There came a time in the ministry of Jesus Christ when His disciples asked a very poignant question. “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:28-29).
What exactly did Jesus mean, “Believe on Him whom He sent.” Did He mean that the only work required by a disciple is to have a simple form of belief? “Believe on the Lord, and be saved,” is a common phrase among hundreds of churches in the world. But, is that what our Saviour meant? When we examine His reply more closely, we realize the question asked was “what shall we do?” and Jesus’ reply seems to invoke more than some spiritual feeling of the heart?
Was not one of the very last instructions given His disciples to “teach all nations?” Did He not tell Peter “Feed My sheep?” Jesus Christ built His church; a church the gates of hell could never prevail against; a church that would never die. Why build a church? Notice Jesus’ own words, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12). What work? Why preach the gospel as a witness? What is God’s work all about and what is the one word that best describes the work of God?
Financial institutions advertise savings and retirement plans to secure one’s future. But the greatest savings plan on the face of the earth is God’s work. It is for this purpose we preach the gospel as a witness and as a warning. It is more than lifting our voice like a trumpet. It is more than a voice crying in the wilderness. Banks save money; unions try to save jobs; doctors try to save lives. God wants to save the world! “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (John 12:47). “. . . for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Also notice, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Salvation is at the very heart and core of the work of God.
Scripture states unequivocally that God gave His only begotten Son so that the world through Him might be saved! Jesus said “No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him” (John 6:44). How does God call an individual?
It is very evident in New Testament writings that the apostle Paul believed that his work, how he handled a situation, how he took care of the churches and how he dealt with people made a dramatic difference to those people’s lives. It is obvious in his letters that Paul believed decisions he made that had to do with how he conducted his life, the number of hours he worked, his dedication, the sacrifices he made and the policies he pursued, would have an effect on the number of people who might eventually be saved.
Can we make a difference in someone’s life? Paul certainly thought he could! “What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law.” Paul dealt with individuals from their perspective, “to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:18-22).
Notice the admonition in one of Paul’s letters to Timothy, a man that Paul loved like a son “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Consider the remarkable implications in these scriptures. “The work of God” includes preaching the gospel and proclaiming biblical truth. It includes a prophetic message, teaching people to observe all things that God has commanded, making disciples, baptizing people, taking care of people, reaching out into their lives, crying with those that cry, laughing with those that laugh and creating a community and a family. In the process of that work, we as agents of God can influence the potential salvation of an individual.
Paul made no apologies. He knew the decisions he made, his policies, his procedures and the way in which he went about doing things made a difference in the lives of people. People lived and died based upon the decisions of the apostle Paul. The truth is that many people died painful deaths because Paul was so diligent in doing God’s work and that those people became deeply converted, were baptized into a heartfelt faith in Jesus Christ and were willing to suffer persecution even to the point of death.
God’s work is a saving work! One of the great mysteries of scripture, an underlying theme is that God is ultimately going to save this world. And He is going to use human beings called to His truth to help Him do it.
From ancient times when God called a man named Abram, to the saving of his people from slavery in Egypt by the hand of Moses, from Old Testament prophets to the New Testament apostles, God has utilized the talents and abilities of human beings to bring His word of salvation to those whom He calls. Even the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, became a flesh and blood human, “who took on not the nature of Angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham” (Hebrews 2:16, KJV).
This world is winding down. Calamity is coming. We can’t prevent it. We can’t change it. But we can influence a few. If we let the light of Jesus Christ shine in our life, if we put our hand to the plough and our whole heart into the work of God, then maybe we can help save some!
The work of preaching the gospel for a witness to all nations is not just apocalyptic. It is prophetic. It is a moral message. It not only tells us that an event will happen but why it is going to happen.
We are to reach out and make disciples of as many as the Lord our God will call as a result of the work we have done, because we are His agents, instruments of salvation in His hand. The apostle Paul knew and understood to the very depth of his being, that as an instrument in God’s hand, he was involved in a saving work.
The work of the God’s church today is delivering the gospel to a weary world. A work that involves everything from modern technology to personal evangelism, so that by any and all means we, as individuals, might have enough influence to allow God to save some!
