We love God through Jesus via our faith in Him. Faith is the divine currency that measures our love for Him. We strive for our love for Him through all things that are good. We cannot completely conquer all our imperfections, although if our faith in Him is strong enough we can overpower the imperfections that lean to evil.
Can we obtain God’s Grace through our good works as a way of overcoming the imperfections that may lead us to evil? There are Passages in the Bible that discount the measure of our works as a way of gaining God’s Grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “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.” So where does our good works play into our lives?
Verses in the Book of James attempts to make some sense of the interaction between faith and works. James 2:14–17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Seems that if one does not show good works, the implication is they may not have had faith to begin with.
But what of the downtrodden, the individual in Verse 15 of the above passage who is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food? Or a person who is handicapped? Can they show good works? Psalm 139:14 says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made; no exceptions are mentioned. So, anyone who is alive has been equipped to perform good works, and it is up to them regarding how to go with it.
What of those who lack any understanding? Since we’re all wonderfully made, there is an anticipation of good works waiting to be performed.
But to the extent that Ephesians 2:8-9 has any say in the matter, seems that God looks only at our faith in Him in judging us. Yet James tells us our good works are necessary to make our faith in God visible. Visible to whom? To God or to each other? The way James 2:14–17 reads, we can only impress upon others of our faith in Him through our works, without boasting of course. But when God looks at us, does He think, ‘This one has faith in Me because…’ without considering the works we may have performed?
Perhaps He may conclude we have faith in Him because others have determined that we have faith in Him when we’ve perform good works, based on what THEY’VE seen. Who would those others be? They probably would include Jesus, who, by the inference of Matthew 25:31-46 may be standing at Heaven’s Gate prepared to say ‘OK, those of you stand to the right because you will be welcome into God’s Kingdom, but the rest of you stand to the left because you are doomed for the Lake of Fire.
Seems that works is a vital necessity in getting others to vouch for our faith in God. That would make sense, since the second commandment of Jesus says to love your neighbor, meaning, perhaps, you are not expected to shy away from your neighbor and live like a hermit.
Can we obtain God’s Grace through our good works as a way of overcoming the imperfections that may lead us to evil? There are Passages in the Bible that discount the measure of our works as a way of gaining God’s Grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “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.” So where does our good works play into our lives?
Verses in the Book of James attempts to make some sense of the interaction between faith and works. James 2:14–17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Seems that if one does not show good works, the implication is they may not have had faith to begin with.
But what of the downtrodden, the individual in Verse 15 of the above passage who is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food? Or a person who is handicapped? Can they show good works? Psalm 139:14 says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made; no exceptions are mentioned. So, anyone who is alive has been equipped to perform good works, and it is up to them regarding how to go with it.
What of those who lack any understanding? Since we’re all wonderfully made, there is an anticipation of good works waiting to be performed.
But to the extent that Ephesians 2:8-9 has any say in the matter, seems that God looks only at our faith in Him in judging us. Yet James tells us our good works are necessary to make our faith in God visible. Visible to whom? To God or to each other? The way James 2:14–17 reads, we can only impress upon others of our faith in Him through our works, without boasting of course. But when God looks at us, does He think, ‘This one has faith in Me because…’ without considering the works we may have performed?
Perhaps He may conclude we have faith in Him because others have determined that we have faith in Him when we’ve perform good works, based on what THEY’VE seen. Who would those others be? They probably would include Jesus, who, by the inference of Matthew 25:31-46 may be standing at Heaven’s Gate prepared to say ‘OK, those of you stand to the right because you will be welcome into God’s Kingdom, but the rest of you stand to the left because you are doomed for the Lake of Fire.
Seems that works is a vital necessity in getting others to vouch for our faith in God. That would make sense, since the second commandment of Jesus says to love your neighbor, meaning, perhaps, you are not expected to shy away from your neighbor and live like a hermit.
