Will Power and Our Salvation

 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.~Hebrews 13:20,21

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.~1 Thessalonians 5;23

 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.~Philippians 2:13

In all three scriptures two things are clear:
a) God desires that we may be perfect/sanctified wholly
b)Holiness can only be wrought in us only as we allow Him to work in us His will.

But how shall we allow God to work his good pleasure in us? In choosing to submit our will to Him

The Importance of will-power : 

What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is th eirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can

Choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your

thoughts will be in harmony with Him.~SC, p47.1

How we can reach God's ideal through the co-operation of the will:surrender

As the will of man co-operates with the will of God,it becomes omnipotent.Whatever is to be done at His command,may be accomplished in His strength.All His biddings are enablings."-COL,p.333

Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life.By yielding your will to Christ, you ally yourself with power that is above all principalities and powers.You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast,and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith"-SC,p48.2

The tempter's knowledge of the will

Satan knows he cannot overcome man unless he can control his will.He can do this by deceiving man so that he will co-operate with him in transgressing the laws of nature and drinking,which is transgression to the law of God.-Temperance,p.216

The tempter has no power to control the will or to force the soul to sin.He may distress,but he cannot contaminate.He can cause agony,but not defilement.-The Great Controversy,p.510

Remarks:

• As much as we receive salvation freely (Ephesians 2:7-8),it does not end there.Freely do we receive grace, but the same grace calls us to a higher standard (Titus 2:10,11)
• Salvation must be worked at (Philippians 2:12):here must man co-operate with God to help us to be restored to holiness
• Sinning is not a passive act-that is-we are not declared sinners merely because we can be tempted;but when we actively choose to entertain sin and yield (Ezekiel 18:20;James 1:14,15)
• Victory over sin/Yielding to sin depends  on who we choose to give our will to:Christ or Satan
• When we continually yield our will to Christ,he helps us to live victoriously by strengthening us to do the right and the exact opposite happens when we choose to give our will to the Devil.
• It is not enough that Christ has died.We individually have a work to do--not as means of gaining salvation,but as fruit of having received this gift (James 2:14-24)