There is so much confusion today over the alleged conflict between faith and works. Too many Christians see them as mutually exclusive concepts and divide into schools of adherence: those that believe in works as a means to salvation, and those who believe it's all in God alone without any effort on the part of man (or woman, of course).The fallacy is in trying to separate faith and works. They work together, in stride, in unity.The Bible says we are saved through faith (Eph 2:8), and without faith, we can't please God (Heb 11:6). So one may jump to a conclusion and say, "Aha, faith is all we need since salvation is a God thing anyway."But not so fast, in the same Bible we're told to save ourselves (Acts 2:40) and work out our own salvation (Phil 2:12). And just in case the "works crowd" gets too excited, please reread the previous paragraph.Jesus and John the Baptist both advocated works. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15) and John said to "Prove by the way you live that you have repented" (Mt 3:8 NLT). This is how we prove ourselves to God, how we show God our love, through our actions, deeds, WORKS...After all, didn't God so love the world that he GAVE (as in action or works) according to John 3:16?So we see that in salvation, both faith and works are present. We repent of our sins (works/man) and God forgives us (faith/God), we get baptized in Jesus name (works/man) and God washes us in His wonderful blood, cleansing us from our sin (faith/God), finally we seek after the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues when filled (works/man) while it's God who actually fills us with His Spirit and gives us the utterance to speak in tongues (faith/God).Three times in James chapter two we're told that faith without works is dead (see Jas 2:17, 20, 26). So put your money where your mouth is, step up to the plate and show God your faith through the works that you do. Faith and works must operate in unison to have the affect that God intended in our lives!!!
Most people know that God has our best interest at heart. Just look at what He said through the prophet Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
When we resist God and His will for our lives, we literally turn our back on a more fruitful life, not to mention life eternal. Yet, even when we do turn away, God is always right there, waiting for our return. Remember the parable of the lost son in Luke 15? What about this scripture:
Revelation 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
God wishes nothing but the best for our lives, so why resist Him? On the other hand the Bible tells us to resist the devil:
James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We must fight four our souls with everything we have, but again, our resistance to the devil is futile if we don't first submit to God. Without God's help, strength, and direction, we don't have the capacity to truly resist the wiles of the devil. Why? Because our flesh naturally veers toward the things of sin, the things the devil would entice us with....
Don't resist God in your life. As He calls, draw nearer and nearer, then you'll have what it takes to make your resistance to the devil effective...
