Saved From Wrath And Saved For Good Works

Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none” (John 18:7 & 8). Jesus courage is seen in His determination to go to the Cross, where His sinlessness would be violated as He bore the wrath of God for sinners. Jesus was forcing them to acknowledge that they had no authority to take His disciples. God wrath is put on Jesus. Now, we are not under God's wrath because of Jesus. We are free from God's wrath in Christ Jesus.

What We Are Saved From

Scripture teaches us about our sin and God’s grace.  Paul can’t seem to talk about anything else without it connecting to these truths, and it is easy for us to get bored or tired of hearing and reading about it. Do you know why we tend to get bored with it? I think it is because we do not really grasp the heinousness of sin or depth of God’s grace.

The first part of Ephesians 2 tells us that we were the walking dead, following the ways of the world, paying homage to the prince of this age, and were by nature children of God’s anger.

We did not have much going for us. There was no purity, love, wisdom, goodness or spiritual enlightenment that could have endeared us to God and cause him to sacrifice so much for us. No, as Sam Storms puts it, “The only thing we stirred in God’s heart was wrath.”

What We Are Saved For

When God saved us he didn’t do it because he was bored and didn’t have anything else planned for that day. We were rescued by our great Knight for specific purposes. Not only does our salvation puts on display his glory, power and love but it also gives us good works to walk in. (Titus 3:8)

The Protestant Reformers had a great phrase. They said that “faith alone justifies, but not the faith which is alone!”

Meaning, faith, given to us by God, is what saves us, but this faith then results in good works.

The NEB renders this, “the good deeds, for which God has designed us.”

We were each uniquely designed for certain works that God had prepared for us before the foundation of the world. While there are many works all Christians are called to (love, forgiveness, compassion, worship, etc.) we are each also given unique lives and specific works God uniquely calls us to.

It is very important that we learn to not compare ourselves to others. The works that God has for your friend are fit only for her and the works God has for you are specifically for you.  So what are these wonderful works?

Ultimately the good works God calls us to is faithful obedience to Him in every sphere of life. This means every task on our to do list, every interruption we experience during our day, every meal we prepare, every time we pack the kids into the car to go somewhere, even family vacations and times of fun–all of these are works prepared for us by God to engage in with faith and an eye toward glorifying the Savior.

Take time to consider how you view “good works.” Are they only the overtly spiritual duties? Or do you see all of life as one of faithful obedience to the God who saves?

Written By Jennie Allen