Tired of Waiting

And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Acts 7:41 NKJV

Stephen was telling the history of the Israelites when he was falsely accused of blasphemy. The Israelites had gotten tired of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. In their impatience and unbelief, they donated their gold to be melted down and formed into an idol that they could worship And as verse 41 clearly states, they rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

Paul warned along the same lines to the Church in Galatia. Galatians 6:8, Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

This portion of the Scripture stood out to me. How often are we tempted to be impatient as we wait for Christ's return? How often do we melt down our finances in search of something other than God to soothe our souls? How often do we rejoice in the works of our own hands?

Prayer:

Father,
           Forgive us for looking to anyone or anything other than You for our satisfaction in life. Keep us ever mindful of waiting on You and waiting for You. Help us always to remember that it is only in You and by You that we are able to accomplish anything, so we give You thanks in all things and for all things. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Works

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

James 2:14-17 NLT

From OpentheBible.org:

The majority of the New Testament is full of language to the tune of Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

But when we get to James 2, we see things like, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead,” and, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (vv. 17, 24 respectively).

So which is it? Is faith a gift of grace, alone? Or, do we need good works too? And how in the world do we teach this? The answers to these questions are found in the very important distinction between how faith is demonstrated, and how it is acquired. Salvation and faith are granted to us by the gift of grace. That is how they are acquired. But our faith is demonstrated by works. John 15:8 says, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Bearing fruit, doing good works that glorify God, are proof of our salvation, not prerequisites for salvation.

In his commentary, Warren Wiersbe offers this helpful clarification on James 2:
"Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration. That kind of faith is dead faith. True saving faith can never be by itself: It always brings life, and life produces good works."

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for taking us from dead faith and dead works to changed hearts and lives that glorify You. Your change in us is what produces the desire to do for others and serve the Body of Christ. Give us Your eyes to see those around us who are in need and how we can best help and serve them. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

What Good?

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
James 2:14-17 NLT

So many people are trying to work their way into Heaven. "If I'm good enough..." "If I do this or that..." Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. We must understand that we are saved by His Grace, not by our works.

However... once we are saved, our salvation should lead us to DO good works because our heart is changed by the power of God. Verse 10 reads, For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

I know it can seem confusing when James asks, Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?  I think Robert Morris explains it best with regard to grace and faith and works. 

"Our belief [faith] determines where we will spend eternity. You go to heaven because you believe in Jesus. You go to hell because you don't believe in Jesus. Our behavior determines how many rewards, and the degrees of responsibility, and the treasure that we will have in heaven..."

Are we about doing good for those God has placed within our sphere of influence? Are we doing good as unto the Lord? Are we actually doing "the good things he planned for us long ago?"  We should be. 

Matthew 16:27 NKJV tells us, For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  And 2nd Corinthians 5:10 tells us, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Let's examine our hearts.

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for saving us from our sins, for redeeming us. Change our hearts. Give us clean hands and pure hearts that live to serve you and others. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen  

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 NIV

Day 12 of Advent in the week of preparation. 

At first glance, this passage seems to contradict itself - not by works and yet created to do good works. Oh, that we could fully grasp the Grace of God! Salvation and even our faith are both gifts from God. We can't earn them. We can't do anything to pay Him back for them. We are, however, changed by them. 

And it is the changing of our hearts, the renewing of our minds just to start with that lead us into good works - acts of service for others and for building God's kingdom. Prepared in advance for us to do because God FIRST planned and prepared the way for our salvation. Thankfully, He will use us to help lead others back into right relationship with Him. God's handiworks.

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for salvation and grace and faith and for the opportunities to do good works. Keep us straight with the proper context of why we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, and help us to complete what You have prepared for us to do. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen