A Bible Study By Olamide Obire
Believers, good works are the evidence of our salvation and not the condition. The condition for our salvation is to believe in Jesus; It's in John 3:16 "...that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." and Acts 16:3- "They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Wow. Just noticed the numbers 3:16 and 16:3 in verses that are both telling us the condition for salvation
Also see Romans 3: 26"...and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."
Believing Jesus is to believe that God has made you righteous forever, not because you obeyed the law but because of Christ's obedience, "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19.
Saved by grace through faith and made righteous by Christ's obedience and not ours from trying to obey the law which no one can be made righteous by (Romans 3:20,) we get to live in triumph over sin and death:
"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17.
No longer trying to obey the law to make us right with God because Christ is our righteousness, we GET TO do faith works: Romans 7:4- "So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God."
With Christ as our righteousness and no longer under the power of the law (trying to obey the law in order to be righteous, we GET TO "produce a harvest of good deeds for God." See how this ties in with James 2:17- "So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless." aka "Faith without works is dead."
Works (good deeds) always follow after faith in Christ; never works of the law (done in order to get right with God) but works of faith done by Christ in and through all who believe that He set us right with God by His obedience. Only when we have Christ as our righteousness, no longer trying to do works of the law in order to be righteous, can we "produce a harvest of good deeds for God."
On the flip side, remember Romans 5:19- "For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous."
Many profess Christ but don't have Him as their righteousness. Such who try to obey the law in order to be righteous before God and thus deserve His blessings have the old (sin) nature that is as a result of Adam's disobedience. Such do works (of the law) in order to be righteous and thus reject Christ's righteousness. According to Romans 7:5, the law that they try to obey causes them to sin more-
"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death."
Believers, faith without works is dead. But what works are you doing? Are they works of the law that are done by human effort to get right with God and which lead to death or works of faith done through the power of Christ in believers? The law is not of faith.
You know the difference between works of law and works of the faith because you are unable to take credit for or boast about faith works. Christ does it all. See Ephesians 2:8-9:
"God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."
Be wary of "men of God" who boast about how their law-keeping, various fasts, good works, dowdy clothes and religious tithe payment are what make God bless them/heaven-bound. These ones take credit and boast in their own effort (ability to obey the law) and not in Christ. This is not grace (undeserved, unmerited, unearned favour.) There is no Jesus saving in their equation. They are their own saviour. Believers, let's not be found here.
James 2:17 says "So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless."
The law is not of faith. When you go to Christ in faith aka empty of all "menstrual rag" works of the law and good deeds done to get God's favour and looking to Him alone for salvation from whatever bugs you, He constantly fills you up to overflowing with the abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness so much that with what is constantly spilling over, you can't help but live right and "produce a harvest of good deeds for God." These are works of faith.
Christ does it all.
http://rightbelieving101.blogspot.com.ng/2018/01/faith-without-works-is-dead-difference.html?m=1
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