The Beauty of Salvation (13)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2.10
… the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Titus 2.13, 14
But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6.9-12
Christians sometimes have a difficult time talking about good works and salvation in the same breath. There is the lingering fear that we might come to think that we are saved for good works.
Of course, we are not saved for good works, but unto them. And even more, we are saved to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus (2 Cor. 3.12-18) so that good works overflow from us because we are a new kind of moral people with a new inward power (Jn. 7.37-39). We can’t help but do good works because Jesus is being formed in us by His Word and Spirit. Good works of this sort, the writer of Hebrews says flatly, are the proof of salvation—the evidence of faith (Heb. 11.1); we must not grow sluggish in seeking more of them.
David Bentley Hart puts this aspect of our great salvation succinctly: “Christian morality is a labor of vision—to see the form of Christ, to see all creation as having been recapitulated in him, and to see in all other persons the possibility of discerning and adoring Christ’s form in a new fashion. Again, this puts Christian morality at odds with the moral precepts of even the most principled postmodern ‘ethics’…” That is, the more we see the form of Jesus in His glory, and the glory of God in His face (2 Cor. 4.6), the more we will see Him in all He has made and, seeing Him, be made like Him. Everything else in our being saved flows from that. All modern and postmodern ethics are “patch-on” and thus have no staying power. Christian morality flows from an infinite fount of love, born anew within the soul.
We must teach about good works whenever we are proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. The Gospel is incomplete, if not false, without the insistence on seeking an ever-clearer vision of Jesus for a life of good works.
Resources for being and making disciples
We can begin to recover our witness for Jesus by gaining a clearer vision of what it means to be His disciples, and hence, what disciple-making involves. As we reprise our series of excellent conversations with Dr. Mike McQueen, consider your own vision and calling as a disciple of our Lord.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision column we continue our series on the Church by unpacking the Biblical vision for the Church. Our Read Moore podcast is working through our book, The Kingdom Turn. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we continue examining the state of pastors and churches during the period of the Celtic Revival, using contemporary witnesses. And in our Scriptorium column we working through the sermon on the mount. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
The Ailbe Bookstore: All the books in The Ailbe Bookstore are now available at no charge. Only pay postage. We need a better vision of what the coming of the Kingdom of God entails. Our book, The Kingdom Turn, offers a full and practical explanation of what we should be seeking as we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as in heaven.” Order your copy by clicking here for the free book or here for the free PDF. Discipleship entails discipline, and our free book, The Disciplined Life, can help you in making the most of the time God gives you each day. Understanding the times a bit better will help us in knowing what we should do. Order your copy of Understanding the Times by clicking here for the free book and here for the free PDF.
Resources for Shepherds: Our spring Men’s Reading Groups are now posted at the website. You can join any one of the three which are in progress or sign up to study Miracles by C. S. Lewis. See the line-up and schedules and register for these free groups for men by clicking here.
From the Celtic Revival
State of the Churches in the Time of the Celtic Revival
The Lord shall come to judgement with the elders of his people and his princes. You have eaten up My vineyard and your house contains the spoil of the poor. Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?, says the Lord of hosts.
– Gildas, The Ruin of Britain
“Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.’”
– Ezekiel 34. 2, 3
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”
– Acts 20.29, 30
As Paul explained, we must not think that the situation Gildas faced cannot happen to us or our colleagues in ministry. We must daily strengthen our defenses against using the ministry as a means of self-aggrandizement of any kind.
Resources from the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD)
It can be fun reading about the saints of Ireland during this period. Hagiography is a blend of history and story-telling, which fits perfectly with the Irish imagination. Our book, Lives of Irish Saints, uses as its basis the important early-20th century work of Charles Plummer and presents some of the leaders of the early period of the Celtic Revival. You can download it for free by clicking here.
T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
