Faith and Works?

I had a big question about faith and works, and recently read a book that made sense to me about how it all fits together. It's strange, though. When explaining the roles of faith and works, I explained it in almost the same way the book talked about it, but some reason things clicked when I read the book, and though it's not like it was necessarily a new idea all together, things just seemed to make more sense in a new way. I've always found that strange, and I'm not sure why that happens.

I had 2 separate questions about faith and works. The first one was, we're saved by faith, so then why does it seem like most of the Bible seems to be about works, what we ought to do here or there. And the second question I had was, for this whole salvation thing, what part am I meant to do, and what part does God do? It seemed to me that God had given me some responsibility--to not just laze around until God did everything for me, but rather to work hard at becoming more "Christian." So what part is waiting for God to do stuff in me, and what part is my responsibility to do stuff?

Well, the book mentioned stuff about, when we believe in Jesus, we have a regenerated spirit. Kind of like we're a new creation, and that's another part where grace comes in. First, faith is itself a gift of God (Ephesians 2), so God does that. But believing in Jesus means that we are a new creation, that it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2). And so, when we do good works and stuff, it's not out of ourselves, but rather out of Christ that we do stuff like good works. And when we grow, it's not that our old self is changing, but rather that Christ is increasing, and we are decreasing. And so ultimately, that means that all glory belongs to God. God gives us faith to believe in Him, and God is the one who makes us able to become righteous, and that's kind of what He means by salvation. Salvation is not just the place we go after we die because of what we believe, but it's the whole being free from sin and its fruitlessness, it's becoming more like Christ and knowing God more and the joy that provides.

So anyway, about that question about what part we do and what part God does.

^{1 Corinthians 15}

¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

I guess I still don't have a really straight answer on all of that, but it seems like God does everything, but we still have to work a lot at it, but it's not really we who are working, but God's grace that works in us.

Philippians 2

¹²So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

¹³for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

See, the question I had about what work I do was kind of asked out of pride. I can't control what God gives me--that's His decision--but if there were a part that I could control, then I wanted to try to work harder at it than anyone else, so that I could be better. But the question was also asked out of laziness. If God controlled everything, then that means I wasn't responsible for anything. But it's weird how God can nullify both sides at the same time. We're responsible for working hard and working diligently. Seeking to find God, pressing on to know Him, obeying His commands, but at the same time, we can't boast about something like this because it's not that I'm doing stuff, but rather God's grace that has given me the heart to do this, and to do them with joy.

1 John 5

³For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.