The Foundation of Good Works in Christian Salvation
Christianity has, from its earliest days, been characterized by a profound connection between personal salvation and public impact. The work of God in transforming individual lives through salvation is inextricably linked to His preparation of good works for believers to accomplish in the world. Indeed, the very spirit that raised Christ from the dead also fills believers, empowering them to challenge institutionalized evils and produce tangible good within the community. The concept of salvation is not based on our works, but because of God’s righteousness and mercy, as articulated in Titus. Yet, Titus also emphasizes that those who have believed in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works and be zealous for them. This zeal for good works is not a forced obligation but should be a natural, spontaneous expression of being redeemed, reconciled, forgiven, set free, made whole, and purified by Christ.
This relationship can be understood as God working salvation into believers so that they can effectively work that salvation out into the community, affecting others. These good works are how Christianity makes a tangible difference in the public sphere and leads to transformation within neighborhoods that come “under the influence” of the Holy Spirit working through Christians.
History provides compelling evidence of this transformative power. Drawing on insights from historical accounts, the New Testament church, filled with the Spirit, immediately began to challenge practices that were considered normal in the pagan world but were seen as institutionalized forms of evil. This included confronting abortion, infanticide, and the common practice of abandonment and exposure of unwanted infants. Early Christians would go to the places where babies were left to die and adopt them as their own, demonstrating that Christianity produces good works that save and enhance life.
Societal Transformation Through Christian Good Works
Beyond the preservation of life, the biblical ethic followed by Christians has been the wellspring for numerous foundational institutions and civic structures that we often take for granted today. Christianity has been credited with emancipating women from a status barely above slaves and working toward the abolition of slavery itself. It has inspired thousands of charities and relief organizations throughout the centuries. The very concept of the hospital as we know it is a fruit of the Christian ethic. Christianity established orphanages and founded schools. In medieval times, it single-handedly kept classical culture alive by recopying manuscripts, built libraries, and initiated mediation processes between governments during wartime. Furthermore, it invented colleges and universities, dignified labor as a divine vocation, advanced science, instilled concepts of political, social, and economic freedom, fostered justice, and provided the greatest single source of inspiration for achievements in art, architecture, music, and literature. These widespread societal benefits are the result of Christians working out their salvation by doing good works, following the biblical ethic.
Prioritizing Response: Identifying Urgent Need and Moral Crisis
In a world rife with needs, a crucial question arises: how do we prioritize our efforts? With countless problems around the globe, discerning where to focus our good works can be challenging. The Bible offers principles to guide this prioritization, helping distinguish between everyday problems and preeminent moral crises.
Two summary principles derived from Christian ethics provide clarity:
- Proximity to the Need: The closer we are to the need, the greater our responsibility to respond to and meet that need. This principle flows directly from the command to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is a liberating concept, as God directs us to start in our own neighborhood.
- Urgency of the Need: The more urgent the crisis, the more preeminent our moral response should be. This relates directly to the instruction to help cases of urgent need as an expression of being zealous for good works. We instinctively react differently to a life-threatening emergency, like someone bleeding from a car accident or a gunshot wound, then to a chronic, though still important, need. A life and death situation demands that we drop everything and act with urgency.
Abortion: A Preeminent Moral Crisis and Urgent Need
Applying these principles leads directly to the recognition of the abortion crisis as an area of preeminent moral need. It is not merely one issue among many; it is a life and death situation. People are being chosen out of our society for extermination and legal killing. This prompts within Christians an urgency to act, recognizing these individuals – the women considering abortion and the children at risk – as our neighbors who require zealous good works.
Comparing the current abortion crisis to the targeting of Jews for extermination in 1930s and 40s Germany underscores its preeminent nature. While there were many social stresses and inequalities during that time, the targeting of a group for extermination was the preeminent crisis, demanding an urgent response from those who recognized it. Similarly, today, amidst various societal issues, abortion stands out as a crisis involving the targeting of innocent life. Those who understand its preeminent nature are called to be rescuers.
Integrating Temporal and Eternal Needs in Addressing the Abortion Crisis
The Christian response to this urgent need involves addressing both temporal and eternal needs. Historically, many Christian initiatives started with the goal of meeting temporal needs in a way that also addressed eternal needs. However, some, like the YMCA, Harvard, and Princeton, eventually separated these two aspects, focusing solely on temporal concerns. To remain effective in addressing the whole person, it is crucial for Christian ministries to integrate both the temporal and the eternal.
The abortion crisis is a prime example of a situation where this integration is vital. Addressing the full ramifications of abortion and its fallout cannot be accomplished without the gospel. While the immediate crisis appears to be an unplanned pregnancy, the deeper, underlying issue is often a crisis of faith. Women facing this situation may lack faith that they can cope, that things can work out for them if they have the baby. Therefore, providing help that addresses this temporal need also serves as a critical platform for sharing the gospel and meeting their eternal needs. The gospel is inextricably tied to the question of abortion because it offers hope and addresses the underlying spiritual crisis.
Illustrations from ministry efforts demonstrate how this integration works in practice:
- In Cuba, a Christian affiliate helped a 17-year-old pregnant girl who had no Christian background. The initial approach focused on her temporal needs – explaining fetal development, offering classes on parenting and labor, and providing practical items like diapers and formula as she attended. By meeting these tangible needs, the Christian worker built trust, effectively modeling for the girl what it means to put faith in someone. As trust was earned, the gospel was introduced, helping her see that God was her ultimate provision. This process led to her conversion, baptism, and joining the church, demonstrating how meeting a temporal need served as a platform to meet her eternal need.
- The story of Jeanie Pernia, a former abortion clinic owner who aborted her own baby, illustrates this on a grander scale. After becoming a Christian, her personal redemption led to a public transformation – the conversion of the abortion clinic itself from a “death center” to a “pro-life pregnancy center”. This building, once a place of death, became an outpost for saving babies.
- In China, a young pregnant woman in an unplanned pregnancy was helped by Christian women. They met her temporal need by providing housing and practical support. Crucially, they also addressed her emotional distress by reading scripture and praying with her, mentoring her in trusting God. Within months, she became a believer. Her conversion and the temporal help she received transformed her life and led her to marry a pastor. This couple now travels, sharing their testimony and actively working to save babies across China. She became zealous for good works, living out the truth that personal transformation works itself out publicly.
These examples highlight the beautiful outcome when the temporal and eternal aspects are intentionally kept together in ministry. While meeting temporal needs is valuable, focusing solely on them leaves the most important aspect – the eternal – unaddressed. Often, it is challenging or impractical to discuss eternal needs when a person is overwhelmed by an immediate, temporal crisis. Meeting the urgent need, like hunger or medical issues, creates the opportunity to share the gospel, much like Jesus often fed and healed people before teaching them.
Addressing the Abortion Crisis: A World Missions Challenge for Good Works
The abortion crisis is not limited to one region; the vast majority of abortions occur outside the United States, making it a significant world missions challenge. Christian organizations are called to serve where this urgent need is greatest, focusing their good works on rescuing the most vulnerable where abortion is most concentrated.
A Call to Action: Supporting Zealous Good Works to Address this Urgent Need
In conclusion, the Christian life, birthed by grace through faith, is inherently marked by zealous good works prepared by God. These good works have historically led to profound public transformation and the establishment of institutions benefiting society. Addressing urgent needs is a core aspect of these good works, and the abortion crisis stands out as a preeminent moral crisis requiring a zealous, urgent response from believers. This response involves both meeting the temporal needs of those affected – offering practical help, care, and support – and, crucially, addressing their eternal need by sharing the gospel. By integrating the temporal and the eternal, Christians can effectively respond to the urgent need of the abortion crisis, modeling faith, building trust, and witnessing personal and public transformation, as lives are saved both physically and spiritually. This demonstration of good works rooted in salvation is vital in a culture grappling with life and death decisions.
Recognizing the global scale and the preeminent nature of the abortion crisis as an urgent need, organizations like PassionLife are dedicated to bringing the life-affirming hope of the gospel to places where abortion is most prevalent. They are actively engaged in the zealous good works of rescuing the vulnerable and ministering to those impacted by abortion by integrating temporal care with the eternal truth of God’s love and salvation. Supporting such ministries is a direct way for believers to participate in addressing this critical moral crisis, extending grace, providing help in cases of urgent need, and working to establish outposts of life in cultures of death. Consider how you can join this vital work through prayer, financial support, or direct involvement, aligning your good works with the urgent call to protect life and share the gospel in the face of the abortion crisis.
This article is adapted from the episode transcript.