Monday, 25th June 2007From my posts, you can probably tell that I am a very strong advocate of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Salvation is a gift from God, so we cannot earn it via doing good deeds.
This does not mean, however, that we do not need to do any good deeds at all.
Unlike other religions that require their followers to perform good deeds to earn merits, Christianity is a relationship. We do good as a response to the knowledge that we are already saved, and not as a pre-quisite to get saved.
In Heb 10:24, we are told to consider how we can provoke one another towards love and good deeds.
In Js 2:17, James tells us that "faith, without accompanying actions, is dead".
In 1 Jn 4:19, John tells us that "we love because He first loved us".
Consider the following passage in James 2:14-19
Faith and Deeds
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
James does not mince his words here. He tells us in verses 15 and 16 that if we see a brother or sister who requires food and clothing, but do nothing to address his/her physical needs, then whatever we say to him or her are mere empty words.
And that is why I am equally strong in my belief that good works is fundamental.
While good works do not earn us salvation, they do reflect the
extent of our gratitude to the One who gave us that salvation. After all, God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die for our sins, and did not merely pay lip service only.
I remember when I was still part of 3L2 as the cell leader intern. There were some fringe cell members who were paying lip service, saying things like, "I will pray for you" or "God bless you." Yet when it came to the crunch, these members did not visit those who were in hospital, or bother to turn up for the B2B events, etc. There came a point in time when the Lord placed in my heart such a burden, that I had to send out an email to the other members to remind them on what it meant to be a family.
Sure, the email caused some feathers to be ruffled, but what had to be said had to be said. Looking back, I thank God because I see that they have all since matured spiritually.
Starting this year, our cell mutiplied. Being a cell leader means that I am now part of the leaders' cell for my cluster, with fellow cell leaders as members. Just last month, our cluster leaders also emphasised the need to put faith in action.
Recently when a fellow cell leader's mom was in hospital for a gall bladder operation, I was glad that quite a number of the cell leaders went to pay her a visit. And just last Monday, a handful of us went to visit a church staff who was in hospital for a wrist operation.
Another cell leader's wife is into her 6th month of pregnancy, and this is yet again another opportunity for us to put faith into action by visiting her in Mt Alvernia when she gives birth.
Let's keep that fire burning by seeing our faith being put into action. After all, faith without works is dead, and paying mere lip service is just not good enough!
According to a Chinese legend, the thumb is supposed to represent one's parents.
