Grace Means Service - Resolution 1

Resolved: That I will not consent to apathetic behavior, resulting in regression, but in everything I will strive for sanctification through the Spirit.

"So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." ~ Philippians 2:12-13
"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" ~ I Corinthians 10:31

From the moment of my salvation up to today and for the rest of my life I am under the glorious grace of God. It is by this grace that I am saved. It is by this grace that I have been blessed with everything I have. It is by the gracious blood of Jesus Christ that I can have life and have it in abundance. But it is also because of this grace that I must labor and strive. As born again followers of Christ, we are sovereignly adopted by God and we are sustained and kept according to the kind intention of His will. So then we must glorify Him with our lives. Paul writes these words in Philippians immediately following one of (if not the) greatest image of who Christ was/is and what he did/is doing for us. So then (therefore, hence, ergo, etc.) because of who Christ is and what he has offered us; let us actively worship Him with our lives.
The universe, completely and solely, exists to bring glory to God. This includes all of our lives. The life saved by grace exists not just for the benefit of the saved but for the One Who Saves. It is because of this that we, as Christians, must be convicted to live a life that is pleasing and brings glory to God.
The life surrendered to grace is not a passive one, it is a constant, daily, active life. Paul encourages us to continuously work out our salvation (through prayer, scripture meditation, service etc.) There is a unique relationship found in this seemingly contradictory statement in Phl. 2:12-13. We are called to work out our salvation because God is at work. But if God is at work then why do I need to work? Jerry Bridges said it best: "No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part." God in His sovereign wisdom set up a perfect system whereby He is the source of all things (including our sanctification) but He requires effort on our part. How wonderful is He! The Christian life not only can be, or should be, but must be an active life of joyful service.
"At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Therefore we must not consent to apathetic behavior, resulting in regression, but in everything we must strive for sanctification through the Spirit.

Conviction

"For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things...Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all." ~ I Timothy 4:10-11,15
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." ~ Hebrews 11:1

Conviction is a word that is rarely understood in our culture today. We live in a society that bases its choices and beliefs on the feelings and thoughts of the moment. They are fleeting, unstable, and meaningless. So much of America is obsessed with the latest fads and trends. They all jump on the bandwagon of the "new" ideas. We have become so desensitized that nothing bothers us anymore. We are so afraid of being thought of as a fanatical extremist that we just shrug our shoulders at everything we see, whether we disagree or not.
This attitude is plaguing the body of Christ. The church has stopped teaching the importance of conviction. We no longer care. This is the primary source of most of the problems within the church today. Christians are apathetic and lazy. Sin no longer bothers us. We have no drive. We are no longer convicted by the Word.
Thoughts are volatile. Feelings are fleeting. Even beliefs, to a degree, are susceptible to change and alteration. But a conviction is something that is so firm and so founded and so resolute that it demands a response. That foundation has to be in the Word of God. (There is no foundation stronger.) When we let the God-breathed, inspired, Spirit-filled, life-changing Scriptures penetrate into our stubborn minds and let them permeate into our very hearts and are "absorbed in them" we will find the strength and conviction to live a consistent life surrendered to the grace of God. When we fix our hope on the living God, we will begin to live the life that labors and strives to serve without hesitation and without regret (and through that will find true satisfaction and joy).
God is perfectly holy and is incapable of accepting anything less than that. This means that God has a certain standard (perfection) and is unwilling to accept anything less. He has placed the same demand and standard on us. (Now we are only capable of approaching that standard through the gracious blood of Christ). But the question is: If God has this standard why do we not demand the same? God expects the best; so we should all strive for the best and ask the same of our brothers and sisters in the body. That is conviction. When you are willing to say, "Yes God, whatever it takes and nothing less." When you "take pains" to live up to your convictions because no matter how hard, it would be more painful to ignore it. Why should we have conviction? It is in the passage above: "So that your progress will be evident to all." The world will see Christ through your convictions. They will see His greatness and love when they see how far you are willing to go and how boldly you are willing to stand for a faith.