Articles
Grace Through Faith Will Achieve Good Works
Grace is an act of goodwill, especially one that is undeserved. Faith comprises of two things: trust and submission. A key difference between Christianity and relying on ourselves and others is grace. With God, grace is guaranteed. He sacrificed His son so that His divine blood would wash away mankind’s sins. When we accept God’s free gift of grace and let Him change how we think and act, His Holy Spirit then guarantees our eternal inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14). When we rely on ourselves and other human beings, there is no possibility for eternal salvation. One person can show grace to another, but you are putting your faith in fallible instincts and leaving your life to chance. When you place your faith in God, however, wonderful things will happen.
1 Kings 17 tells the account of a great drought that God placed in the northern kingdom of Israel. During this time, the God’s prophet to Israel was Elijah. After Elijah heard there was going to be a famine the Lord said to him, “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there” (1 Kings 17:3). Elijah had faith and did as God commanded. After a while though, the brook dried up. The Bible does not give an account of Elijah’s reaction to the brook of Cherith drying up. We do know though that Elijah never lost faith.
The next verse reads, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you” (1 Kings 17:9). We know that Elijah never lost faith because he traverses the barren landscape and arrives at his destination safely. Once he arrived, Elijah requested something to drink and eat. The widow explains that she was just about to prepare the last bit they had left and were preparing to die. Elijah told her to have faith and she did. God blessed the little bit of food they had left and it did not run out. When the widow’s son even became ill and died, Elijah brought him back to life. From his faith, Elijah was able to save a widow and her son and give them faith.
Hebrews 13:15-16 says, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Elijah shared his faith and talents that God had blessed Him with because he was His prophet. The widow shared from the little abundance that she had while a drought was ravaging her land. In the end, righteous works were achieved and God was praised and glorified. Ephesians 2:8-10 reads, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God created us all to trust and obey Him. The question is, will you?
