Welcome to our program. Now,
the message today is entitled, Works of Faith. And what I want to talk to you
about is the role of works in the salvation of a sinner. Works
of Faith. I'll be preaching from the book
of First Thessalonians, Chapter 1. Paul's letter, the Apostle
Paul's epistle, to the church located in a town or city called
Thessalonica, First Thessalonians. And I want to begin reading at
the first part of this, verse 1, chapter 1. He opens the letter
this way, he says, Paul and Silvanus, who was a companion of Paul,
and Timotheus, who is Timothy, Paul's companion and student. He says, unto the church of the
Thessalonians, which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus
Christ, that is the church, when he speaks of the church, remember
what the church is, the church means called out ones, literally,
it's those who are called out of the world, having been chosen
by God before the foundation of the world, having been redeemed
and justified by the blood of Christ, washed in his blood,
clothed in his righteousness, They have been called invincibly
and powerfully by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the
gospel, the gospel of God's grace in Christ. And that's what the
new birth is. It's regeneration. That means
the giving of spiritual life. It's a spiritual resurrection
from the dead. And conversion, having been brought
to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works. We're going to
talk about dead works today. And this is what he's talking
about. This is the church. The church is made up of sinners
saved by the grace of God. And the church is in God the
Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. What he means by that
is simply saying that they are in fellowship with the Father
and the Son. The Apostle John spoke of that
in 1 John chapter 1 when he was describing the fellowship of
believers. In other words, it's not just
a social organization, it's not an earthly family relationship
that you have by physical birth, such as whether you're Jew or
Gentile, or born into a specific family, but it's a spiritual
relationship wherein God is your Father, your Heavenly Father,
because Jesus Christ is the firstborn brother who has the preeminence
who did all the work and has all the responsibility of meeting
every requirement and condition for the salvation of his people.
So it's the church of the Lord God. Now he says, grace be unto
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
Paul's usual opening for his epistles, grace and peace. Grace
is God saving sinners by the work of Christ it is God giving
sinners what we do not deserve and cannot earn someone said
one time that mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve
and grace is God giving us what we don't deserve and that's a
good definition of both but grace is the salvation grace is the
gift of God that comes to his people through and by the Lord
Jesus Christ and based on what he accomplished at Calvary's
cross to save us from our sins. Peace is the result of that grace. Now, peace was established between
God and his people by what Christ did on the cross. That's why
it's called the Gospel of Peace. Peace established reconciliation. But when God the Holy Spirit
shows that sinner, shows a sinner who he is, that I'm a wretched,
depraved sinner who cannot earn and cannot deserve the least
of God's favor, and drives me to Christ for salvation, then
he establishes that peace in my heart, in my conscience, the
mind, the affections, and the will. Now Paul writes in verse
two, he says, we give thanks to God always for you all, making
mention of you in our prayers. Paul thanked God for the people
of God. He wasn't into the divisions
and the infighting that people are so apt to get into today.
Most of which has nothing to do with truth and grace. In fact, most of it is carried
on by unbelievers, false professors. But Paul said, I thank God for
you. And he says, I make mention of
you in my prayers. Listen, that's one of the greatest
things that we can do for one another as Christian brothers
and sisters, pray for one another. But listen to what he says in
verse three. He says, remembering without
ceasing your work of faith. Now, I've entitled the message
works of faith, plural. Paul mentions work of faith. he says work of faith he also
goes on he says and labor of love now basically the work of
faith and the labor of love are the same thing he's referring
to a whole lifestyle here a whole way of living and seeing things
so he says your work of faith your labor of love and patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father
So Paul's writing here, he says, I remembered without ceasing
these things, your work of faith, your labor of love, your patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.
Now, let me say this about this term, patience of hope, before
I get into the works of faith and the labor of love, because
I'll be talking about both. They're one and the same. But
the patience of hope, first of all, what is hope? Hope is the
certain expectation of final glory through the Lord Jesus
Christ by the grace of God. It's the certain expectation. You see, hope in the Bible, the
gospel hope, is not just wishful thinking. It's not just positive
thinking. It is an expectation that is
based upon solid ground. And the solid ground is our Lord
Jesus Christ. and what he accomplished on the
cross of Calvary to save us from our sins. So he's saying you
have an expectation of final glory based upon this solid ground,
the solid rock of Christ and him crucified. So when he speaks
of patience of hope, he's talking about endurance. He's talking
about submission to the will of God, patiently waiting because
you have a certain expectation of final glory that's based upon
solid ground. Now, this is key in understanding
the work or the works of faith and the labor of love. Now, so
many people have a tough time understanding this issue of grace
and works, faith and works. There are so many different denominations
that call themselves Christian. There's so many arguments, debates,
so much confusion and misunderstanding on this issue of working works. We speak of working or good works
or works of salvation. The Bible teaches very plainly
and very simply what it is and how it is all to be viewed. But
first of all, someone might ask this question, well, do works
have any part in the salvation of a sinner? There may be some
of you who are thinking, well, absolutely not. But that's not
correct. The Bible teaches works do have
a place in the salvation of a sinner. But here's the key. What place
do they have? And this is where many people
go wrong, even to the point of denying the gospel. And that's
why you need to understand this very clearly. You see, if you
don't have this thing straight in your mind and in your heart
by the revelation of God, the right place of works and salvation,
then you're denying the gospel of God's grace. You're looking
to someone other than Christ for salvation. So what is the
place of works in salvation? Well, we're going to talk about
that. Now, a lot of people, they'll talk about good works. You know,
I've heard people say this. There are denominations who call
themselves Christian who will say, well, now, we are saved
by grace, but then we have to keep that salvation, continue
that salvation by our works. Now listen to me very carefully
and do not misunderstand me. That is not true. That is not
salvation. That is a denial of the grace
of God. Now when we talk about the role
of works, the place of works in salvation, we have to understand
several things. Now the Bible teaches plainly
in several passages one that comes to mind and I quote so
often on this program is Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 and
10 which says this for by grace are you saved or literally for
by grace have you been saved not uh for by grace have you
are you saved through faith that is by means of faith And that's
the gift of God, not of works. See that? Not of works, lest
any man should boast. So, for by grace are you saved,
through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God, not of works, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now
that's Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. Now, so it says salvation is
by grace. What is grace? Grace is God giving
me freely, unconditionally, what I do not deserve and what I have
not earned. So my works can play no part
in attaining or maintaining my salvation. Salvation is not by
a work that I do for God. salvation is by a work that God
does and has done for me and it's by the Lord Jesus Christ
I am saved now listen I am saved I am kept saved or preserved
continue in this salvation and I will be glorified based on
and by and by the way of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ
not by mine and you must understand that in that realm and Paul in
the book of Romans chapter 11 he said salvation is by grace
and if it's by grace it's not of works and if it's of works
it's not of grace they'll cancel out each other so when it comes
to the ground of my salvation when it comes to the way of my
salvation When it comes to the conditions that must be met in
order for me to be saved, works have no part. Works have no place. My works, even the works that
God enables me to do, and that's really the only works that I
have. I don't have any works that are good according to the
scripture. They certainly don't come from
the flesh. In the flesh dwelleth no good thing. And so any works
that I do must be excluded as to attaining or maintaining my
salvation. My works do not save me. My works
do not make me holy or holier. In fact, there are no degrees
of holiness. And listen to this. My works
do not make up my righteousness before God. Christ is my righteousness. You see that? Christ and Him
crucified. He is made of God unto me. Wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And when it comes
to attaining salvation, when it comes to earning salvation,
or deserving salvation, my works are totally excluded. And yours
are too. So that any notion of salvation
conditioned on the works of man at any time, to any degree, at
any stage, is a false gospel. Now is that clear? Well, I quoted
part of the Ephesians chapter 2, the three verses that I gave
you a while ago. Ephesians 2, 8 through 10. Remember
2, 8 and 9. For by grace are you saved through
faith, That is not based on faith, but even faith is not a work
that attains salvation for me. But faith is the way that I receive
Christ and His work. So through faith, and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any
man should boast. But now listen to verse 10 of
Ephesians chapter 2. It says, for we are His workmanship. In other words, God did the work,
we're the result. The safe center is. If you know
Christ, if you're looking to Christ and resting in Him and
His work, you're His workmanship. God did the work. He's the potter,
we're the clay. So we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus. You see, it was Christ who set
the whole basis of it. It was Christ who redeemed me.
It is Christ who worked out my righteousness before God, for
He is my righteousness. It is Christ who died for my
sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. It is Christ who
is seated at the right hand of the Father, ever living, to make
intercession for us. So created in Christ Jesus, and
then it says in Ephesians 2 10, unto good works. Now notice it
doesn't say because of good works. It says unto good works. In other
words, the good works are not the cause. They're not the ground. They're not the way. They're
the result. They're the effect. They are the result and the fruit
of the grace of God. You see that? So he says, unto
good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. By deeds of law shall no flesh
be justified in God's sight. What are deeds of law? That's
the works, the attempts of a person to keep the law. And that's spoken
all over the scriptures. It is not by works of righteousness
which we have done, we read in the book of Titus. It is by the
grace of God. So whenever we talk about work
of faith, labor of love, works of faith or labor of love, We're
not talking about works as the ground or the cause or the condition
for or the way of our salvation. Now, in order to do works of
faith or a work of faith, there must be faith. There must be
faith first. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter
11, without faith, I believe it's verse 6, without faith it
is impossible to please God. Well, what is faith? Well, now
just like I mentioned hope earlier here in this passage, hope is
not wishful thinking, neither is faith. Faith is not just believing
something because you want it or even because you need it.
People tell you today, well, if you'll just believe hard enough,
if you'll just believe enough, it'll happen. And that's not
what faith is in the scripture. I know through the human psychology
and the mind and how it affects the body that you can believe
many things and things will happen in your own self or sickness
or healing. But let me tell you something,
all healing is ultimately of God. We know that. But faith
in the scripture has an object. And what is that object? Or better
yet, who is that object? That object is none other than
the Lord Jesus Christ. What is faith in the scripture?
Saving faith is looking to, resting in, believing in, trusting in,
hoping in Christ and what he accomplished for the salvation
of his people. You see, do you believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ? My question to you is not do
you believe. My question to you is do you
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe in Him? Is He
your hope and your salvation? Is He your holiness? Is He your
righteousness? Did He fulfill every requirement
and condition by His work alone to save you from your sins? Is
He your righteousness before God? My next question would be
this, not only do you believe in him, do you believe him? Do
you believe his word? So faith has an object. So here's
what he's saying in Hebrews 11. Without resting in Christ and
believing in him and being submitted to his blood and his righteousness
as that which alone saves you and entitles you to the whole
inheritance of grace and glory, you cannot please God. The Bible
speaks of works without faith and they are called dead works.
Over in the book of Hebrews chapter 9 it speaks of the blood of Christ
being applied to our consciences by the Holy Spirit to purge us
from dead works to serve the living God. What is a dead work? A dead work is any work that
is done without resting in Christ. without seeking and following
Him. You see, it's a legal work. What is a legal work? It's done
out of fear of punishment. It's done out of fear of hell.
It's a mercenary work. What is a mercenary work? It's
done trying to earn something from God. Are you working trying
to earn anything from God? That's a dead work. Did you hear
what I said there? You say, well, I'm working hard
trying. I heard a country song one time that said, we're working
hard to get to heaven. You know what? That's a bunch
of dead works. Because I want to tell you something.
Any work that you do aimed at saving yourself will not do the
job. You know what it'll lead to?
Death. Therefore, it's called dead work.
It's motivated by an evil motive. You see, it doesn't glorify God.
It's a denial of Christ. It's a dead work. Over in the
book of Romans, chapter 7, Paul called them the fruit of death.
Fruit of death. In other words, here's a dead
sinner who doesn't know God, doesn't know Christ, who hasn't
been born again. He's working, trying to get to
heaven. It's a dead work. Works without faith are dead. But now the Bible also teaches
that faith without works is dead. Now the book of James speaks
of that in James chapter 2 beginning at verse 14. Faith without works. Now what
is he talking about there? He's talking about a person who
has nothing more than just talk. A profession of religion. A profession of Christianity. Somebody says, well I believe
on Christ. But that faith is not accompanied by the evidence
of work, of obedience and love. Now here in 1 Thessalonians chapter
1 verse 3 that's exactly what Paul's talking about here in
the work of faith and the labor of love. In other words he's
telling these believers in the church at Thessalonica you not
only just say you believe in Christ and that you love him
You not only have just a profession of that, but it is evidenced
by your obedience, your work, your labor of love. And you see,
it's the evidence of faith in Christ. I love the way in the
Old Testament that when the Lord gave Israel the feast days that
they were to keep as a nation, every feast day begins with a
Sabbath rest. And the Sabbath rest was a type
of resting in the work of Christ to attain and maintain our salvation. Book of Hebrews chapter 4 speaks
of our Sabbath being Christ. We don't have a Sabbath day today.
That was under the Old Covenant, the seventh-day Sabbath. That
seventh-day Sabbath was a picture of a believer's rest in Christ
after the work's been done. Christ did the work in His obedience
unto death. Now He sat down at the right
hand of the Father. We enter by faith into His rest. And we cannot do anything pleasing
to God unless we've entered into His rest. So the work and labor,
the work of faith and the labor of love begins with resting in
Christ for all of salvation. And what does that mean? Now
listen to me carefully. It means this. It means that we're to
work We're to work hard. We're to labor hard. We're to
try to obey. We're to fight the flesh. But
not in order to be saved, but because we already are saved
by the work of Christ. You see the difference there?
That's the difference between legalism. That's the difference
between a hireling and the work of faith, the labor of love. The work of faith is motivated
by grace and gratitude. In other words, it's a person
serving God, not just trying to earn something from God, not
for what he can get out of God. He's serving God because of what
God has freely, unconditionally given him in Christ. God has
given me so much and I didn't earn any of it. God has given
me so much and I didn't deserve any of it. And now I'm going
to serve him because of his grace. And I want to thank him. Gratitude. The labor of love. The motivation
there is not law and legalism and it's not mercenary reward
as if you could earn anything from God. The motivation there
is what it says. It's a labor of love. You serve
Him because you love Him. If you truly love someone, just
like a husband and wife, the husband is to love his wife. I spoke of that a few weeks back. He's not to love her because
of what he can get out of her. He's to love her for herself.
And she's to love him. And that's the way it is with
God. We're to love God because of His intrinsic value. Not what
we can get, because He's given us so much. You see that? That's the work of faith. That's
the labor of love. Those who talk about what they
can earn. I hear people talking about,
well, I'm just trying to earn my mansion in heaven. My friend,
that's a dead work. That's exactly what it is. And
I hear people, but now somebody says, well, aren't we going to
be judged by our works? Yes, but not the merit of those
works as to what we've earned from God. Those work will be
judged by our works as evidences of having been in Christ. The works will be evidences of
faith and love. You say, God's not going to sit
here and tally out different rewards because you've done more
work and you've done less work and all that. No, sir. That's
legalism. That's a dead work. Anytime the
Bible speaks of being judged by our work, it has evidences
of our faith in Christ, evidences of our love for Him and for one
another. Here's the question at the judgment.
Do you know Christ? Are you in Him? Do you have a
righteousness that answers the demands of God's law and justice?
Now, if you say yes, then where did you get it? Now, if you say,
well, it was my works, then you don't have a righteousness. If
you say, well, it was Christ plus what I've done, then you've
canceled Him out. You've denied Him. My friend,
my only righteousness is Christ and His work that He did for
me. My work for Him is simply an
evidence of His grace, an evidence of His love, an evidence of His
work for me. It's an evidence of my trusting
and resting in Him. It's an evidence of my love for
Him. It's an evidence of my faith.
And that's all it is. And that's what Paul's saying
here. I'm going to remember without ceasing your work of faith and
your labor of love. I hope that message has helped
you to understand this vital issue of Works of Faith. And
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