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One of the most serious deceptions believed by Christians is where they think that Jesus will do everything for them. Our inability to save ourselves, and God's plan to save us through unmerited favour towards us and not through anything we can do, have been emphasised so much that believers imagine they should not be doing anything from their side concerning salvation. They attend church, read the Bible and pray, but that is the extent to which they are willing to take responsibility.

We need to understand that the choice Eve made in the Garden was not merely an act of disobedience to God, but a choice she made to have knowledge within herself of what was good or evil, and to become, on that point, independent like God (Ge.3:5,6). Now that we human beings are all fallen creatures with a sinful nature, God wants to reverse what happened, by offering us a choice again – whether we will choose to go back to God, and submit to Him at all points in our life. The first thing happens when we realise our sinfulness, recognise the sins we have done, repent and place our trust in Jesus as our Saviour. But the second thing needs to happen after we have been accepted by God and been made children of God, when we choose daily to follow Jesus (Lk.9:23). This is how we progressively bring our life under the lordship of God, and become transformed into His character, in the process called sanctification.

The majority of believers preach and teach the first part. But then the mistake is to assume that God will complete His work of sanctification He has started in us, without any cooperation from our side, based on a misunderstanding of several verses. People just love that kind of preaching, where the emphasis is on the finished work on the cross and various promises. But take a simple test. Have we fully become like Jesus in the years we have known Him as our Saviour? Have we never backslidden or become lukewarm in our love for Him? If sanctification was entirely God's work, is this the best He could do?

The fact is that God works His will in us only if we cooperate. He works in us showing us from His word the path we have to follow, placing before our view the consequences of walking on the narrow or broad paths. Then come the situations in our daily life where we have to choose between pleasing ourselves or denying ourselves in order to please God. Our choice determines the result. We can ask for forgiveness when we fail, and ask for more grace (help), but finally it is still the choices we make in the time of temptation that decide whether we are going to be sanctified or hardened.

In spite of the many warnings in the Bible concerning this, preachers prefer to talk only about the pleasant things God is going to do, thereby leaving a huge gap in the understanding of the people. But once we realise that we, not God, are responsible for the lacks in our life, we will seek Him for help in the right way, to make the right choices.

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