6:1
In all of Christian theology, both academic and real-life, there is a dichotomy between what God does and what we do. In terms of grace and works the dichotomy is between God forgiving us and everything being dependent upon Him, and what we do with our lives making a difference. In Calvinism and Arminianism there is the dichotomy between our salvation being utterly and completely dependent upon God’s decree, and being dependent upon our faith and repentance. What are we to do about this? One of the most important things to note is that the Bible does not have any problems with these matters! There is no hint in the Bible that because we are saved by grace and mercy it doesn’t matter what we do with our lives, quite the opposite in fact. The Biblical view is that because of the grace of God it is all the more urgent that we seek to live our lives well, in a godly manner. And we find that here as Paul urges them “not to receive God’s grace in vain”. God has created us as being in His image, what we do with our lives matters. You can get yourself into an academic fankle if you want, but we are far better getting on with living our lives in the light of God’s grace and sovereignty.
6:2
Paul then quotes from Is 49:8 to back up his point, and note that the focus is on God’s favour. Paul’s urging of us to live our lives well is based on God having been gracious to us. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. This is the day of salvation, this is the time when God has shown favour to us, so we should no longer live in a godless manner, but seeking to be ever more Christlike. When we do this we will find that we are walking in step with the Spirit.
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