Sans Effort
The effortless life is a life of dependence on Christ's work, where victory over sin is received through faith and not through effort or trying.
Miles J. Stanford emphasizes the importance of faith in receiving the Lord Jesus for life, highlighting that there is no self-effort required in manifesting His life through us, from re-birth to maturity. He contrasts true grace with counterfeit victories over sin, stating that any victory obtained through self-effort is false. Stanford explains that our freedom from sin's power comes solely through Christ's work, not through our own efforts, and that we are as dependent on Jesus' work for deliverance as we are for forgiveness.
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"To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5).
There is no work involved in our receiving the Lord Jesus for life, and there should certainly be no self-effort involved in the manifestation of His life in and through us. The principle is the same, from re-birth to maturity.
"'Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 15:57). That is grace. That is the test of the real or the counterfeit. Just remember this: any victory over the power of any sin whatsoever that you have to get by working for it is counterfeit. Any victory that you have to get by trying for it is false. If you have to work for your freedom, it is not the real thing, it is not that which the Father offers you in His Son."
"The effortless life is not the will-less life. We use our will to believe, or receive, but not to exert effort in trying to accomplish what only the Father has done. Our hope for freedom from the power of sin is not 'Christ plus my efforts,' but 'Christ plus my receiving.' To receive victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely by grace He is, this moment, freeing us from the dominion of sin. And to believe on Him in this way is to recognize that He is doing for us what we can never do for ourselves." -C.G.T.
"The Father has left us as much dependent on the Lord Jesus' work for our deliverance as for our forgiveness. It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross, but unto sin and unto the whole legal principle, that sin's power for those in Him is broken."
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt" (Romans 4:4).
Sermon Outline
- The Effortless Life
- The Principle of Effortless Victory
- The Role of the Will
- Dependence on Christ's Work
- Dependent on Christ's work for deliverance
- Dependent on Christ's work for forgiveness
Key Quotes
“'Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 15:57).” — Miles J. Stanford
“Any victory over the power of any sin whatsoever that you have to get by working for it is counterfeit.” — Miles J. Stanford
“To receive victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely by grace He is, this moment, freeing us from the dominion of sin.” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- We must recognize that our victory over sin is solely through Christ's work and not through our own efforts.
- We must believe Christ's Word that He is freeing us from the dominion of sin through His grace.
- We must receive victory from Christ by faith, rather than trying to accomplish it through our own strength.