Serving each other and the community around us is part of the purpose for which Christians are redeemed by Christ. Christians are not saved by good works (at least not our own), but we are saved for good works. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10) We are blessed in Christ so that we may be a blessing (Gen 12:2).
So, if one thought of the Gospel as two parts, Gospel 1.0 is that what Christ has done for us pays for our sin (we are saved by Christ’s work, not ours). Our old self has been put to death with Christ on the cross (Rom 6:6, Gal 2:20). This is called the doctrine of justification: Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone (See The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 33). In our justification, God declares us righteous, and this happens at the moment we trust in Christ.
Gospel 2.0 is that what Christ is doing in us by the work of His Holy Spirit is recreating us in His image. This is a gradual process that continues for our entire life and is not complete until death or until the age to come when Christ returns. Just as our old self was put to death, our new self has been raised to life with Christ in His resurrection (Rom 6:4, Col 2:12, Col 3:1-4). This is called the doctrine of sanctification: Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (See The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 35). In our sanctification, God’s work in our lives by His Spirit causes us to become what we’ve already been declared in our justification.
All of this is a gift which is completely owed to God’s grace, and thus is to His glory, not ours. (Eph 2:8-9) We are completely saved (Justification, Sanctification, and one day Glorification) by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone as revealed to us by Scripture alone. And, this flows from believing the Gospel, trusting in Christ fully, growing in deeper relationship and love of Him. Growing in deeper faith in the Gospel and love of Christ transforms us from the inside out – our motivations, our pursuit of holiness, our love for others, our pursuit of God’s glory in all things.
Thus, part of the mission of Covenant Church is to stir one another up to love and good works (Heb 10:24-25) by connecting with each other and going together out into the community and the world to share the Gospel of Christ with our neighbors (Matt 28:19-20). Along the same lines, we also seek ways to serve our community, shining God’s love and light before all so that He might be glorified (Matt 5:16).
As part of our mission to serve, we volunteer with the J.O.Y. (Jesus. Others. Yourself.) Clinic on the first Tuesday night of each month. This usually lasts from 5-7 PM with a meal and childcare provided. Our JOY Clinic volunteer night is in lieu of our normal Wednesday night prayer & Bible Study. So, the first week of each month, swap the Wednesday night Prayer & Bible Study for the Tuesday Night JOY Clinic Volunteer Night. See a description of the JOY Clinic from their Facebook page below:
The clinic is a volunteer based nonprofit Christian health clinic that provides patient services to those who are employed and without health insurance or those who have been unemployed for 6 months or less and are actively seeking employment. Patients served have a family income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
