SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE
March 26, 2023
Texts: Ephesians 2:10
2 Timothy 3:16-17
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” [NLT]
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” [NIV]
God has a reason for the theme that we have been given to, not only think about, but also act upon this year. It is more than just a topic, it is a call to live be and live as a Christian. Themes are emphasized for a period, like a year, but they are meant for a lifetime. The lessons we learn through the church are for the rest of our Christian living on earth. That is how long we are called to serve God as Christians.
The church today has lost its call, and most of the people who claim to be Christians are not Christians at all. Allow me to ask a question for each one of us, “If you fail to involve yourself in the programmes of the church, does it really make a difference in your life?” Another question, “Every time you come to church, does it make it make a difference in your life?” How. God is becoming more and more irrelevant in our lives today, in our activities and in society. Christians are becoming more and more swallowed up in worldly affairs and less in God’s affairs. Just check the walls in your phone and compare issues of faith and other issues and see where your life and mind are more involved. The question is, who am I living for.
Paul says we are God’s masterpiece or workmanship; these two words describe the best a person can produce. Imagine, we are the best God could produce, it was so in Genesis 1:31 when after he created humanity he said that it was very good. But now, Paul is not talking about that first creation in Genesis, he is talking about a new creation in Jesus Christ, a recreation of a human being in Christ, a new creature which is a masterpiece. If you have not been worked on by God through Christ you are not his workmanship—the very special creation of God. That is the reason you see many people who call themselves Christians, but you do not see anything in them that looks like Christ, you do not hear from them anything that sounds like Christ, you don’t feel from them anything that sounds like Christ. God’s masterpiece is a replica of Jesus Christ. The rest are copies of the sinful humanity. The Psalmist says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psa. 51:5).
God had a purpose for this new creation; from the very beginning he had a reason for creating man. But now he is making the new creation for a purpose, and that purpose is to do good works. Are you any different from the rest of humanity? How is your character? How is your language? How are your deeds? How is your attitude? Your commitment? I mean, how are you? Are you God’s masterpiece.
There is a reason I added the Scripture from 2 Timothy to our theme today. Jesus left us with his Word to enable us to go through the process of becoming a masterpiece of God. Find time to study it; for now we will refer to it briefly.
Two days ago, there was a story in the News about a church where they were subjecting little children to fasting unto death, so as to enter heaven when they die. And indeed the children died. That was evil and stupid. Many people in the church today behave the same way, thinking they will make it to heaven without feeding their souls on the Word of God.
When Israel and Judah rejected the Word of the Lord from the prophets, God said to Jeremiah in 5:10-14 that he would give Jeremiah that would burn them like firewood. In Matthew 24:35, Jesus says that his word will remain forever. It is the Word of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19; and the Word of life (Php. 2:16). This is the Word we are rejecting, yet it is through it that God has chosen to recreate us in Jesus Christ. The children I mentioned were in the family but dying slowly because they were denied food; you are in God’s family, the church, but you are dying slowly because you have denied yourself the spiritual foo of the Word of God. I still admire the elders of the days of our youth who never went to school and could not read. If you went to their homes, you found them sitting, maybe under a tree with some young person whom they ask to read to them the Word of God. And they knew it and lived by it. God was able to recreate them in Christ for good deeds.
It is not possible to be saved by doing good works (Eph. 2:9), salvation is the gift of God. Good deeds do not lead to salvation. God recreates us in Jesus Christ so that we can do good works; it is only possible to do good things, pleasing to God when you are made a new creature in Christ. But something is wrong if you claim salvation and no good works are seen in your life. The challenge is that we surrender to Christ so that we can be recreated to do good works.
We will conclude by looking at 2 Timothy 3:17-17 which tells us how this works. Paul urges Timothy to remain loyal to the Word he had learnt and gives him the reason. The Scriptures give us the wisdom which leads us to salvation. It is not possible to find God’s truth when you neglect Word that is inspired by God. It was inspired for the following reasons:
- Teaching the truth: Christian faith is founded in Jesus Christ; there is no Christianity outside Christ. The knowledge and wisdom of Christ is revealed to humanity through the Scriptures. A church without teachings of Scriptures cannot effectively lead people to Christ. A Christian who does not live and feed on the Scriptures cannot be a genuine follower of Christ. The majority of Christians in the church today have rejected the teaching of the Word of God.
- Rebuking error: The Scriptures are supposed to help the church in finding errors made in the church and bringing conviction upon those involved by pointing out the error. The power of the Spirit of Christ brings conviction upon a person who reads and studies the Scripture to help the person find more of Christ.
- Correcting faults: All teachings and beliefs in the church must be tested through the teachings of the Word of God. We see Paul rebuking the Corinthians and the Galatians for entertaining or accepting a gospel different from what they had received (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6). There are too many teachings and ideas in the world that Christians must guard against. Many people find it easy to accept and follow any new teachings and ideas that go round today. Some people, out of ignorance, find it very easy to believe anything they find on the internet.
- Training in righteousness: That is giving instruction to a believer for the right Christian lifestyle. How does a child of God know how to live as a Christian without studying the instruction God has provided?
This is the process through which God recreates us in Jesus Christ to be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” You cannot be thoroughly equipped for God’s service in the church if you never study the Word of God. Why would you deny God a chance to recreate you for good works?
My prayer is that you will make time to regularly study your precious Bible in the name of Jesus Christ.
Respectfully submitted by
Isaya Guy Otemba