I’ve heard, and perhaps you have, well-meaning Christians, having been given a little praise or encouragement, claiming humility, saying, “It’s all God”. They’re wrong: it isn’t “all God”.

The Christian life is all about teamwork. Yes, it is true, as Jesus Christ said, that without him we can do nothing (John 15:5) but it’s also true that without our efforts, God can do nothing with our lives.

“Heresy!” some are claiming at this point. “We live by faith and not by works”.

I beg to differ. We are saved by faith unto works: we are saved from our godless state in order to be changed into productive, fruitful people by the work of the Spirit of God, and by our own participation:

 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

Let me give you a little, slightly exaggerated but nonetheless pertinent example. If I were to lay in bed all day, waiting for the Lord to bring me a job, and to bring me a wife, and to bring me opportunities to serve, I will not only be wasting my time, but I will be denying the opportunity and the willingness to be in the place I should be, and doing the things I should be doing, for my God. Will my bills get paid? No they will not. Will some lovely young lady come knocking on my door and ask to marry me and have my children? No, she will not. My inactivity will deny the Lord the opportunities to use me and to shape my life. God wants us to be working for Him and living our lives for Him. That’s why Paul stated this

“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

It isn’t “all about God”. It’s about God shaping us by our willingness to be shaped and by our own efforts to be shaped. We cannot be what God wants us to be unless we make some sort of effort. Yes, the Spirit of God guides us and prompts us and convicts us when we do wrong or when we should do right, but we have to be willing and then actually take the steps to do those things.

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Again, some believers insist that not only can we do nothing without Jesus, but that we can’t do it at all. They’re very wrong, possible lazy, and possibly looking for an excuse for not living the life. If I fail to make my life productive, or to live a godly life, it isn’t the Lord’s fault, or the devils: it’s mine. I’ve learned this through decades of hard experience. 

Peter stated this principle so that we can’t possibly miss it. God has given us the potential, and now we have to do our part and fulfull that potential. When we live out our lives in faith and by applying ourselves in a multitude of ways, the Lord can and will bless us:

 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness… “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Peter 1:3-9)

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