'Knowing' the Will of God / 'Doing' the Will of God

The whole idea of living a good life and doing what God wants us to do has been made more complex than it needs to be. Some with good intentions, and others with self-serving intentions, have organized serving God into specific things we must say, think, or do in order to be more sanctified. Paul wrote that our sanctification (the work of making one holy) and the will of God is that we abstain from all types of immorality.

Here is where it gets tricky because these verses tell us what to do but not how to do it. We are to abstain from fornication ... but how? That's where religion and dogma come in; to tell us what we have to do in order to be holy and, conversely, how we are out of God's will if we don't do them. There's nothing wrong with bettering our knowledge of things or studying in depth a subject that interests us. God has called many good authors to write such material. A fine line is crossed when we begin to place our faith in our own abilities to make us more Christ-like (a formula never taught by Jesus).

We are sanctified the same way we are justified. Ephesians 2:8-9 teach us "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any many should boast." In and of ourselves, there is nothing to boast about. We were justified when we placed our faith in Christ and His completed work on the Cross and that same faith, with Christ as the object, is what sanctifies us and enables us to ever be more like Him!