Installment #3- Diligence But Not Works
2 Peter 1:5 (KJV)
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; (emphasis mine)
James 2:17 (KJV)
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Now let’s note the phrase “all diligence”. This indicates a clear and obvious action on our part. Whenever taken in with passages such as James 2:17 we get the clear direction that there is still work to be done after we are saved thru Faith.
Now, many intercede here that “Ephesians 2:9 (KJV)-Not of works, lest any man should boast. “ which is entirely true. But every Christian must come to the revelation that our actions do not save us, our works do not keep us saved, we are saved by His grace alone. But, how do we show love? How do we show gratitude and praise?
Jesus is referenced as the bridegroom several times, and the Church as His bride. Do we stop at the wedding? Do we not actively seek to please our spouse? I will return to this analogy many times in this series as Marriage is one of the clearest pictures of the Christian walk in scripture. When we are married, we work together to build our life together, this is the proper attitude of works in the Christian life. We never become more married, and as long as we choose to “stay hooked” we do not become less married, we are either married or we are not. Now how happy and healthy that marriage is is directly linked to our work in it.
“All Diligence” must be given to hammer out time with our spouse each day, to come into agreement on subjects we differ on. In a healthy marriage we seek to please our beloved, and the Christian walk is no different. These seven building blocks are the development of a healthy relationship with our Lord, our Bridegroom.
How much effort do we give each day to please Him who has done all to be with us?
