Works - Part 1 of 4

This was drafted as one long post (too long), so I'm simply breaking it up into smaller chunks and scheduling them to post in 12 hour intervals...

I've been growing in grace since sometime in the mid 90's, and from then till now I've been discussing the message of grace with people wherever I go. I've discussed it one-on-one with people. I've discussed it in groups. I've discussed it online in Christian chat rooms, forums, blogs, etc. Over the years I've run into a lot of opposition from people - mainly in the online chat rooms and forums (boy have I been ganged-up upon!). I've been called lots of names and I've been accused of heresy. Some people have been kinder, and have simply expressed "concerns" about what I say. :)

One of the many "concerns" I've heard from people is that I'm teaching people to "do nothing." In other words, that I'm teaching people to abstain from good works. Many, many times I've simply had to tell people, "scroll back up and look at what I actually said!" "Look at where I'm actually coming from, and I think you'll see that I'm building a foundation of grace that leads to a natural life of good works."

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know I talk about this a lot. It's the difference between an outward/external life of living by "biblical instructions" and living by the life of Christ that indwells us. In other words, far be it from me to be against works, but rather I heavily emphasize the true source of works. I do think that the various New Testament "instructions" can be a marvelous aid in showing us what our life in Christ looks like when it's lived out, but I don't believe for a minute that they are the foundation or essence of the Christian life.