Works.

I pray for this simply to be an exposition of the emptiness of a works based system in which we attempt to EARN salvation through the things we accomplish. Some of this may sound a bit familiar if you have read my posts in the past, but I pray we arrive upon an enlightened conclusion which impulses us to truth by the grace of his Word.

Should there be an eternity, the perceptions of how to attain it are as numerous as the stars. However, one prevailing thought seems to rise to the top within the modernized worldview of our culture, being this: Be good. Do good things, and hopefully the righteous will outweigh the depravity enabling one's soul to be justified eternally.

"None is righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10 ESV)

We will return here later, but to avoid being misheard I must quickly state that there lies a stark juxtaposition between BEING righteous, and living within righteousness.

Recently I had two Mormon missionaries knock on my door. Since I had a pocket of time, I invited them into my apartment to spend some time in discussion. After spending sometime talking through the divinity of Christ, we arrived at the topic of salvation, to which I inquired of how it could be attained. "Salvation is from grace, through faith, by good works." This sounded close to my own theology, but with enough contrast to stand completely separate from it, so I asked them to clarify.

"So there are things that I must do, actions I must live within, and deeds that I must perform in order to obtain salvation?"

There response was a quick yes, confirming my question, and claiming that works are indeed necessary to gain eternal life. Therein, biblically, lies the problem.

"For by GRACE that you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no man can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

See: Titus 3:5

See: 1 Peter 1:8-9

See Galatians 2:21

Sitting in my dining room, the two missionaries and I walked through this:

I broke every single on of the ten commandments by the time I was nine years old. Kindergarten ethics failed. At the time of my speaking this, they both looked at me as if I was insane, to which we jumped to Matthew 5, where Jesus states that to hate is to have killed in your heart, and to lust is to commit adultery. With that understanding, they seemed to reach a point where they understood that they were in the same boat. As are you. We. All. Have. Failed. We fall much short of the cross, much short of glory, and grace, which is why all three of them had to be given through the man of Christ.

It must be further expounded upon that if we all have failed miserably, how then can any works save us? Works are immensely important, and are truly a mark of a true believer, but can they SAVE?

See: Ephesians 2:10

See: Titus 3:9

See: James 2:17

See: 1 John 5:3

See: 2nd Corinthians 5:15

If they can, and we fail so often, how can one be legitimately secure in their salvation? They can't. Grace MUST fill the void as the scriptures point to. This grace is not to be taken advantage of, or abused. See: Romans 6:1-4 But because of his great love, we are to love him in return through righteous action. See: 1 John 3:18. Though none of us are born righteous, once sanctified we are entitled to live in righteousness having become a new creation. See: 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Should you be a skeptic, perhaps you have viewed the church as a legalistic set of responsibilities of which you wanted nothing to do with. I pray you would understand that this truly is not the heart of faith, and that the failures of man have set it askew. You do not have to be good enough to be loved and accepted by the God of the universe. In fact, the cross came to abolish that very thing.

Should you be a believer. May you never forget that it is the immeasurable grace of the Savior that saved you. Not your church attendance, and not your good deeds. Please. Continue in action, but may it be impulsed by love and not legalism.

Today we end, standing upon the cornerstone of which Paul ended almost everyone of his letters:

"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you." (1 Corinthians 16:23 ESV)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen." (Galatians 6:18)

"Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible." (Ephesians 6:24)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Philippians 4:23)

"Grace be with you." (Colossians 4:18)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." (1st Thessalonians 5:28)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." (2nd Thessalonians 3:18)

"Grace be with you." (1st Timothy 6:21)

"The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you." (2nd Timothy 4:22)

"Grace be with you all." (Titus 3:15)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Philemon 1:25)

Grace. It is all that saves. May we all accept it.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen

People.

While the population of Earth can be broken down into many different groups, sections and subsections pertaining to race, religion, wealth brackets, belief systems, and genders, we're going to inspect four groups of people in regards to their relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Essentially, and many subsections and variations arise from these four main sections, you will fall into one of four categories. The first is complete separation from God. This takes upon many faces, but all hold the same outcome. Secondly, you believe that a prayer saved you at Vacation Bible School, and due to grace and freedom in Christ you find yourself living whatever life style you would like to. Thirdly, and this can be all of us at one time or another, you find yourself living within goodness and righteousness, but for all the wrong reasons. Whether it be legalism, to be seen by men, or for selfish gain, the God whom dwells in unapproachable light has nothing to do with your righteousness. Lastly, and greatest of all, are those whom accept the grace of our forgiving Savior, and worship him because of it through grace driven effort.

To the skeptic, who stands apart from the risen Christ, the charge is simple. Seek him. One day you will. In fact, one day you will worship him and bow at the very sound of his name. For your sake, with love as my charge, I pray it is sooner than later.

See: Philippians 2:9-10

Should you truly have never heard it before, the gospel is this:

We, in our flesh have fallen and are sinful.

See: Romans 3:23

See: Ephesians 2:1-3

See: Your (admit it) depraved thoughts and heart.

Our sin separates us from the perfect Lord, and the price for our failings is the eternal manifestation of the separation we exhibit here on earth in hell.

See: Romans 6:23

Because of his great love for us, even while we sinned and turned away from him, he sent his son to be the reconciliation and to bridge the gap between our depravity and his perfection by dying on the cross to be the sacrifice for our sins.

See: John 3:16

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 ESV)

While you sin, and while you have sinned, he still loves you and died for you. You have never fallen too far from the grace of Christ.

See: Ephesians 2:4-10

You are blemished, you are fallen, and should your life end, you know you would stand unjustified in front of the Lord. Please, I beg of you to see the cross and find in it your salvation. He wishes not for you to attempt to clean yourself up before coming to him, he simply wants you to come. Should you find yourself with any question, please shoot me a message on Facebook, or respond below in the comments section. The cross stands sufficient.

Secondly, and this burdens me much, I believe that we will find those everywhere whom truly believe their eternal security does not lie in the balance. Possibly you were saved as a five year old, as I was, and think that a prayer after running down the isle saved you. Yet, should you pursue the scriptures, we'll find that a prayer NEVER saved a soul. The genuine, veritable belief in the thoughts and words and faith spoken in the prayer do. Paul addresses this when he asks the Romans:

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2 ESV)

While works do not participate in the salvation of one's soul, they are the outpouring of true salvation.

See: John 14:15

See: 1 John 5:3

Test yourself here, and seek the scriptures in these regards. Are you truly justified in the face of the Savior? Did a prayer long, long ago TRULY hold the power to save you, without yielding any fruit in your life? Pray. Seek. Ask. Repent. Bluntly, your seeking my prove that you never obtained the salvation of the Christ in the first place, which is an extremely perilous situation to sit within.

See: Matthew 7:21-23

Thirdly, you may understand the inner-workings of grace and are knowledgeable of the Word of God. Maybe you know that Ephesians 2:8-9, "for it is by grace that you have been saved..." is quickly followed by Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS." Maybe you are fully aware that Titus 3:5 is shortly followed by Titus 3:9. You know and have read that "faith without works is dead." (James 2:17) and that the love of God is to keep his commandments. (1 John 5:3) Yet. Potentially, and probably you miss the second half of 1 John 5:3, which states: "And his commandments are not burdensome."

There is no worship without love, and if you have somehow fallen into the trap of acting within righteousness simply because you know you "have to", I fear you will find your offerings rejected.

See: Cain and Able

See: Hosea 6:6

See: Amos 5:21-25

Think of the difference between the child whom cleans his room out of frustration and obligation juxtaposed to the child who cleans his room because he knows it will please his mother. While both children's rooms will be cleaned, who's mother will be happier while watching their child?

Do you work for God in order to please man? This is no service whatsoever.

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10 ESV)

See: John 12:43

There stands a middle ground between legalism and license named love.

The ground upon which we all, myself included should strive to stand is one upon which we examine the grace and love of Christ, and instead of misusing, and abusing the grace and freedom we have been given, we allow it to impulse us to love him more and act out that love through grace driven effort. In this we work, not because we have to, but because the cross births in us a desire to. Do you work out your salvation because you have gone to church, and been told it is what you are to do? Seek him, find him good, and worship him because of it through action.

"Little children, let us not love in word or in talk but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18 ESV)

Where do you stand?

Should you be a skeptic: I plead with you to seek the Christ. I have no gain whatsoever your pursuit of the Lord, but should you be wrong in your standings and belief of the Savior, the repercussions are catastrophic. Jesus is the answer, the cross is the bridge, and the answer is found in the Word. Feel free to ask any questions on anything left vague or insufficiently explained.

Should you be a believer. First and foremost; are you truly a believer? How do you know? Are you counting on your church attendance to fill the void between your depravity and Christ's divinity? Why do you act? Is it out of love, or to be seen by man? Is your "love" really love? Seek his word, ask questions in the comment box or Facebook if need be, be square away the validity of the salvation on which your soul rests. Nothing could be of greater importance.

May the word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory,

-Matt Allen