The Wednesday Word ~ 24 July, 2024 A.D.

 

Doing the Works of God?

by D.G. Miles McKee

Shortly after the feeding of the 5,000, the Lord Jesus was confronted by a group of eager religionists who zealously asked, "What must we do that we might work the works of God?  (John 6:28).

Christ’s reply is very telling.  He replies, "This is the work of God that you believe on Him Who He has sent." (John 6:29). Why complicate it?  To believe, (rest and trust) in Christ, is to do the work of God. 

“Now to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance,” in spiritual terms there are two types of work.  There is first the work through which people attempt to earn God’s favour by doing good things. By the way, there is nothing wrong with doing good things, but to attempt to use them as a bargaining chip with Heaven is a matter of wickedness and folly.  Nevertheless, the religionist feels there is something he must do to turn God’s heart towards him. But listen again to what Jesus says, He asserts, "This is the work of God that you believe on Him Whom He hath sent." He is making it clear that our works cannot gain us acceptance in Eternity. 

The second work, the work of the believer, is to rely on the work of someone else in order to be saved. 

Someone else?

Who is this someone else? 

The someone else is the Lord Jesus, the beginning and the end, the one great sacrifice for sins. This second kind of work reveals that Christ Jesus is the supremely sufficient one.  Pause and think about it.  In John 14:6 Jesus announced that He was the Way.  That means, according to the Lord Jesus, there is no other way to God but by Him.  In addition, He proclaimed that He was the Truth, not merely a truth but the Truth about God.  Also, with complete clarity He declared that He was the Life.  That means that outside of Him there is only death. And furthermore, no one comes to the revelation of the Father except by Him.  Can you trust Him? If so, you are doing the work of God. (John 3:18).

Jesus Himself is our Salvation. (Acts 13:38).  All thanks go to Him and His amazing grace, Because of Him, we are accepted into Heaven, without conditions. Although we by nature are helplessly sinful, God in grace forgives and cleanses us entirely. It's by His infinite grace that we are saved.

 Imagine if someone were to go to King David and say, "What must I do that I might work the works of God?"  David might reply---To do the works of God we must fight the Philistines and cut their heads off.  He certainly wouldn’t have replied "This is the work God that you believe on me.”  I can´t imagine any of the heroes of the faith claiming that.  Can you? But Jesus said, "This is the work of God that ye believe on Me Whom He has sent."  By this one statement we have Christ´s claim to absolute supremacy in all things.

In Conclusion:

We are saved by Christ Jesus

We are saved, not by moral character.

We are saved, not by personal works of righteousness.

We are saved, not by commandment-keeping.

 We are saved, not by our church going.

 We are saved by the awesome, majestic, beautiful grace of God manifest in the flesh (See 1Timothy 3:16).
 

And that´s the Gospel Truth!
 

Till He Comes!