, for growing from casual Christianity into extreme ownership of your faith, download my free video Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You.
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