Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The controversy has raged for decades, yes even thousands of years: are human beings saved from eternal death by faith alone or by works? Or by faith plus works? It began with Abraham when he took a second wife, Hagar, to supplement his "faith" with "works." Christians of many churches are still confused about this.
The Bible seems clear, but it doesn't seem to end the conflict: "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9). So, (a) salvation is a "gift of God" (see Rom. 5:15-18; the Bible doesn't say it's "an offer"); (b) even the faith is a gift; (c) and salvation is specifically "not of works," but the faith itself "works" (Gal. 5:6; it's a verb, not a noun).
Now, here's a simple "nuts and bolts" test: Is day-to-day living also by faith or is it partly by works of obedience? For example, you wake up in the morning. Is it your job now to initiate a "relationship" with God as though you call Him on your phone, wake Him up, and start a conversation with Him? And if you forget, is He is off doing something else and you are left on your own?
Well, here's the conflict: many sincerely think they see in the Bible evidence that the initiative is ours; it's our "works" or we have no connection, no "relationship" with Him. Maybe they are reading their "works" philosophy into the Bible.
Here's an interesting insight: According to Isaiah 50:4, God is awake before we are; He is trying to wake us up, inviting us to listen to Him; He is taking the initiative to maintain a "relationship" with us (which He started in the first place); our part is to respond to His renewed invitation. He loves us more than we have thought; His Good News is better than we imagined.
"The Lord God ... awakens Me morning by morning, He wakens My ear to hear as the learned," He "hath given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary" (Isa. 50:4). Yes, it's true! Now don't be "rebellious" to His every-morning invitation to "breakfast," nor "turn away" (vs. 5).
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 23, 2000.
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