Summary
Heigh-Ho: Saved by Grace, Created for Good Works
The cheerful working tune of the seven dwarfs—"Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it's off to work we go"—turns out to be a surprisingly fitting lyric for the Christian life. Not because work earns us anything before God, but because God's redeemed people are, by His design, a working people. The teaching of Ephesians 2:8–10 holds these two truths together with crystal clarity: salvation is entirely God's gift, and the saved are created in Christ Jesus for good works.
Six Reasons We Contribute Nothing to Our Salvation
In just two verses, Paul stacks up six declarations that shut the door on any boasting. First, "by grace you have been saved"—and grace, by definition, is undeserved. If we contributed, grace would no longer be grace. Second, "through faith"—faith being the empty hand that grasps the victory of the cross and the empty tomb. Third, "this is not your own doing"—God will not share His glory with another. Fourth, "it is the gift of God"—even the faith by which we receive Him is His gift, just as Jesus says in John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you." Fifth, "not a result of works"—for Isaiah 64:6 calls all our righteous deeds a filthy cloth. Sixth, "so that no one may boast"—the glory belongs to Christ alone, who atoned for sin on the cross.
Created for Good Works
Yet works are not forgotten. The very next verse declares, "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life" Ephesians 2:10. Notice the order. God has made us believers through Word and Sacrament, claiming us in the waters of Baptism and washing us in the victory of Christ. Having been made a new creation, we are then sent into a life of good works—not to redeem ourselves, but as the natural expression of the faith God has birthed within us.
This is God's master plan. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 says all Scripture is breathed out by God so that those who already belong to Him "may be proficient, equipped for every good work." Titus 2:14 says Christ gave Himself to purify a people of His own, "zealous for good works." And Jesus Himself testifies in John 10:25 that "the works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me." Works do not redeem us; works are the witness of those who have been redeemed. Simply put, works are what we do to bring glory to God and to bless our neighbor.
Faith Is an Active and Busy Thing
Luther observed that faith is an active and busy thing—where there is faith, works are bound to follow. This is why Jesus calls His people salt and light Matthew 5:13–16. The salt and light series concludes here on exactly this note: the church is sent. We are pure in heart because Christ has cleansed us, our sins cast as far as the east is from the west Psalm 103:12—and so it's off to work we go. We carry the Word against the chatter of the world; we show mercy because mercy has been shown to us; we pray for the welfare of the city Jeremiah 29:7 and often discover God uses us as the answer to that very prayer; we hold fast to His infallible and inerrant Word. And it is off to work we go. Heigh-Ho 10-23-22
Off to Work, and Then Off to Home
The dwarfs' song actually changes at the end of the day—from "off to work we go" to "off to home we go." So it is for the Christian. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that our citizenship is in heaven; that is our true home. The day will come when the Lord calls each of His own home. But until that day, the church has joyful, fulfilling, sometimes hard, always Spirit-empowered labor to do. The world needs the God-birthed, Holy Spirit–generated, faith-expressing works of the saints. And so, redeemed entirely by the good work of Jesus Christ on the cross—heigh-ho—it's off to work we go.
Video citations
- "Heigh-Ho" 10-23-22 — Welcome to the second chapter. We are going to find the second chapter of Ephesians on page 170. We conclude today this sermon series, Salt and Light and what a joy. For choir and children to join…