The Two Oars of the Christian Life
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from
the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct
among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers,
they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter
2:11-12
Beloved,
An old Scottish man was responsible
for transporting passengers in his small rowboat. One day a man asked him, why do you have “faith”
etched on one oar and “works” on the other?
The man started rowing with only the “faith” oar and boat went in a
circle. Then the man rowed only with the “works” oar and the boat went in a
circle in the opposite direction. The
old man said, “"You see, that is the way it is in the Christian life. Dead
works without faith are useless, and faith without works is dead also, getting
you nowhere. But faith and works pulling together make for safety, progress,
and blessing.”[1]
The Christian is saved by grace
alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And although the Christian is saved
through faith alone, true faith is never alone.
We show ourselves to be God’s chosen race and royal priesthood in our
zeal for good works (1 Peter 2:9-10, Titus 2:14). True
faith will always show itself in good works.
If a person claims faith in Jesus Christ yet is without the evidence of
a changed life, then that person should not have assurance. And yet the
opposite is also true, if we have been changed by the gospel and practice good
deeds then we can be confident that God has rescued us from the dominion of
darkness into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.
For the believer good works are not
done in drudgery, but with joy. Our
hearts have been changed by the Holy Spirit so we delight to do the Lord’s
work. Our joyful, thankful obedience to
God for His love serves to show the power of the gospel to the lost. Beloved,
let us put both oars in the water, first faith then works, so that the Gentiles
would see our good deeds and praise God on the Day of the Lord.
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