Or, rather do nothing in your own strength. This post appears to be one of those rare posts that I and Dave Warnock (no relation) can agree on! It comes from Mark Lauterbach and is a post everybody should read carefully and fully.

In the last year I have become increasingly convinced that the Gospel makes no sense to the natural man. Not only is it counter-intuitive to the unbeliever but it requires constant reminders to the Christian. I am so deeply self-help oriented that I quickly move on from the Gospel and God's work to save me -- to myself and my work to improve my life.

. . . the Gospel is fundamentally a message that God has undertaken to accomplish by himself alone what the combined sweat and labor of the entire race of mankind has been unable to do -- to rescue us from the evil within us and its consequences. The Gospel comes to moderns with a massive, loud word of "CEASE" -- and it tells us that our efforts are in vain, that the problem is much deeper than we can even imagine. We do not need a better set of how to's, or a better teacher, or a better therapist. All of that is the equivalent to giving swimming lessons to people shipwrecked and floating in water 1000 miles from shore. It may give them a brief sense of power, but it is delaying the inevitable.

God does in Jesus life and death what we could not do for ourselves. Paul says it this way in gal 2:21 -- if righteousness was by the law, then Christ died needlessly. In modern words, if I can attain any measure of freedom from sin/evil in my heart and life, then I don't need Jesus . . .

If people leave my preaching confident in the rules and principles I have given them, I have preached a false Gospel. If they leave the room confident in the faithful grace and power of the Savior to work in them as they seek to obey -- I have preached the Gospel.

Gospel Driven Life