Saved For Works

It seems to me that more Christians get excited over the fact that Jesus saved them to be in a relationship with God more than Jesus saved them to in service for God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." The tendency seems to be for most Christians to stop after verse 9. We are saved by grace not by our own merit and we can never boast about our works to get saved. All of this is true but you can make grace very self-centered when you leave out the following verse, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

Yes, Jesus did suffer in our place for our sin to bring us to God (see 1 Peter 3:18), but we cannot leave the teachings of grace like that make it sound as if we are the center of God's universe. Grace enables us to serve God and others. We are never saved by works, but we are saved for works. James tells us that our works back up our faith (see James 2:14-26). Paul told Timothy, "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

Paul is telling Timothy to preach to the rich people, do not just be rich in your wealth (God is not against wealth), but to be rich in good works. A study note from The ESV Study Bible says, "The rich, who may not need to work any longer to earn a living, have many opportunities to spend their workdays doing “good works” for others and building up the church." Our Christian life is marked by grace and backed up by our works.

Yes, we entered fellowship with God the moment we are saved, but we also enter into the service of God to do good works for the glory of God. We are not here to hide in our holy huddles, put our nose in the corner thinking your personal relationship with Jesus is private when it is not. We were made for good works before the foundation of the world. We are saved by grace for goods works.