Necessary Obedience

“For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.” This word from Paul to the Ephesians is probably one of the best-known passages in the Bible. It may also be one of the most frequently misused. Whether from laziness or stubbornness, people see “gift” and “not from works” and assume that human behavior has little or nothing to do with salvation. As with many of the finer points of Christianity, this passage must be viewed in light of the total message of Scripture. The full message is that behavior matters; works do play a part in our salvation.

Many Bible readers think that James was contradicting Paul when he wrote that, “Faith without works is dead.” There is no contradiction. James’ argument is that one shows ones’ faith by acting faithfully, which is to say in accord with God’s principles. This is exactly what Paul told the Romans when he begged them not to think they could live any way they pleased because grace would excuse them. “May it never be!” Paul shouted. The believer proves that salvation is real by righteous behavior.

The Messiah Himself pounded that truth home in another well-known passage we call the “Sermon on the Mount.” For three chapters, Matthew’s Gospel records Jesus’ instructions on how to live as members of the kingdom of God. It serves Christians well to remember that being part of God’s kingdom doesn’t involve a physical location. “Kingdom” is not a geographical term; it is behavioral. The Greek word Matthew used for kingdom means rule or reign. To be in the kingdom of God is to be governed by God’s rules. We prove He reigns in our lives when we do what His rules require. Back to James: the proof of our allegiance is found in our obedience.

Jesus’ final discourse as reported by John also plainly binds behavior to discipleship. Our Lord said, “The one who has my commandments and keeps them—that one is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.” Believers marvel at the fact that Jesus called his disciples His friends, but even that position is conditioned on obedience: “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” He also said that He had done the works His Father had required, and believers would do even greater works after the Holy Spirit came. Works, works, works! Despite Paul’s claim that we are saved by grace not works, works are expected, nay required as our response to that grace.

I believe that there is another elemental factor in the necessity of works as part of our relationship with God. One of the first responsibilities God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden was to work: “And Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it.” We know that God’s original plan was for Adam and Eve to spread the Eden-like quality of creation across the globe. Sin, of course, interrupted that, but God is still working toward His original goal via the plan of redemption of man and Earth through the Cross of Christ. The first Adam’s boo-boo is erased, and the Kingdom of God (Eden) is accomplished through the works of the followers of the Second Adam.

I developed the idea of Christians as agents of God’s original plan more fully in “Bringing the Kingdom” and “It’s Not All About You,” but I want to repeat here that our individual salvation is part of a much bigger operation that has truly cosmic dimensions. We are supposed to be agents who fulfill the request found in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Our salvation is, quite literally that we should work towards God’s ultimate goal: Earth as Eden.

Some people shirk their duty on this call because they are waiting for a rapture of the church; then they expect a seven-year tribulation; then they imagine a temporary kingdom for one thousand years before the “real thing” finally comes to pass after Armageddon. I believe those who view this scenario as an excuse to wait are missing the whole purpose of the church. Even if they were right, the church age should be a time when Christians proclaim the Kingdom of God as Jesus did. It is difficult for me to read His words and not see that the kingdom has already been initiated. Maybe we do have to wait 1007 years after a secret “second coming” before it is fulfilled, but that doesn’t change the fact that Jesus said it had already come roughly 2,000 years ago.

What does this have to do with obedience? Whether we have to wait for two or three “second comings,” or if the next “coming” is the last, our job as Christians is to do what Christ implied  in the parable of the ten minas : “Occupy till I come.” (KJV) I like the word “occupy.” I think of it as occupying enemy territory, for that is what we have been charged with: occupying the devil’s territory. We have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the light. Let us occupy it with bold obedience!