Posted on 08/02/2017 5:55:26 AM PDT by Gamecock
By grace, God offers the righteousness of Christ to all who put their trust in Him. For all who believe, all who have faith in Him, the merit of Christ is reckoned to their account.
Does this exclude good works in the life of the believer? By no means. Our justification is always unto good works. Though no merit ever proceeds from our works, either those done before our conversion or those done afterward, good works are a necessary fruit of true faith.
“Necessary fruit?” Yes, necessary. Good works are not necessary for us to earn our justification. They are never the ground of our justification. They are necessary in a more restricted sense. They are necessary corollaries to true faith. If a person claims to have faith yet brings forth no fruit of obedience whatsoever, it is proof positive that the claim to faith is a false claim. True faith inevitably and necessarily bears fruit. The absence of fruit indicates the absence of faith.
We are not justified by the fruit of our faith. We are justified by the fruit of Christ’s merit. We receive His merit only by faith, but it is only by true faith that we receive His merit. And all true faith yields true fruit.
Coram Deo
Prayerfully examine your faith and spiritual fruit.
Passages for Further Study
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Ping
This statement compliments the gospel which says, "We are saved by grace through faith (in Jesus and His gift of salvation); we are not saved through our good works."
Last night I heard a Christian preacher on TV beating Christians over the head because he claimed that - they/we lack conviction to act on behalf of the poor, the drug addict, the prostitute, the pervert etc. His complaint was that too many Christians major in minors. There is some truth to the claim but condemning Believers for their lack of perfection is not preaching the gospel. Christians make up different parts of the body. We are not all called to be Mother Theresa's. Some of us are not ready and may never be ready to minister to drug addicts, prostitutes ...etc., etc. Just because you are called and prepared to minister to a particular group gives you no right to condemn others who are not prepared or who lack your conviction.
All Christians are a work in progress. It doesn't help to preach to me my shortcomings when I already know and acknowledge them. What I need is a Word that will give me light and life for the day - that's all. When I have Light and Life in me, only then do I have something to give.
A person gets convicted of something and then demands that everyone else comply with HIS own conviction.
I guess he hasn't read in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, the lists of spiritual gifts which God has given the church.
And honestly, the FRUIT of the Spirit is found in Galatians 5:22-23.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Volunteer ministry opportunities abound for Christians, especially within the church. Christians get lectured (as you did), cajoled and strongly encouraged to give large amounts of time and energy to these good things.
What often gets neglected the most by those who pour themselves into serving is the ministry that God has planted right in their own homes: their children.
I was that young mom who was the nursery chair, the MOPS coordinator, AWANA leader, etc. I was stretched thin and my kids would act up at the absolute worst times during the week (I can’t be 3 minutes late...this is my MINISTRY!!). I didn’t respond well to the annoying interruptions.
When my fourth child was around 3 years old I dropped everything outside of my own family. It was the best decision I made. I’ve helped here and there, but I’ve not taken on a single leadership role and it has benefited my family. I’ve started working part time and see even that was not a good idea (though the income was needed).
Christian parents absolutely must put their families first-their children are the most important mission field.
Also, second to spiritual leadership, a Christian husband and father’s next important role is to provide for his family. My husband had to start saying no to the pastor. He (as a self employed carpenter) volunteered so much on the church’s project that we ended up in personal debt. It’s taken us years to recover from that.
Like you said, we are not all called to the same role. We don’t all have the same financial resources or time to give.
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