One of my hobby horses is to preach that we are saved for the purpose of doing good works. That it’s not good works that save us, but rather, that we have been saved FOR good works.
I’ve said it so often that even I recognize that I say it often, which, believe me, is saying something because I typically retell stories because I can’t remember that I’ve told them already.
This teaching, of course, isn’t mine, but is taken from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. Ephesians 2:8-10, which you probably know by heart…
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
It’s not my intention to teach this again, but rather, to show when these verses first became reality in the life of Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee, who would become Paul the Apostle.
In Acts 9, we see part of the story of Saul’s conversion. There are more details about his conversion provided by Saul in Acts 22.
What I want to point out for the purposes of this article is what Saul did after his conversion in vs 19b-20, 19…Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
Saul provides our greatest illustration of Jesus saving the undeserved, to the glory of His greatness, but also how He not only saved Saul’s soul, but how Saul showed us the purpose of our salvation while we are still on this earth, which is to do the good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
This isn’t to say that our service will look just like Saul’s, after all, we all are uniquely gifted for different types of service, but it certainly means, and without a doubt, that we are saved for service.
Let us, like Saul, joyously serve our Lord in appreciation for what He’s done for us!
Much love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
