Faith Christian Academy

The Shield of Faith

ONE BY GRACE, ONE BY WORKS!

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15).

There exists in God's Word two distinct doctrines, which we must not confuse. They stand in stark contrast to each other. One is the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. The other is the doctrine of rewards for the service of the saved.

1. Salvation is a free gift of God.

"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee the living water. (Jn. 4:10).

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9).

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior. That, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:5-8).

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness." (Rom. 3:5).

2. A Christian earns rewards by works.

"And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." (Mt. 10:42).

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righetousness. (2 Tim. 4:7,8).

"And he said unto him, Well done thou good and faithful servant; because thou has been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities." (Lk. 19:7).

"Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built upon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (I Cor. 3:11-15).

Salvation is a present possession for the believer. (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 2 Timothy 1:9; I John 5:11, etc.).

Rewards are in the future. (Mt. 16:27; 25:19; Lk. 14:14; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12, etc.).

Dr. C.I. Scofield has noted 3 purposes of God in His promise to reward faithful service by His saints: ³

to win them from the pursuit of earthly riches and pleasures
to sustain them in the trials of persecution, and
to encourage them in the exercise of Christian virtues.

Faith in Christ is the root ²of eternal life; good works are the fruit, or result of salvation.

Salvation always produces good works, but good works never produce salvation. Good works are the results of God's saving grace.

For we are his workmanship¹, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
This is a faithful saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works...." (Titus 3:8)

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¹"Workmanship" is translated from the Greek word poimea, "the things which have been made." The word was often used of art and literary masterpieces.

²In this article, the author has used bold type for emphasis on certain words; this is the author's addition.

³ Scofield, C.I., Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth. Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan Books, 1973

IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE

...Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me.....
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name; those that thou gavest me I have kept....
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil [one]. (John 17:11,12,14 - word in brackets implied).

The Lord Jesus Christ speaking....His great high priestly prayer. Seven times in this chapter, the Savior speaks of believers as gifts--given to Him by His Father, the Lord God Almighty. During His earthly ministry, Christ kept them by the authority of the Father (verse 12). Now, He is about to leave the world. So, He places His love gifts, the believers, back in the hand of the Father for safe keeping. We remember what the Good Shepherd said in John Chapter 10:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all, and no [man] is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." (Jn. 10:27-29).

Certainly the Christian life is a journey wrought with many trials, both hills and valleys. But the journey ends at the front porch of God who has always walked with us, and who will welcome us home.

"In my Father's house are many mansions¹; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also....I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:2,3,6).

¹ from the Greek mone, literally "abiding places" or "abodes."

LATEST POLL RESULTS

The 'poll question' is found in Matthew 16:13:

"Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?

Here are the most common results of that poll:

1. You are John the Baptist.

2. You are Elijah.

3. You are Jeremiah.

4. You are one of the other prophets.

All gratifying because all of these people were respected prophets of Israel. But all wrong. So much for the public opinion poll taken in Caesarea Philippi.

Now, a more intensely personal question:

Who do YOU say that I am?

Peter answers forthrightly. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

"The Christ" equates Jesus Christ with prophecies of a Messiah, a Savior, an Annointed One in the Old Testament. He is not just "Jesus of Nazareth," He is the Messiah, the Savior, the Everlasting Father, the Son of the living God.

That determination is the heart of the Christian faith. It is

A. the Foundation of our personal faith and salvation

B. the basis for our Christian doctrine

C. the cornerstone of the Church.

In a so-called post-modern, post-Christian world, when Britt Hume can be openly ridiculed for suggesting that Jesus Christ offers something that Buddahism cannot, we need to be turned back to this basic, foundational truth about Jesus Christ.

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Perhaps you acknowledge that statement as historical fact. But, have you personally received Christ as YOUR Savior? You can do so by faith. (See Romans 10:9-13).

MY PRAYER for 2010

Lord, I am willing

To receive what You give

To lack what You withhold

To relinquish what You take

To suffer what You inflict

To be what You require

And, Lord, if others are to be

Your messengers to me,

I am willing to hear and heed

What they have to say. Amen

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--Chuck Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, Word Publishing, 1987, p. 141

"COME AND DINE."

As soon, then, as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.... Jesus saith unto them, "Come and dine." (John 21:9, 12a).

It's the international call to fellowship: Come and dine, or "Let's go out to eat."

In John 21, we see a sweet picture of the believer in fellowship with Christ. You know the story. It's right after the resurrection. Peter decides to go fishing and seven other disciples quickly volunteer to go along. But they catch nothing. Gray morning breaks calm and chilly over the Sea of Galilee. The shivering disciples see a lone man on the shore, cooking over a fire. Jesus. "Come, dine," Jesus beckons.

The bread and fish speak to me of the Lord's nourishment--always available to His children. After all, He is the Bread of Life. He provides the spiritual sustenance that we need. "I am the vine and ye are the branches," he reminded them. John 1:1 tells us that he made the whole world, and Colossians 1:17 reminds us that "by him all things consist." He has "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places...." (Ephesians 1:3).

The fire speaks to me of comfort. Serving Christ doesn't always lead us to comfortable lives. Yet inwardly there is Christ's comfort, even if the wind is cold and the environment is hostile. There is an inner peace and comfort from being close to the risen Savior. "Come be near me. Sit close to my feet. Let's talk. Draw warmth and strength from me." That's our provision for fellowship with Him.

We see a great deal of grace in this passage, too. Peter had recently denied Jesus three times. James and John had been called to leave their nets and be "fishers of men." Thomas should've had his picture in the dictionary right below the word doubt. But it is in our time of greatest need that our loving Lord offers us nourishment, warmth, comfort, sustenance. By grace.

Jesus knew the need of these eight men before they saw Him on the shore. Christ had already begun His work as the great High Priest, interceding, pleading, advocating, supplying their needs. His priesthood is ever sufficient for us. He knows our need. And by grace He is willilng and able to supply. As the old hymn exhorts us, "You can feast at Jesus' table anytime."

Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus though all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20,21)

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