The Church is a Benefit in Our Work Ethic

Today’s church is the one place where people should be able to attend and hear the truth. The truth is sometimes difficult to hear, especially when you hear about sin, obedience and God’s holiness. Nevertheless, the church is the truth that needs to be heard and proclaimed.

1 Timothy 3:15 (HCSB)
But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

In this truth, we learn about work and its value. We are created to work for God, but it is up to us to see the value of work for the Lord.

Malachi 3:18
So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

You can see the love that a person has for God in his or her work. There is a distinction in the person and performance.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men.

1. Man was put in the garden to work.

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Genesis 2:15-17
15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”Work was provided by God to man in an effort to teach obedience. Note that God created Eve only after Adam showed himself to be responsible for his work.

Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”After the fall, all work is under a curse.

Genesis 3:17-19
17 And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:

The ground is cursed because of you.
You will eat from it by means of painful labor
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow
until you return to the ground,
since you were taken from it.
For you are dust,
and you will return to dust.”

While all work today is under that same state, our work can be fruitful and evident when believers call on the Holy Spirit to assist in their effort. Any work done in the flesh only manifests itself in the flesh, while work in the Holy Spirit is beneficial for all that rely upon Him. God wants you to shine in your work.

In work, we learn obedience and gain from His training (in order to carry out instruction).

Leviticus 19:23-25
23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as a praise offering to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; I am Yahweh your God.

Where Adam failed in his area of obedience, he is giving instruction as to how to be obedient to God.

2. To restore something takes work.

We are called to work for God. It is work done under grace.

Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Teaching others requires work. When others criticize about the work that they need to do, it is a natural response that has to be overcome because of our fallen, rebellious state.

3. What is the effect of work in our lives?

a. It brings wealth (Proverbs 13:11).

Proverbs 13:11
Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle,
but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it.

b. It keeps us from breaking the law (Ephesians 4:28).

Ephesians 4:28
The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

c. It promotes the ability to rule (discipline) – (Proverbs 12:24).

Proverbs 12:24
The diligent hand will rule,
but laziness will lead to forced labor.

d. It causes us to stand before others with confidence (Proverbs 22:29).

Proverbs 22:29
Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of unknown men.

God desires that work is good for him and it bolsters one’s self-esteem. The church provides instruction about the value of work and how it benefits the individual worker, others, and the church, and how it is exported to other companies and venues–all for the glory of God.