Servias Ministries Blog

Faith and works should complement each other.

Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 16:

27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Galatians chapter 2:

16 we know that no one receives God’s perfect righteousness as a reward for keeping the law, but only by the faith of Jesus, the Messiah! His faithfulness has saved us, and we have received God’s perfect righteousness. Now we know that God accepts no one by the keeping of religious laws!

Paul wrote the above passage concerning our faith in Christ and our salvation through Him.  This faith and acceptance of His work is unmerited favor or grace which is our justification, not by our works. We cannot enter the Kingdom by works but only through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Paul also wrote in Ephesians chapter 2:

8  For by grace you have been saved by faith. Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the Love gift from God that brought us to Christ!

9 So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.

10 We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny He has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!

Faith established our destiny so that we would do good works which are known as good fruit.

Jesus affirmed this when He spoke in Matthew chapter 5:

15  And who would light a lamp and then hide it in an obscure place? Instead, it’s placed where everyone in the house can benefit from its light.

16 So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that your commendable works will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to Your Father in Heaven.”

Our lights were established by grace and our works should result in exalting Our Heavenly Father.  Otherwise, if they promote or exalt you, they are works of the flesh. 

Works (Strong’s #2041, ergon), which means “toil or labor,” can have either a good connotation or a bad one. The works that God refers to as “good” in the Bible are those deeds, actions, and fruit that the Holy Spirit directs and produces through us by His dunamis power. The “bad works” that the Bible refers to are those things that the flesh directs and that are accomplished by our own power and ability. The difference between them is not only the motive behind the action, but also the one accomplishing the work.

“Works of the Spirit” are those actions prompted, directed, and produced by the Holy Spirit and that, ultimately, will bring glory to Christ. In contrast, “works of the flesh” are those deeds done in our own power and ability and that elevate us. The Bible tells us that everything we do is to magnify Christ, not ourselves.

James wrote by The Holy Spirit in his Epistle, chapter 2:

14  What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

17 Thus also (a believer’s) faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble!

20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

We don’t do “good works” to earn God’s Love or to earn ourselves a place in the Millennium. Doing good works is simply the outgrowth of “walking by The Spirit.”  Our motive is not to try to earn our way to heaven or to earn rewards, but comes from our Love of God and our desire to do His Will.

What is the goal of our faith?

Peter wrote by The Holy Spirit in 1^st Peter chapter 1:

6  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

8 whom having not seen you Love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

9 receiving the end of your faith-the salvation of your souls.

In other Words:

For you are reaping the harvest of your faith—the full salvation promised you—your souls’ victory!

The goal of our faith is the salvation of our souls and this happens at the end of our faith, not the beginning. When FATHER talks about “saving our souls,” He’s not referring to the new birth. He’s talking about the sanctification process––the cleansing, renewing, and transforming––of those who already believe, which occurs at the end of our faith.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Hebrews chapter 10:

36-You need the strength of endurance to reveal the poetry of God’s Will and then you receive the promise in full.

37 For soon and very soon, “The One Who is appearing will come without delay!” 38 And he also says, “My Righteous ones will live by faith. But if fear holds them back, my soul is not content with them!”

39 But we are certainly not those who are held back by fear and perish; we are among those who have faith and experience true life!

Perseverance or endurance is one of the most important characteristics of faith. The words endure and persevere (Strong’s #5278, hupomeno) mean “to stay under, to undergo, to hold up under [suffering], to be patient, to tarry or to abide under.” Perseverance is “resigned submission to a situation that is out of our control.” It means not to be overtaken by it, but to overcome it. Perseverance is another word for patience and forbearance.

In the chapter of Agape Love, Paul wrote in 1^st Corinthians chapter 13:

4  Love suffers long and is kind; Love does not envy; Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

5 does not behave rudely, does not seek Its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the Truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The purpose of our lives here on earth—including our trials—is to train us to rule and reign with Christ there in the Kingdom. He is constantly testing us to see if we are worthy of such a great responsibility. Endurance and perseverance are two major parts of this testing.

Jesus spoke in Revelation chapter 2:

26  To everyone who is victorious and continues to do My Works to the very end I will give you authority over the nations

27 to shepherd them with a Royal Scepter. And the rebellious will be shattered as clay pots—

28 even as I also received authority from the Presence of my Father. I will give the morning star to the one who experiences victory.

29 So the one whose heart is open let him listen carefully to what the Spirit is presently saying to all the churches.

It’s not enough to just enter the race, we must persevere to the very end of the race in order to win.

Paul also wrote in 2^nd Timothy chapter 2:

11  This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

The Overcomers WILL cross the finish line.

Walking in faith is trusting FATHER on a moment-by-moment basis!

Faith comes in the form of a constant choice and it’s a choice we can never stop making, no matter how hard the situation. It’s a choice to follow God and do what He asks, regardless of how we feel, what we think, or what we want. Just as God Loves us unconditionally, we must trust Him unconditionally.

Luke wrote of Paul by The Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 20:

24  “But whether I live or die is not important, for I don’t esteem my life as indispensable. It’s more important for me to fulfill my destiny and to finish the ministry my Lord Jesus has assigned to me, which is to faithfully preach the wonderful news of God’s grace.

Faith is trusting God even when we’ve been stripped of our position, our finances, our reputation, our comfort, our family, and even our last ounce of understanding. It’s getting to the place where we can say and mean, “I won’t let any of these things move me,” even if that means letting go of all that we hold precious.

The real test of faith comes when we can trust FATHER in the depths of the trial, even before the victory is realized, and even before the promises are revealed.  Faith has to pass the test of disappointment and your urge to want to quit. The enemy will set up every roadblock he can think of to entice us to just give up. We must do just the opposite! When we experience opposition, we must shout our unconditional Love for God from the housetops and be assured in our hearts that the victory will come.

Peter wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2^nd Peter chapter 1:

3  Everything we could ever need for life and Godliness has already been deposited in us by His Divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing Him who has called us by name and invited us to come to Him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness.

4 As a result of this, He has given you magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises we can experience partnership with the Divine Nature (partakers of the Divine Nature), by which you have escaped the corrupt desires that are of the world.

Do you have faith in the above Truth?  As overcomers, it is vital that we come to the realization that we can and should walk in what has been deposited in us: HIS Divine Nature!

5 So devote yourselves to lavishly supplementing your faith with goodness, and to goodness add understanding,

6 and to understanding add the strength of self-control, and to self-control add patient endurance, and to patient endurance add Godliness,

7 and to Godliness add mercy toward your brothers and sisters, and to mercy toward others add unending Love.

8 Since these virtues are already planted deep within, and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or fruitless in your pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately.

9 But if anyone lacks (the realization of) these things, he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, and forgetting his innocence—for his past sins have been washed away.

The above passage is essential to our understanding of who we are in Christ!  We already have all these virtues in us awaiting activation so let none of these remain dormant.  Why?  It is so that we can bring forth good fruit as directed by The Holy Spirit.