Works are a Product of Regeneration!

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as 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 so that we would walk in them.  (Ephesians 2:1-10)

Very briefly, Paul gives a generic testimony for every born again disciple of Christ. The first seven verses should sound very familiar to your own conversion experience. We were dead and walked in accordance with Satan, while not even fully understanding what we were doing. In case you’ve ever thought of that as being incredible, think about it this way. The enemy is identified as the father of lies, and the most effective deceiver. Therefore, the realization of our previously unregenerate state should make something very clear to us: The state of unbelief is the universal height of deception. It should not come as a surprise to us that the most hardened of unregenerate people profess that they do not believe in Satan’s very existence. This is appropriate; after all, what better place to begin an assault if you are the world’s greatest deceiver?

Now after this dark introduction, God is given His due credit for the greatest act of love and rescue against the greatest form of Satan’s deception and hatred. (Read verses 4-7). While under full control of the enemy, God doesn’t simply give us a hand and show us the direction He wants us to go. His first action taken in this passage is to make us alive. His love fuels the grace that makes us alive. And God goes further to say that He makes us alive so that He might raise and seat us with Him in order to show us the riches of His grace in kindness toward us. All of these glorious truths are tagged with the phrases “in Christ” and “with Christ” because these acts toward us are forever based on the merit and righteousness of God in the flesh.  Amen!

Then in verses 8-10, Paul gives us perhaps the clearest explanation of the relationship between salvation and works. Works do not produce salvation, but salvation does produce works. Remember that God not only chose us for Himself before the foundation of the world, but He also prepared our works for us that we may simply walk in them. 

How do works relate to regeneration by grace through faith?

"Works are to salvation, what thunder is to lightning, an inevitable result. Just as thunder does not generate lightning, our good deeds will not generate salvation. But on the other hand, just as you can't have lightning without the following thunderclap, you can't experience the transformation of salvation without a change in your attitudes and behaviors. And those changes are a gradual process called sanctification, that can be likened to an endurance race. The apostle Paul often compared the Christian life to a long race, as did the author of the book of Hebrews.” -- Steve Kreloff, Pastor of Lakeside Community Chapel in FL

As a final thought, as we encourage each other in service and good works, let us remember that God is the one who is at work, and we are merely mouthpieces. Just as we cannot bring about salvation by earthly power, Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that God has prepared every act of worship that we will ever give Him. We need to consider this carefully before we act on our personal expectations. Let’s serve the body of Christ with patience and kindness, just as Christ serves us by giving us His strength and power to serve Him back to His glory as the Ultimate Servant.

Deacon Jones