Putting on Christ has nothing to do with trying and everything to do with listening and yielding.

Putting on Christ has nothing to do with trying and everything to do with listening and yielding.

When we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not simply trying to model our lives after the example we read about in Scripture. Nor are we trying to measure up to His righteousness as we imagine it. Putting on Christ has nothing to do with trying and everything to do with listening and yielding. When we are saved, salvation is by grace, and grace is through faith. Faith comes as we listen to His leading, and faith lets us access His grace. We yield to His grace. We yield to His Spirit. His grace does His works in and through us.

Let’s get back to salvation from sin. We sometimes get the wrong idea about sin and righteousness by thinking of certain acts as sins we have avoided. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t murder people or commit adultery; I don’t sin.” The Scripture says that whatever is not of faith is sin. And that makes perfect sense since all righteousness must originate with God. We cannot possibly self-generate righteousness. Our natural state is one of self-will. Scripture says we don’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the Father. God speaks. He leads us through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Word of the Father. Christ is the Light, and He gives light to every person. When you listen, faith comes. Faith gives you access to God’s grace, and grace does God’s righteousness through you.

What about putting on the Lord Jesus Christ? We are not copying Him. That would be flesh trying to Copy Christ. It won’t work. The Father starts it all. He leads every person. When we acknowledge Him and thank Him for that leading, Jesus Christ authors faith in our hearts. He gives us a vision of who we are in Christ and how we fit into the body of Christ. He shows us what we are to do or say at that moment, but we need His power to fulfill it. If we try to do it in our own strength, we will fail in pride and hypocrisy. Rather, we yield to His grace, and allow His grace to say His words and do His acts through us. When we yield to the point of obedience, we let Him plant His holy seed in us. That holy seed is Christ. That’s how we put on the Lord Jesus Christ.