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Pearls of the Kingdom 7/26/23
Consider these verses today:
Eph 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”
“Good works do not make a Christian; but one must be a Christian to do good works. The tree bringeth forth the fruit, not the fruit the tree. None is made a Christian by works, but by Christ, and being in Christ, he brings forth fruit for Him.” (Luther / Proctor)
Eph 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
James 2:14-18 “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
Matt 25:34-39 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
Let us find the encouragement of Lord in this,
Prov 19:17 “He that has pity on the poor lends to the LORD; and that which he has given will he pay him again.”
“There are many different kinds of loans, but that which is lent to the Lord is the best loan, your loan is safe and secure and payment is guaranteed”
The conclusion that I want us to consider from all of this today, we receive the word by faith into our hearts and the outward working of that faith is brought forth by the fruit in our lives. Maybe James said it best, 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” The short version, “Faith in Action”
May these words of Jesus encourage, challenge and change us as we put our Faith in Action,
Matt 25:40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Pastor Jeff