Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
This passage of scripture teaches us that God does not dispense with human effort in the work of salvation, but instead incorporates it into the overall plan, and uses it wherever it applies. The concept that God does everything, whilst we sit back and relax, doing nothing to help ourselves is an entirely foreign concept to the teachings of the Bible, and is primarily based on the false doctrine of cheap grace, by which God is expected to do everything for us, and we just be the recipients and beneficiaries of His work. Now it is true that God helps those who cannot help themselves, in areas where this is the case, but whenever and wherever we can implement the natural, God-given powers such as physical and mental strength, God will help those who help themselves.
In the above passage Christians are called upon to work out their own salvation, and such a call could not be reasonably made if it was a virtual impossibility. We cannot change or hearts and minds which are naturally bent towards the low and the vile, neither can we uproot sinful thoughts and desires from our minds without the aid of The Holy spirit. In order for any meaningful and permanent change for the better to occur in us, we will need a power outside of, and beyond ourselves, which can only be found in Christ, a sacred truth that needs to be always incorporated into our daily Christian experience. Let's read:
Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
However, there is much that we can do to facilitate the supernatural working of The Holy Spirit in our lives, for we are not entirely helpless. For instance, many of us suffer from sort of addiction, even though we have been saved by God's grace, and prominent amongst them is the addiction to television or social media, gadgets we just can't seem to live without, and which consume a considerable amount of precious time each day. Now in order to bring these man-made inventions under control, so that they do not become electronic gods, we must first pray and ask God to give us the victory and the will to do His good pleasure in using them only when necessary, and not allowing them to interfere with our relationship with Him. But we may be assured that holy angels will never hide our cellphones or i-pads, for this would constitute the use of force in compelling us to do God's will. We will have to turn them off, flick the switch, or hit the mute button, for God has given us the physical strength to do so.
Similarly with our addiction to television, we cannot expect the angels to literally lift us off the couch and throw away the potato chips, in order to pressure us into doing what we know is right. Human effort coupled together with Divine energy and will, is how any and everything is accomplished in the Christian's life, and any other notion to the contrary cannot be based on sound doctrine. When the impotent man was about to be healed by Christ, he was first told to take up his bed and walk. Now why would such a command by Christ be given to someone who is crippled. The answer lies in the very same principle now under discussion, for the crippled man is required to make some sort of effort in facilitating the supernatural healing only Christ could give, and as he endeavors to walk, his feeble limbs are infused with the Divine energy, and thus with the Divine and the human combined, he is able to now walk uprightly.
In our daily walk with The Lord, let us therefore not be deceived by smooth-talking evangelists and theologians, who often paint the human agent as being entirely helpless, but let us rather use our natural God-given powers in cooperating with God in the salvation of our souls, and those of our fellowmen. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms our duty and our abilities in this regard, and it is the will of God, that with our hands in His, that we live victoriously from day to day. Let's read:
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!