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Works are prepared by God beforehand
Now that we’ve looked at the importance of giving back to God what God has given, let’s also look at laboring in what God is doing. Whether we are looking at the concept of laboring or sacrificing, the principle is the same. It begins with God and ends with Him. Just as Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith[1], the Lord is also the author and producer of our works. Let’s look at a few key passages. Begin by looking at a passage we saw earlier: Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Much is revealed in verse ten. I often hear people quoting verses eight and nine, but we can’t neglect what comes after. The Bible does not teach that man is exempt from work. It teaches the proper role of works. Works can’t save. Works can’t merit God’s favor. Works have no role in producing faith or righteousness. However, neglecting God’s path of good works is rebellion against His calling. True faith and righteousness will produce good works. Anything short of that is man’s resistance to God’s will.
There are works, and there are good works. Religion is filled with works, but only God can produce good works. We call man-made works good based on the human perspective, but true good comes from God. Just as Jesus said no one can be called good except God, no work can be truly good except that which is from God.
When you come to faith, it is God’s work. God not only saves, but He produces a new life, gives us a new nature, and then we show the evidence that we are His workmanship by our actions. You are a new creation, created for good works.
You can see that rather than works producing faith or righteousness, the opposite is true. We become God’s workmanship to produce good works. Faith produces works, not the other way around.
Take note of a very important principle in verse ten above. I’ve reiterated this several times, but it’s an important principle that we cannot overlook. God prepared the works you are called to do beforehand, and you are called to walk in God’s prepared work. This is important for a lot of reasons.
First, it is not what you are doing for God. It is what God is doing and He is calling you to join in His labor. The path is already laid out. Your role is to just walk in God’s works and do as He opens the door and provides opportunity.
Also notice where the dependence lies. God is not depending on you. You are depending upon Him. Not only that, but it takes the pressure off you and gives you rest from your own labors. You will succeed when you are walking in His works. The way has already been made. You have already been equipped.
When Jesus was mentoring the disciples, He sent seventy out to labor. He paired them up and sent them to the fields of ministry that were already prepared for their arrival. Jesus even said, “I send you out to reap where you have not sown. Others have labored and you are entering into their labor.” This is the call to works. The way has already been made and you are just being called to labor where the Lord is sending you.
Consider how Jesus prepared the disciples for work. He taught seventy disciples, sent them out to work, and then taught them again as He prepared them for other work. They returned rejoicing in success. You also are called to become a disciple of the word, then go out to labor where God calls, and then continue in the word. We cannot expect God to reveal His work to us if we are neglecting His word. Yet when we are faithful, we’ll see God move in amazing ways, so that we too return while rejoicing in the fruit of our labors.
This doesn’t mean success is always easy or that our efforts are pain free. Let me give you another example from Jesus and His disciples.
After seeing an amazing miracle of Jesus feeding five-thousand men with a few loaves, the disciples were put to the test. Jesus ended the day by telling His disciples to get in a boat and row to the other side of a large lake. He said he would meet them later. Jesus then went up to the mountain to pray.
The Bible says a great wind storm arose and blew against the boat. The natural response for most fishermen would have been to allow the wind to drive them back to shore, and wait out the storm. It was a test of obedience. The disciples rowed against the wind for over nine hours. All the time, Jesus watched from the mountain[2].
These men had to be exhausted and discouraged. They had worked as hard as they could, but made little progress. In fact, they probably were losing ground. Yet they remained faithful to the instruction they were given, “Go, and I will meet you.”
Nine hours into the storm, Jesus came down from the mountain, walked out on the sea, and got into the boat. He calmed the storm and Jesus took them to the other side.[3] Their labors did not produce success. The work showed faithfulness and obedience. In God’s timing He produced success and completed the work.
That is works at its core. We may find ourselves laboring against all odds, but if we know we’ve been called to a mission, we’ll remain faithful. Hardship separates the called from the seeker. I can always tell who is truly called and who is emotionally driven or seeking some type of fulfillment. When ministry becomes work and success is scarce, only the called persevere.
The one seeking fulfillment will stay as long as they feel encouraged. But those who look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, will not be discouraged when times get hard. When we know God is accomplishing His will, we take heart and stay the course. Earlier we looked at Hebrews 4:2, but now let’s read it again and bring in the works of verse 3:
2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
This passage is drawing the contrast between the Children of Israel, who rebelled against God, and the Church in the New Testament. The ability to succeed in fulfilling God’s call was available to them as well as to us, but they didn’t receive the word by faith. The question to the church is, “Will we receive it by faith?”
Verse three tells us that they failed to finish the work and enter God’s rest – even though the works were finished from the foundation of the world. In other words, God established the work and made the way of success in His purpose and plan before even creating the world. The way has been made, but they didn’t find it because they couldn’t trust the Lord. Their calling was to go where God was leading and walk in the works God had already established.
The scriptures teach that Jesus is our rest. We enter God’s rest by ceasing from our own labors, and trusting in the completed work of Christ.
God’s work will be accomplished. It isn’t dependent on you. The work has already been finished, but you and I have the privilege to walk in those works, which God prepared beforehand. We benefit from believing God and walking in His works. We are rewarded for faithfulness, not success. Success belongs to God, but faithfulness and obedience belongs to you and I. Look also at Romans 8:29-31
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
When the topic of predestination comes up, people often get negative images and ideas. I meet people who say, “I don’t believe in predestination.” Perhaps a better way of putting it would be, “I don’t believe in a man-centered view of predestination.” If we don’t believe in predestination – God’s foreordained plan, then we have to reject the scriptures. Predestination is not a negative thing and it doesn’t turn us into robots. It’s the pathway God has made beforehand so you can see good works fulfilled in your life. Predestination shows the amazing foreknowledge of God, and the truth of His power to accomplish His will.
In the passage above, we see that God’s foreknowledge and plan is the hope we have of accomplishing our own calling. It is our confidence. If God is for us, who can be against us? What can be against us? If I’m faithful and obedient, I will fulfill my calling and enter the promise of Christ. I will become a joint heir with Christ. How can that be looked upon as something to shun?
Knowing that I’ve been predestined to conform to Jesus’ likeness gives me the confidence that the path to spiritual maturity is laid before me. All I have to do is walk where God leads and obey in faith. The same is true for you. Everything we need to become what God wants us to be is open and available for any who obey.
The same is true for works and ministry. Nothing on earth can prevent me from accomplishing all that God has called me to do. Like the disciples rowing against the wind, I may struggle, but I struggle with hope and confidence. God’s work will be accomplished. If God is for me, who can be against me? I only must wait on the Lord to enter my works to do His will.
To be predestined does not eliminate our call of obedience. It’s our confidence that when we obey, God has built His plan into our path so we can’t miss out on any good thing. Disobedience is to follow our own path that leads nowhere, but obedience places us on God’s foreordained path that leads to every promise.
Even when our works look like a failure, God is able to transform this into a fruitful accomplishment. Let me give you a real world example from the life of Jim Elliot.
Jim Elliot was called to the mission field. God laid Ecuador’s Waodani Indians on his heart. From 1945 to 1956 he studied and prepared for the mission field. After more than a decade of working toward the goal of reaching this remote group of people, he made initial contact and was encouraged by their friendly manner. His mission team loaded up a boat and launched out to begin his mission work.
Ten warriors waited for the boat and ambushed the mission team. Jim and his four companions were killed before they could say a word about the gospel.
When I first heard this story, I couldn’t imagine how God could allow such a tragedy. That is until I heard the rest of the story. His wife and fellow missionaries showed what true faith is. Instead of wanting revenge, or running away in defeat, they came up with a plan to finish the work. Though they grieved their loss, the mission team returned to the Waodani people and used Jim’s death as an example between how the world reacts and how the Christian reacts. They stunned the warriors and villagers by expressing forgiveness and the love of Christ.
In the end, the village received the gospel, and the man who drove the spear into the heart of Jim Elliot heard the call of God and became a pastor. This man reached more people in Ecuador than the mission team could have done by their own plans.
Because Elizabeth Elliot and the rest of the mission team remained faithful, they saw God turn a tragedy into an amazing work. The Bible speaks of those who are killed for the name of Christ and says that even though they have passed from the earth, their works follow them.[4] Though Jim Elliot never saw results from his calling, the works follow him into heaven and he’ll reap the fruit of his faithful labors.
This may be a hard example, but it shows that our labors are never in vain as long as we are walking in the call of God. What looks like defeat is God’s tool for victory, and what looks like an impenetrable wall is an open door. Consider Jesus’ words to the faithful few in the church of Philadelphia from Revelation 3:8
I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
When God opens the door, no one can shut it. The opposite is also true. Unless God opens the door, we are battering fruitlessly against a wall if we try to open what God has shut. The open door is to those who keep His word and hold true to His name.
Though we may not be called to lose our lives, we do know that no barrier can stand. There will be barriers, walls, and challenges. They are beyond our strength, but nothing can stand against the will of God. As Jesus said, “The gates of hell will not prevail” against you. A gate is a defensive barrier. It is the closed door that protects a city from invasion. Yet God has the power to open anything He chooses.
We too will see this if we keep His word and honor His name. God has already made the way. He now calls for those who are faithful to walk in it.
The Reward of Our Labors
God desires to bless each person with rewards, but you are not rewarded for the amount of work you accomplish. Yes, I know. This is counter intuitive. The mindset of most people is drawn from our culture. But God isn’t concerned with how busy you are, but how faithful you are. We are about to look at scriptures that will blow most Christian’s ideas of works and rewards out of the water. In fact, let’s begin with the words of Jesus. I’m sure that when He instructed His disciples on works, they were caught by surprise. Jesus had a way of pulling the rug out from under people’s misconceptions. Look at Luke 17:7-10
7 “And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?
8 “But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
9 “Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.
10 “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ “
This is another one of those hard sayings Jesus often dropped into His teachings. One thing is certain, He wasn’t worried about how many people followed. Jesus’ concern was that people followed Him for the right reason, and that they understood the truth of what it meant to be a disciple. Consider this passage found in Mark 8:34
When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
This is a message few preachers will proclaim from the pulpit today. To do so would send away the masses, for the only people who would stay are those truly interested in being a disciple. When crowds gathered, Jesus often taught hard sayings and on one occasion, most of His disciples turned their backs and left Him.[5] Even those who stayed acknowledged His teaching was hard, but they also recognized His way was the only thing of eternal significance[6].
Why would anyone want to choose a lifestyle that requires we deny ourselves and take up a cross? Why would anyone want a faith that says we must lose our life? The answer is in the next verse. Mark 8:35
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
Jesus is asking His disciples to believe this one basic truth. This life is valueless unless it is lived in light of the life to come. The world is passing away, along with all the pleasures and investments made in it. We are being asked to give up the things we’re destined to lose in order to gain the things that are eternal. And the Bible says not to look at the things that can be seen, for they are only temporary. The things that can’t be seen with physical eyes are eternal. [7]
Only those who believe the word can do this. If I don’t believe in what I can’t see, I will not be willing to give up what I can see. God reveals the eternal to us through His word. Only those who believe the word can let go of their own life and take hold of the life God is offering – one that will not pass away.
Why would I want to take up a cross when the world says, “Go for the gusto?” This is why the way of the cross is foolishness to the world. Until someone sees through eyes of faith, the true Christian life doesn’t make sense. The true Christian life isn’t gathering treasures on earth, but inheriting the promise of heaven.
Many will say that God wants to bless us here and now. In some cases, yes. But that is never the focus of the Christian life. In fact, Jesus warned that we should not lay up for ourselves treasures on earth[8]. The Bible also warns that when wealth becomes our focus, we stray from the faith and it creates many sorrows[9].
Some claim that Jesus was rich and wants us to be rich. However, that is far from the case. According to scripture, Jesus was dependent on others to provide for His physical needs.[10] Also consider the humble examples Jesus gave. He was born in a borrowed manger[11]. When taxes were due, Jesus sent Peter to catch a fish that would have a gold coin. So He paid taxes with borrowed money.[12] His first miracle was to turn water into wine with borrowed jugs[13]. Twice Jesus fed the multitudes with borrowed fish and bread[14]. During His triumphant entry when He proclaimed Himself as the King riding on the donkey, it was with a borrowed colt[15]. For the last supper, Jesus sent the disciples to borrow a guest room[16]. When He was crucified, Jesus was put into the borrowed tomb of a rich man[17].
Where is the wealth? True riches are not material possessions. Jesus said that how we treat money and wealth is a test. If we fail to be faithful in unrighteous wealth (money), who will commit to us the true riches (our eternal inheritance)?[18]
Once we have an eternal perspective, we’ll also have the proper view of money and the things of the world. If physical possessions become a priority in our lives, we lose perspective and begin pursuing the wrong things.
Money and wealth is not the reward of God. God does indeed bless as He sees fit, but not everyone will be given excessive material wealth. If materialism is the reward, we’d be short changed when our time on earth is done. Keep a balanced perspective. Our life shouldn’t be centered upon living to make money or gather possessions.
We need to provide for our families, and the Bible encourages work. The Bible calls the man who refused to work to meet his family’s needs a person who has denied the faith, and worse than an unbeliever[19]. Making money is not condemned, but investing your life to obtain wealth is condemned.
Why we are rewarded
Now that we’ve looked at the importance of serving Christ and not money, let’s look at why God rewards us. Jesus made it clear that our efforts are expected and not praiseworthy. When it came to following Him, Jesus instructed the disciples to consider the cost. The Christian walk isn’t easy. Many struggle with the cost of discipleship, but the eternal inheritance will more than make up what we’ve lost. The Apostle Paul put it this way, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.”
But how do we obtain that promise seeing Jesus said we should not think we deserve a reward for doing our duty?
We are bought with a price, and when we accept the new life God has given, we should also have considered the cost of what we are losing. We lay down the things we once valued so we can reach for the things that are of true value. But how do we reach for it?
Let’s revisit a passage we briefly alluded to earlier, 1 Corinthians 9:16-17
16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!
17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
Consider what is being said here. First, Paul was called to preach the gospel. Though we are not all called to preach, we are all called to the work God has prepared for us. Necessity is laid upon us to fulfill the will of God and each of us will be held accountable for what we’ve done. However, the reward is not in doing the work, but our heart of faith and obedience. If I serve God willingly, I have a reward. But if against my will, I am still required to do what I have been entrusted to do. It’s the cost of discipleship.
The reward is in a heart of faith, obedience, and a willingness to serve God. I have been redeemed. Jesus suffered on my behalf. He endured the cross while despising the shame He had to endure, but He persevered for the joy set before Him. That joy was in knowing that my life would be spared and reconciled to Him. Seeing how He endured being beaten until he was almost unrecognizable, and then nailed to a cross, is it too much for me to take the new life I’ve been given and honor God by doing His will? Also consider this wonderful passage in Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
I believe, therefore I seek. Just as God told Abraham, “I am your exceedingly great reward,” I cling to that same word. When I know Him, I find true riches and the treasure of heaven. Knowing God is what life is all about. It shapes me into something of value while revealing to me how much God values me – and values you.
God is your reward. Those who want things will never be satisfied, but once someone is satisfied in the Lord, the desire of their hearts is established in the right things with Christ being at the center of it all.
God wants you, not what you can give Him. In the same way, if we are only concerned about what God has in His hand, we miss the true treasure of fellowship with Him. God indeed rewards us and the Bible is filled with the promises of inheriting the kingdom. However, none of that has value outside of fellowship with Him.
When my kids were very young, their grandparents gave many gifts. It bothered me, but I put a stop to the gifts when my children’s first words were, “What did you bring me?” No hello. No hugs. They weren’t excited about seeing their grandparents as much as they were excited about getting something new. When the item wasn’t something they valued, the visit was a disappointment.
Now they enjoy the fellowship with their grandparents. Presents arrive on occasions, but it is an added bonus and not the meaning behind the relationship. When they focused too much on materialism, they missed the value of knowing their grandparents and treasuring the time they spent together. Now they aren’t dependent upon a gift in order to enjoy the time together.
Love God, not just what you can get from Him. The relationship is the treasure. All else is extra blessings to enjoy, but not the meaning behind the Christian life. God wants to bless and reward us. Jesus said that God delights in giving us the kingdom. But that kingdom is not the best part of heaven. Fellowship with God is the focus and our exceedingly great reward.
God has given salvation to you as a gift purchased with His own blood. Let your life and ministry be a gift to go with a heart of gratitude. True love is when two people give to each other. A husband that demands a wife to meet his expectation doesn’t find love. A wife that requires her husband to meet her needs and expectations doesn’t find love. That is two people taking from each other. But when a husband gives of himself to his wife as a gift, and a wife gives herself to her husband as a gift, true love blossoms. Demanding love doesn’t produce love.
The Bible uses marriage as an illustration for Christ’s love for the church. He gave Himself for her, so His love has been revealed. Now the members of the church, which includes you and I, should give themselves to God as a gift of love. Then the relationship is complete. A completed relationship is the best reward we can discover. There is so much in the Bible on how to do good works that it can’t fit into a single chapter. Take some time to search the New Testament for works and discover how you can express your faith and love through action. Never lose sight of works being a gift of yourself and not a merit system. Once you understand how works is an expression of love, you’ll maintain a healthy perspective.
[1] Hebrews 12:2
[2] Mark 6:48
[3] John 6:21
[4] Revelation 14:13
[5] John 6:66
[6] John 6:60-68
[7] 2 Corinthians 4:18
[8] Matthew 6:19-20
[9] 1 Timothy 6:10
[10] Luke 8:3
[11] Luke 2:7
[12] Matthew 17:27
[13] John 2:6
[14] Mark 6:38 and Mark 8:8
[15] Matthew 21:1-5
[16] Mark 14:12-15
[17] Matthew 27:58-60 and Isaiah 53:9
[18] Luke 16:11
[19] 1 Timothy 5:8