Works Righteousness vs. Works of Faith

-

Works Righteousness vs. Works of Faith

 

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 

Meditation

            Many Christians today are afraid of “works righteousness”. They tend to use part of the above scripture passage as justification. Namely “For by grace you have been saved through faith…not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” This is true, but it is not the whole truth of this passage.

            Paul continues “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works [emphasis mine] which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. So while we haven’t been saved by works we have been saved for works. So any interpretation of this passage that leads to what I call armchair Christianity is just plain mistaken.

            Personally I would rather see the whole church out there doing good works for Christ than sitting back in their armchairs waiting for someone else to do it. To make matters worse here in America we make celebrities out of famous Christians. Let Billy and Franklin Graham do the evangelism and I’ll supervise is the attitude of some Christians I know.

            Right now our culture is turning its collective back on the church. I believe that one cause is they don’t see Christ making a difference in their world, and that is because Christians are not out there doing the works that God has prepared for us to do. You see if we don’t do the good works prepared for us then nobody will. Let us pray.

 

Prayer:

Holy Almighty God, forgive us for sitting back in our armchairs and grumbling about the way the world is going. Get us up out of our chairs and into the world, so that we may do the good works that you have planned for us! Strengthen us for the task ahead of us. Bringing the good news of salvation by grace alone to a world in desperate need of that message. Help us to hold out the light of hope in the darkness and depression that this world is experiencing right now. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more