Grace, Faith, and Works.

 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph.2:8-9).

This is, quite possibly, one of the most frequently quoted statements in the New Testament, after John 3:16. It deals with three essential aspects of the Christian Faith - grace; faith; and works. That faith (or belief, it's the same Greek word) in the substitutionary work of Jesus, the Christ, on the cross, is essential to salvation (see John 3:15-18, etc.). But faith does not stop there; it grows as a disciple of Jesus matures. Let us look at some of the characteristics of a growing faith in God.

One who has accepted God's gracious offer of forgiveness and salvation, one who, by faith, has found God trustworthy, comes to trust Him and His promises in other areas as well. Paul, who had been sorely persecuted for his faith, claimed, "I am not ashamed, for I know Whom I have believed, and I am sure that He is able to guard until that Day what I have entrusted to Him." (II Timothy 1:12). God will faithfully fulfill His promises, and we can have faith that He will.

The great heroes of faith, some of whom are listed in Hebrews 11, all had one thing in common. They dared to trust God for great things, even impossible things, and moved out on that basis. Consider Joshua: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days." (Heb.11:30). Joshua was confronted with an impossible problem, but dared to trust God for a solution.

Then there is the mature faith which can "rest in YHWH, and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:7) in the face of hardship and opposition. "For the wicked shall be cut off; but those who wait for YHWH shall possess the land." (v. 9).

But, as James reminds us: "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." (2:14-17). Some try to suggest that James and Paul were "at odds" with one another. Nothing could be further from the truth! Read on from those words at the head of this post! "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph.2:10). 

So, we are saved, by grace, through faith, for good works.

At every stage of our lives as disciples of Jesus, Father God allows us opportunities to exercise and expand our faith. Remember, "without faith it is impossible to please Him." (Hebrews 11:6). 

Following God’s Will

These past months have been anything but easy!  On more than one occasion I have found myself questioning this call to ministry in France to which my wife and I believe we have been called.  The house that I had expected to sell within weeks, if not days (this was to be the Lord's final confirmation of the call!), is still on the market months later - in spite of two price reductions.  Our car has had one problem after another - and always in France where charges are much higher than what my local mechanic charges me.  Problems with the gas supply to the static have only been finally resolved today.  To cap it all, our younger daughter (37) has just had an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from her left breast, and had just been informed that the chemo-therapy she had been informed would not be necessary, now is a definite requirement.  

 

That's why I was so encouraged by an article in Church Leaders - an 'e-zine' (online magazine) that I receive regularly.  It is by Steven Furtick to whom I happily give the credit.

 

"Being in God’s will doesn’t guarantee a tension-free job, a conflict-free marriage or a trouble-free life.

"We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large … we can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. All the people we saw there are of great size."
Numbers 13:27-28

The Israelites had finally reached the Promised Land. But it wasn’t what everybody thought it would be.  There was a reward. But there was also opposition.  There were grapes. But there were also giants.

So they came to the conclusion that this couldn’t be what God was calling them to do. This couldn’t be God’s will, because God’s will had to be easier than this.

We tend to think the same way. Many people consider opposition a sign that they must not be in the will of God.  We think the Promised Land is where the blessings are going to be. Being in God’s will is where life is supposed to be easy. Therefore, battle, opposition, struggle and enemies must be a sign that we aren’t in the right place.  But apparently a sign of God’s will is not the ease with which you obtain it. Apparently, the very sign of the Promised Land is giants.

Conflict.
Opposition.

In other words, being in God’s will doesn’t guarantee a tension-free job. Or a conflict-free marriage. Or a trouble-free life.  In fact, the very presence of tension, conflict and trouble could be a sign that you’re right where you need to be.

You might be thinking that you’re not in God’s will right now. You’re going through all this fighting, and it shouldn’t be like this. It must mean you’re in the wrong place.  Not necessarily. It might mean that you’re in exactly the right place. I doubt satan is going to put up a fight to keep you from doing what you shouldn’t be doing.

What if you changed your perspective and saw what you’re facing as a sign that you’re exactly where God wants you to be, because giants live in the Promised Land?  That doesn’t make it easy. But remember:

There was opposition for the Israelites. But there was also a reward.

There were giants. But there were also grapes.

A sign of God’s will isn’t just the opposition you’re facing. It’s also the fact that with God you can actually overcome it. And the reward that you will get for sticking it out will far outshine any opposition that you’re facing."

I trust that others will be likewise encouraged - and that we will all give the glory to our amazing God.