{"id":761,"date":"2015-07-17T13:26:31","date_gmt":"2015-07-17T13:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=761"},"modified":"2015-06-02T13:51:30","modified_gmt":"2015-06-02T13:51:30","slug":"multitude-of-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=761","title":{"rendered":"Multitude of Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"05-20-15<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 Prodigal, you look very busy today!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prodigal:\u00a0 I am, I have been painting all day.\u00a0 I started working early this morning and have not stopped until now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 I could tell you a story so that you could have a short break in your day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prodigal:\u00a0 I am so exhausted.\u00a0 I story would be great just to let me relax and not be on my feet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Gills gives a great illustration in his book The Unseen Essentials about the story of Cain and Abel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Abel, the first of the Old Testament Olympians, provides a prime example of someone who agreed with God.\u00a0 God commended him not only because of his sacrifice, but because of his faith.\u00a0 From antiquity to eternity, Abel has a message for believers.\u00a0 To have acted “by faith,” he must have heard God speak on the importance of offerings.\u00a0 How else would he have known that only a blood sacrifice would do?\u00a0 The Bible declares that faith comes in one way only–by hearing the Word of God.\u00a0 From this, we can deduce that both Cain and Abel heard God.\u00a0 He would not have rejected Cain’s offering, otherwise.\u00a0 Abel moved beyond hearing.\u00a0 He believed without question.\u00a0 Without hesitation.\u00a0 And he demonstrated his belief through his actions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another message speaks from eons past.\u00a0 Abel offered acceptable and proper worship because his animal sacrifice was something for which he could take no credit.\u00a0 In contrast, Cain’s offering was only from the land over which he had labored. (Remember that God had cursed the land after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.)\u00a0 God’s approval cannot be earned through any work of the flesh.\u00a0 “Only by faith!” cries the righteousness of Abel to our present generation.\u00a0 Faith accepts God at His Word.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To worship God as he desires, we must choose to present our bodies to Him as a “living sacrifice,”\u00a0 Paul writes in Romans 12.\u00a0 If our obedience is but mere formality, an attempt to gain acceptance through a multitude of works, shouldn’t we, too, be rejected by the Lord?\u00a0 Are we any better than Cain?\u00a0 No, unless we, like Abel, worship Him correctly on the basis of a blood sacrifice.\u00a0 We don’t need animals anymore–not since Calvary.\u00a0 Just wholehearted faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.\u00a0 The choice is ours, today, tomorrow, and every day for the rest of our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You are working and trying to perform perfectly.\u00a0 You are worn out and weary.\u00a0 God does not want you to focus on works today.\u00a0 He wants more faith.\u00a0 He wants more actions on faith.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hebrews 11:1<\/p>\n

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jennifer Van Allen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

www.theprodigalpig.com<\/p>\n

www.faithincounseling.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Me:\u00a0 Prodigal, you look very busy today!   Prodigal:\u00a0 I am, I have been painting all day.\u00a0 I started working early this morning and have not stopped until now.   Me:\u00a0 I could tell you a story so that you could have a short break in your day.   Prodigal:\u00a0 I am so exhausted.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMultitude of Works - The Prodigal Pig<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=761\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Multitude of Works - 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