Can you give examples of the works of the believer?
Let’s read Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Notice that we are not saved by our works, but we are saved so that we might work for our redeemer. We cannot earn our salvation. If we try to work our way to Heaven, we read in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Any acts of righteousness that we try to perform to appease God for our sins are just like filthy rags to Him…not only useless, but disgusting.
Let’s also read Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” We cannot work, in any fashion, to earn our salvation. It comes only through God’s mercy and the cleansing that comes from trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior.
With all that said, there are works for the believer to do to serve the Lord and honor Him. As we read in Ephesians 2:10, we are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” It is as new creatures in Christ (Read 2 Corinthians 5:17) that we can work for our Lord. Psalms 100:2 tells us to, “Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” We should have a real sense of the privilege of being one of the Lord’s servants and serve Him gladly. 1 Samuel 12:20 tells us we should “serve the LORD with all your heart.” Let’s look at a few ways we can work for the Lord.
2 Timothy 4:5, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” We can serve the Lord by telling others of His free gift of grace to all who will believe on Him.
1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” We can serve the Lord by living Godly lives that others might imitate. We should set good examples to others…younger and older.
Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” We should avoid doing those negative things that discourage others. We can serve the Lord by being kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.
3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” We can serve the Lord by learning the truth and then obeying it.
James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” We can serve the Lord by spending time with those in need. Fatherless and widows are examples of people who have no one to turn to. Most importantly, we can serve the Lord by staying away from the sins and distractions of the world. Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-2
Galatians 6:10, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” We can serve the Lord by serving the needs of others. We need to be ready to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of others as the Lord leads.
There are so many works we can do for the Lord. This is just a small example of how we can serve the Lord. I challenge you to search the Word for more ways to serve the Lord. There are many, many more that what I have listed here. (350.6)