January 24, 2021 IT’S IN THE DOING
James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, not just hearers who deceive themselves.”
1 Timothy 4:15 “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.”
John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Matthew 7:24 “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.”
In our culture, we put much value on knowledge. Knowledge is certainly a good thing, but knowledge without action or expression is of little or no value. There is a worldly knowledge, and there is a knowledge that comes from learning of God. The knowledge of God bears good fruit and leads to life- and that is the knowledge we must pursue if we are to experience life to the fullest. Even in Christian circles, we value and elevate those who have a great knowledge of God’s word; we are impressed with great sermons. Again, it is awesome to know God’s word, but we must be on guard against knowing His word but not living His word. We may even find ourselves feeling that since we had our devotion this morning, or listened to a sermon, we have done our spiritual duty for the day. The purpose of God’s word and the work of the Holy Spirit in us is all about transforming us in thought, word, and deed, enabling us to live life in a way that it resembles the life of Christ. There are two potential errors we must be alert too when it comes to the subject of works. One is that of believing that we are justified before God by our works or that we earn His approval by our works. The other error is to believe that because we are under the grace of God, our works do not matter. It seems that many believers have unknowingly fallen in to one of these unscriptural beliefs. One of the core truths of scripture is that our love for Him translates into keeping His commandments; because we love Him, we want to do the things that please Him. All of the commands of God are good and are life-giving; His commands are not burdensome when we love Him. It is through our works that His life in us is manifested. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10. We are to have the mindset of looking for the good works He has for us to be about. This may sound harsh, but if we find that we are not doing the good works He has called us to do, it is a good indication that we need to examine our love for Him because of what we read in John 14:15: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” No matter our age or our circumstances, there are good works we can do; even something as simple has giving a glass of water, or a kind word, can be a good work that is pleasing to our Father if it is done out of our love for Him.
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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