A Good Work

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

Paul is writing to the Christians in the church at Philippi. He is referring here to the process of sanctification that begins in the life of a Christian the moment we are saved. Every one of us is a sinner, but God wants us to be holy. Because of our sin nature, we are not capable of living in holiness on our own. At salvation, all of our sins are forgiven by the grace of God because of the sacrifice that Jesus made on Calvary’s cross. There is nothing that we can do to earn this forgiveness, so it would be inappropriate for us to take any of the credit for the miraculous work that is accomplished in our lives. Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. After salvation, we are counted righteous; we are justified. In God’s eyes, it is as if we had never sinned. However, we still have our old nature, which is inherently sinful. The Holy Spirit begins working within us to convict us of sin, show us the right way to live by the truth of God’s Word, and empower us to do those things that will please our Heavenly Father. Every day we choose whether we will allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. Our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions are constantly subject to God’s approval. When we choose to follow the truth of the Bible and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to please God and live righteously. This is called walking in the Spirit, and it is the only way that we can live a holy life.