8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
No one becomes a Christian by his or her own works of self-righteousness. Good works cannot save anyone. We are saved by Jesus’ grace through faith in Him. That’s the central theme of our opening Scripture today. We don’t become Christians by our good works, but by our faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ is however not void of good works. The opening Scripture shows us that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works of self-righteousness, lest anyone should boast. It then goes further to say that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has ordained before the foundation of the world that we should walk in them. In essence, it is saying that we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works of self-righteousness, and that faith in Jesus Christ is meant to produce good works, which are of faith in Him, not of self-righteousness, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God had ordained that we should walk in them. God created us in Christ unto good works, which are meant to be borne by our faith in Christ Jesus Therefore, a true Christian is one who does not only profess faith in God through Jesus Christ but also lives out the life of faith in God, evidenced by good works, that is, the fruits that he or she bears; for by their fruits, you shall know them.
There is no way you can separate a man’s life from the work he does, just as you can’t separate a tree from the fruits it bears. In the same vein, there is no separating between the Christian life and good works that emanate from it. In John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” There is no such thing within the context of the truth of God’s Word as a true Christian who is born again, who loves God but does not love people, and does not live right. The life that we have received in Christ is not void of expression in terms of faith and love which are an evidence of that life. The identifying feature of a Christian is faith toward God, and love for everyone. Period. Nothing truly exists without any proof of its existence. Without works of faith and love towards everyone, the Christian faith is a mirage or an illusion.
My Solid Front (Confession):
In the Name of Jesus Christ, I declare that I give full expression to the life of God that I have received; I am full of good works of faith and love which result in abundant thanksgivings unto God. I am continually productive and abundantly fruitful in the knowledge of my Lord Jesus. Amen.
Further Meditation:
Matthew 5:16, Philippians 2:13.