"Always remember, when somebody comes up with something new,
it's usually wrong. We are to be plagiarists of the same information that
God gave the first Christians." -- Dr. Matthew McMahon, aPuritansMind.com

 

16 November, 2006   comments: (0) Classic Devotion   Godly Living Involves Both Discipline and Grace    Quoting Joel Beeke . . . Pursue godliness in dependence on the Holy Spirit. The way to godly living is surprisingly simple: We are to walk with God in His appointed way (Mic 6:8), diligently using the means of grace and the spiritual disciplines, and waiting on the Holy Spirit for blessing. Note that godly living involves both discipline and grace. This emphasis on duty and grace is fundamental to Reformed, experiential perspective on godly living. As the Puritan John Flavel wrote, "The duty is ours, though the power be God's. A natural man has no power, a gracious man hath some, though not sufficient; and that power he hath depends upon the assisting strength of Christ." Likewise, John Owen wrote, "It is the Holy Ghost who is the immediate peculiar sanctifier of all believers, and the author of all holiness in them." The Spirit supplies what we lack so that we may press toward the mark of holiness, enabling us as believers to "yield obedience to God ... by virtue of the life and death of Jesus Christ." The believer then is empowered, as Flavel said, with "a diligent and constant use and improvement of all holy means and duties, to preserve the soul from sin, and maintain its sweet and free communion with God." We can also be encouraged by Owen's advice: "If thou meanest to enlarge thy religion, do it rather by enlarging thy ordinary devotions than thy extraordinary." From:  Puritan Reformed Spirituality   Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.537   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism