Good Works for a Good God

For me just another day highlighted by a good work out at the fitness center. My routine this week has pretty much been taking care of some business in the morning and heading to the gym in the early afternoon and coming home to work on my blog. But that is this week and my activities have had some variety. Last month I was to the Capitol in Denver once a week. The last two weeks have found me in a different routine. But any day outside the hospital is a good day.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it.  God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.”     Ephesians 2:8-10

These verses of Paul’s to the Ephesians are some of my favorite. They represent some of the first verses that I memorized as a youth and they are of speak to the core of the gospel message. That message is “we come into relationship with Christ and have acceptance by Him based on our faith, through God’s grace.” Some have emphasized this by saying, “through grace alone, by faith alone.”

God’s grace is sufficient and our faith is the step we take to receive God’s gift of life. It is not our faith, plus our effort or anything else. Faith is the great equalizer. The Bible says, “God has given to everyone the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3) When public policy discussion focuses on education the statement will often be made, “your educational opportunities should not be determined by your zip code.” Your access to God’s gift of life is not dependent upon who you are, where you live, your abilities or status by any  measure. It is the same for everyone. The rich, the poor, those who believe they are good and those who feel they are so bad, good can’t be part of their life.

The reason for this strikes at the heart of the human condition; “so no one can boast about it.” We are so wired to compare and judge ourselves and others, that if human effort resulted in salvation, it would promote pride. That is what happened in Jesus day with the Pharisees. They believed they were acceptable based on their rituals, rules and religious observances. They focused on what they believed to be important, but it was not what God thought was important.

But, Paul makes it clear that how live and what we do is an extension and evidence of our faith. God in our union with Christ has created us for good works. Paul says, that God already has planned what those “works” are. So part of our challenge is to do what is pleasing to the Lord and not just what we believe is “right” That requires us to be in God’s Word and to continue to grow in God’s grace.

So we don’t “do good” to be right with God, but because we are right with God we “do good things.” Our life in Christ is the reason we live our lives the way we do and do the good we do.