By Zach Dodd, WEGO Director (Not AI)

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
-Ephesians 2:10

Good works get a bad rap.

As a born-and-bred Evangelical believer and Baptist Seminarian, I have been thoroughly catechized in the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, apart from works. In my work with WEGO, it is also the single message I keep preaching overseas every chance I get – as it will be until the day I die.

I can sniff out performance-based righteousness like a hunting dog, or a better example (I hope), like Apostle Paul. When a pastor overseas tells me his main pastoral passion is teaching holiness and I hear nothing about the finished work of Jesus, I know exactly what that means, and I’m grieved. But in all this work of correcting and preaching against ‘Will work for salvation’ signs, we can also be prone to devalue the role of good works in our lives.

A good biblical theology does not remove works from God’s love or salvation; it simply puts it all in the right order. Paul perfectly lays it all out for us in Ephesians 2:1-10…

• • We are dead in our sins (1-3)
  • God loves us (4)
  • God makes us alive by grace (5-6)
  • God lavishes us with kindness (7)
    
  • Salvation is a gift received through faith (8-9)
  • God created us for good works (10)

Or even simpler…

• • Works > God’s Love > Salvation = BAD THEOLOGY
  • God’s Love > Salvation > Works = BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

The order really matters here. Our good works are an after-the-fact response to God’s love, not an entrance ticket to earn it. We do good works because we are loved, not to be loved. Much more, God actually created us for these works and already has them mapped out and ready for us to step into. So, just like salvation, the pressure is off of us once again. We just get to do what Jesus tells us to do and go where He tells us to go, because we are already safe, alive, and loved.

I cannot think of a better real-life example of this “good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” than Amy Warrick. Right now, Amy is in the middle of a 5-week internship with us at New Hope Children’s Home in Mongolia. She wrote this before she left…

“I’m so excited to use my passion for learning to serve this beautiful community and share Christ’s love through practical, everyday service. My deepest hope is to see these children thrive—spiritually and emotionally—as they grow in their relationship with Christ. This trip is also very personal for me. I will be returning to Asia for the first time since I was adopted and brought to the United States. I feel grateful for the chance to reconnect with the region of my birth while learning more about the culture, the people, and the language.”

How beautiful! Amy (whom I’ve known since she was a kid) received salvation and began to walk in Christ’s love. Along the way, she picked up a passion for education and learned more about her story of adoption.

These details in her life are not wasted or accidental. Each was preparation for a future work God had in store for her and others. Knowing the girls living at New Hope, I am just beyond overwhelmed to have Amy in our home right now. Parts of her story overlap with theirs, and she will be able to offer them empathy that not many other people can. And these girls also want to learn English, which she loves to teach. Far, far more than coincidental, this internship is a good work God prepared in advance for her to do. I want us to make sure we are praying for Amy this month as she continues to step into these good, these beautiful works. 

Let’s turn our eyes to Jesus.
Praise Him for His divine grace.
Receive the gifts He lavishes on His children.
Thank Him for His saving Love that delivers us from the façade of performance.
See how He uses and redeems every part of our lives, even (and especially) the hard parts, to bring about His Kingdom on this earth.

Let’s worship Him together as we pray…

Pray For My Health

How You Can Pray:
I would love prayer over my health. I experienced a few health moments recently, but praise Jesus, they passed within 24 hours. I’d really appreciate continued prayers for my health and protection throughout the rest of my time here.

Pray For Peace

Pray For Wisdom