By Grace We Are Saved, Not by Works: A Lesson to My Son

This week when the children and I went to the market, my seven-year-old firstborn son exhibited behavior with which I was displeased.  He is usually my superstar helper when we go to the market.  I had to repeatedly remind him to do his responsibilities as he should and to not fool around. 

I told him after we left that I was going to give a bad report on him to his daddy.  It's close to an hour's drive back home, and when we were about twenty minutes away from home, Will said, "Momma, if a person does bad works, and then if he does more good works, does that [cancel out] the bad works?"

I knew why he asked.  He had been sitting back there formulating a plan to get out of the probability of being punished by his father.  He wondered whether he could get home and do all sorts of good works to get me on his good side, and then I would just cancel out his bad works with the good works of which he would have more, and so then he'd be saved from punishment.

I responded to his question, "No, sweetie, it doesn't work that way.  That would be salvation by works.  A person cannot be saved from punishment for bad works by doing more good works than he did bad.  Salvation from punishment can only come from grace."

I continued, "However, a person who does not stop his bad works and start doing good works won't receive that grace, but the fact remains that he did bad works.  Think of it this way.  Say I go out and murder someone.  I say to the judges that I am sorry, and I'll now do only good works.  I'll do the good works of not killing anyone else and will do all manner of other good works.  But, not killing other people doesn't and cannot make up for the person I did kill.  Only if the people who were hurt by that person's death gave me pardon, gave me grace can I be saved from punishment.  But people don't give grace to a murderer who feels no remorse and clearly has the mindset of murdering again."

Will said, "I need grace!  Momma, will you please give me grace and not tell Daddy?"

I told him that I knew he was usually well-behaved and that he needed to make sure it didn't happen again; next week when we go to the market, he'd better act the right way.  I added that he also needed to make sure he walked the path of righteousness for the remainder of the day, to the time his daddy would get home.  I ended by telling him that I forgave him and that I wouldn't bring charges against him to his daddy.

Well, much to my disappointment, Will let his own will get out of control for the rest of the day.  He can be so wonderful, but that day was not one of those days.  I told him he'd be getting a bad report.  I did give his daddy a bad report, and it included the market details.  The promised grace was no longer valid, because he had fallen from grace.

Our relationship with our Holy Father and with our Lord Brother, Salvation, is no different.  We are saved by grace, because we have all sinned, and the Perfect Firstborn, Salvation, sacrificed for us.  Big Brother took the blame for our wrongdoings.  He took the punishment from Father.  The punishment did not belong to him.  Salvation did no wrong in Father's eyes.  He was Father's Perfect Firstborn, playing a life out in human flesh without sin.  Salvation is Number 1 in Father's eyes, his most beloved Son.  None of us will ever come close to comparing, and certainly no number of good works is going to cancel out any bad works.  ONE bad work, ONE sin, and we come SHORT of God's glory, and Salvation, the Firstborn, is Father's glory.  We should all bow the knee to Salvation, because he's EARNED his right to be Father's Top Son.  None of us have EARNED anything...but death.  We all have at least ONE sin.  Salvation had NO sin.  We had better all bow to Salvation and do our best to be like him, and he'll give a good word to Father.  Father will see that we are trying to be like Salvation, though knowing we'll never be as good as Salvation, and honor Salvation before Father. 

That is how we get GRACE.  We have to have the heart of wanting to do everything right and trying to walk on the path of righteousness the way our Elder Brother Salvation did.  If we are not even trying to obey Father's household law the way Salvation did and do not care or only care about some commandments but not others, then we shall not get grace from Father.

It's interesting to me that most of those who call themselves "Christian" shout to those who keep Father's commandments and do not play the whore in Father's household but keep themselves as a virgin in his Royal Household, "We're not saved by works!  We're saved by grace."  Well, those of us who keep Father's commandments are not seeking to be saved by works.  We are seeking to be saved by grace.  We truly were remorseful that we had broken Father's commandments--all ten of them--and we turned to good works.  No matter how many times we don't steal, it won't make up for the time(s) we have stolen.  No matter how much we do not murder, it won't make up for the times we did (even in heart).  We're not saved by works.  But, we know we're not going to get covered by that promised grace through Salvation before Father's throne if we do not change our ways. 

If Will acts up at the market next week, he'll really be in trouble, because it is known that he can conduct himself properly and make me very proud, and so if he does not even try to do what is right and instead acts out of line--off the right path--he won't receive grace.  It'll be even worse.  It's pretty bad when someone gives a transgressor grace, and then he goes back to the evil deeds he had claimed to be remorseful for and turn away from.

So, those saved by grace won't be those who shout loudly to Father's righteous sons that they're "saved by grace, not by works," but those saved by grace will be the ones who sought grace and then stopped breaking the commandments.  Most of those "saved by grace" shouters agree that one should not murder, steal, commit adultery, lie, etc.  It's mostly the fourth commandment with which they hate.  They prefer to fornicate--to play the harlot in Father's Royal House--by keeping pagan-originated holidays, like the weekly "Sunday" first day of the week and the annual holiday feasts of Easter and Christmas, etc.  They do not want to walk as Salvation did, keeping the commanded holy days of Father that outline our plan of salvation.  Father and Salvation are not pleased that those who claim to be in their Household do not keep Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and 8th Day.  This reveals the true Salvation, the true Christ. 

Oh, how I LOVE the TRUTH...how I love and meditate daily in Father's royal law.  I aim to please him daily. I cry when I fail miserably to compare to my Brother Salvation.  Oh, but I then THANK Father for his grace and Salvation for his name, because he is my Salvation.  I have FAITH that I am under the loving GRACE of my Holy Father, because I invite him to search my heart so that he knows I love him and aim to please him and follow Salvation's footsteps and because I honor Salvation as the rightful TOP HEIR and am just thankful that I even am called worthy enough through grace to co-inherit my Father's possessions. 

PRAISE you, Father, Most High, and my Beloved Lord Salvation.  Blessed are you both by those in your Royal Household who LOVE and SERVE you in SPIRIT and in TRUTH!

Amen!

Joy

Joy (noun): a feeling of great pleasure and happiness

Synonyms: delight, rapture, happiness, gladness, exuberance, euphoria

How wonderful it is to have JOY in one's life! It is always my desire to wake up each morning with joy. When the sky is blue and the sun is shining brightly, it's never hard for me to be full of joy each morning, with the very first thoughts being praise and thanks to God for life on such a gorgeous day.

It's easy to be full of joy when my husband kisses me and asks, "How are you Sweet Lady?" It comes naturally to be full of joy when my firstborn son says, "I love you Momma," or when my toddler son hugs my legs or plants a kiss on my lips.

Joy immediately fills my being when my friends tell me how much I mean to them. I can't help but feel joyful whenever I see birds and butterflies visiting my yard or whenever I see squirrels leap from tree to tree in the woods. Joy abounds in my heart when singing a lovely song or reading a good story. I have indescribable joy each time I eat good food.

I love that I'm surrounding by joy-giving blessings from God: family, friends, creatures of the outdoors, good food, good music, good words, the sun and moon and stars, the grass and flowers and trees....too many joyful things to name them all.

I also get joy from being on the giving end. I love the joy I see in my children when I tell them I love them or hug or kiss them or when I give them a gift or teach them something new. I cherish the joy I hear in my husband's voice when he tells me the meal I made is good or that he's glad I'm his wife.

I delight in the joy I give to others by just smiling and talking to them when no one else cares about them. I take great pleasure in the joy I give someone when I help him or her solve a problem or give someone a helping hand. I relish the joy I give to people when they just need someone to listen.

What about the days I wake up, and there is no sun shining in the sky and no blue sky? The nights where I can't see the moon and stars? What about the days my children dishonor and disrespect me? The days when my husband is a grouch? How am I to feel on the days there are no birds or butterflies or flowers? On the days where I burn our food or leave out ingredients or overdose it on ingredients? How am I to react on the days when my friends are not available or they are angry? On the days I am paid back with evil for helping someone? How am I to feel on the days I lose someone dear? On the days we have no money?

My brethren, count it all JOY when ye fall into diverse temptations (various trials); knowing that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience (James 1:2-3).

How are we go count it joy on the days the sun is not shining, on the days when we may wish we were never born? How are we to be happy when our spouse, child, parent, or best friend dies? When we are in danger of losing our home or not having food to eat? How do we cope if one of we ourselves or one of our loved ones is sick and near unto death? When our own flesh and blood family and longest friends turn their backs on us, because we're seen as enemies of the state? Could we "count it all joy" if our spouses and children were murdered before our eyes? If our children were stolen from us by government authorities? What about if we were plastered all over the news as evil and threatening, and the vast majority wanted us dead?

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried (has been proved), he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him (James 1:12).

We must face temptations/trials in this life. God must prove us to see whether we truly love Him. When our faith is tested, patience follows.

Faith without works is dead (James 2:20). True faith is proved by works.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves....but whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, bu a doer of the work, this an shall be blessed in his deed (1:22, 25).

Yea, a man may say, Thou has faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (2:18).

Faith and patience are required to get through trials. Let's read and meditate on the following:

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman (farmer) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receiveth the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy (blesed) which endure. Ye have heard the patience (perseverance) of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful (compassionate), and of tender mercy (5:7-11).

It truly comes down to FAITH. That is what the book of James is all about. THAT is how we can "count it all joy" when we fall into various trials, no matter how horrible. God is full of love and mercy toward those who love Him. He doesn't let us be afflicted with horrors because he doesn't care. In the beginning, Jesus willingly decided he would come live life enclothed in flesh. He decided ahead of time that he would go through trials and temptation. He decided ahead of time to die a most awful tormenting death. He never sinned, and he agreed to go through those things for us. If we really have faith in eternal life and that we will be a child of the Most High God (praises to you, Beloved Father), if we really believe that Jesus walked a perfect life without sin and shed his blood for wretches like us, then we CAN count it all joy when we have a bad day. We have to CHOOSE to endure. It does NOT come naturally the way joy comes naturally when things are going well. When we are afflicted, joy is NOT a natural feeling, much in the same way love can be a natural feeling or a choice. I don't naturally get joy when someone I love dies or when I'm sick or when I'm about to be put to death by my enemies. I have to CHOOSE the joy, KNOWING (faith) that I have endured and will be blessed. That I will receive a crown of life. That my troubles will soon be over. That everything in this life is temporary (time, temperature, etc., all from the same root word). The pain and suffering only last so long.

The way to count it all joy in times of deep trial and suffering is to choose to be joyful by keeping your mind on your faith that all will be well when it matters--in the age to come and in eternity.