Make Every Effort
God's grace is sufficient for us. We are saved by grace, through faith--not of works, lest any man should boast. Yet we are also called to "work out our salvation" with fear and much trembling. So, which is it? Should we be hard at work for God, or hardly working at all?
In so many ways, we mistakenly try to work our way toward God's favor, as if there was anything we could do that would improve on the incredible sacrifice He made for us at the cross to pay our price in full. Yet, most of us have also discovered that when it comes to our daily walk with God, and our service for Him--like most everything else in life--we get out of it what we're willing to put into it. Truly, we reap what we sow.
Some believe that everything in the Christian life is to be active. It’s what I do that makes the difference. Others believe that the Christian life is entirely passive. God is in control, and we just nestle in and let Him do all the work in our lives. Just let go and let God. But what about the apostle Paul's words to the Ephesians--immediately following his reminder that we are saved by grace, through faith--that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
So it’s obvious that we should be active…and passive. You might call it active passivity. Or perhaps passive activity. It’s the needed balance of walking in a relationship with the Lord, by grace, but serving Him faithfully, by works. It’s a common theme in the New Testament, as Paul and James and Peter wrestle over that balance, knowing that “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26) And just as a way of reminder, words without faith are just as dead.
The reality is, there is no conflict between God’s work in us, and our work for Him. They go together hand in hand. As the late Dallas Willard said it, “Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning.” That is the such an important truth that we all need to grasp.
As we seek to be a church that reaches our community and disciples believers in their faith, one thing is for certain: good ministry requires hard work. Of course, more than that, it requires God's work, and we should be constantly and dependently praying for His hand of work among us. But there's no getting around the fact that our ministries bear fruit in accordance to our willingness to give of ourselves in service to the Lord, for His glory.
Check out the common theme in these many verses from the New Testament:
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door (God's way)..." (Luke 13:24)
"Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification." (Romans 14:19)
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3)
"Make every effort to enter that rest (God's rest for His people)." (Hebrews 4:11)
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no man shall see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)
"Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love." (2 Peter 1:5)
"Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with the Lord." (2 Peter 3:14)
God has done so much for us, and it's so exciting to see how He is at work in the life of our church these days. Let's be sure than in all we do in serving Him, we give Him our best and make every effort to serve Him with our whole heart and give Him the glory He's due.
I'm praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday.
--Pastor Ken
