Faith AND Works Simplified

Faith AND Works Simplified

Faith AND Works Simplified is a Biblical description of the role of both faith and works in the lives of all Christians.

Here’s another link for an excellent Bible Study on this topic: Faith That Works

We are saved by Grace (unmerited favor) through Faith (trust in and loyalty to God), not by works, lest any man should boast! But will someone who is saved have works? Of course! Any man who really loves his wife will do almost anything she asks him to do! The same is true of the wife! If her husband asks her to do something, chances are very good she will do it! Why will she do it? To have a relationship with her husband? NO! She already has that!

She does it because she loves her husband and wants him to know it! (Read Ephesians 5) And will the people who know this man and his wife know that they love each other? Yes, they will! And how will they know? By the “works” the man does for his wife! And by the “works” the wife does for her husband! Will the husband or wife keep track of their “works”? No, that would mean that at least one of them is screwy in the head!

And now you know at least one of the very good reasons why God gave mankind the institution of marriage—to help explain “Faith AND Works”!

Two Institutions Given By God

On the first full day He spent with them, God gave Adam and Eve two gifts: “Marriage” and “the Sabbath!” From the beginning of the “sin problem,” Satan has fiercely attacked these two institutions in every imaginable way! Why? because he knows that they strengthen each other and help us understand the truth about God!

And now, it is time to read John 14 in the King James Version! Please notice that in this chapter, the disciples are with Jesus in the “upper room” for the “last supper” before Jesus’ crucifixion! The disciples already have a relationship with Jesus where He is their “husband” and they are His “wife”! Now comes a very intimate conversation in verses 15-21

“If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”.  John14:15-21  KJV

Are We Saved By Works?

Are we saved by our “works”? The answer is forever a resounding NO! But if we really love Jesus, then we will obey the Ten Commandments, not to be saved or to have a relationship with Jesus, but simply to let Jesus know that when we say we love Him, it is more than “just words”!

In the text above, Jesus calls them “my commandments” because He wrote them on tablets of sapphire stone with His own finger and spoke them, word for word, to the people at the base of Mount Sinai! By the way, they were NOT all Jews! At least one-third of them were Egyptians who “feared God” and wanted to follow God themselves! So the Law of God was for everyone!

Do You Love God?

What is a person doing who tells other Christians that the Ten Commandments are no longer in effect? They are very clearly demonstrating to everyone in the whole world that they do NOT love Jesus or His Father! In fact, they are demonstrating that their desire is to work against God rather than for His glory and Kingdom!

Can sin exist without the Ten Commandments? No, not if the Ten Commandments don’t apply anymore! “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4 KJV So, if there is no longer a need for the Ten Commandments in the life of a Christian, then sin no longer exists, and they can live exactly as they please! But we all know that this is NOT the case!

What Are The Ten Commandments?

The Holy Spirit tells us that this is NOT the case! He witnesses to our hearts and minds that killing someone is wrong! And the Holy Spirit does not do this without any reason! His reason is based upon the Law of God, the Ten Commandments!

The Holy Spirit has a good reason to witness to us about the Ten Commandments! The Ten Commandments clearly describe the character of all three members of the Godhead! Jesus Christ wrote the Ten Commandments with His Own Finger on tablets of Sapphire stone taken from the throne of God! Sapphire stone is a translucent blue color. This color represents Loyalty! When we keep God’s Law,, we express our love and loyalty to Him!

Loyalty is one of the primary attributes of real love! When you really love someone with all of your heart, it is easy to lay down your life for them! But you can also demonstrate your love by doing “little things” in your everyday life! A husband who loves his wife will meet her for a “dinner date” on time and fully prepared!

When we worship God on Sunday, we are telling God that we hate him because we are ignoring His written Word, the Bible! We are showing God our disdain and disrespect! We are showing up for a “date with God”, our lover, on the WRONG DAY! God has clearly specified, throughout His Word, that the day He wants to have “an intimate date” with us is Saturday, the seventh day of the week!

You can make all the excuses you can imagine (we live under Grace, not law, etc.), but the truth is when you willfully ignore the 4th Commandment, you are being a traitor against God and His Kingdom! You are putting your own “convenience” (“everyone else is doing it on Sunday”) above the clearly expressed will of God! And this is an obvious form of hatred and rebellion against God! If you say, “I love God”, and you worship on Sunday, then you need to repent, “put your money where your mouth is”, and start worshiping God on the right day, the day He has clearly specified!

This is not “legalism”…this is REAL LOVE…not just meaningless “lip service”!

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (many other translations say “you who practice lawlessness”)”. Matthew 7:13-23 KJV

So, let’s recap what we have learned! We are saved by Grace through Faith in Christ and His atoning sacrifice! And those who are saved will demonstrate their love for God by obedience to God’s Law, the Ten Commandments, as specified in John 14:15-21 KJV! We are not saved by works, but works prove that our love is real!

Where There Is Faith AND Works, There Is Love And Loyalty!

So, when you say, “I love God,” are you telling the truth, or are you lying through your teeth? How you treat the Sabbath reveals the truth in this matter!

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