From the time Christ walked the earth some 2,000 years ago until now, His word and His gospel has been a stumbling block to Jews who follow rules, and foolishness to Gentiles who follow their own wisdom (1Co 1:23, Galatians 5:11). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10.
Reading the scripture from Ephesians above, why do you think God saved us by grace through faith, apart from works?______________________________________ What are we created for?_________________________. The Greek verb 'beforehand' means 'to prepare before, to make ready beforehand'. It is a word showing action, but who takes the action of preparing beforehand?_________________. What does He prepare? _________________. Brothers and sisters, even the good works or righteous acts produced by the Christian life are a result of His grace through faith, and it will be these grace-given righteous acts that will one day be the wedding garments given to clothe the bride of the Lamb, which is the Church (Read Ephesians 5:22-33 & 2 Corinthians 11:2,3). “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelation 19:8. John MacArthur notes on Revelation 19:8, “Not Christ's imputed righteousness granted to believers at salvation, but the practical results of that righteousness in believers' lives, i.e, the outward manifestion of inward virtue.” Think on these scriptures and John MacArthur's note. Can you put into your own words an understanding of this? ____________________________________________________. We serve a God who, by His grace, has prepared good works for us before we even had a thought of Him. By His grace, He gives us the strength and ability to walk in these good works, and it will be these good works that He one day (by His grace) clothes us in for the wedding to our Savior, since there isn't a single garment we could ever bring that could shine brighter. This shed new light on Colossians 3:1-4, for me. “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” In the midst of trials and struggles, how can these verses encourage us to live according to the word of God by faith? _____________________________. “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” 1Co 6:20. What is the price that was paid?_________________________. How do we glorify God in our body, now that we've been freed from sin, and have become slaves to righteousness (Ro 6:18)?_________________________. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16,17. Every question, every situation, every single problem we could ever come across in this life, and how to handle them in ways that Christ would have handled them (He is the word made flesh John 1:14), in a way that brings glory to God; can all be found in the word of God. It is complete and lacking nothing, but as we learned above, it is only a gift of God's grace that any of it can be accomplished.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.' But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13. How can the child of God remain prudent, while waiting for their Savior?________________________. Do you see a similarity in this parable, and the bride having made herself ready in Revelation 19:7?_____________________. Trials are not a bad thing, this is what I have seen in this study. When the child of God, or the bride of Christ, submits to the word of God to be strenghtened in a time of need, we are slowly being made ready for the day our Lord gathers His bride. Let's remain prudent, my family! Let's hide His word in our hearts, that we may not sin against Him (Ps119:11); Let's remain sober in spirit and vigilent, because we have an adversary that roams around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour! (1Pe5:8). For, “after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” 1Peter 5:10.
I close with the words of our Pastor, “March on Saints!” But I add, “In prudence!”