Monday, December 24, 2018

PT-1 "Salvation is unto Good Works" From Eph. 2:10


Spiritual Diary for 12/24/2018 4:45 PM



My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  PT- Salvation is Unto Good Works



Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 2:10



            Message of the verses:  10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”



            I have said that I have many favorite verses, and Ephesians 2:10 ranks up there with my all time favorite verses in the Scriptures.  What I like about it is that in verses 8-10 we see that he horse is in front of the cart.  We are saved by grace through faith and not because of good works, but once we are saved we are then able to do good works for the cause of Christ.  Good works causes us to live out our own salvation as Paul said in Philippians “2:12-13  So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Jesus spoke the following in John 15:8 “"By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”  John MacArthur writes “When God’s people do good deeds they bear fruit for His kingdom and bring glory to His name.” 



            The word “works” is found 125 Times in the Word of God, and work is found 355 times in the Word of God, so we can conclude that the Bible has much to say about works.  One of the same it speaks of is the works of the law, which are good but cannot saves a person as found in Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”  In Hebrews 6:1 we see that the Bible speaks of dead works “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”  The Bible also talks of works, or deeds of darkness that are of the flesh and all of these are evil as seen in the following verses:  (Rom. 13:12; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:11).  Everyone of these kinds of works are done in man’s own strength.



            I will conclude with another quote from John MacArthur and then look at John 15:1-8 as I conclude this SD.  Another thing to mention is that I have been putting a Christmas message onto my Blogs for the last several years and so that will be what goes on here for tomorrow, Lord willing, and then I desire to finish the commentary on Ephesians 2:10 the following day.  Thanks for your patience.



            “Before we can do any good work for the Lord, He has to do His good work in us.  By God’s grace, make effective through our faith, we become ‘His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.’  God has ordained that we then live lives of good works, works done in the power and for His glory.”



“1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of Itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My

disciples.



Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “John.”



Today’s Bible question:  “Did Naaman think it was a good idea to wash in the Jordan River?”



Answer in our next SD.



12/24/2018 5:18 PM








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