The apostle Paul told us we can only inherit the kingdom of heaven because of the grace of God. He said our salvation is "Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:9) did he not? Yet in the very next verse he said we were "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Somehow there are people who think Paul was saying since good works won't give you salvation, you are a legalist who lacks faith if you tell people that doing good works is important. I believe in honoring the seventh day Sabbath just as the 4th Commandment tells us to and have literally been told by Christians that I was dishonoring God by doing so. Why? Because they said I was trying to be saved by my works. Actually I'm trying to obey God and how that can be deemed bad by other Christians is beyond me. Paul actually spoke of Christians like that, yet amazingly they don't even realize this is about them:
Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Somehow Christians have managed to twist his writings out of context just as Peter forewarned would happen in 2 Peter 3:15-16. That the other apostles had to deal with people twisting Paul's teachings even back then is made evident by the epistle of James. In it he counters the notion that good works aren't a critical component of the Christian walk.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Is yours a dead faith or a living one? Four times in scripture we are told "the just shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).
I want to make something crystal clear; I don't believe in a works-based salvation. All salvation is through the atoning blood of Jesus. All salvation comes from the faith that Jesus is Lord of your life and that His sacrifice on your behalf is sufficient to cover your sins.
But faith, living faith, is accompanied by works. And that's not my opinion; God's word declares it. Jesus declares it! Listen to Him.
Let's read an excerpt from Matthew 25. This is Jesus talking and He clearly tells us people who do good works will inherit the Kingdom of God while those who don't do those works will be cast away and burned. Of course it isn't the works that get them into heaven. Nonetheless Jesus is revealing that His people produce good fruit through works.
Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Matthew 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Matthew 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Verses 35 & 36 are listings of good works. In verse 34 Jesus says the people who do these things will "inherit the kingdom" which God prepared for them. Jesus then proceeds to tell us those who don't do these works will be damned.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Matthew 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Matthew 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Now I'm going to share another portion of Matthew, this time from Chapter 7. Here we will see people who thought they were saved declaring their good works. Yet Jesus rejects them which proves good works in and of themselves don't bring salvation.
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
These people must consider themselves Christians otherwise they wouldn't call Jesus "Lord" and they claimed to do "many wonderful works" in His name. But if they consider themselves Christians and they do good works then what is missing? Let's look at one more verse from Matthew where Jesus reveals the missing component.
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, : these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
He brings up tithing which He says they ought to have to done... but then He says judgment, mercy, and faith (which are acts of love) should not have been left undone. Works done out of love was the missing component. Their works were done for selfish reasons. James said faith without works is dead. Well, works without faith and love are dead too. Okay, so you obeyed God and tithed. Good. When someone was downtrodden do you reach out to help them? Do you use righteous judgment? Do you love your brethren? You need to obey the Lord in truth and obedience, with love for your fellow man. You can't just do some of those things and have the Lord count it that you did them all.
In the nearly 8 years since I decided to seek Christ I've been to a small handful of churches but only deeply involved with 2 churches before I started coming to the church I'm with now. Both of those previous churches were dead churches. One I recognized as a dead church pretty quickly but didn't know where else to go, the other I failed to recognize as a dead church for a long time.
The first was one of those feel-good mega-churches; claims of faith, but truly dead in works. The other one, I still think doctrinally they are far more solid than most, a few things here and there were questionable but as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12 "for now we see through a glass, darkly" or obscured not fully understanding, only knowing the truth in part. But at that church too many people (including myself) really lacked compassion, humility and charity. I didn't realize it though. I thought there was love in that church but came to find out there was a spirit of pride and arrogance permeating throughout.
Praise God that the Lord had a few people in that church reveal who they really were on the inside. They put on a righteous appearance but inside they were full of dead men's bones. Now neither my wife (who went there for a couple of months) nor I are there anymore.
But I still struggle inside with pride, arrogance, anger, and a lack of trust in God. But if the Lord hadn't gotten me out of that church I think I would have never realized how bad off spiritually I was.
John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth [prunes] it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
There Jesus described Christians as branches growing off of Him; we can only produce good fruit if we allow God to prune us of our dead weight. As for a plant, is it pruned one time only and that's it? Throughout our lives we need to let God prune us or we will become unfruitful eventually.
I've never believed the once-saved-always-saved mantra. From the time I became a Christian I knew that was too good to be true. But I do believe if you do your best with a real effort to follow Christ then God will reveal to you where you are lacking. Then it is up to you to let the Holy Spirit refine you, purify you and seal you for the day of redemption. As much as anybody else I'm in need of a major pruning, but have the hope that one day I'll get to the point where I need some refining here and there but not any major refining anymore. I pray the same for all here as well, that none of us will ever be like the people of the Church in Laodicea from Revelation 3:17, where they foolishly declare themselves to be "rich... and have need of nothing" anymore. They get too comfortable and won't let themselves be pruned anymore.
But we all have to be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to purify us. God is a gentleman. He will not force you to accept the changes He wants to make in you. You can draw back from Him, into destruction.
Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [destruction]; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
I'm using the King James Version. I don't know what translation you might be reading but I love the precise wording that was used at the end of verse 39. It encourages us to be among them "that believe TO the saving of the soul". It doesn't say the they "believe IN the saving of the soul". There's a big difference. All Christians believe IN the saving of the soul. The lost Christians, the ones who will say Lord, Lord, didn't we do wonderful works in your name clearly believed IN the saving of their souls... but they didn't believe in the truth enough TO have their souls saved.
I want to be found worthy TO be saved. The book-smart but heartless church I left in 2015 has some people in danger of pleading their wonderful works when it's too late, because their works were done out of duty, not love. As I said I'm still fighting to lose that aspect of my personality. At least I know I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ who strengthens me to do all things. At the same time, the mega-churches who seemingly promote love are also filled with people in danger. They promote love for self, masqueraded as love for the Lord. Both those types of churches preach a form of godliness, but deny the power of God; preaching legalism on one hand, self-gratification on the other. If you struggle with either of those things, or both for that matter, turn away.
The prophet Hosea said:
Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
And Jesus said:
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Does is hurt to be pruned? Of course. It hurts to be torn, it hurts to smitten, it hurts to be rebuked, it hurts to be chastened. But God shall wipe away all tears one day. Imagine the joy when Jesus says to you Well done, good and faithful servant! Zephaniah 3:17 says the Lord will sing to us. Imagine the voice of God, singing to you, rejoicing over you with song. I long for that day and pray we are there together.
Amen.
