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What to Expect on Sunday |
As we begin our fall schedule, including the startup of our Sunday School program, including adult education, we’re looking at some basic theology for our Christian faith. Last week, Theology 101, salvation by grace alone. Today, Theology 201, living out our faith through good works. There are many Scripture passages that could have served as our passage for today. For example, we could have used the book of James. In fact, I suspect some of you thought of the book of James for a sermon on works. James, chapter 2: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but has no deeds? [F]aith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. You see that [Abraham’s] faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." That says it pretty emphatically. So, we could’ve made reference to the book of James. We could make reference to the Old Testament prophets, those champions of acts of justice from people claiming faith. People like Amos, "…let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream," (Amos 5:24), or the prophet Micah, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God," (Micah 6:8). So, we could’ve made reference to the prophets. Or, we might have made reference to the many teachings of Jesus on doing good works. The parable of the Good Samaritan, for example, is about doing the right thing over maintaining our pious religiosity—a priest and an elder passing by a traveler in need while a Samaritan stops and offers assistance. Or, we might’ve dwelled on Matthew, chapter 25, where Jesus says, "Feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit the prisoner and care for the sick because when you do that, to the least in the kingdom, you do it to me." We might have even mentioned Jesus’ words on the Great Commandment, "Love God…and love your neighbor as yourself," which seems to require a lot of good deeds, or Jesus’ words in his Great Commission to the Church which seems to me to be loaded with lots of action words, "Go, make disciples, baptize them, teach them to obey my commands." We could’ve made reference to the many teachings of Jesus about doing good works. Or, we might have looked at other teachings of Paul where doing good works is emphasized. Challenging passages like Romans 12 which says, in part, "Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; Do not repay anyone evil for evil; Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." We could’ve made reference to other teachings of Paul, such as Romans 12. But, instead, I find it interesting that Paul immediately follows up his classic words about grace that served as our passage for last Sunday’s Theology 101 sermon, "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, (Ephesians 2:8, 9), with these words that do serve as our Scripture passage for today! "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). My point is this—the Bible has a lot to say about doing good works. It might be said that the Bible has more to say about doing good works than it does about grace. I would suggest that grace, God’s love expressed for His people who don’t deserve it, is a common thread that weaves its way through the entire Bible. It’s as if God says, "Your relationship with me is secured through grace. Your future has been made sure by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, get to work! There’s lots of work needing to be done." If I might make reference for a moment to the 10 Commandments about which we just completed a sermon series. Our salvation is not based on how well we’ve kept the 10 Commandments. It’s not like there is a 10 Commandment meter running throughout our life that determines our entrance into heaven. 2,934,623 credits and…2,934,622 debits. Whew! Made it! Just barely! No, it is salvation by grace and that is a done deal through Jesus Christ. The commandments are given for life here on earth. They are guidelines for good works that make our lives, and the lives of others, better. Salvation is by grace. Our future is secure. Now get to work doing the good that God calls us to do. If you’re wondering what those good works are, my suggestion is that you spend some time in the Bible reflecting on some of those passages I mentioned earlier, or on the many, many other references to good works that are in the Bible. The ultimate model for us, of course, is Jesus Christ. Looking at the life of Jesus is a pretty good place to start. I believe I’ve made reference before to this line from Max Lucado in his book Just Like Jesus. "God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus." "God loves you just the way you are." That’s grace. "But he refuses to leave you that way, he wants you to be just like Jesus." That’s works. Looking at the life of Jesus is a good place to start in a journey of faith seeking to do good works. Asking the question, "What would Jesus do?" is a good question to ask. It may have become a commercialized cliché, but it remains, nonetheless, a good question to ask. What would Jesus do? Seek the answer to that…then go and do likewise! There are several reasons God wants us to do good works, but I believe it can be summed up in two main ones. First, as I mentioned before, doing good works brings the best to us that life has to offer. I’m always amazed at how much worldly standards argue against that, but living according to God’s standards, as we saw in the 10 Commandments series, brings the most pleasure, the most meaning, the most joy and peace to life. God wants us to do good works because it will bring the best of life to us and to the people around us. Then God wants us to do good works because we are His representatives on earth. Good works serve as a vehicle for us to proclaim the goodness of God. Good works provide a forum, make a statement to others about the love of God and the joy of a life lived within God’s standards. It’s true, you know—actions speak louder than words. When our actions fail to line up with what we claim with our words we are rightly called hypocrites and we cheapen grace. This is the concern of James. What good is your faith if it’s not supported by good works? To bring the best God has for our lives, and to honor God and the good news of Jesus Christ as representatives, ambassadors of God’s work to be done on earth is why we need to take and pass Theology 201. So, that is the basic theology of our faith. Theology 101: Grace, and Theology 201: Works. It begins with grace which is supported by works. It is why we worship and why we study and grow in our faith. It is why we call Jesus Christ Savior and Lord. In his act of grace—going to the cross for our sins—Jesus "saves" us from the penalty for our sins, separation from God. It has been accomplished for us, done for us in Jesus Christ. He is our Savior. If he is our Lord we will seek to live according to the way he wants us to live. As Lord in our lives, Jesus sets the rules and calls us to do good works that honor God and bring meaning to our lives. I believe our commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior is a "once for all time" commitment that we never lose. If we could lose it it’s based then on works and not grace. Making a commitment to Christ as Savior brings assurance to us of our salvation. The commitment to Christ as Lord is an ongoing commitment in life. Some days we are better at serving Jesus as Lord and some days not so good. That is the journey of faith. Our salvation is not at stake—that’s been secured in Christ as Savior—but our enjoyment of life and our witness to our faith is shaky when we fail to do good works. So, we ask for God’s forgiveness, receive it and grow in our faith as we continue on our journey to follow more closely Christ as Lord, seeking to become more like Jesus. The best Scriptural summary of this theology I know of is in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. Paul is using a building metaphor, speaking of the foundation that is laid—which is our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior—and how we then build on that foundation—which is what we do in our lives, hopefully good works that are expressions of our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord: But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. That’s grace. That’s Jesus as Savior, the "Theology 101" foundation of our faith. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. It’s worth noting a couple of things here. First of all, what we do in life will be judged. Our salvation will not depend on it, as we’ll see in a moment, but what we do will be judged. Imagine standing before our Lord Jesus and giving an account of what we did in life. Secondly, in the metaphor Paul is using, good works are symbolized by gold, silver, and precious stones, the kinds of things that survive fire, indeed, are made more pure through fire; and bad works, bad things done in life are symbolized by wood, hay or straw, the kinds of things burned up in fire. [How we build] will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. Paul never describes what that reward is or looks like. He simply leaves us with an understanding that good works will somehow be rewarded. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. Our bad works will not withstand the testing fire of God’s judgment. Yet, we will be saved. Our salvation is not lost. I don’t know about you, but that is some motivation for me in doing good works in my life. I am motivated, first of all, by my gratitude to God for grace. I don’t deserve it and the only response can be one of gratitude. How do I pay back to God for His grace? I can’t. The best I can do is pay it forward through good works. That is my strongest motivation—good works out of gratitude to God for His love, mercy and grace. However, I am further motivated to do good works because there is an immediate reward in this life—I enjoy the benefits God has designed for me and others by following His commands. Also, I am motivated to do good works as my assignment in serving God as His ambassador in the work of the Kingdom. Finally, I am motivated to do good works because I know what I do in this life will be judged. My salvation won’t be at stake, but my actions will be judged. The good works I’ve done will be rewarded in some way. And the bad works I’ve done will be burned up…which doesn’t sound like a pleasant experience at that moment of judgment. Further motivation to do good works. That’s what’s at stake in our understanding of Jesus as Savior and Lord. Theology 101: 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; and Theology 201: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Let’s spend a moment of silent reflection on these essentials of Christian faith.
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