Skip to main content

Works


           For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

           Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?”  
           Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

          Remember the name, “Benedict Arnold”? He was the Colonial major general in the Revolutionary War. He captured Fort Ticonderoga and did at least as much good as most of the other generals in the war. Then, in 1780, he committed treason. The colonists were kind. They didn’t kill him, but neither was he ever trusted by the Americans again. Remember the name, “Robert E. Lee’? He committed treason and led the Confederate Army in the Civil War. After the war, he was a president of a college in Virginia. By all reports, he did some good stuff both before the Civil War and after, but he was a traitor and there are people who want to pull down statues of him.[1]
          It might seem a little extreme to say that every sin is treason but consider this. As you decide in your mind that a little white lie (or whatever) isn’t treason, you’re effectively telling God that you’re in charge. So, Arnold and Lee both served their country well before they committed treason, and Lee served it well after. None of those good deeds made up for their treason. Put another way, there is no work on our part that can make up for the evil we’ve done. Today’s second passage makes that clear. We can prophesy and drive out demons in the name of Christ but doing those things does not save us.
          That’s why grace is the only means by which we can be saved. It is God’s works that save us, not our own. However, that does not mean that our works lack value in and of themselves. It does not mean that God did not plan for each of us to do things that matter. We were created to play a role, to do good works. Those good works may include prophesying and casting out demons, but they are not enough.
          Think of it this way. If you hire a non-family-member to mow your lawn, would you think he deserves to move into your home and treat it as his own? You hired him to do a job, and you agreed to pay a certain number of dollars. His doing the job you hired him to do does not give him the right to your home. It doesn’t even give him the right to receive a “Thank you.” Your payment of the agreed upon price is all that is required. “Thank you” is a welcome addition, but it’s not owed. Is someone wrong to withhold “the house” from someone who agreed to mow the lawn for $X? The right to the house can come only with adoption, which doesn’t tend to be bestowed based on good works.


[1] The full explanation of my position on this issue is simple. If local folk convince the owner of the statue to pull it down, that’s OK. For folks who don’t live in an area to light torches and storm the “castle” vandalizing the statue or demanding that the local, state, or federal government remove it, and leaving town once they get their way is wrong.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more