My last few devotions have been about faith, sharing that people are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God allows us to be saved because of our trust in Him. But for the Christian, that is only the beginning. After we know, understand and believe that we have been saved by what Jesus Christ did for us with His perfect life, His death in our place, and His victory over the grave, we need to put our faith TO work. We should ask ourselves, HOW DOES MY FAITH SHOW ITSELF IN WORKS AND ACTIONS?

Your faith should WORK by doing the things that you know God wants you to do. You look to God’s law to see how He wants you to conduct your day to day living. Your faith works by showing kindness to others. Your faith is at work when you share the message of Jesus Christ with others, when you read your Bible to apply its message to your life. Your faith is at work when you give of your time, your money, your abilities to further the mission of this church. Your faith is in action doing the things you know are pleasing in God’s sight. Of course, these actions are not done in the hope of meriting anything from God–faith in Christ has already received His merits. Rather, these actions are all a response to knowing that God has declared you righteous in Jesus Christ.

An unbeliever once ridiculed the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by saying, “If Jesus Christ is able to save anyone, why are there so many unbelievers?” The Christian to whom he was speaking stopped a very dirty little boy who was passing by and asked the unbeliever, “Can you blame soap and water for the filth you see here?”

So it is with Christ. He is able to save all, but only those who accept what He has done in faith receive His regenerating power. And it is then that their faith goes into action.

It is by God’s grace through faith that we receive the blessings earned by Jesus. It merely accepts the gift of God freely offered. It claims the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake. When you have this faith, you should consider how your faith is AT WORK in your life, responding with gratitude to the gifts of God’s grace.