When I was first really tore into the meat of the Bible, I had been saved a few years. But the “hunger and thirst” for righteousness came a little later.
I knew I was saved by grace ... I knew it in my heart and had heard Ephesians 2:8–9 in church, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.“
But it wasn't until my first “real” Bible study—the Book of James.
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2: 14)
Wow, this seemed so contradictory to me, how could I reconcile this?
Well, I know that I am saved by grace, and I know that my actions cannot save me.
But then what do you do with the rest of your life after you are saved by grace? Do ya sit around waitin for the check in the mail? Do you talk in any way that you please? Do you act like the rest of the world in which no one even knows you are a Christian?
Paul had this problem too. We are saved and think that we have all kinds of freedom and a lot of times we take advantage of that and get bogged down again in sin. I think the Lord knows that most of us have a period of time where we do stretch the limits of our freedom in Christ.
But as He promises, the Holy Spirit steps in and starts to guide us, with right thoughts, right decisions and, yes, that leads to right works.
Now before you get huffy, those works are not saving works but they are works that the body does to survive. They are outward signs that our inward hearts are right with God. We do those works in praise of who He has made us, not for Him to look favorably upon us. In turn, He gives us the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Galatians 5:22)
In order to be kind to someone, there has to be an action, like smiling, or holding a door, or helping with a heavy load. It also starts coming naturally, the more we put it to use.
I see that the Lord has given me a great attitude that I never had when I was younger, and I see that I have grown in Christ. But all of those works? They mean absolutely nothing more than the fact that God used me for His voice, or he used me to carry something or help someone. It really has nothing to do with me!
So now I know the next verse after Ephesians 2:9:
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
Thank you.
In Christ,
Cindy Kittinger
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