holy work

As a younger believer in the 80’s, I thought being a pastor would be the best job in the world. So just like many other people, I wondered whether I should pursue a career in full time ministry, someone told me that I needed a “calling.”

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Even though the apostle Paul had a special calling to the ministry, I have not seen where the New Testament presents to us the position of senior pastor (It’s a plurality of elders at each local congregation). That probably explains why I could not find “how pastors are called.”

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Here is what I did find. All who believe in Jesus have received a general call. I am currently reading Your Work Matters to God by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks. Sherman says, “Each of us is called, and our calling has implications for our careers, as well as for the whole of our lives.” Later, talking inner promptings about career decisions, he said, “we must not invest these subjective impressions with divine authority.” I wholeheartedly agree.

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Why all this talk about calling? Does God care about your work? Well, wouldn’t it matter to have some kind of grasp on the theology of working, since you’re spending so much of your time there? So, whether you’re a plumber, professor or stay-at-home parent, check this out, and tell me what you think:

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. Fellow sojourners in this blog tour: Gordon Atkinson, L. L. Barkat, Gina Conroy, CREEations, Milton Brasher-Cunningham, Mary DeMuth, Karl Edwards, Emdashery, Every Square Inch, Green Inventions, Amy Goodyear, Marcus Goodyear, Al Hsu, Jennwith2ns, Charles Foster Johnson, Mike McLoughlin, Eve Nielsen, Naked Pastor, Ramblin Dan, Charity Singleton, Stacy, Camy Tang, Writer… Interrupted

cause & effect

She was visibly shocked and even irate that I should be so confident in my assertion that good works can’t earn favor with God. She’s a Jehovah’s Witness. My JW friend was nice enough to give the big guns a break last week and he brought a lady who I believe to be nothing more than an enthusiastic rookie. I hope she learned something. As for me, I’m glad for the break, because this gal wasn’t sly enough to keep changing topics and follow the cult’s script for how to proselytize without using common sense, logic, and a proper reading of the Scriptures. Unfortunately for her though, it seemed that she was deaf—spiritually deaf.

We are not saved by doing good works. Jesus did not only make it possible for salvation, but he paid the full price. Hence, the cry of tetelestai (It is finished!) from the cross. God sprinkles the blood of his own son on the altar to atone for our sins, and we defile the sacrifice when we add our imagined righteous deeds (filthy rags) to the table. It is not an improvement to dilute perfection!

“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:15-16 (ESV)

Can a caterpillar become a butterfly if it sips nectar and floats effortlessly in the air? No sir! That’s impossible. First comes the transformation into a butterfly, then the attributes of its new nature are inevitable.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2: 8-10 (ESV)

If we are saved, it is because God chose to save us, not because we pulled our own lifeless bodies up into the rescue boat. The Bible says that God caused us to be born again. And then He protects this hope. If it were up to us to protect it, we have reason to be uncertain and doubt our salvation, but if God is keeping guard over our salvation, we cannot lose it. Oh, good works follow salvation, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV)

Do the saints ignore the words of the Law and deeds of compassion and righteousness? May it never be!! But are we saints because we do good works or do we do good works because God has transformed us into saints?