Sinners Yes, Works Don’t Do It

I can do all the works possible, and that will still not give me the salvation or justification in the LORD.

“¹⁶yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” — Galatians 2:16 (ESV)

I have to be careful with how I look at this. It would be easy for me to abandon all good works as they do nothing for me and my salvation is from my acceptance of the gift from Christ and the relationship I have with Him. It is not the works that does it, it is my faith in Him. But, I still have to do the works to demonstrate the love of Christ and to bring the gospel to others to ensure that they have the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation and create a relationship with Christ for themselves.

I cannot go back and think that doing the work will somehow give me more. I am already a sinner and therefor there is no way for me to get out of that. I have to move forward and not go back. But, Jesus will love me always. Whether I am moving forward or falling back, I will still be His. I will not be going back to being a sinner as I never left that identity.

“¹⁷But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!” — Galatians 2:17 (ESV)

The works I do are as a result of my salvation and not a way to “buy” my salvation. I have to remember my faith in Christ and not look to the works to somehow give me more. I have already received the ultimate gift from Christ and that is in spite of my sin.

Christ died for me and it is my faith in the saving grace He provides that grants me a stay of death myself. My faith is what grants me the justification to be called a child of God. It is not the amount or gravity of the works I do that have any impact on my salvation. I do the works of and for Christ because of my salvation and not to gain salvation. Works don’t do it.

What works are you doing in the world? Are you out there in belief that somehow the more or greater the works, the less of a sinner you are? What if you just had faith in your salvation and did the works to demonstrate that salvation and not to somehow gain salvation as works don’t do it?

Stay Alive in Faith

I have been saved by Christ and justified through my faith. I now have to remain alive in that faith and how is that done but through my works. I have to continue to demonstrate my faith and justification through my works for Christ and that will keep me alive in my faith and guide me in my relationship with Christ.

“¹⁵If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? ¹⁷So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” — James 2:15-17 (ESV)

My faith and justification is not determined by my works, but it is displayed by them. I have to remember that just because I have been saved and justified, that is not the end of it all for me. I also have to remember that it is not my works that get me there, but it is my works for Christ that demonstrate that I am there. Without the works, I am simply sitting and not completing the tasks that God has given me to complete.

In my role as a professional trainer in the world I am not directly involved in the growing of and enhancing the business. Granted, that is not my role and I have accepted that training is who I am and not just what I do, yet there is a part of me that thinks that I could be adding so much more. This is the feeling I get until I take a closer look at just how I am impacting and the work that I am doing. I care for the people and do all in my scope to impact them. I do believe that they know I care for them. I do believe that I am impacting them. I do believe that work is the work for God. I also write here about what I am learning and spreading that to others. This is the work for God. I am faithful, I am justified, and I am not dead.

What works are you doing? Are they for God and as a demonstration of your faith or are you hoping to gain faith and justification? What if you relied on your faith and did the work to remain alive in that faith?

Justified by Faith, Not Works

I know, I just recently wrote “Doers are Those Justified”, so how does all of this fit. Well, what I wrote in the first paragraph is more indicative of what is meant: “It is NOT about the works, although the works are an indicator.” It is not what you do that is justified, I do the works because I am justified. My being justified comes through the gift of God through Jesus Christ.

“²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” — Romans 3:23-24 (ESV)

I have to remember that it is not what I do that justifies me. My faith in Him and His salvation for me is what justifies me in His sight, and that is what matters.

“²⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” — Romans 3:28 (ESV)

I am justified in spite of my works. Once I have have accepted Christ as my Savior, I am justified regardless of my past and in spite of my future. The LORD gifts salvation and justification to me at that moment. I am then to follow Him and in doing so, will do the work He has for me. I will do the work, not to gain favor, but because I have been given favor already. I am now in the position to do the work of God within the boundaries of the law and not because of the boundaries of the law. I do not have some cornering on the law and do not have the right to go outside the boundaries, I will do that which is right, because it is right.

“³¹Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” — Romans 3:31 (ESV)

It is my faith in Jesus Christ that justifies me. I have been given the opportunity to be free from the sins of my past and those sins I will commit in the future. Where the sins of the future have been forgiven already, I am less likely to commit conscious sin thanks to the salvation I have received and will do the work of the LORD thanks to my salvation and justification. I will no longer do the work in hopes of justification.

What works are you doing? Are you doing them to gain some kind of favor with God? What if you simply accepted the salvation given, knowing that it is enough and then did works because of your justification as opposed to gain it?