Of all the words found in the Holy Scriptures, two stand out among the most hated by those who claim oneness with the Almighty: “if” and “works.”  These are two of God’s “fine print” utterances He arranged to be printed and preserved for those who would spend eternity with Him in paradise.  These believers search out the two rejected Words and embrace them, knowing that they are the keys to understanding His “headlines”–promises effective in this life and in eternity to come.  This posting involves the “works” part of the despised duo.                                                             Let us first understand that there are two types of works: “being” type works and “doing” type works.  Being type works involve an individual’s moral characteristics such as holiness, righteousness and godliness.  Doing type works involve words, thoughts and acts which reflect one’s state of moral “being.”  The Lord speaks to the “being” aspect of the Christian walk in First Peter 1:15,16 where He addresses those who believe in Him, commanding them to “Be ye holy for I am holy,” and “As He Who called you is holy, be ye also holy.”  Notice the word “BE” in both statements.  Being holy is a choice made by the true believer which this website repeatedly reminds the reader to strive for.  Having written about the “being” command often and at great length, I will be addressing the DOING part of the WORKS command which Jesus came to earth to finish–bring to fruition.                                                                                                                                       In John 4 we find Jesus being pressed by His disciples to eat some meat (food) they had brought to Him.  He replied to them: “My meat (desire, will) is to DO THE WILL of Him Who sent me and to FINISH HIS WORK” (vss 31-34).  His passion (“meat”) was to do the will of His Father (“doing” type works) which He could accomplish only from a position of holiness and righteousness (“being” type works) that are the end result of obedience to His Law.  The opposite of holiness and righteousness is sin, which He defines as “transgressing the Law” (1 Jn. 3:4).                In John 5:36 Jesus says concerning why He came to earth: “… the works which the Father has given Me to finish, which are the works that I do, bear witness of Me that God has sent Me.”  God bore witness that Jesus was His Son Whom He (God) had sent by doing wonderful works through Him.  In John 9:3,4 Jesus testified that He MUST do the works God sent Him to do.  To fail in this regard would have disqualified Him from being the Savior of the world.  This is something we must understand about Christ and His ministry.  As was pointed out in the previous posting, Jesus was a man like all other men.  What separated Him from other men His focus–He wanted only to do the Father’s will.  Noting else mattered.  Because of this, God had given Him His Holy Spirit to empower Him to do what He was sent and wanted to do.  Following His death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit would be given to His disciples so that they could do what He had done–the “torch” of ministry would be passed to those among His disciples chosen to be apostles (sent ones).  While He was in the world He was the “light (Word) of the world.”  With His passing His from God was passed to them.  They were to carry God’s light (Gospel of the kingdom–Mat. 24:14) to all of mankind.  In Matthew 24:14 He prophesied that His Gospel of the Kingdom (light) would be preached throughout all the world, to all men.  Then the end would come.  That Gospel is now being preached globally via television, the Internet, radio and the print media.                             In John 6:28 some men, having seen Jesus multiply food, asked Him how they could do the works of God.  Jesus answered in John 14:10, 15, 23 and 24, saying to them that in order to do the  works of the Father one had to have the same relationship with the Father as He (Jesus) had.  He told them that He was IN the Father and the Father was IN Him, that the WORDS HE SPOKE had been given to Him by the Father, and that it was the indwelling Father DID THE WORKS they saw Him do.  Notice that Jesus equated the WORDS of God with the WORKS God did through Him.  JESUS SPOKE AND LIVED GOD’S WORDS.  IN SO DOING HE DID GOD’S WORKS.  As I have said many times, EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO THE WORD OF GOD.  EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT GOD, HIS WILL, HIS WORKS, HIS COMMANDS, HIS PROMISES, ETC. WE KNOW FROM HIS WORD.  IT IS ALL ABOUT HIS WORD.  WHY ELSE WOULD HE HAVE PRESERVED IT FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS AND USE IT AS A TEACHING TOOL FOR HIS END-TIME CHURCH (1 Cor. 10:11).  Yet billions of salvation seekers dismiss most of it outright and treat the rest like options from which they can choose, if they agree with it.  We have only one choice–His Word or Satan’s word–life or death.  Historically, the vast majority of churhites have chosen the latter.                                                                                                                                                                       At this point in the conversation Jesus goes straight to the point, telling the people that in order to be saved they must LOVE HIM (and His message).  In John 14:15 He tells them (and us) that if they loved Him they had to prove it by obeying His commandments (Law).  In verses 21 and 23 He tells them that in order to have His and the Father’s love and to have Him and His Father abide in them they must obey His Law.  In John 12:48 Jesus tells us that we will be judged by His WORDS, meaning our WORKS (of obedience to His Words, all of which combined constitute His Law.                                                                                                                                                                                                    Jesus came to earth to “finish the works of the Father.”  He came to show and tell people how to become Children of God.  The WORK OF THE FATHER is to call human beings to embrace Him by obeying His Law–Genesis to Revelation–which He condensed into Ten Commandments.  It is His will that all people be saved.  As I point out in The Three Resurrections (key word–Three) most people who have ever lived on earth have gone to their graves never having heard “the name by which we must be saved.”  In the second resurrection all who have never heard the Gospel will be taught it and given the opportunity to believe and obey it and live forever.  This includes those who will have spent their lives in the Catholic/Protestant Church System.  It is this Truth that gives me hope for my loved ones and friends whom I hope to teach the ways of the Lord during the millennium.  L.J.