Lets get back to work
With summer coming to an end, and school getting back in session, I’m reminded of a testy topic that always seemed to get blood boiling one way or the other. Are we saved BY good works, or FOR good works? As a believer in Jesus, what next? You have trusted him as your savior, but now what do you do? The Holy Spirit is prompting you to do things that would be out of character for your old self, but feel right and good now.. what is going on? Let’s flesh it out.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together [b]with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
What are we saved from?
All of man-kind is born into this world sinful, dead, fully engulfed in trespasses and worst of all separated from, and opposed to, God.
Stop. Read that sentence above again.
Let it hit home and sink in, if you know Jesus. Thats what your co-workers and classmates are currently experiencing if they don’t know Jesus. Remember that as you interact with them. Be the light they need to see the truth. Ok, carry on..
You may have heard testimonies of hardened criminals who turned from their life of rape, gangs, drugs and murder and found forgiveness and a new life when they came to the Lord. While a testimony like that is powerful, it doesn’t even begin to touch the dreadfulness of what they were actually saved from. The condition in which we enter the world, the "nature" (v3) that we had before our saving, is the plight of all mankind:
in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
By nature, we have been blinded from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ… we are in darkness. We have no hope and when we look at the future all we can do is cringe, curl up in the fetal position and.. and.. what? How unbelievably sad and heart breaking to think that there are people out there who are having to live life like this because no one has stopped them and said “Can I tell you about Jesus”. No one has been “just another beggar pointing y’all to where the bread is” as Andy Mineo says. Not only are we born blind and unable to see the truth, we aren’t even able to understand it:
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; (Ephesians 4:17-18)
By nature, we are darkened in our understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of ignorance and a hardened heart. Just stop and think about that for a second. If you are a believer in Jesus do you truly grasp what non believers are trapped in? The restraints that Satan has them tied up with? They are ignorant AND hard hearted. They have no idea of the spiritual life sentence they are facing and their heart is so hard that repeated cross examination in the court of eternity won’t wake them up to the fact they are in a canoe racing towards a 10,000 foot waterfall. They are alive in the physical, but dead to the reality of the spiritual.
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8)
By nature, we are living in deadness. We have an inability to follow God's law or please God. Blind to the truth of what God is trying to save us from by sending Jesus to pay for our sins with his death, unable to understand our standing before God because we dont know what we dont know and if we did hear about it we couldn’t understand and because of that we have no way to follow God’s law or please him. We are the walking dead. Now you understand the condition (V1-3) we are in before we put our faith in Jesus. Lets look at the remedy God offers – in vs 4-9
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9)
Salvation is the FREE GIFT from God... that is the saving of us from the condition we are born into, the sin nature. Satan has blinded our minds to Gods glory, and hardened our hearts so we don’t even recognize our own ignorance towards God. Once you see God's glory, once you understand what situation you were in, and that he sent his son to die so that you, an ignorant, blind, heard hearted sinner, could have your mind renewed and opened to see what God intended for you - you begin to understand how Peter was feeling when he wrote 1 peter 1:8 -
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, (1 Peter 1:8)
Yet some would have you believe that there is a way you can "work" or "earn" your way out of this condition, that you really don't even know you are in. That would then indicate that Jesus’ sacrifice for you wasn’t enough? Somehow the created can add to what Jesus did to redeem itself?? The Jesus + works = salvation doctrine belittles the death of Jesus on the cross. The folks that hold to and teach that doctrine don’t understand the grace of God or the purpose of works.
What are we saved for?
Lets look at verse 10 and get a good definition for what works are
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
Paul is explaining that believers in Christ are God’s handiwork, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. God prepared these works beforehand so that we would walk in them.Our works, are our God prepared agenda for the rest of our life, starting the day we accept Jesus as our savior. Contrast that against Ephesians 1:1-2
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
We are always doing works, whether we are saved by Jesus and doing Kingdom work, or if we are a lost sinner, whose work is the trespasses and sins. You see our works are tied to our identity. You are either an employee of God or an employee of Satan so to speak. Either, you are living your life for Jesus, and reflecting His light to the lost world, or you are stuck in darkness, wallowing in sins and trespasses with no hope of escaping. Our faith in Jesus is the free gift of God that saves us from our sinful nature and makes us a child of God, a new creation as Paul says in 2 cor 5:17 –
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
As a new creature, in Christ, we have a new way to live, a new way to walk. This new walk is the works which God prepared for us beforehand. Lets look at the purpose of these works:
To give life and substance to our faith while on Earth.
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. (James 2:17)
How can you have a dead faith? Stephen Armstrong has some great words on this:
o You have creeds, but no deeds
o You are comfortable in faith alone, but not in spreading the good news
o Your faith has become nothing more than an intellectual pursuit – you are doing nothing for the glory of Christ.
Lets look at what Jesus had to say about Christians living their lives this way –
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. (Revelation 3:1-3)
While faith is sufficient for salvation, it is not sufficient to please the father. Stephen Armstrong says “When the truth of salvation is disconnected from any outward appearance of the love of Jesus, it will limit the reach of the gospel, people are not attracted to a bunch of know-it-all Christians, who never lift a finger to help them.” Our works are what bring our faith to life, they give our faith substance. Our new lives and the works that God prepared for us are intended to glorify him. Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus is the author of faith. When he gifts that faith to us, and shows us the new works in which he has for us to walk, that is doing his will by loving him and loving each other - its so we can be a witness to other non-believers, to plant a seed that God can cause to grow.
Hebrews 12:2 also says Jesus is the perfector of faith. If you don’t have works, your faith is dead in regard to producing fruit, to growing deeper roots, to being able to be perfected. If you look at your actions on any given day, and the majority of those actions are not in step with loving God and loving people, then you need to go God right now and ask him to forgive you and give you another opportunity to get to work. Ask him to strengthen your faith for the work ahead and if you seek him, he promises you will find him.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)
To become our treasure and foundation for our eternal reward in Heaven.
Paul also has some amazing insight into what the future holds for the believer who had faith but no works, and for the believer who had faith and good works in 1 Corinthians 3:
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (2 Corinthians 3:10-15)
Paul is referencing that the “building” or teaching the gospel to a non believer can be done in phases (which is pretty typical in commercial construction too!). Some folks in Corinth were apparently trying to take credit for new believers - “Well I preached the sermon that brought the most folks up to accept the offer of salvation. Look at me!” Paul reminds them that the foundation is Jesus Christ, and faith is authored by him, salvation is given by him. Paul says be careful because we will all be judged for our works - good and bad. Plentiful and lacking. “The Day” being the judgement seat of Christ when all believers are judged, or rather rewarded, for their works on earth. He says those with faith and who performed good works, which he compares to building with gold, silver, costly stones, will have their works tested by the fire of Christ’s judgement.. and those good works will be refined by the fire and given to the believer as a reward. However, those who have faith but who didn’t have any works, or whose works were motivated with self service rather than serving God, which Paul compares to wood, hay, or straw, will be burned up in the fire of Christ’s judgement. This builder, or believer, will suffer loss and not have any rewards, but he will be saved and enter the pearly gates of heaven with his robe smelling like smoke.
Paul, continues his parallels of good works and construction terms (which I appreciate) in his first letter to Timothy:
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Here, Paul is telling Timothy to remind those who are well off not to put their faith in their finances, but in God “who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy”. He continues with his instruction for the wealthy crowd “to be rich in good works.. storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed”. This footer for their future is the good works they are currently living out here on earth.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-20)
Fleshed Out
The faith God gives us, is what prompts us to good works, which glorify God. Faith is the trigger that starts that cycle spinning..
We are given Faith in Jesus, by grace.
With this new faith, we feel compelled to tell others and share the good news of the free gift of salvation …
this glorifies God, and strengthens our faith
we are even bolder in our sharing, in our living our lives prioritizing Christ above all, In loving God and loving people, in our "Works" –
and our faith increases as His glory increases.
He perfects our faith through the works he gives us to do.
Those works act to give our faith life and substance here on earth
They then lead to rewards and a good foundation for our future in Heaven
I hope in this new season, we are all able to really prioritize getting back to work, the work that matters. Pointing people to the cross, the blessed hope. Its what we were made to do, and your future self will thank you for it.
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4