The Believers Work Of Grace
Randall Caselman
3/11/98
The Believer's Work Of Grace
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Salvation is by grace. This is what the Bible says and it is pointless for us to argue differently. The only way any of us can be saved is by faith in God and what He did at Calvary.
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Do we know why we are here and not in Heaven? Why doesn’t God just take us directly to Heaven at our baptism, just beam us up into His presence? Because, Paul says,
we are here to do good works. What works are we to be doing?
No! We are not saved by our works,
we work because we are saved. There is a big difference...
Right? If we ever correctly comprehend the grace of God, we will be the hardest working people ever to live on this planet. The more we comprehend grace, the more we want to work for Jesus, not out of a sense of duty, but out of our
thankfulness.
In the Bible, work is not a four letter word, but something that God says is good for us and plays an important role in our salvation. Consider these scriptures:
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Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. God has a work for us to do, become fishers of men, be evangelistic.
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My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work. At Jacob's well Jesus said He was sustained by doing the work of God. Some of us are unhappy, depressed and feel we’re living unfulfilled, empty lives. Could it be because we are not being about the Father's business.
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Offer yourselves to God as instruments of righteousness. We are to be instruments of God. We are to become instruments in His service. Are we willing?
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For we are workers together with God. What a blessing, privilege, honor, to be working hand in hand with God. Think of the power in this, God working with us makes all things possible.
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For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives. Grace compels us to: be better, do better and work harder in the kingdom.
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Stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Sounds as if Paul understood there was a work for us all to be doing. And that, that work resulted in a promised reward.
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We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body. Our work speaks of our faith. James says, faith is not measured by what we believe, but by: our deeds, our actions, our works. The devils believe but they don’t live out their faith. Their faith does not move them to respond to God's will, to work in His service.
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Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. In God’s kingdom, we are responsible for one another. We are to
bear one another's burdens... Help the weak... Care for the fatherless and widows. This is what fulfills the law of Christ
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We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. No the body of Christ is not going to disappear if we do not carry our load. But it will be crippled, inhibited, and held back unless we all find our place in the body, and use our gifts as God has blessed and asked us.
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Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. God has a purpose, a work for each of us in the kingdom. He has blessed us with gifts in order to carry out that purpose. A part of our salvation is daily working God's purpose.
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Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them. Heaven is a place of rest. Rest from what?... Our labors!
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Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Our King James says, according to his works. Salvation is by grace, through faith, but we will be judged according to what we do because of our faith in Him. What is our faith prompting us to do?
Is there any doubt that based on these scriptures that
we are created to do good works?
—RANDALL CASELMAN
