. . . . . . . . .Mystery of Faith-Ch.5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pt.3-The First Works. . . . . . .

...Have You... 
Forgotten to Remember?

(4) Nevertheless

I have somewhat against thee, 

because thou hast left thy first love.

(5) Remember therefore

from whence thou art fallen,

and repent,

and do the first works;

or else I will come unto thee quickly,

and will remove thy candlestick

out of his place,

except thou repent.
-Revelation 2:4-5

The Mystery of the First Love Lost is about remembering the works that were lost.  We are not saved by works, but without these works the church's candlestick (presumed relationship with Christ) will be removed.

(To read "Giant Leap into the  Dark?"...defining what genuine "belief" really is...click link at bottom of this post) 

Exactly what are these first works?

Now we will see how these first works, which are really individual, personal "spiritual" works, are vital to our relationship with Christ, because they serve as our "spiritual portal" to faith and our eternal relationship with Him.

Faith and "First Works" of Salvation

The first works are the key that unlocks the mysteries regarding the free gift of salvation God desires to impart to His children.  Our own ideas about "faith" and "believing" are not enough.  Unless the first works unlock the faith to faithfully follow Christ and His Word, our own so-called "faith" is just in vain.

(17) Even so faith, if it hath not works,

is dead, being alone.

(18) Yea, a man may say,

Thou hast faith, and I have works:

shew me thy faith without thy works,

and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

(19) Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well:

the devils also believe, and tremble.

(20) But wilt thou know, O vain man,

that faith without works is dead?

(21) Was not Abraham our father justified by works,

when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

(22) Seest thou how faith wrought with his works,

and by works was faith made perfect?

(23) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith,

Abraham believed God,

and it was imputed unto him for righteousness:

and he was called the Friend of God.

(24) Ye see then how that

by works a man is justified,

and not by faith only.

(25) Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot

justified by works,

when she had received the messengers,

and had sent them out another way?

(26) For as the body without the spirit is dead,

so faith without works is dead also.

-James 2:17-26

With the end of the age at hand it is wise to prepare ourselves by evaluating our position in Christ to be sure that we are experiencing saving faith precisely as God defines it. 

Examining ourselves to see if we are actually under His protective cover is vital because of the many forms of deception permeating religion and the world today.

Because our eternal life is even more valuable than our physical life, a most careful consideration must be made regarding our eternal status with our Creator.  If we truly belong to Christ, it will be impossible for us to disregard this warning.

The following passage from Philippians correctly balances our concept of the free gift of salvation and the works that will evidence the eternal life and relationship that is promised by God through the blood sacrifice and resurrection life of His Son.

(11) And that every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

(12) Wherefore, my beloved,

as ye have always obeyed,

not as in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence,

work out your own salvation

with fear and trembling.

(13) For it is God which worketh in you both

to will and to do

of his good pleasure.

-Philippians 2:11-13

God's defining Word establishes (3) factors which must all be present in the salvation experience if we desire to have the assurance of eternal life:

1.  We will verbally acknowledge the Lordship of Christ in our life.

(32) Whosoever therefore

shall confess me before men,

him will I confess also

before my Father which is in heaven.

(33) But whosoever

shall deny me before men,

him will I also deny 

before my Father which is in heaven.

(34) Think not that I am come to send peace on earth:

I came not to send peace, but a sword.

-Matthew 10:32-34

When we have received the free gift of salvation, we will not yield to peer-pressure and be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, but will verbally testify to others that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, thereby glorifying God the Father.

This means that we will be acknowledging that the God of the Bible is the One True God and we will be telling others that our purpose in life is to seek what God wants for us, not what we want for ourselves or what someone else wants for us.

2.  We will take action that is motivated by the Word of God, that finds balance in God's Word, and that cooperates with God and what He desires to accomplish in our life until we are able to harmonize with His will and what He wants actually becomes what we genuinely, from the heart, want as well.  When it comes to our relationship with Christ:

". . .the LORD seeth not as man seeth;

for man looketh on the outward appearance,

but the LORD looketh on the heart."

-1 Samuel 16:7

Wherefore, my beloved,

as ye have always obeyed,

not as in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence,

work out your own salvation

with fear and trembling.

-Philippians 2:12

How can we be admonished to "work out" our own salvation when salvation is not acquired by works, but by the free gift of faith?

We must remember the rule regarding seemingly contradictory statements in the Scripture:

The appearance of a contradiction is intended to draw our attention to the need for balance, in order to emphasize the vital importance of the concept the Word is revealing in this instance.  

In other words, the more difficult it is to interpret, the more personally vital it is to understand, because it has either been hidden by the philosophies of the world, false religious doctrines, or it goes against our own selfish plans.  In any case, if we do not diligently work to reveal the truth of it, it could either cause us to make wrong decisions in life, associate with the wrong people, or even put us in (physically or spiritually) dangerous circumstances.

The valuable lesson God is teaching us through this passage is that faith is free and there is nothing that we can do to earn salvation.  However, he is also teaching us that IF we have received this free gift, a change will take place.  His Spirit will motivate us so that we will actually desire to put that faith into action and do what is necessary to be in harmony with what God is doing in our life.

3.  God will be working in us, motivating us to take the action required to do what He wants us to do.  It is God, working through His Word, who will actually carry out this work in us.

For it is God

which worketh in you

both

to will

and

to do

of his good pleasure.

-Philippians 2:13

There isn't any way we can take credit for any of the work that we do concerning our relationship with God, because He is the One who gives us the desire, motivation, and strength to carry out His will.

For this cause also 

thank we God without ceasing,

because, when ye received

the word of God

which ye heard of us,

ye received it not

as the word of men,

but as it is in truth,

the word of God,

which effectually worketh also 
in you that [genuinely] believe.

-1 Thessalonians 2:13

While we may be a work in progress and not yet perfect, nevertheless, the work required to maintain harmony with His will certainly will be evident in those who have been saved by the free gift of faith.

For as the body

without the spirit

is dead,

so faith

without works

is dead also.

-James 2:26

If we are not doing these sanctifying works, it is because we have not really seen the value of God's gift, really received the gift of faith, or are actually engaged in this vital relationship with our Creator.  False doctrine has boldly made excuses for the obvious lack of these works in professing believers and (while, on occasion, may give some lip service to) actually for the most part, treats Bible study as if it is an option.

However, Jesus tells us clearly that those the Father has given to the Son will honestly desire to take action and feed on the Word, as we will discover in the pages that follow.

Without this God-given desire to carry out the three responsive works mentioned above, professing believers are just false professors.

The World Tells Us How to Acquire Faith:

• "Stand in front of the mirror and just keep telling yourself that you can do it."
• "Read lots of biographies.  When you see how other people survived, you will have faith that you can survive too."
• "Sit on the floor, cross your legs, and chant 'Laaaaaa, Laaaaaa, Laaaaaa.'"
• "Maybe what you need to do is to call on a higher power--you know, 'the Force'."

God Tells Us How to Acquire Faith:

Faith comes by hearing

and hearing by the Word of God.

-Romans 10:16-18

• We (personally) must listen carefully to what He has said in His Word.
• We (personally) must drink freely and frequently from the water of the Word.
• We (personally) must study to show ourselves approved workmen in the Word.
• We (personally) must hide His Word in our hearts and meditate on it day and night.
• We (personally) must learn God's Word diligently line upon line.

While our Creator has not shared all of the details with us, He has given enough information in the Scriptures to indicate that the Word of God contains His life-giving Spirit.  Jesus said, "My Words, they are Spirit and they are life."  (John 6:63)

The Book of Genesis teaches that during Creation, when "God said. . ."--it was the power, somehow contained in His spoken Word and the very Voice of God, which called into existence and assembled the necessary molecules to accomplish the process of creating all things.

Psalm 29 also refers to the creative power in the Voice of God.  It is this same power which speaks to us from the pages of Scripture today, working to accomplish His purpose in us, and sustaining every dimension of our being.  

Verses 3, 5, & 8 confirm that the Voice of the Lord IS the Lord.  In other words, the Lord resides in His Voice: 

(3) The voice of the LORD is

upon the waters:

the God of glory thundereth:

the LORD is

upon many waters.

(4) The voice of the LORD is powerful;

the voice of the LORD is full of majesty,

(5) The voice of the LORD breaketh

the cedars;

yea, the Lord breaketh

the cedars

of Lebanon.

(6) He maketh them also to skip like a calf;

Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

(7) The voice of the LORD divideth [hews out]

the flames of fire.

(8) The voice of the LORD shaketh

the wilderness;

the Lord shaketh

the wilderness

of Kadesh.

(9) The voice of the LORD

maketh the hinds to calve [creates life],

and discovereth [uncovers, lays bare] the forests:

and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

-Psalm 29:3-8

The Word of God is alive with His power.

Just as physical bread keeps our body alive, God's Word is the spiritual bread that keeps our spirit alive as well as maintaining the health of our body.    

Click here for part 2...previous post