“We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” (I Thessalonians 2.12-13)
We were saved and called to be agents of the kingdom of God in the midst of the fallen world. Redemption in Christ means that we are delivered from the bondage of Satan’s kingdom and transferred to the forgiveness and freedom of God’s kingdom. When we are saved, the rule of God is restored in us and through us. God returns us to the place for which he created us: To reflect his character and represent his love and lordship.
Here is a simple way to think about it: God does something for us (redemption) in order to do something in us (regeneration) so that he can accomplish his purposes through us (good works). This great truth is wonderfully captured in the book of Ephesians:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2.8-10)
Therefore, it is very important that Christians live and work in a way that reflects the love and lordship of Jesus. “Good works” do not save us; however, good works should flow from the reality of our redeemed relationship with God through Jesus. Indeed, this passage says we are created for good works. We are called to bear fruit.
Tim Keller, in his book The Reason for God, provides this insight: “There is a great gulf between the understanding that God accepts us because of our efforts and the understanding that God accepts us because of what Jesus has done. Religion operates on the principle, “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.” But the operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through what Christ has done—therefore I obey.”
Redemption is a free gift, and with that free gift comes a great responsibility. Here again is the Prime Directive. As heirs and agents of the kingdom of God, it is our responsibility to be stewards who wisely and diligently manage the Master’s estate. That is the central focus of God’s purpose and strategy for us: That we accept God’s gift of salvation in Jesus; that we live and work in right relationship to him; that we have dominion on planet earth as stewards of his kingdom; and that we invite others into relationship with Jesus and citizenship in his kingdom.
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.18-20)
