For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Brian Ansell
By loving yourself for who you are and then loving your neighbour for who they are. It's that simple! The Good Samaritan story was not about Samaritans or roads it was about LOVE. Not hate or worry. To be like Christ you need to love. Be patent be kind and ensure forever a longer version can be found inn1corrinthians 13. I never thought I would use a bible quote on here to make my point!
James Kraft
I believe the above are very true. There is the Holy Spirit in us to guide us into all truth as we read and study the bible. I do not believe we will ever have all the truth but we can know what the Lord wants us to hear. I also believe that when we die to ourselves He comes in and replaces us with His righteousness. We do have it from the moment we believed, but we begin to walk in it by Grace.
One of the hardest things we have to die to is our own selfrighteousness. I also think that it is more Him living His life in us and through us instead of changing our flesh to be like Him.
I know His work in me as I more and more love to read and understand the Word. He becomes more real to me and I love Him more. I also think we grow way more through adversity and in the valley than on the mountin top. When we are in the valley we are searching Him out. He knows what we need to draw us to Him.
Having said all of that, as we draw closer to Him we will see sins in our life that we never saw before. We just have to become weaker and weaker until we have no strength and then He can come in and we live in Him and He lives in us. At 74 years old I have an insaitable desire to walk as close as I can with Him. I do not believe any of this came from me to start with. We still have our old nature and even when we do good there is evil present with us. That will be change when He comes for us.
I thank the Lord that I am retired and some days spend many hours in study. When I was working there was always something getting in the way. But even then He was still living His life in me and through me and bringing me into situations where I had to trust Him.
Unbelief is still one of our greatest sins, and He just has to prove to us that He is who He says He is.
James Kraft
The truth is that we are unrighteous and unholy. Jesus did not come to make us little Jesus's. Our flesh or old nature cannot be made new. But, if we walk in the spirit of God that lives in us then we will not do the deeds of the flesh. We can try to make ourselves look like Jesus, but that will not be Him. Only Jesus can be Jesus.
So. it is letting Him live His life through us and in us. We are not God. We have to depend on the spirit that lives in us to do the things He wants us to do. The righteousness of God can only come from God. We are dependent on Him to do His work in us. Our flesh is still the flesh, and the Spirit is still the Spirit.
We submit to His righteousness by faith as we grow in the knowledge of Him. Then it will be His righteousness and not our own righteousness which is just self righteousness. We have been given His righteousness when we first believed. But as we grow in grace we learn that His righteousness will be formed in us.
We cannot live the Christian life. Without Him we can do nothing. But with Him we can do all things through Him that strengthens us.