“For in Christ Jesus . . . The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” — Galatians 5:6 NIV
Amid our zealous defense of salvation by grace through faith alone—and specifically not by our good deeds1— we sometimes give short shrift to the divine call and command to Kingdom works. For when we are born of the Spirit through faith in Christ, we step into our purpose to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”2 Our earthly lives have heavenly purpose! Note our call is not to pursue our good ideas for God, but submit to His plan working through us. It is a matter of submission to Him, or what the apostle Paul calls, “the obedience that comes from faith;”3 and “the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ.”4 Faith and works are inseparable. As James rhetorically writes, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”5
But here’s the problem: Our flesh—our sin nature—is self-centered and disinclined to love selflessly. Paul writes to believers in Rome, “the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot.6 To the Galatians, he pens, “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”7 Something inside wants to do good, but our desire to be served trumps our desire to serve. And sometimes our desire to serve is born out of selfish motives, e.g., to earn God’s approval by our goodness instead of receiving His approval by His grace. How can we do the selfless work of love when our flesh is anything but selfless? Paul points out the way: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”8
Then how do we live by the Spirit and not our inwardly focused inclinations? We must be transformed from the inside out. Personally, I think transformation starts here: “We love because he first loved us.”9 Don’t read this in an obligatory “quid pro quo” sense, rather when we come to accept and humbly receive the eternal truth of God’s intense love for us—all of us together and each of us individually—our hearts change. We see things as they truly are and we orient ourselves accordingly. We “set our minds on the things of the Spirit.”10 And the renewal of our minds is in itself transformational, aligning our will with God’s.11 This is His work in us; He will do it.
Father, thank you for your intense love for us. It is beyond comprehension, though true. May your Spirit indwell us, conforming our desires to your own. Your will be done. In Christ we pray. Amen.
1 Ephesians 2:8-9
2 Ephesians 2:10 NIV
3 Romans 1:5 NIV
4 2 Corinthians 9:13 NIV
5 James 2:18 NIV
6 Romans 8:7 ESV, emphasis added
7 Galatians 5:17 ESV, emphasis added
8 Galatians 5:16 ESV
9 1 John 4:19 ESV
10 Romans 8:5 ESV
11 Romans 12:2
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Paul Nordman—Author 