stop trying so hard

From Jeff Jansen:

"We have a new nature in Christ and are provided with all of the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit within us as a new-creation reality. The old carnal nature or flesh has been put to death, but we must also appropriate the inner working of grace by choosing to cooperate with, and walk in, the newness of the life of Christ as He is being fully formed and molded within us."

"Putting on Christ does not mean that we must work and strive in human efforts. Putting on Christ means to sink into or lean back and rest in our identity in Christ."

"Many Christians ... work and work, trying to put on the new self, but this was not the intention of the New Testament writers when they said put on the new nature... (e.g. Ephesians 4:24 NIV & Colossians 3:10 NIV). The New Testament phrase put on comes from the Greek root word enduo, which means to sink into. Putting on Christ does not mean that we must work and strive in human efforts. Putting on Christ means to sink into or lean back and rest in our identity in Christ."

"The putting on that Paul talks about in Scripture is not based in striving, but rather sinking into the provision of grace and our new life in Christ. This is incredible news for those who have been working hard to die to themselves and crucify their flesh daily. How liberating it is to receive Christ’s accomplished work on our behalf and to believe in our new nature! Once you see that the battle against your flesh and sin nature is actually a mirage, you will be empowered to put off the garment of your old nature and begin living according to the new.​"

​Jeff has an Amazon author page.