Faith and Works
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
We are saved by faith through grace and not by works, yet we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. These two verses appear to be contradictory; however there is a significant difference between “not by works” but “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” God looks at our heart, we live out of heart, and our heart is revealed by our thoughts. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
We are saved by having the faith to reflect Christ’s love. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we receive the Holy Spirit which brings God’s love to us. This love continually grows in our hearts as we serve the Lord, molding us to the mind of Christ, a mind of love and compassion. The Lord wants us to serve him out of love, and love for others. This is our motivation to minister to others because we start to have the same love and compassion that Jesus showed for others. This is what it means “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15) It’s Christ’s love in our heart that motivates us to give our best to God and to others. This is what pleases God.
Our faith is born out of love, and love comes from knowing a serving the Lord. When our heart is filled with God’s love then our faith become action. What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Goodbye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” (James 2:14–18)
The foundation of the Christian life is love. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. We are not saved by works but by giving our best to the Lord and serving him motivated by his love.
Today be filled with God’s love and let it you bring you comfort and peace. Seek to reflect God’s love by being kind and encouraging to everyone. It’s easy to be kind to those who are kind to us, but the Lord wants us to show kindness to people who are not so kind to us. When we do this we are doing the good works created in Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, fill my heart with your love and help me to walk confidently with peace and joy. Guide my thoughts and words to be encouraging and to be thoughtful. Help me to maintain peace with everyone today. In Jesus name, Amen