Those who object to this doctrine (of salvation through faith alone) sometimes suggest that faith itself is a work, so we are actually saved by a “work.”  This argument has two major problems, as follows: 

1) This verse itself, as well as many others, clearly differentiates between faith and works.  It says, “… by grace … through faith…–not by works.”  Obviously, if faith were considered to be a “work,” this verse would not indicate that they are mutually exclusive. 

2) To understand what is considered to be a “work,” we must look at the exact meaning of this word.  As used in the ancient Greek language of the New Testament, the word for “works” here can mean: 

- to toil–as an effort or occupation

- an act–deed, doing, labor, work

Obviously then, “works” refers to the physical deeds that we do–those that require physical exertion.  This would include doing a good deed, such as helping an elderly person across the street, as well as simpler “deeds,” such as simply walking or running. 

On the other hand, there are those “things” (not “deeds”) that we can “do” with only our mind, which require no physical exertion.  Examples of this would be believing, or faith, as well as simply thinking, or deciding about something, before we take any physical action based upon our thought processes.  When thought of in this way, faith is clearly not a “work.” 

In fact, this brings up an interesting thing about faith itself.  Faith is simply believing without actually seeingwhat we believe.  So, if we believe in Christ and His death on the cross for us, His burial, and His resurrection, we are obviously using faith, since we did not witness these events. 

However, we have sometimes asked God to make Christ visible to us, or to the world, in a physical way.  For example, we sometimes request a miracle–one that we can see.  Well, if God were to grant such a request, our belief would no longer be by faith, since it would be through seeing.

Every day, for 16 months, his wife would update a blog.  It included the number of days since the accident, and her husband’s latest status, as well as her own true feelings. 

Then, after 508 days, he died.  Right now, I have no answers–only questions?  How could this be the outcome when so many thousands of peo0ple were praying daily for his recovery?  How could God answer, “No” that many times, when He would have received so much glory by answering “Yes” one single time by providing a miraculous recovery?  Even if this was to be the outcome, why couldn’t it have happened much earlier, enabling the rest of the family to get on with their lives much more quickly?  Why did God finally act on Day 508?  What was so different about that day?

- It was attended by about a half-million people. 

- It was attended by Christians, Jews, and Muslims, as well as by pastors, rabbis, and imams. 

- It was attended by entire families. 

- The themes were honor, God, prayer, unity, diversification, faith, hope, and love. 

- It was clearly not a political rally. 

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s own niece spoke at the rally. 

- There was neither any violence nor a single arrest. 

So, what did the Rev. Al Sharpton think about this display of virtues such as God, prayer, honor, unity, faith, hope, and love?  He trashed it.  He held his own march where most of the speakers were civil rights activists, and it was not well-attended.  Despite the monumental changes we’ve seen in civil rights since Dr. King’s speech 47 years ago, the theme of Sharpton’s rally seemed to continue to be that certain groups need preferential treatment, so there’s no room for any of that unity, honor, or love stuff. 

Rev. Sharpton should be ashamed of himself.  Rather than trashing the Beck rally, he should have just remained silent .  Proverbs 17:28 says, “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.”  Sharpton needs to learn how to be proactive and positive about his own endeavors, without being a political activist who is always on the attack against anyone who is promoting civil rights in ways slightly different than the way he’s promoting them.

This is a bold statement.  The first part of this verse may not seem too unusual, because the Bible repeatedly warns us against selfishness, strife, and vanity.  However, the second part of the verse is truly profound, “consider others better than yourselves.” 

On the surface, we tend to interpret this as meaning, “consider others before considering yourselves.”  In other words,  or “do for others, and then go ahead and do for yourselves.”  This is indeed a valid interpretation.  We should consider ourselves as secondary to others, just as Christ demonstrated when he washed the feet of the disciples. 

However, when we consider the deeper application being taught here, we would do well to interpret these words as “consider others as being better than yourselves.  This is telling us to be truly humble and selfless.  We should each regard others as being better than ourselves.  I should truly believe that others are superior to me, because, in this life, they are.  We should think more highly of others than we do of ourselves. 

Now, for the application:  When that guy cuts you off in traffic, do you get angry because he caused you some inconvenience, or because he unjustly took the place in front of you?  In this situation, we should have the lowliness of mind to think that justice was served.  That person is better than you, and he has rightly taken your place in line.  You should praise God because He has allowed you to glorify Him by serving others, as Christ served us.

The terminally ill, the aged, and people with advanced illnesses are effectively trying to deny their own deaths.  However, one man in the report noted that this is only a delusion, and it makes people act in ways that make no sense.  Although, of course, they can’t prevent their own deaths, they are preventing themselves from dying a natural death.  Instead, they’re dying an unnatural death.  Some people think that death is the worst thing that could happen.  However, this is actually worse than dying.  This is dying badly–hooked up to machines, being treated (unsuccessfully) by dozens of doctors, and having tests that do no good and serve no purpose.  75% of deaths occur in hospitals, even though most people say that they would rather die at home.  30% of hospital stays are unnecessary, and all hospital stays include the risk of hospital-acquired infections. 

I believe that we need to make two fundamental changes in the way that we deal with death: 

1) We need to stop trying to deny our own death.  Each of us needs to understand that, although we can sometimes delay death, it’s often better to die a natural death.  The denial of death is especially poor judgment for Christians, who should know that they’re going on to a better life in eternity, with God. 

2) We should not expect our doctors to simply become better and better at delaying death for us, prolonging it as long as possible.  What we need from our doctors is to become more skilled at determining exactly where we are on the long road between birth and death.  For example, suppose that we’re in ICU, being treated by a dozen specialists, and taking a dozen medications.  Perhaps the best thing the doctors could do for us is to be honest and tell us when they believe that we have about two months left to live.  They should explain, for example, that we could continue in ICU and expect to live two months.  On the other hand, they should tell us if it might be possible for us to go back home, stop most of the medications, and die a natural death in six weeks. 

When faced with this difficult decision, why not take a route of less aggressive treatment, such as pain management, and die at home or in a hospice?

I agree with most Americans on this issue.  The First Amendment allows the Mosque to be built, but our better judgment says that it shouldn’t be built so close to Ground Zero.  Those who want the Mosque to be built will forever argue their First Amendment rights, and some even claim that the Mosque will be a memorial for those killed in the 9/11 attacks.  Those who agree with me will argue on the side of better judgment. 

There:  It’s that simple.  Those are the two sides of the story.  How many more weeks and months do we have to hear the media rant and rave about this issue?  Let’s move on. 

For the last few months, the media has been exaggerating the affect of the Gulf oil spill.  Of course it wasn’t until their exaggerations were exposed that they stopped covering the story so voraciously.  Next month they will probably begin exaggerating stories about the upcoming elections.  We just need to learn all of the tricks that the media uses in order to get our attention, and judge these issues based upon their true merit–not by the sensational tactics by the media that make us listen to their reporters. 

I’m tired of hearing about it.  Is the mosque story really more important than issues like the economy, unemployment, taxes, and our soldiers who continue to die in Afghanistan?

Use the calculator at Bush Tax Cut Calculator to find out how much your taxes will increase.

(Estimated) 2011:

1) service; divine service; service rendered for hire; the service of God; to serve; to perform sacred services; or, ministry

2) to render religious homage; prostrate in homage to God; bow down; fall down; stoop; humbly beseech; or, to do reverence (from Webster’s dictionary:  respect or reverence offered to a divine being)

Of the 250 occurrences of the word “worship” in the Bible, over 50 of them have to do with the idea of bowing down, or falling down in worship.  Most of the other occurrences are free-standing; i.e., they are not used in a context which helps us to understand the definition of worship. 

Most of us tend to identify worship with a particular section of a Sunday morning church service; usually the period of time between the announcements and the sermon.  This time is usually filled with singing, but it may also include some drama, prayer, and testimonies.  Although this may be a valid description of worship, it seems to only scratch the surface of the true Biblical meaning of worship. 

I get excited in those rare moments when the Bible actually defines a term for us, such as “grace” in 2 Corinthians 8 – 9, or “love” in 1 Corinthians 13.  Fortunately, this is also the case with the word “worship,” in Romans 12:1-2, “…to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.  “ 

So, the true definition of worship is: 

- Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God

- Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world

- Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

- Be able to test and approve what God’s will is 

Worship isn’t just singing, although we can certainly worship through song.  Worship is a way of life–of service, where we daily surrender our bodies (prostrate ourselves) to God for his service; we ignore the pattern of this world; and, we renew our minds through His Word.  Once we are in this state of temporal fellowship with God (with all sins confessed–1 John 1:9), then we will even be able to successfully determine what God’s will is for every move we make.

Proverbs 3:1-2 confirms this when it says, “Keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” 

Regular Bible study will make us successful in life.  That’s a profound statement, because it sounds so simple, but it really does make sense.  The Bible gives us knowledge and wisdom, it teaches us how to define success, and it makes us better people. 

2 Peter 1:5-11 adds another profound truth:  “Make every effort to add to your faith:  goodness; knowledge; self-control; perseverance; godliness; brotherly kindness; and, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive.” 

This passage gives us an interesting analogy to the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23:  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” 

There are nine components of the fruit of the spirit, and there are eight attributes that guarantee our effectiveness and productivity (success).  Of these eight attributes for success, five of them are also attributes of the fruit of the spirit: 

 1) Self-control – The discipline needed to stay in God’s Word;
 2) Goodness – One of the many things we will learn through Bible study;
 3) (Brotherly) Kindness – This is how we apply what we learn. 
 4) Love – Again, how we apply Biblical truths;
 5) Faith (Faithfulness) – We wouldn’t be studying the Bible daily if we didn’t believe it. 

These are the attributes that the Spirit of God imparts to us through Bible study.  If we then add the following, our success is guaranteed: 

 6) Knowledge – A direct result of Bible study
 7) Perseverance – i.e., “… meditate on it day and night…”
 8) Godliness – God uses the Bible to impart His knowledge and wisdom to us. 

But this makes us wonder why this list for success doesn’t include the other four components of the fruit of the spirit: 

 1) Joy
 2) Peace
 3) Patience
 4) Gentleness

Well, although we should have the joy and peace of God (Philippians 4:7), we can achieve success without being joyful and at ease in our success.  Likewise, we can be successful without being patient and gentle.  In fact, we’ve all seen successful people who weren’t the most gentle people in the world.  Their impatience may have even contributed to their success.  However, they’re still not satisfied with their success.  They’re not joyful and at peace because they want even more success. 

God wants us to be successful, and he clearly tells us how we can be.  If we study God’s Word daily, we will possess the qualities listed above, and we cannot be unsuccessful.  However, we should then be comfortable in our success and prosperity, with the joy, peace, patience, and gentleness from God.

We expect to be able to renegotiate our mortgage, even though we willingly (and even eagerly) accepted the original terms of that mortgage.  We expect to be able to pay back credit card companies only a small percentage of the amount we charged, and there are even companies who foster this behavior by advertising their services for this very purpose.  Likewise, other companies help people to renegotiate with the IRS for back taxes owed to the government.  (This is truly ironic, because we then turn right around and expect the government to bail us out in some form or fashion, or to offer us entitlements.) 

Ezekiel 18:30 reminds us that we will each be judged according to our own actions.  1 Corinthians 3:5-15 confirms that God assigns tasks to each person, and we will each be rewarded (or suffer loss) according to our own labor.  Our work will be “shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light,” and “test the quality of each man’s work.”