The key to understanding the commands of God's Word is to understand them in the light of what has already been accomplished by God. In other words, a man may carry out God's commands only because of what God has already done or promised what will happen (the work accomplished by Christ through His life and substitutionary atonement).

As you rightly pointed out, man is unable to do any good apart from the grace of God working to enable man. God must first lay the foundation of the Gospel in the soul of a man, then, once God has laid the foundation and caused it to take effect upon the soul, can man act for good.

Of course this is only understood by taking into account the Bible's overarching message of redemption. Nevertheless, note our Lord's final remarks as He ends His sermon in 7:24 (to me it ends with the climax), "Whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken Him unto a wise man, which buildeth his house upon a rock: and the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."

Christ is the rock. He calls us to build, to live a life of righteousness, and we do so upon the basis or foundation of what He has already established by His perfectly righteous life and death, and continues to establish as He effectually preserves His persevering saints, all our stormy trials not prevailing!

Yours,
cap

Last edited by cap; Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:14 PM. Reason: touch-up
Christ is lovely, Christ is very lovely, Christ is most lovely, Christ is always lovely, Christ is altogether lovely. --Thomas Brooks