Balancing Faith and Works

Have you ever thought about how to best teach your kids about the proper balance between faith and works? In First Peter two ten we read that God has shown us great mercy and grace by giving us new life in Christ and calling us into God’s family. But we tend to forget that as God’s people we are now sojourners and exiles in this world, Peter goes on to tell us to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against the soul. Our commitment to good works and God-honoring behavior is to flow out of the gratitude we have for the gift of our salvation. Perhaps these words from Charles Spurgeon are words you can absorb into yourself, and pass on to your kids. Spurgeon writes, “Good works must be in the Christian. They are not the root, but the fruit of his salvation. They are not the way of the believer’s salvation, they are his walk in the way of salvation.” Parents, nurture your kids in ways that lead them to understand that true growth bears good fruit!