Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Unfortunately, at some level, too much of Evangelicalism — especially those more closely aligned with fundamentalism — have been almost as disdainful of "good works."
No, works do not cause us to be saved. But after that, they are paramount to continued fellowship and, I would assume, that salvation that is "worked" out with fear and trembling.
|
If the book of Acts is trustworthy then works of the disciples were paramount. Why did the widows weep so copiously when Dorcas died? Because they had no means to pay her, and could only pay with tears of gratitude, joy, sorrow, and love. And look at the term "daily dispensing" in Acts 6:1 (RecV). Dispensing of what? Outlines? Directives from HQ? No, real, actual, physical food, to those same widows.
And the people who laid their offerings at the apostles' feet, where did this go? Soft pillows for their wives? Expense accounts for their children? No, it was "wasted" on those poor widows, just as Jesus had already "wasted" himself on us. When Peter told the gentiles in Acts 10:38 that Jesus "went around doing good" that was central to the gospel message as he understood it. Now, if we think that Peter had a "low gospel" and we should move on, that's another conversation. But let's not pretend that the record doesn't exist.
We're saved by Jesus' righteous act, not our own. By faith in his righteousness, it's imputed as ours. But once that question's settled, there's another: what next? What shall we do? Passively sit in LSM-approved meetings and "absorb God" in their grace-on-steroids programme? Or shout slogans at one another, as if this constitutes reality itself? That doesn't align with the record of scripture.
No, what we should do is follow Jesus. We see the pattern he laid (Acts 10:38), and we follow.