THE BALANCE OF FAITH AND WORKS

Yesterday’s podcast begs the question—“When you put so much emphasis on following Jesus in order to get into heaven, isn’t that saying that salvation is of works and not faith alone?”

To answer this question I want to deal with a few passages over the next few days that will most surely give some clarity on this truth.

You see, I didn’t say that certain believers will not enter the kingdom of heaven—Jesus did! And there are all kinds of Scriptures that bring clarity to this. I can’t get it out of my mind the two most important words that have changed the world—FOLLOW ME! Jesus is still calling us today to follow Him.

Stepping out in faith, believing and trusting Jesus, requires some follow-through. That follow-through is to follow Him with all your heart. I referred to the false prophets/teachers and the devils as two groups that are believers in Jesus, but they won’t be entering into the kingdom of heaven according to Jesus. Why? Because they have chosen NOT TO FOLLOW Jesus.

Following Jesus is the necessary and natural “work” of genuine faith. So there is a certain balance of faith and works. One of the earliest writings is by James. He deals with this balance of faith and works in the following way:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if people claim to have faith but have no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that people are justified by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead (James 2:14-26).

NOTE the primary points James makes:
1. Faith without action is dead.
2. You show your faith by what you do.
3. Abraham’s faith was made complete by his actions.
4. People are justified by what they do and not faith alone.
5. Faith without deeds is dead.

I have always liked this statement which sums it up best for me.
FAITH ALONE SAVES, BUT THE FAITH THAT SAVES IS NOT ALONE.

ACTS 29 DAILY--REVOLUTION I

The Acts of Jesus is a revolutionary book about world-wide revolution in the name of Jesus! The reason why I call the daily study “Acts 29” is because this revolution continues today as we live it out in our daily lives! It’s a continuation of walking with Jesus, walking with others and waiting on Jesus to lead out with orders and opportunities. So, what I’ve come to realize is THE REVOLUTION IS STILL ON!
As I reflect on the entire 28 chapters of The Acts of Jesus we’ve just completed, there are 6 descriptors of a revolutionary that stick out to me. I will share three with you today and the other three tomorrow to round out the month.

FIRST—A revolutionary walks, talks, thinks and loves like Jesus. When Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them to give them power, it was to bear witness of Jesus. It wasn’t to witness about your church or denomination or your religious cultural background. We are to bear witness to others about the person of Jesus and our experience, strength and hope we find in Him. We are to witness with our actions, reactions, lifestyle and to sometimes use words, our personal story. But it is all to be about Jesus. We are to lift Him up and He will draw men to Him. My first two evangelism classes I ever took were filled with the memorization of Scripture verses in order to “argue my faith”, my “Christian faith”, with any and all comers—Mormons, Roman Catholics, Jehovah’s Witness, Buddhists, Hindu, Moslem and Jewish. It wasn’t about how to bear witness of Jesus, but to “convert” others to my way of thinking. Now, I know differently, a revolutionary walks, talks, thinks and loves like Jesus.

SECOND—A revolutionary lives by the principles of the kingdom of God and not of man. The kingdom is where someone rules. Your kingdom is all that you have “say over”, so the kingdom of God is where God rules—where God has “say over” everything within it. You are the king of your kingdom, until you meet Jesus. Then, you must submit your kingdom to His kingdom—to the King of kings. The kingdom is also where the king is. Wherever the king is, this is the kingdom! The kingdom of God is all about the presence of God in our lives. These are two most powerful needs within the fellowship of Jesus today: 1) To submit to the rule and sovereignty of God on a daily basis. We are such control-freaks that we can hardly give over that steering wheel to anyone else, not even God. But have you noticed that the “itty, bitty, committee” in your head that demands that you control things also has gotten you into some real messes and relational wreckage? Therefore, a revolutionary knows a better way—to live within the Kingdom of God. 2) To know the presence of the King every day. We live among crowds, yet our loneliness factor is off the charts most of the time. It’s this sense of alienation we feel at the gut-level. Sometimes it’s almost unbearable and this is not a rare thing in the kingdom of man, but very common. Therefore, a revolutionary chooses to live in a different kingdom altogether—the Kingdom of God where God rules and dwells!

Unfortunately, too many “churches” today are KINGDOMLESS and therefore, become the system needed for forgiveness of your sins, cleaning up your act with the attitude, “You take care of the church and the church will take care of you.” There seem to be 3 primary hindrances to living the Kingdom of God principles: 1. The desire to have the approval of others. 2. The desire to secure ourselves by means of material wealth. 3. The evil one ready to pounce and steal your seed that was planted in your heart.

JESUS BROKE THE SYSTEMS—ALL SYSTEMS and said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” or to Matthew, the non-religious tax collector, “Come, follow Me!” Jesus breaks all the monopolies and offers grace and freedom to everyone through His kingdom. And, revolutionaries make that same offer as they live in the Kingdom of God.

THIRD—A revolutionary finds life-support in the fellowship of Jesus. A revolutionary participates within a fellowship of followers of Jesus and finds that it is within this fellowship that his life takes on meaning and strength. You see, in the fellowship of Jesus there are certain things you learn to do together that make that fellowship a revolutionary: 1. You learn to teach one another the teachings and principles of Jesus. 2. You learn to pray together—agreeing in the name of Jesus for answers to life’s greatest struggles and questions. 3. You learn to enjoy eating together, feeling safe to share your heart, your joys and your burdens with one another. 4. You learn the empowerment of true fellowship together by doing life with a few others who hold you up and help you get through the piles of life. 5. You learn to love one another to the point that you take care of one another’s needs—physically, emotionally, fiscally and spiritually. 6. You learn how to be one with others, just as Jesus prayed for us to be one in Him.

This is where I want to spend the rest of my life being a revolutionary, hanging out with revolutionaries and making revolutionaries all in the name of Jesus! I can’t see any place I’d rather be nor any better place to spend my time, talent and treasure than in this revolution. So, IS THE REVOLUTION STILL ON? It most certainly is. THE REVOLUTION IS STILL ON! Come along and join the revolution!

ACTS 29 DAILY--REVOLUTION II

ACTS 29…THE REVOLUTION—PART II…

The Acts of Jesus is a revolutionary book about world-wide revolution in the name of Jesus! The reason why I call the daily study “Acts 29” is because this revolution continues today as we live it out in our daily lives! It’s a continuation of walking with Jesus, walking with others and waiting on Jesus to lead out with orders and opportunities. Yesterday I delineated 3 of 6 descriptors of what a revolutionary is as reflected in the book of the Acts of Jesus. Now today, I want to set forth the second 3…

FOURTH—A revolutionary redefines success around people. When Jesus first approached a group of fishermen, He redefined success to them by saying that He wanted their lives to be all about fishing for men. This is most profound for all of us today. No matter your occupation, it’s more important to see it for what it is…your vocation is not to be the most important thing in your life when you’re a revolutionary. The most important thing is the people dimension in your world, no matter what you are selling or managing or building or serving. A revolutionary sees himself as moving to the beat of a different drummer…His name is Jesus. A revolutionary is obedient to a higher calling—to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

FIFTH—A revolutionary makes disciples of all peoples—primarily non-believers. It’s clear to me that we spend most of our time trying to disciple the wrong people. Remember, Jesus’ disciples were non-believers when He called them to follow Him. We tend to start with the wrong people—believers who have been sitting, souring and soaking in a myriad of church services for years. They haven’t learned to be followers of Jesus all along…in fact, they have learned to be “observer-spectators” rather than participants. Revolutionaries see that authentic disciples are more effectively made from non-believers, no matter their cultural or religious background. And then, revolutionaries know that it takes lots of time to make disciples. It’s more than a workshop, series of messages or a retreat; it’s being willing to invest your life into another while doing life together.

SIXTH—A revolutionary leaves the results to God. Within the kingdom of man there is a heavy emphasis upon results—some tangible evidence that God is present. So, this is why we spend lots of time and energy exercising ourselves over “how many” show up or sign up for something. Since we’re walking with Jesus, we only want to share how wonderful things are and that “wonderful” is usually all about RESULTS. But when you are a revolutionary, you have enough confidence in God to leave the results with Him. Revolutionaries are into being faithful more than being successful…focusing on availability to their King rather than depending upon their abilities. Paul had a most remarkable experience in Athens, yet you don’t hear of any vibrant church coming out of it. Paul and his little core of friends were thrown out of some of the best cities and stoned by some of the best, self-righteous, stone-throwers. Yet in the midst of this rejection, you don’t see Paul falling apart over these negative results. You know, when you think about it, results are none of your business. A revolutionary knows that results are to be left in the hands of God…they are His business. A revolutionary’s business is to be faithful to God’s calling…God will do the rest!

This is very clear when it comes to evangelism. Some plant and others water, but God causes the growth to happen! We are to do all that is possible by faith that God will do the impossible!

THE REVOLUTION IS STILL ON and is happening in a neighborhood near you…your assignment, should you accept it, is to find God’s movement and join it!

ACTS 28

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NOTE how far they were taken by the storm?
1 When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta.

2 The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ``Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.'' 5 However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
NOTE the superstition of the natives about Paul and the snake. They just didn’t know that he was a man on a mission for Jesus and would not be destroyed by a storm or a snake…

7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. 10 They also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed.
God has people everywhere that He will use for His kids. Publius, a wealthy man, did a wonderful thing with his hospitality. I’m sure he was written up in the Malta Daily News that week with pictures and everything. HOWEVER, Publius received far more than notoriety out of his kind gesture. Paul was sensitive to the needs in this man’s world. Publius’ dad was a very sick man. Paul showed concern, not as a world-wide healer, but as a brother, asking the question in his spirit, “What can I do to help?” Paul went in to see the father, prayed with him and he was healed. NOTE that Paul put his empty hands on this sick man and God healed him! You can do that…you can enter people’s lives daily being sensitive to their personal needs with that same question in your heart, representing the same powerful God of Paul. This is one of the great Acts of Jesus that continues through until today…Jesus is alive and well seeking to touch people everywhere through you! This is what I mean by Acts 29…the Acts of Jesus continues today as we walk together!

NOTE that once the word spread around of Paul’s concern and God’s touch, then all those who were sick came looking to be cured in the same way. NOTE that these people weren’t asking theological questions. Paul was powerfully used by God by “being the church of Jesus among the people”, not by holding classes and seminars in order to share with them what he knew.

11 At the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. 12 After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. 15 And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
Here’s a man who has supernaturally survived a killer storm, a poisonous snake, stoning and all of the attacks of the religious “saints”, yet he finds himself very encouraged when seeing brothers and sisters from all around Rome. Paul truly practiced the sense of community (family) that we long for today…

NOTE throughout the Acts of Jesus, Luke (the writer of this book) continually journals how many days or months they stayed in a place. This is truly a travelogue with great detail. Luke is considered one of the greatest historians in ancient writings with his accuracy and detail.

16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. 17 After three days Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, ``Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 ``And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. 19 ``But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. 20 ``For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.'' 21 They said to him, ``We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. 22 ``But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.''
This is astounding to me! Paul has been rejected throughout the world in most every city he went…been kicked out by some of the best of the Jewish synagogues (churches), yet his first move is to make contact with the leadership of the local synagogue in Rome.

The word had spread all the way to Rome about this Jesus movement among the Jews. NOTE their interest in hearing Paul’s views—his views on Scripture, on Messiah, etc. So the leaders set a day aside to hang out with Paul at his new quarters.

23 When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. 24 Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. 25 And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, ``The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26 saying,
`GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, ``YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 27 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.''' 28 ``Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.'' 29 [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]
NOTE that Paul has a place where he can welcome and entertain people—lots of people (“large numbers”). I LOVE THIS! One of the prayers of our hearts as we walk together is for there to be large homes open up in cities throughout this country and other countries where people can gather to discuss the kingdom of God and Jesus. In fact, it’s our prayer some day to have a home locally where we can model this kind of thing—a home that is a safe place where the Nicodemus’s can feel free to come to learn and experience the love of Jesus. Now this doesn’t have to be a special home set aside for such activity as you see here with Paul or Peter’s house in Capernaum or Jason’s home in Thessalonica, but this could be your home that is a safe place where people can come to learn more about the kingdom of God and Jesus.

NOTE that some who came were persuaded as Paul shared with them and some weren’t. He quotes the prophecy out of Isaiah regarding people who will keep on hearing and not understand, keep on seeing but not truly see—people whose hearts have become dull and hardened. He points out to them that God first comes to the Jews (the religious) and because of their unwillingness to see and hear His message, He will not be able to heal them. AND this same salvation of God is being sent out to the Gentiles (the non-religious) who are receiving it enthusiastically. This same thing is continuing today…

30 And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. Acts 28:1-31
NOTE Paul spends the next two years receiving and welcoming lots of people at his place where he spent his time talking about only two things…
The kingdom of God
Jesus

This is exactly how we want to spend the rest of our lives teaching and loving people about God’s kingdom lifestyle and the reality of walking with Jesus. In this way, those who listen and “catch it” will naturally be transformed in their hearts and become revolutionaries in the name of Jesus everywhere they go.

ACTS 29…NOTE that Acts has only 28 chapters and yet the Acts of Jesus continue in our lives today as we walk with Jesus personally, walk with others and wait on Jesus to lead out and show up in our daily lives. Our intent is to now continue with one another in a daily walk by going through the rest of the bible—chapter by chapter and paragraph by paragraph. (If you don’t want to continue Acts 29, please let us know and we’ll remove you from the daily email blast.) Here are some closing thoughts on how we might continue walking together…
As we move through other books of the bible we will focus on kingdom principles and Jesus.
From now on you should receive your ACTS 29 DAILY either late the night before or early morning.
Use it for your own edification as you put on your oxygen mask each day.
Use it for walking together with others…discussing from time to time these same things…it’s a good, mutual reference point as you walk.
Share it with others in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth…
REMEMBER there are only 3 goals for doing this…(1) To walk with Jesus, (2) To walk with others and (3) To wait for Jesus to lead out in your life!

ACTS 27

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ACTS 27…

1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.

9When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous…Paul began to admonish them, 10and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." 11But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. 13When a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore.
NOTE Paul shared with the “powers that be” that he believed they should not try to sail this late in the winter, because of the certain storms. BUT they didn’t listen to his wisdom and set sail for Rome, hoping to make it to one more port and spend the winter there.

Well, the worst happened…they went into a massive storm…verse 20…
20Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned. 21When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, "Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. 22"Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23"For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, 24saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.' 25"Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26"But we must run aground on a certain island." 27But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land. 28They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak. 30But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship's boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, 31Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved." 32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it fall away. 33Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. 34"Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish." 35Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. 36All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food. 37All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons. 38When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea. 39When day came, they could not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. 40And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. 41But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. 42The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; 43but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, 44and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

NOTE what’s happening here. The best wisdom would have been for them not to make the trip at this time, but they did. Now, Paul is stuck on the ship in the midst of the life-threatening storm. So, what can we learn from this scene? Three observations come up for me:
Even when we are caught up in bad or difficult situations, whether we caused them or they are caused by something else, God will still work in the midst of our troubles.
God seems to always have “His agent” hanging out in the midst of troubles.
If you are walking with Jesus, your life and its circumstances are not all about you. God has you where you are for a purpose and usually it is for the benefit of others who cannot help themselves.

This is just another version of DIVINE APPOINTMENTS…GOD SETS THEM UP—YOU SHOW UP!