What Does Works Have To Do With It

Up until this point, I have not mentioned much about the act of works in my writings. I didn’t want to give the subject of “works” more emphasis than it should have, since we aren’t saved by works, but by grace. In all of my previous writings I have tried to concentrate on God’s Holy Spirit working in and through us to accomplish all of God’s will that He requires and wants to perform in every individual life. In response to some of my writings, a few people have indicated that I am teaching a salvation based on works, when in reality I have continually communicated that all good works in a believer’s life is done by the Holy Spirit and only by His Spirit.

In this message I will share how we are not saved by works, but by grace alone. Although my goal of this letter is to talk on the subject of works, a person can’t teach on the subject of works fully without discussing grace also. Grace and works are tied together because good works comes out of God’s grace. So to look into this subject thoroughly, we must define what grace and works are, where grace and works originate from, and how grace and works interact with our heart, soul, and body.

Since we are saved by grace and not by works, we should first try to understand grace. Many people have a misunderstanding that God’s grace is limited only to what Jesus did for us on the cross. God’s grace is much more than what happened at the cross. God’s grace also continues its work today after the cross. Even though the grace God performed at the cross is so very important, I want to concentrate on the power of God’s grace that started at the point of Pentecost. Pentecost is when the power of God’s Spirit was opened up to anyone who would believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Anytime we talk of God’s grace, it is referencing some action that God has done or is currently doing, first of all for His glory and then secondly for our benefit. Grace is not just something God did in the past; it is also something He is continuing to do. When God’s Spirit softens a heart of stone to the point of being able to accept Jesus as Lord and savior, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit continues sanctifying a heart to bring it to a point of making it holy, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit baptizes a person’s heart and turns it into a heart totally devoted to Him and then puts that heart into service for Him, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit guides a person in a certain direction or to do something, even if that God directed action is to benefit someone else, it is God’s grace in action. Saving grace is any action on God’s part that He does in us or through us for HIS glory.

So how is God’s grace manifested in us and through us? God’s grace is manifested in us by the softening and perfecting of our heart into a new heart filled with His love. God’s grace is then manifested through us by God’s love flowing out of us in acts of love towards others. These acts of love are God’s grace being manifested in the form of good fruit and good works. These good works will then always glorify God. This love flows from the new heart He has given us. This love will always flow out of us back to God and to others, and is really God’s grace flowing through us to glorify God Himself. So any good works we perform is only by God’s grace and cannot come from our own humanness. Anytime God’s Spirit does any action through us, in us, or for us, it can only be called God’s grace.

Acts 4:33 NIV - With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

Acts 6:8 NIV - Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.

Rom 12:6 NIV - We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

1 Cor 15:10 NIV - But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

2 Cor 8:7 NIV - But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

2 Cor 12:9 NIV - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Eph 3:7-8 NIV - I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.

Eph 4:7-8 NIV - But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men."

James 4:6 NIV - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

If we are a Christian living under the New Testament and not under the law, we are relying on all of God’s grace to be eternally saved. God’s grace consists of the grace given to us by the works of Jesus before the cross and on the cross and also the grace that transforms our heart.
There is a real danger with the teaching that all of God’s grace was provided for us with the work done on the cross. There are some who believe and teach that they have little or no responsibility to live holy to be eternally saved because Jesus’ grace on the cross covers all their sins so they don’t have to even try to conform to God’s will and commandments to live holy. If we believe this lie, then in essence this gives people a license to keep on sinning and still believe they are saved. This is a lie devised by the devil to keep us from the truth and a true relationship with God.

Jude 4 NIV - For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Now, that we defined grace, let’s try to define what works is. The definition of works can be said to be any action or bi-product that comes directly from the condition of the heart.

There are good and bad works, or to say it a different way, there is good and bad fruit.

Eccl 8:11 NKJV - Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.2 Tim 4:18 NKJV - And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.Col 1:10 NIV - And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work.

Some examples of what spiritual good and bad fruit can be taken right from scripture.

Gal 5:22-23 NIV - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Gal 5:19-21 NIV - The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

All good works or good fruit originate from God’s love that God’s Spirit has installed within our heart. This love can only produce the fruits of the Spirit (good works). It is impossible to produce bad fruit (bad works or sin) from God’s love. On the other hand, all bad works or bad fruit originate from a sinful nature. A sinful nature can only produce bad fruit (bad works or sin), because the sinful nature only has selfishness and pride within that nature. A heart that is filled with the sinful nature can only love itself or anything that sinful nature thinks benefits itself.

Matt 7:17-18 NIV - Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

So we must understand that good works or good fruit are only from God’s Spirit and bad fruit or bad works are only from the sinful nature. Even though our eternal salvation is not determined by our acts of sin or good works, our works do indicate what kind of heart we have.

Luke 6:45 NIV - The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart , and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.

So getting back to the subject of this message, what does works have to do with our salvation? Our works have nothing to do with God’s decision to accept us as sons and daughters or whether we inherit eternal life.

So what about the scriptures that indicate we must do God’s will to enter the kingdom of God?

Matt 7:21 NIV - Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

At first glance this scripture sounds like we must do good works to enter God’s kingdom, but you have to look deeper and understand that Jesus is really talking about a heart issue and is not talking about any works we need to perform out of our own humanness. Jesus is emphasizing that we will be doing God’s will if we are true Christians. Any works that we perform as Christians will be of God’s will since these good works are from God’s grace working within us. Jesus is saying that there will be good works, but not works of our own.

If we have good works (good fruit), we cannot claim these good works as our own since all good works are of God and not by our own accord. When ever we perform good works, it is really God’s Spirit working through us to glorify Himself. Since any good works are of God’s workings and not of ours, they have no value in determining whether we inherit eternal life or not. If we have bad works (sin or bad fruit), we have someone who has already paid the price for these sins if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But even though Jesus paid for all our sins, Jesus’ payment of sins alone doesn’t guarantee eternal life with Him. We also need God’s grace to transform our hearts from a selfish sinful nature into a selfless loving nature.

So how does God determine whether we inherit eternal life or not? It is by a thorough inspection of our heart. God can always see our entire heart and how pure it is. God’s Word indicates we need to be born again of God’s Spirit. When we are spiritually born again, we are given a new heart, totally purified and absent of any sinful nature.

Heb 10:22 NIV - let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

John 3:3 NIV - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

Acts 1:24 NIV - Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart.

Matt 5:8 NIV - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

2 Cor 5:17 NIV - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Rom 10:10 NIV - For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

John 3:5 NIV - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

2 Tim 2:22-23 NIV - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

What is your treasure? If your treasure is God and serving Him wholeheartedly, then your heart will be pure and totally devoted to Him.

Matt 6:21 NIV - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Every action we do and every word we speak comes directly from the heart. Our heart represents the desires of our soul and these desires are the driving force of the soul. Out of an evil heart come all kinds of evil.

Matt 15:19 NIV - For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. But out of a pure heart comes love and righteousness.

1 Tim 1:5 NIV - The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

2 Tim 2:22 NIV - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

For any person that will not humble themselves and repent, then it is that hardened heart that will send that person to an eternal hell. Everyone has the free choice to humble themselves before the Lord. If we choose Jesus as the Lord of our lives, then He will transform our hearts. But if our choice is to reject Him by rejecting His grace, then our hearts will not be transformed, but the Lord will have the last word. He owns every one of our souls, whether we accept this fact or not.

Rom 2:5 NIV - But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

Heb 3:12-13 NIV - See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

So does the works we do have any value? Yes, even though works doesn’t have any value in God’s decision on whether we receive eternal life or not, works does have a purpose. First of all, works has great value in that all good works point back to God and glorifies Jesus and our heavenly Father. Secondly, our works are meant to show ourselves and others whether our heart is pure or not. The works that come out of us show the condition of our heart. Our works can be used as a purity gage to show us the purification status of our heart. God intends to bring all believers to the point of having a pure heart and be blameless before Him so we can inherit eternal life. The only thing that will hold us back from receiving a purified heart is our own pride. So we must all humble ourselves before our Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Thirdly, works do make a difference in the amount of rewards or punishment we receive in our eternal destination. If we have a pure heart, then the more we give up or sacrifice for the Lord in this life, the more rewards we will have in heaven. If we don’t end up having a pure heart because we have rejected God’s grace in some way, then the works we do here will have an effect on the amount of punishment we will receive in hell. But I want to emphasize, no one has to go to hell as long as they are willing to totally humble themselves before Jesus and make Him their Lord and Savior.
May the power of God’s grace strengthen you!

Phil 4:23 NIV - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Living only by His grace - Michael Reid

Thy Kingdom Is Here And There

There has been much confusion about the kingdom of God and when is it going to come or has it already come.

First I would like to talk just a little about the future kingdom that everybody has hope for. True born again believers will go to heaven after we leave this physical body and we will go to live with our loving God forever. God has promised with many scriptures that the eternal heaven will be glorious. God also says this is when we enter His rest.

Rev 14:13 NIV - Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

Let us also remember that for any that do not have the faith to listen and obey His teachings and warnings, there will be eternal unrest for their souls.

Heb 3:16-4:1 NIV - Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

Since the future eternal kingdom is the kingdom that most preachers and teachers teach on, I want to concentrate instead on Jesus’ kingdom that is here now, a kingdom that every true born again believer is part of. If people only hear about the future eternal kingdom and not the kingdom that is here and now, people will be mislead to believe that they have to wait to be made “Christ like” until after they physically die. On the contrary, we have to be made Christ like before we physically die and we must be part of the kingdom of God here on earth while we are still in our fleshly body before we can transfer to God’s eternal kingdom.

The kingdom of God that every born again believer is part of, is a spiritual kingdom. Since people have a hard time understanding anything they cannot see or feel, we sometimes have a hard time understanding anything in the spiritual since we can’t see it to analyze and reason it out with our minds or logic. In this message I will attempt to simplify what many have made very complicated.

I would like to start with defining what a kingdom is. A kingdom is where you have an absolute ruler, a king or lord, and the kingdom having people as subjects to that king. For any person willing to live in the area in which that king has rule, that person must agree to be totally subject to the presiding king’s laws and rules. So when did this happen for God’s kingdom here on earth? We need to take a look at scripture to find this out.

Mark 1:14-15 NIV - After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Matt 12:28 NIV - But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

In Mark 1 the scriptures are telling the story about how John the Baptist was proclaiming the coming of our savior and after Jesus was baptized Jesus went into the nearby town of Galilee and started proclaiming that the time had come for the kingdom of God. Jesus said “The kingdom of God is near”. In Matt 12 we see Jesus telling the Pharisees that “the kingdom of God has come upon you”, meaning it was there when Jesus spoke those words to the Pharisees. Some people will say how can that be, there was no absolute rule or totally obedient subjects for the kingdom. We have to understand that Jesus Christ is the king and where ever Jesus Christ is, there the kingdom is also. Jesus could say the kingdom of God had come because He was the King and Lord and He had a totally committed subject, which was himself, since He was both God and also a human. So since he was human and was totally committed and obedient to His Father’s will, He was His own subject.

Anytime Jesus Christ was on this earth doing His ministry, the kingdom of God was also on earth with Him. After Christ was crucified, the kingdom of God left the earth until Jesus Christ was resurrected. After Christ’s resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days with His 11 disciples and during this time the kingdom of God was also on earth since Jesus Christ was on earth. After these 40 days with His disciples, Jesus ascended into Heaven and the kingdom of God went with Him. After 10 days the kingdom of God returned to earth again through the Spirit’s filling of the disciples at Pentecost. This time the spiritual kingdom of God was here to stay on earth until Jesus’ final return. It was to be a kingdom within the hearts of men. Christ would now rule the hearts of men from the inside of their very souls.

Luke 17:20-21 NIV - Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Remember - Jesus Christ is the king and where ever Jesus Christ is, there the kingdom is also. We can say that the kingdom of God is within us because the very Spirit of Jesus Christ is in us, that is if anyone is a true born again believer. If we have been baptized by His Spirit, then we have been given a totally new heart filled with His love and desires and Jesus Christ Spirit is within us.

John 3:6 NIV - Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

John 15:5 NIV - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit”

John 14:19-21 NIV - Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

When we are a true born again believer, our heart has been totally transformed. The old man or sinful nature which is comprised of any selfishness in us has totally been replaced with the new man or God’s Spirit which is comprised of only love. Since no sin can originate out of true love, we only have desires to love and please God and love our fellow man. It is this total change of heart that drives our every desire and action. It is with Jesus Christ’s Spirit and love inside of us that God rules our lives. Our heart’s desires are in turn the same as God’s desires. Because of the love He has put in us, we only have the desire to obey His commandments and full heartedly go about doing His will.

Jesus Christ is now our high priest, Lord and King while we are living in this fleshly earthly body, but when we leave this earthly body, He is no longer our high priest because we won’t need any priest to intercede for us anymore. We will have already made our decision before we die, which will decide where we spend eternity. If we have chosen the way of Jesus as our Lord, then we will spend eternity with our brother Jesus Christ and Jesus’ Father as our Father for ever and ever. They will be the constant loving light we will continue living by and praising forever and ever.

If we have died to our selfishness and have spiritually been born into His kingdom while we are here on earth, we will never spiritually die; we will just transition from Christ’s earthly reigning kingdom to God’s eternal kingdom.

John 11:25-26 NIV - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

In His Kingdom by faith - Michael Reid