Stop Trying to Live the Christian Life by Your Own Strength
The Christian life is not about living by our own strength, but about trusting in Christ's power and allowing Him to live the Christian life in us.
Major Ian Thomas emphasizes that Christians often struggle to live a holy life by relying on their own strength, which leads to frustration and exhaustion. He reminds us that Christ's finished work on the Cross frees us from the penalty, power, and presence of sin, and that we are called to live by faith, allowing Christ to live through us by the Holy Spirit. Instead of striving in our own efforts, we should trust in the divine energy available to us, likening it to having a powerful engine in a car but choosing to push it instead. Thomas encourages believers to embrace the resurrection life of Christ within them and to stop trying to live the Christian life on their own. By doing so, they can overcome sin and live righteously.
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For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Col. 1:29
We come to Christ by faith. We believe that the finished work of Christ on the Cross was for us. Christ's death saves us from the penalty of our sin, his burial delivers us from the power of sin, and his raising to life again overcomes the presence of sin. We are free indeed.
Yet, we continue in the Christian life struggling and striving to live a life of holiness. Frustrated, we read the New Testament's instructions for Christian living and find them impossible to obey. We want to quit, it's all too much and too hard in a world gone mad.
Yet, God has something better for us. He wants us to trust his Son: that very Son who lives in us by the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20). The Lord never intended for us to live the Christian life in our own strength. God's intention: allow Christ to live the Christian life in and through us (Col. 2:6). By faith, we trust the only one who has ever successfully lived the Christian life to empower us to say, "no," to sin and "yes," to righteousness (Titus 2:12).
How stupid it would be to buy a car with a powerful engine under the hood and then to spend the rest of your days pushing it! Thwarted and exhausted, you would wish to discard it as a useless thing! Yet to some of you who are Christians, this may be God's word to your heart.
When God redeemed you through the precious blood of His dear Son, He placed, in the language of my illustration, a powerful engine under the hood-nothing less than the resurrection life of God the Son, made over to you in the person of God the Holy Spirit. Then stop pushing! Step in and switch on and expose every hill of circumstance, of opportunity, of temptation, of perplexity-no matter how threatening-to the divine energy that is available.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Struggle of the Christian Life
- A. We try to live the Christian life in our own strength
- B. We become frustrated and feel like quitting
- II. The Finished Work of Christ
- A. Christ's death saves us from the penalty of sin
- B. Christ's burial delivers us from the power of sin
- C. Christ's resurrection overcomes the presence of sin
- III. The Power of the Holy Spirit
- A. The Holy Spirit lives in us and empowers us
- B. We can trust the Holy Spirit to help us
- IV. The Key to the Christian Life
- A. Trusting in Christ's power, not our own
- B. Allowing Christ to live the Christian life in us
Key Quotes
“For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” — Major Ian Thomas
“How stupid it would be to buy a car with a powerful engine under the hood and then to spend the rest of your days pushing it!” — Major Ian Thomas
“Then stop pushing! Step in and switch on and expose every hill of circumstance, of opportunity, of temptation, of perplexity-no matter how threatening-to the divine energy that is available.” — Major Ian Thomas
Application Points
- We must recognize that we are not living the Christian life in our own strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- We can trust in Christ's power to help us live a life of holiness and overcome sin.
- We must stop trying to live the Christian life in our own strength and instead allow Christ to live the Christian life in us.