Faith and Works (48 min)

Faith and works. How do they relate? I love this topic! In our day, the Gospel message often stops at forgiveness, but the true Gospel doesn’t. It’s no less than the forgiveness of sin, but that in and of itself can fall short of the full message. It’s not just a “clean slate” idea in Christ. It’s not just forgiveness, but empowerment to new life based upon that perfect forgiveness. A life that hates sin and loves righteousness is a Gospel-filled life. We are saved by works, but not ours. So, what are works? They are what we do throughout our lives. Things like water baptism, the Lord’s Supper, giving our money/generosity. These are works, but our works are also seen in our love for the truth of the Bible. Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” John 6:29. Holiness is our work. Discipleship is our work. Bearing fruit is our work. The Bible’s record makes it clear that we’re not in any way imaginable saved by our works, but also that all those saved by grace will work. I hope to help you make sense of this amazing truth here with you today. The Power Point slides utilized during today’s sermon are available here for free download and use anywhere you like.