Effort or 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. Ephesians 2:8,9NIV

We are so used to quoting these verses while thinking about those good works of charity outside the doors of our church. Things like, running a food bank, visiting the sick, working with the homeless, and there are other good works which a Christian will be involved with. Our good works in the community come from a heart of faith and we know they do not give us salvation. But what about ‘good works’ inside the doors of the church itself?

I would suggest that there could be an expectation or requirement of some good works inside the church too. There are some well known denominations and sects which openly operate on the principle of good works being necessary for salvation, but in a Bible believing evangelical church? Surely not?

Recently I became aware of the expected effort being placed on a congregation to behave in a certain prescribed way during the worship time. More effort should be placed on things like hand clapping, raising hands, swaying, bouncing on the spot, and generally singing with more expression, whether you were comfortable with it or not. All this while the leader is encouraging the folks with words like, “C’mon church” during the song. Granted, this mainly comes from some online mega-churches, but are we slowly in danger of becoming more like this model ourselves? Is the worship time starting to take over from the preaching of the Word? Is this not like the tail wagging the dog??

I'm Right!

My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 1 Corinthians 4:4

There are a few different common phrases that can show how messed up and off base our modern Western society is. We often hear and use words like:

"Follow your heart."

"You just have to do what you think is right."

"What is your heart telling you?"

"Well, that works for you. I am going to do what works for me."

I think they sound hollow at best, with no need for confirmation. It’s all down to how something makes you, and no one else, feel. It’s so one sided, but that’s a million miles from what Paul is saying here.

Just because you are certain of something, and feel in your heart, mind, and yes even your conscience that it is right…...that doesn’t mean anything. As some might say, it don’t make for a hill o’ beans! The bottom line is this: We don’t have the final say. On anything, whether we are sure of something or not.

Take the example of some Christian deciding that another Christian has got something wrong. It could be in their beliefs, or their outlook, or interpretation of Scripture, and their conscience is clear on the matter, it doesn’t matter! Because at the end of the day It is the Lord himself who will examine ... and decide.

So, how about we get off that high horse of our self righteousness and let the Lord do what only He can do, and that’s examine and judge. Let’s not be heard to utter words like: "You just have to do what you think is right." or “If it feels right for you, that’s the thing to do”, because that decision is way above our pay grade. We need to do what we should have done in the first place, and that’s leave it with the Lord. And who better is there to do the right thing?

Faith or Works?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 ESV

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. James 2:18 ESV

Slowly but surely some once thriving churches are moving the faith goalposts, perhaps in an effort to reverse the slow haemorrhage of members and adherents. The outcome, at least in appearance, is that the once dearly held foundation of salvation by faith alone, is being replaced, at least in part, by a gospel of works. It is therefore quite easy to convince folks that they are not doing enough for the Kingdom, and put them on an unnecessary guilt trip to do more.

This comes across in many ways, and always sounds good. But listen for the buzzwords. Words like ‘community’ (that’s a favourite), and ‘social’ which come into almost every sermon and message from the pulpit. I am the first to accept that works are important, and a necessary part of our Christian character, but… should works not be secondary to our salvation based on faith, first and foremost?

The natural end result of a works based church is a ‘social community’ of good people who have not necessarily fully accepted or seen the light of the gospel, and therefore are no different or better than the outsiders who would never darken the church doors. There are a multitude of non believers and atheists who do a lot of good works. Do we aspire to that model? The apostle Paul sums it all up nicely in these words:

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.                      Ephesians 2:8,9 ESV