Word of Encouragement (6/8/2021)

We are reflecting on Paul’s prayer in 1 Thess. 1:2-3: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yesterday, we talked about the importance of starting our intercessory prayer with thanksgiving and the three main virtues of faith, love, and hope. Today, we will reflect on the value of the work of faith.

This phrase—“your work of faith”—is interesting because in it Paul brings together two opposing ideas: work and faith, which are often presented in an antithetical relationship in many of Paul’s epistles: “we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom. 3:28); “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 2:16; 3:2). We can see why the two are set against each other. Works are “meritorious” deeds, which rightly deserve rewards. Faith, on the other hand, is an act of depending on God and His grace: it is something we do but has no merit. When Paul says that we cannot be justified by the works of the law, he is not saying that God refuses to acknowledge our merits; he is saying that we don’t have any legitimate works that are worthy of God’s reward: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment...” (Isa. 64:6).

But in other passages, works are used in a more generic sense: simply as something we do, which requires our conscious exertion of energy and effort. We see “works” used in this sense a lot in the Book of James: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (Jam. 2:14); “as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (Jam. 2:26). In these verses, faith and works are not pitted against each other: James takes pains to show the inextricable connection between the two.

In this prayer, Paul thanks God for the Thessalonians’ work of faith. This is not to deny the passive aspect of faith. Our Confession says, “…the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace” (WCF, 14:2). The passive aspect of faith is highlighted here and rightly so. God is our gracious Savior. He does the work of redemption. By faith we humbly and gratefully receive what God has done for us. But Paul’s prayer shows that faith has an active dimension as well. Faith not only receives but also works with what it has received. To put it in another way: by faith we receive a new life from Christ and by faith we live that new life in Christ.

So, we are to walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7); “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain” (Heb. 11:4); “By faith Noah... constructed an ark for the saving of his household” (Heb. 11:7); “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called...” (Heb. 11:8); “By faith [Abraham] lived...” (Heb. 11:9), etc. You get the idea. Genuine faith acts on what it believes. In that sense, “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26); “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). What would we do if we believed that God would exalt us when we humbled ourselves before Him? What would we do if we believed that every little thing we do, every little sacrifice we make for God’s glory would not be forgotten by God and He would reward us richly? If we really believed that God would hear our prayers and answer our prayers according to the abundant riches of His grace far beyond what we ask or think, wouldn’t we rush to the throne of grace as often as we could? May our faith grow to be prolific in its work to the praise and glory of God!