Why we need to understand the difference between God’s transforming work in our lives and our responsibility to change …

A man once said, “I’ve been praying for years for God to take away my temper, but nothing has happened.” Another Christian answered, “Then just stop losing your temper.” Both men were sincere, but both had missed something important. One expected God to do what God had never promised to do for him. The other expected human determination to accomplish what only God can do. Between those two responses lies a biblical understanding of how Christians grow.

One of the greatest sources of frustration in the Christian life is expecting God to carry responsibilities He has assigned to us, while at the same time trying to carry responsibilities that belong only to Him. The New Testament makes a careful distinction between God’s work within us and our response to His work. When we understand that distinction, many passages of Scripture suddenly fit together instead of seeming to pull in opposite directions.

God transforms the person we are
Imagine trying to paint rotten wood. The fresh paint may improve its appearance for a while, but it cannot change what the wood actually is. Eventually the decay beneath the surface will reveal itself again. That is why God never began His work in us by simply modifying our behavior. He began by giving us new life.

The Bible describes every person apart from Christ as spiritually dead. A dead person cannot produce spiritual life any more than a lifeless tree can produce fruit.

The Apostle Paul writes, “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” Ephesians 2:4-5.

That is transformation. It is God’s work from beginning to end. He gives life where there was death. He gives a new heart where there was rebellion. He places His Spirit within those who trust Christ. None of those things can be accomplished through discipline, education, willpower, or religious effort.

The work does not end when a person enters into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. God continues shaping His children throughout their lives.

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image,” 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Notice that Scripture identifies the One doing the transforming. It is “… the Lord – who is the Spirit.” Christians certainly participate in the process, but they never become the source of it. No believer can manufacture Christlike character any more than he can manufacture his own spiritual birth.

This explains why behavior alone can never satisfy God. People may succeed in looking respectable while their hearts remain untouched. Jesus exposed that mistake by pointing to the true source of sinful actions.

“For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you,” Mark 7:21-23.

God addresses the heart because the heart determines the life.

God commands us to change
While God is transforming us from the inside, the New Testament repeatedly calls us to make deliberate choices. These commands are direct, practical, and impossible to misunderstand.

Paul tells believers,“But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him,” Colossians 3:8-10.

A couple verses later he writes, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony,” Colossians 3:12-14.

Those instructions are not directed to unbelievers. They are written to Christians whose lives are already being transformed by God. Yet Paul does not tell them to sit back and wait until these qualities appear automatically. He tells them to act.

The same pattern appears throughout the New Testament.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you,” Ephesians 4:31-32. Bitterness is to be put away. Kindness is to be practiced. Forgiveness is to be extended. These are choices believers are expected to make.

The New Testament is filled with similar commands. We are told to pray, forgive, love, encourage, serve, flee temptation, resist the devil, think on what is true, put sin to death, and walk by the Spirit. None of those commands suggest that obedience simply happens without our participation.

Why God does not do our part
Parents understand a principle that children often resist. A wise parent does not do for a child what the child is capable of doing for himself. Loving parents teach responsibility because responsibility develops maturity.

God deals with His children in much the same way. He supplies everything necessary for a life of obedience, but He does not obey in our place.

When Paul instructed the Philippian believers, he brought God’s work and our responsibility together in a single sentence: “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him,” Philippians 2:12-13.

Notice how closely these truths are connected. We are to work because God is already at work within us. His activity does not remove our responsibility, it makes our obedience possible. God gives the desire. God provides the strength. God convicts through His Spirit. God renews our minds through His Word. Yet we must still choose whether we will obey.

That is why a Christian cannot excuse continued disobedience by saying, “God hasn’t changed me yet.” If Scripture commands us to forgive, then we are to forgive. If it commands us to stop lying, then we are to stop lying. If it commands us to put away anger, then we are to put away anger. God’s transforming work never becomes an excuse for ignoring His commands.

Why we cannot do God’s part
The opposite mistake is just as common.

Some believers become convinced that enough effort, enough rules, enough discipline, or enough determination will eventually produce holiness. They begin measuring spiritual growth by self-improvement rather than by dependence upon Christ. That approach usually ends in either pride or discouragement. Pride appears when we believe our progress is the result of our own strength. Discouragement appears when we discover that our strength is not enough.

Real transformation grows out of an ongoing relationship with Christ.

Paul wrote, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect,” Romans 12:2.

As our minds are renewed by God’s truth, the Holy Spirit reshapes our desires, attitudes, and character. Outward obedience remains essential, but it becomes the expression of an inward work rather than an attempt to create one.
The Christian life was never designed to be lived by self-effort alone. It is lived by people who depend upon God’s power while refusing to neglect God’s commands.

The believer who understands this no longer waits for obedience to happen someday, nor imagines that sheer determination can produce the life of Christ. Instead, each day becomes an opportunity to trust God for the work only He can do while faithfully doing the work He has clearly placed into our hands. That partnership is not a burden to endure but a privilege to embrace, because the God who transforms His people also gives them the grace to walk in obedience.

Scotty