For Good Works

“And you who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

Ephesians 2:1-3

The convicting part of this passage for me comes in verse 3: “among whom also we conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our own hearts...” Ouch. For me, I follow too much my own heart, my own feelings, my own desires. I turn to food as comfort, and entertainment for distraction. I focus on what I want, not what I am called to do. With that attitude, I find myself identifying with the old man, who was dead in sin.

This passage paints a rather bleak picture overall. Dead in sin, conducting ourselves among the sons of disobedience, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and children of wrath! Of ourselves, we contain no good, could do no good. These dead men are even referred to as walking according the prince of the power of the air, Satan himself.

Here, then, we have a picture of what a Christian does not look like. A Christian would not walk according to the course of this world. Nor would he identify with the sons of disobedience, those who do no good in the world. A Christian also does not focus on fulfilling the desires of flesh and mind. Our own natural desires are at odds with God's law.

It is important to note, however, that the Christian has a leg up on the natural man. Natural man is dead in trespasses and sins. He can do no good. He has no such desires. The Christian, however, has been changed, has had his heart replaced. He has been called to more and has the ability to do so.

Why is this? What is the great change that has brought this about? We find the answer in Ephesians 2:4-10:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved,) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

God, in His mercy, saved the Christian. He took the dead man, and made him alive. As I write this, I am blown away once again by the incredible gift bestowed on me, on us, as His chosen people. Because of this gift, we have the privilege of to sit with Jesus, our Messiah. We get to know the riches and kindness of our Heavenly Father.

We do not own any part of our salvation. This passage states multiple times that the natural man is dead in sin. This then intensifies our duty to God. Out of His mercy and grace He chose us before the foundations of the world to be saved. We did nothing to earn that gift. We are completely indebted to God. This debt could never be repaid.

Out of gratitude and obedience, we are called to good works, as the last verse states. We are called to be light of the world, the salt of the earth. We have been given something amazing. Every action, word and thought should show that to the people around us! And this is why it is so imperative that we deny the flesh. The flesh is at enmity with God at all times. By doing the works of the flesh, we are no better than the world around us. It does not show the incredible work God has wrought in us.

The call of the ice cream, the donuts, the lattes, the Facebook and Instagram are not necessarily sinful. These things can be enjoyed, or used to great good! Other lusts of the flesh are more overtly sinful. But we must be careful that they all do not overtake all our thoughts and actions. If a person was to look at how we lived our days, who would they say ruled our hearts and minds?

 

My prayer is that I, and all who belong to Jesus, will continue to know and trust in Him. That we will live lives that are pleasing to Him. I pray that the desires of the flesh will be dampened, quieted, ignored. Let us find great joy in our God, and glorify Him with our deeds!