Romans 4:1-5 KJV
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Today I was late posting, simply because at midnight my refrigator decided to die. It has no salvation it went to the recycle place. NO it salvation it be scraped and sent to be turned into something else one day. Yep refrigators are junk but metal can be recycled in them, not sure how it all works. I leave it to those engineering minds. Yet with recyclables it means it has a life expectancy of reusable parts. It served us well for 15 years or there about. It was cranky and noisy all its life and yet it lived in one spot until it death. Because it was faithful instead of the trash pile it got recycled.

What does it mean to be recyclable, to know your life span is not the first life you had, it comes with the second life you have that you become more useful for something else. Now I do not believe in recarnation in regards to buddhism. Yet in a small sense we are recarnated into our eternal bodies with Christ upon salvation and death. Our work performance is only part of the packagge, for we inherit the gifts of the Spirit to continue to be use in the afterlife.

One of the first fruits is love, hope and faith. I talk alot about it. It a production and work of the Holy Spirit upon salvation. We know upon salvation our eternity is promised. We know he loved us before salvation, because that what we are receiving is his work of love, through his Son on the cross. His work is not our work, but our work testifies of our faith in him. I talking about our actions of love, obedience to God despite our own understanding. Believing God even when the world says otherwise, including science.

Value of good works comes with the fruit it produces, for others to glean by, but it has no value in regards to being saved. If that be the case then a death bed confession is as legitim as an salvation at any age. If we establish that salvation is works based then we fail to understand that a death bed confession only work would be the confession of faith alone, the work then would be in the very act of death. Yet salvation is not even about confession, salvation must come with belief.

If we look at Abraham and say he believed God, what then we fail to realize when Abraham laughed at being told he have a son in old age was a lack of faith, did Abraham fail. No, because he continued in faith even after his son was born, he circumcized his son at eight days as God instructed. The circumcision only a testimony of faith. Sarah also laughed, and yet her salvation came when she conceived. No longer with doubt as that baby kicked in her womb. No doubt her son was heir to the promise of God, speaking of a land, and heaven. Even Isaac had to believe in God on his own, despite his works.

Our faith is it stretch beyond repair, not if we are still saying God, or help me Lord. Is our faith in trouble? No if we can still recognize there is a Creator. Our hard work only pays off in this life, but our production of fruit by God's Spirit is for eternity.

Faith without works is dead, for even the devil believes and trembles? Devil fruit is evil, not of the gifts of God's spirit. It can even be disguised as the works of God, but it clear to God who fruit you possess in your life.

Now for the non believer or person who has never received Christ, we all have had to come to the foot of the cross for salvation. We all had to receive the love of God, which is the first fruit we bear as a believer of the Holy Spirit. We desire others to be saved as we were. I have love ones I want salvation for them as Christ saved me. I see people in the street with different sins then maybe the ones I possess and still want to see them saved. Why because salvation does not come with a sign that says if you did this you can not get in. It comes with a sign that says for God so loved the world He gave his only begotten Son. God so loved the world he gave his word so one might be saved. Belief at looking to his Son on that cross saved me and all other believers. That same cross that even today, I do not live up to the perfection I should. Meaning I to have to bow at the altar knowing Christ paid it all. Knowing salvation came before being bad or wrong once more. Then why get saved, because God wants to use you and me as we are, changing us through sanctification process of faith. Not by our works, but by his fruit working on the inner man. We do change as we receive the fruits of God's Spirit, as we recieve first Christ into our heart, because of his love for us.

Just like the old refrige must change outwardly in the recycle place and be reshaped into something new, our life must be reshaped upon faith, not at the death bed confession, no that might be a clean slate, but you missed out on many years of that eternal hope you could of had before your salvation. Why put off the recycle process of receiving salvation and allowing God's love for you to mold and shape you into what you ought to be as a person of faith and not dead works, but fruits produced by the gifts of God's Spirit.

Dear Heavenly Father, your grace is sufficient for us all. Your love unconditional for the worse sinner such as I. Not one person deserves your grace, but you want to mold us innerwardly into the person you called us to be. Help us to yield to your grace and recieve not only salvation but your gifts of your spirit to see the fruit production of faith in you by your Spirit. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Ephesians 4:7-12 KJV
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: