Seven Facets of SalvationÖrnek

Salvation is Expected to Produce a Life of Good Works to Glorify God.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

We are not saved by our own good works, but we are saved to do the good works that God has prepared to bring Him glory. Good works are a natural response to the life that Jesus gives us, and just as a good tree will produce good fruit, our good works confirm God’s work in our hearts, done joyfully in gratitude and thanks for His great mercy and grace.

James said in 2:20-23, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.”

When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, and He begins a lifelong process of developing the Fruit of the Spirit in us, which is a natural outgrowth of His character, which He shares with us. Galatians 5:22-25 lists these godly character traits: “love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Verse 25 encourages us to stay in step with the Spirit since we now live by Him.

So, as Galatians 6:9 implores, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Of course, when we do good things, it is easy to fall back on our old patterns of life and take credit for what we do. The enemy of our souls wants us to forget the great price that Jesus Christ paid for our eternal life, and wants to drag us back to our old selfish way of living. The apostle Paul knew that this was a temptation we all face – and so as he comes to the end of his letter to the Galatians, in 6:14 he says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Reflection: Every time we selflessly do something good or give something good – that is God working in us as James 1:17 proves, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Examine your heart as you serve the Lord; are you looking for approval from your friends and family or from Him? The Lord gives freely to us, let us always serve Him with sincere motives, giving service to Him freely with no worldly approval expected.