You are praying for the Lord to help you understand righteousness by faith. Very good; He will be happy to hear your prayer; that’s for sure.
But while you are praying, there is a pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen awaiting attention; very likely He will impress you to go do them first, and while you’re doing them you may remember other “work” that needs attention.
These words of Jesus may seem out of place: “If anyone will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine ...” (John 7:17). But the one little sermon we have from Mary the mother of Jesus is very appropriate: “Whatsoever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5). The dear Holy Spirit is always busy convicting us of sin.
A thousand times over we must insist that “salvation is by grace, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8, 9); but we must remember that the “faith” through which we are saved by grace is a special kind—it’s always “faith which works” (Gal. 5:6).
In other words, the “works” is a verb expressing the action of the faith, not a noun. That’s the key.
Yes, when you row your boat you row with two oars, otherwise you stay in circles. In that sense, we may say that salvation is by faith and by works; but let’s be careful not to repeat the sin of the ancient Jews in rejecting the most precious message of the pure gospel as the Lord in His great mercy sends it to us. Yes, the old covenant is wonderful in that it has held the world together for 6000 plus years; you can drive home in comparative safety because of the fear that other drivers have of the law; the old covenant has sparked many revivals and reformations in “Israel” past and modern; but when the “days ... come” when the Lord will “make a new covenant” with His people, it’s rank sin to resist and cling to the old (Jer. 31:31-34).
We have resisted in the 19th, throughout the 20th, and now well into our 21st century; isn’t that long enough?
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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