8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. ~ Ephesians 2:8-10
We are saved by grace through faith. It is God’s gift to us, to everyone who believes and takes refuge in Jesus. We are born again to perform good works; it is not by good works that we are saved, but make no mistake, we are saved for good works. Sometimes, the concept gets blurred, and ‘no good works’ takes place. But the reality is, if you are born again, that is, if you have accepted Jesus as your LORD and Savior, then you are expected to do good works without counting the cost.
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand tells a story about a communist soldier who was sent to him by one of his friends because he could not speak Russian, but Wurmbrand could. Wurmbrand told the Russian officer the story of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount; the man danced around the room in rapturous joy and proclaimed, “Wonderful beauty. How could I live without knowing this Christ.” But when Wurmbrand got to the part where Jesus was crucified and died, the officer began to weep uncontrollably and fell into an armchair.
He had heard the Gospel for the first time, came to believe in Jesus, and fell in love with Him, but now this Savior that he had come to believe in and Who loved him was dead. Wurmbrand had not expected that reaction, so he quickly told him about the resurrection. When he did, the soldier jumped to his feet, began to dance around the room again, and cried out with joy, “He’s alive! He’s alive!”
What am I talking about? I’m talking about sharing the Gospel. We are saved for good works, and there is no better good works than that of sharing the Gospel with someone who has never heard it. Wurmbrand took his own life, or at the very least, he took his own freedom in his hands to tell this Communist officer about the love of Jesus. He did not count the cost. He did not consider his life too precious or his risk of a prison sentence too much to pay; he understood that he was created for good works. There is a great reward coming for those who do good works.
We too are expected to do no less. We must tell the world that Jesus loves them. That Jesus cares for them. That we are so important to Him that He actually died a horrific death in our place. He died so that we might have eternal life.
Jesus is coming back real soon and only what we do for Him here will be sent on ahead of us into eternity. We need to tell as many people as possible. We need to try to save the world and stop counting the cost. Man may try to ban the Gospel, but we must obey God. So, Go ye into all the world and tell everyone about the love of Jesus we are told. So go, tell the world about the free gift of salvation, it’s life eternal for all who believe.
Heavenly Father, give me boldness and confidence to tell everyone I meet about You. Give me the wisdom to know how to share the Good News so that some may hear, and might believe, and live and not die. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
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