souls by the action of His Spirit.” 19 The dynamic of God’s
grace in Jesus Christ is the impetus of the Christian life.
As previously noted, Christianity is not morality. The
Christian life is not human and religious attempts to
implement a theory for living a good and moral life by
conformity to behavioral rules and regulations. It is not
even the attempt to put into practice the moral teachings of
Jesus. Rather, the indwelling Christ-life is to be
dynamically expressed in the behavior of a Christian. C.S.
Lewis explains,
“the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-
life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are
good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
“...when Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not
mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of
being ‘in Christ’ or of Christ being ‘in them,’ this is not simply a
way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him.
They mean that Christ is actually operating through them...” 20
“(the) Christian idea of ‘putting on Christ’... It is the whole of
Christianity. Christianity offers nothing else at all. It differs from
ordinary ideas of ‘morality’ and ‘being good.’” 21Neither is the Christian life an attempt to follow Jesus’
example and “imitate His virtues.” 22 Contrary to the classic
inculcations to the Imitation of Christ (Thomas a Kempis)
by walking In His Steps (Charles Sheldon) in order to be
Like Christ (Andrew Murray), the Christian life is not an