"'Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the Lord'" - 2 Chronicles 7:21-22
Based on the testimony of God's word and general observation of life, one of the hardest things for people to learn is the place of good works in the life of grace.
After all, if grace is God giving us good things that we don't deserve, then why do we need to do any good works at all? Such is the question in Romans 6 in the Bible.
But the answer to the question of the place of good works in the life of grace is actually very simple. Our good works, or lack thereof, do not change God's heart toward us. God always loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us so that we can have a great life in him now and forever.
However, our good works, though they don't change God's heart toward us, they do impact our heart toward God. As Jesus says in John 15, our good works, works done with faith in God and love for God, are the way to stay in a relationship with God. We get into a relationship with God by his gracious initiative. We stay in the relationship with God by "good works," which, again, are deeds done with faith in God and love for God, as we hear in Romans 14. Jesus says it this way in John 15, if you stay in my love and keep my commands, you will bear much fruit, but apart from [the relationship with] me, you can do nothing [that endures positively with life].
In Hebrews 12, especially, God plainly tells us that God disciplines (that is, acts to teach) us when we don't do good works of faith and love, in order to teach us how good relationships with God and one another work...or don't work.
God is always graciously faithful to the relationship with us. Period. Even when we're not. But God graciously loves us so much that he wants us to know the unmatched joy of actively being in a relationship with him. So he graciously teaches us the place of good works.
Think about it. Please. Because one of the hardest things for us people to learn is the place of good works in the life of grace.
Dear God, please be gracious, according to your will, plainly revealed through your Son, Jesus Christ, and help us to learn and live out the place of good works in the life of grace, so that we trust you alone to create us, give us "daily bread", and save us for eternal and everlasting life. But help us to see the joy of good works, as you have ordained such works to be the way to stay in and enjoy a relationship with you through faith in you and love toward others. Amen
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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