Episode 89: Good deeds

In the name of the glorious Trinity, Father and Son and Holy

Spirit, forever Amen. Glory be to the everlasting

mercies which sent you to us, O Christ, the light of the world

and the life of all. Give us wisdom.

By your law and enlighten our impulses.

By Your knowledge, sanctify our souls by your truth, and grant

that we may be obedient to your words and may fulfill Your

commandments at every hour. O you who?

Enlightens the rationale with the knowledge of Your greatness.

Do enlight, O my Lord, our thoughts, that we may meditate

upon Your holy and divine Scriptures at all times, O Lord

of all, Father and Son and Holy Spirit.

Forever. Amen.

Last week we examined and expanded on the letter of Saint

Paul to the Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 8 to 9, which reads

Ephesians 2:8–9

For by his grace we worse while we are saved through faith, and

this faith was not of you, but is the gift of God, not of works

that no man should glory or boast.

And we, I pray and I hope, enlightened those who strictly

and at times harshly claim that salvation is by faith alone and

deeds, good deeds are irrelevant.

Works have got no place in the salvation of men.

True in one sense, but we'll have a closer look at it.

We looked at the Ephesians, that is the Jews and Gentiles in the

city be seen before Christ and their lifestyle and deeds, dead

in trespasses and sins, walking in sin, following the course of

the world, following the Prince of the power of the year.

And we broke the passage chapter 2 down into verses verses one to

three and then verses 4 to 9 and at at until that point we're all

hallelujahing and praise Jesus. Yes, yes, you know, that's it.

That's true. But then there came a spanner in

the works. It was a bubble busting and rain

on parade when we read verse 10. And that's what we will

concentrate on this episode. The good works preordained by

God for us as stated in verse 10.

I gave the example of a drowning boy and my rescue, my efforts

and my accomplishment. And then after saving the

drowning boy, if the drowning boy did not continue to work on

his or her or his swimming skills and what have you, and

was again in the same predicament.

My salvation that I saved him from the first time will not

save him if he has not. And we brought the examples of

taken swimming classes and he's cautious in as to what what

waters he's jumping into in the and the height of the of the

waters. So in verse 10, in which is what

we're going to talk about today, we find that there are good

deeds that were preordained for we Saint Paul says including

himself when he says we including himself because he was

in the same predicament. Are his workmanship, God's

workmanship created in Christ Jesus onto good works which God

has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them, walk in

them. We have been saved by grace, by

Jesus Christ on the cross, by His death, burial, resurrection

and ascension. Yes, but we need to continue now

and not kick back and not claim hook like hook, line and sinker

as we said last week, but wait for the fish and not kick back

and be LAX and say there's nothing else I need to do, I'm

saved. No, because the verse is telling

us that we have been created in Jesus Christ onto good works.

We need to continue in good works.

I'm going to going to read more verses about these works today.

And again, we read that the apostle had just stated

previously that they were not saved by their works, that they

shouldn't boast. Of course they shouldn't boast

because their works were evil, so they couldn't boast.

But that they through faith and that faith also they couldn't

boast about the faith because the faith was through Christ.

If Christ had not come who, whom would they have believed in?

So everything was pointing to God, and they could not boast

about that, but that their faith and divine grace both from God

brought Jesus, and they received the salvation through Jesus

Christ. But then again, lest they or we

as the readers of the passage, upon hearing this, neglect good

works altogether, as some do, and I said harshly and sometimes

very abruptly, he goes on to say that we must also continue in

these good works. Now I'm going to read from the

blessed Theophilic who expands on this and writes very good,

very amazing interpretation and explanation.

Please bear with me. He writes, you have been created

in Christ, O Christian, that means you are.

Now you've received the salvation that Jesus rode on the

cross. We are candidates of that

salvation. We receive that salvation.

You have been created in Christ. O Christian, you became a new

piece of workmanship when the old man you in you died in

baptism. Romans 6 verses four to five.

I won't read it again and as now listen to this.

As at the beginning of your creation you were brought from

non being into being. Isn't that amazing?

As at the beginning of your creation you were brought from

non being into being. You see, when a non existing

being comes into existence, this must only have been caused by a

pre-existing being, and that is God.

Praise and glory be to his holy name.

So also now he continues. So also now God has recreated

you and brought you from a condition of doing evil to a

condition of doing good. You're evil before Christ.

You're put to death in baptism. Through Jesus Christ you've been

born, and you now you have been born into a condition to do

good. It continues to say you've been

created not to be lazy and LAX, but to work and to walk

everywhere doing good deeds. That is to say, to pass the

whole course of your life doing this, not just two or three

years or when you became a Christian and you received Jesus

Christ to be your Lord and Savior.

No, no, no, the entire span of your years on earth you are to

do good deeds. According to Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 2:10

2, verse 10. This is the meaning he goes on

to say suggested by the words to walk all about to continue to do

good deeds. So question is, let me pose this

question, why did God prepare these good deeds for us

beforehand? Let me read the verse again for

we are Christians verse 10. For we are his creation who are

created in Jesus Christ for good works which God has beforehand

prepared for us to walk. Why has God prepared these good

deeds for us beforehand? Why?

I'll give you some time to to answer TikTok, TikTok, Bing

time's up that we should do them.

Amen. We should do good works.

We should continue in good works.

Remember the equation. Remember the equation, Faith,

that is life in Jesus Christ, new life in Jesus Christ, plus

good deeds times. The grace of God equals eternal

salvation, eternal life. And if we do not continue with

the good deeds, we are in defiance of God's commandments.

And what will God tell us when we are in defiance of God's

commandments? Away from me, you workers of

evil, deeds of evil. Hence, beloved, hence

Ecclesiastic chapter 12, verse 14.

Let's prepare for some verses here.

Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 14.

Ecclesiastes 12:14

Because the Lord God brings all works into judgment concerning

everything that is hidden, and it is revealed whether it is

good or evil, God will bring into judgment all works of men,

whether good or evil. And Saint Paul expands and says

almost the same thing. Our Lord and our Savior Jesus

Christ prays be to His name. Chapter 16 First of all, For it

is to be that the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his

Father with his holy angels, not to take up all those who have

been saved by grace and have proclaimed Jesus Christ to be

the Lord and Savior. Amen.

Yes, Amen. We need to and that He shall

render unto every man according to his works or deeds.

Again in Chapter 7 of Matthew verse 23, Jesus says, and then

will I confess to them. Here it is.

I quoted it, but I'll read it to you now.

I never knew you. Go far from me, you workers of

inequity. These are irrelevant.

Irrelevant for the day of judgement.

Remember the equation. I'm going to say it again.

I should post it as there's a post on Facebook now.

Faith in Jesus Christ and life in Jesus Christ living in

Christ. Hence Mark 1616.

He who is baptized and he who believes and is baptized lives.

One One side note, many times in the English version the word

saved you will find in the Pshitta version.

The Aramaic version is not Parcan or Paruka or Perklan is

Hayeh. Live live Mark 16/16.

He who believes and is baptized lives so salvation.

Sometimes I feel that in the in the Scriptures it's it's it's

used lightly. We are now we have been saved by

grace. Yes, Amen to that.

Christ paid the ultimate price. We don't need to pay anything.

We don't need to offer any any turtle doves and and any lambs

and any animal sacrifices. We don't need to do that

anymore. We believe in that one and only

sacrifice. However, we have an obligation

to continue being candidates of that sacrifice.

One is to be baptized. Now some people think baptism is

irrelevant as well. No, in baptism we die with Jesus

Christ and we become born anew and we live in that life and we

live with virtue, good deeds for the day of judgement, and then

we will enter eternal salvation by the grace of God.

Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10 Paul writes For we are

2 Corinthians 5:10

all to stand before the tribunal of Christ, that every man may be

recompensed in his body, rewarded for that which is done

in it, whether of good or of evil.

It is just talking about bodily deeds, homosexuality, immoral

immorality, adultery, fornication, theft, gossip,

swearing, cussing, drunkenness. These are the deeds of the body.

We will be judged according to these.

Henceforth we need to walk totally away and steer away from

this and run away from these deeds and go to good deeds that

have been preordained beforehand.

Revelations chapter 20, verse 12.

Revelation 20:12

And I saw the dead. This is John's vision.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the

throne. And the books were opened, and

another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged from the records which are written in

the book according to their works, not according to their

faith, not if they had believed in the grace of God and had only

preached the grace of God and had only preached to believe.

And it's all done in a, what is it, little neat package?

No, by their works. So our good deeds are a

confirmation of our faith. Beloved, faith without deeds is

dead. If we are pleasing and appeasing

to God by our faith, our obedience, our virtues, our walk

in life, we are appeasing to God, to the will of God.

We will be by the grace of God, entering the Kingdom of heaven,

that eternal salvation when the Lord returns, the eternal bliss

and joy with the one, God the Father and Son and Holy Spirit

forever. Amen.

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double edged sword. Until next time, God bless you

all.