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Thank you for sharing your insights, dear brother in Christ!

The greatest problem that the early Church (and come to think of it, the current Church) had is just what that abiding consists of and getting people to actually abide.

It should be simple:

[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace. Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. – Romans 8:1-9

To God be the glory, not man, never man.

This is true. The works that please God are those done in faith, God-given in Christ to save the damnable and destitute sinner, on His blood-expense and righteousness. Then, as with Christ, it is Him who dwells within that does the work in us and thru us, as we yield to His Spirit.

So one must have the Spirit first to do such, and if we truly rest by faith in the Jesus of the Bible as Savior we will respond to Him as Lord. according to the light we have. If we abide, we will produce, and it is actually God’s “job” to produce the fruit.

It should be simple:

It should be. It is not. Remember that God failed to convince the Jews of the divinity of Jesus. The whole history of Judaism is God trying to get their attention for more than a day at a time and failing. Things are as they are. Look at those so-called Christians who abandon the faith for the charlatans that Luke and the Apostles warned us about.