June 4, 2019 BUT THE DOERS
Romans 2:13 “for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
If not spiritually alert and watchful, even as believers, we can fall into the same error that Paul was addressing with the Jewish leaders of his day. The error is that we can get into a mind-set that says that if we believe God’s word, then we are good. In other words, we think that because we ‘believe’ the word of God, and perhaps attend church services, God is pleased and nothing else is required of us. We have made what we believe, paramount to the neglect of doing or applying what we say we believe. To clarify one point, one is saved by believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came and paid the price for our sin; we are not saved by our works; all would agree that what we believe is vitally important. However, if our belief does not result in action, then our belief is suspect, because we act on what we truly believe. (If I believe that it’s going to rain, I take my umbrella.) The command to be ‘doers of the Law’ may sound legalistic if we do not know or understand what it means for us to be new creations, or if we have a wrong view of grace. The whole point of the gospel is that God has not only forgiven us, He has also given us new hearts, new minds, and new spirits, and has joined us to Himself-we have been transferred to His kingdom; as believers, we live in a new realm. God has poured out His love into our hearts. Once we know who we are in Christ, it becomes our desire to do the things that please God; His word becomes our delight-that is our new nature at work. We discover that His commands are not burdensome, but rather, leads to life and fulfillment. If we find that we have desires to do things that are not pleasing to God, then that is a sure sign that we are not living out of our new nature, but according to our old nature. Galatians 5:16 tells us “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We have been given the Spirit of God, enabling us make the choice to walk by the Spirit, and by doing so, we will be doing the works that God has ordained for us, and God will be pleased and we will be fulfilled.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
James 1:25 “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Romans 2:13 “for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
If not spiritually alert and watchful, even as believers, we can fall into the same error that Paul was addressing with the Jewish leaders of his day. The error is that we can get into a mind-set that says that if we believe God’s word, then we are good. In other words, we think that because we ‘believe’ the word of God, and perhaps attend church services, God is pleased and nothing else is required of us. We have made what we believe, paramount to the neglect of doing or applying what we say we believe. To clarify one point, one is saved by believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came and paid the price for our sin; we are not saved by our works; all would agree that what we believe is vitally important. However, if our belief does not result in action, then our belief is suspect, because we act on what we truly believe. (If I believe that it’s going to rain, I take my umbrella.) The command to be ‘doers of the Law’ may sound legalistic if we do not know or understand what it means for us to be new creations, or if we have a wrong view of grace. The whole point of the gospel is that God has not only forgiven us, He has also given us new hearts, new minds, and new spirits, and has joined us to Himself-we have been transferred to His kingdom; as believers, we live in a new realm. God has poured out His love into our hearts. Once we know who we are in Christ, it becomes our desire to do the things that please God; His word becomes our delight-that is our new nature at work. We discover that His commands are not burdensome, but rather, leads to life and fulfillment. If we find that we have desires to do things that are not pleasing to God, then that is a sure sign that we are not living out of our new nature, but according to our old nature. Galatians 5:16 tells us “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We have been given the Spirit of God, enabling us make the choice to walk by the Spirit, and by doing so, we will be doing the works that God has ordained for us, and God will be pleased and we will be fulfilled.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
James 1:25 “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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