Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto Good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Philippians 2:13: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good works.”
We say that the Christian faith is not religion, because in religion you serve a god who is aloof from people, and good works are done to appease him. Religion begins on the outside and somehow works in. In the Christian faith it is exactly the opposite. God begins His work in us and we work it out as a witness to the world. We are not saved by works, but we are saved to work. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul wrote, “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." Verse 10 printed above, tells us the place of good works in our Christian lives. The great thing about being a Christian is that God is at work in our lives. It is a work that begins with the entrance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus promised His disciples before He ascended to the Father that when He departed He would send the “Comforter” (the Holy Spirit) to them and that He would guide them into all truth. The entrance of Christ and His Spirit into our lives is illustrated in Revelation 3:20, where Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me.” To reiterate, salvation does not begin on the outside and work in; rather, it begins within and works out. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12a-13, “Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." A lot of people read verse 12 and do not go to verse 13. That is an incomplete picture of God’s work in our lives. We work out what has been put within, and we do that by the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice that we have been called to “good works.” These works can take many different forms. In fact, they can take as many different forms as there are works to be done in the church and in the community. We should always be open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives, for He will reveal to us what we must do. We do not serve from our own whims, but from the acts of God in our lives. The Lord is at work in our lives leading us to do what needs to be done to promote His kingdom on this earth. He works in some to be preachers and teachers. He works in some to lead in music, or to participate in music. He works in some to do any task that needs to be done to reach the world. We normally think of this work as being “church work.” It is not “church work.” It is God’s work, no matter what form it takes and no one work is superior to the other for it is, after all, the work of God. Philippians 2:13 gives us a general picture of what the workmanship of God in our lives will entail. It tells us that God is at work in our lives for us to do His will: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” We do not serve at our own pleasure. We serve at God’s pleasure, which means that He allows us to work for Him. We are not doing the Lord a favor by serving Him; He is doing us a favor by letting us work for Him. For example, I did not become a preacher because I thought it would be a good way to make a living. I became a preacher because God called me to it. It is a great privilege that He has given me. Whatever service He has called you into, it is a great privilege given to you by God. Thank Him! You might think that your job as an usher, for example, is not important. One of God’s great gifts is the gift of hospitality. In verse 14, we are reminded how we are to go about this work: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings.” We are to do God’s work in His will and do it with a good attitude. Just think what a great privilege it is that the God of the universe is at work in your life. What a blessing! Bro. Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|