Psalms 8:1, 146:1-4, 31:1-3a
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Romans chapter 4. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in verses 5-8:
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Grace versus works: that’s typically how we parse this passage, as if works are the enemy of grace. Indeed, we are saved by grace, but it is a grace that produces works (Ephesians 2:8-10).
It is clear the Spirit contrasts grace and works, but He does not make them combatants; we do!
Early believers struggled with understanding the relationship of works and faith (James 2:24 “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”) James is not correcting Paul; he is correcting those who misrepresented him.
Paul said, “If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God” (Romans 4:2). If we recognize Abraham’s works, as in Genesis 22, when he obediently delivered up his son to God, he might have somewhat to boast. But not before God! (Romans 4:2). We are impressed! But such an offering is not what moved God to justify him; that was given to him through his faith (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3). God saw Abraham’s faith and was pleased (Hebrews 11:6). We justify Abraham’s faith by his works, which show his faith (James 2:18-24).
Along the still waters, I reflected on this ageless battle: the tendency to pit faith against works rather than to show that they are interrelated; neither stands alone. Faith without works is dead (James 2:20); works without faith are rejected (Hebrews 11:6). Notice that when Jesus assessed the churches, He said to each one: “I know thy works” (Revelation 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15).
Tonight, the Lord willing, I’ll be exploring the planting of Baalism into the church of Thyatira. The evil woman who did this is Jezebel, the namesake of the whore who planted the seeds of paganism into Israel (1 Kings 16:31-2 Kings 9:37).
I noticed that Thyatira was exceptional in her dedication to good works: “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first” (Revelation 2:19). The word translated faith is πίστιν (pis’-tin); it’s a noun. It’s often translated as believe when used as a verb. Here, it is included in a string of nouns that identify a characteristic approved by our Lord. It can refer to the church’s doctrinal statement, but given the sufferance of Jezebel’s false teaching, that does not seem likely. Although a church can have a good statement of faith, while compromising it in practice. Probably, the word faith here refers to their faithfulness.
But the outstanding thing about this church was its works. We know that works without faith do not please the Lord, so we must assume this is a genuine expression of faith, since Jesus approves of their works and notices that this one characteristic is their strongest asset. This church was charitable (St. Jude) and concentrated on good deeds.
However, Jesus rebuked them for allowing Jezebel to sow the seeds of Baalism in the church (Revelation 2:20).
Not everyone in this church embraced Jezebel’s false teaching: He distinguishes between those who followed after Jezebel and those who did not (Revelation 2:22-24). Jesus promised to separate the false followers from the true disciples (Revelation 2:24). The false and true disciples were not differentiated by their works, but by their faith. It is possible to believe right and behave wrong. However, those who consistently behave wrong will invariably depart from the faith (e.g., Thyatira’s false disciples). They will be exposed as false disciples (1 John 2:19; see Acts 15:24).
What will keep us true? Jesus called me into the valley of the shadow of death.
In the valley, I was shown the Cross and Jesus standing by me, Who said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Many take the cross as a way of promoting themselves in the eyes of others. We must first “deny” ourselves. This is requisite if we are to truly “submit” ourselves to God, and only then can we “resist the devil” with any legitimate expectation that he will flee (James 4:7).
At the table, Jesus spoke to me regarding faith and works. Clearly, He is watching our works, but only what is done by faith pleases Him. He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup to overflowing! Goodness and mercy followed us into the harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap:
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