Salvation is a gift, purely a gift, forever a gift. It is grace and nothing else that obtains it for us. Discipline is not my claim on Christ, but the evidence of His claim on me. I do not "make" Him Lord. I acknowledge Him Lord. To do this in honestly involves the full intention to do His will, that is, to live under the discipline of His Word. But even that is not something we manage all by ourselves.
If we are Christians, we are under grace. ...
If we are Chrsitains, we have a rule book. ...
If we are Christians, we have the Spirit of God. ...
There it is. The grace makes it possible, the Scripture points the way; the Spirit inspires-but there is one thing more. Yet still there is something for man to do, and it is the greatest thing any man can ever do. It is to put his full trust in the living God. Faith is the only thing required. -Elizabeth Elliot Discipline The Glad Surrender
