Answers 03 Why Do Good Works If We Are Under Grace? – David Hibbert.
Introduction
In this series called “Answers”, my goal is to help you, by sharing with you short, Biblical answers to questions that people have been asking me. Today’s question:
Why Do Good Works If We Are Under Grace?
Some people ask, “why do good works if we are under grace?” Why pray, why read the Bible, why attend church services, why be involved in Christian ministry, if we are under God’s grace?
- Enabling Grace Is Given So We Can Work For God.
I already addressed in a previous teaching that although “Saving Grace” results in salvation from our sins, it is Enabling Grace that empowers us to serve the Lord. And if we do not serve the Lord, we are rejecting His Enabling Grace.
2 Corinthians 6:1, NIV – (1) As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
God gave us His Enabling Grace so that we could be His co-workers. If we refuse to be God-coworkers, we are receiving God’s grace in vain.
- Not Serving Others Is Disobedience And Selfishness.
To say that we don’t have to work since we are under grace is pure selfishness. Did you ever try that argument with your boss? “Sorry boss, I’m not coming to work today because I don’t feel like it, and anyway, I’m under grace”. I think you would lose your job right away.
2 Timothy 3:1-2, NIV – (1) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. (2) People will be lovers of themselves …
The very first sign that we are in the last days, and that the world is depraved, is that people would be lovers of ourselves, and not interested in the needs of others.
- Not Reading The Bible Is Disobedience And Spiritual-Starvation.
If we say we are under grace, so we don’t need to read our Bibles, we are basically starving ourselves spiritually.
Matthew 4:4, NIV – (4) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
God’s word feeds us (Matthew 4:4), transforms us (Romans 12:2), shows us God’s will (Romans 12:2), strengthens us (1 John 2:4), and reveals our hearts (Hebrews 4:12), just to name a few of the benefits of the word of God.
So to not read the word of God is disobedience and spiritual starvation.
- Not Attending A Church Gathering Is Disobedience And Self-Destruction.
Hebrews 10:25; 3:13, NIV – (25) Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing … (13) But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
If we do not meet regularly with other believers, we are not only living in disobedience. We are also risking self-destruction. The Bible tells us that one of the reasons we meet together, is to encourage each other so that we will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
You may say, “well, I didn’t feel encouraged last week.” We’ll back to my second point – that is a display of selfishness. I attend a church service to encourage others – whether I get encouraged or not. But you know what? Because I go to encourage others, many people feel encouraged, and so they encourage me back, and I never leave a church service without feeling encouraged.
- Other Spiritual Disciplines.
I could go on with other spiritual disciplines and grace arguments … “I’m under grace, so I don’t have to fast. I’m under grace, so I don’t have to pray. I’m under grace, so I don’t have to tithe.”
But all of these spiritual disciplines were given by God for a benefit to us, and if we reject these spiritual disciplines we are disobeying God, and robbing ourselves, and others, of the grace of God.
- Paul’s Conclusion.
What did Paul say?
Romans 6:15, NIV – (15) … Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
And what is sin? Sin is missing the mark of God’s perfect and beneficial will for our lives.
So to use God’s grace as an argument to miss the blessings of God’s love toward us, is just foolishness.
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