Swimming in reality for our sanctification

'Work hard' at Christianity can be a bit misleading as an imperative for sanctification. It really depends what you mean by 'work hard'. Tullian Tchividjian addresses what working out our salvation should look like. In his recently released book Jesus + Nothing = Everything, the author leans heavily on the idea that we have hard work to do in our Christian walk, but this hard work does not consist of trying to get the virtues we don't have, but rather it is the hard work of believing in Christ's work that we are called to. For example,

I’ve said before, I used to think that when the apostle Paul tells us to work out our salvation, it means go out and get what we don’t have—get more patience, get more strength, get more joy, get more love, and so on. But after reading the Bible more carefully, I now understand that Christian growth does not happen by working hard to get something we don’t have. Rather, Christian growth happens by working hard to daily swim in the reality of what we do have. Believing again and again the gospel of God’s free justifying grace every day—and resting in his verdict—is the hard work we’re called to. (171-2)

Tchividjian, Tullian. Jesus + Nothing = Everything. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print.