What are Finished Work Values?

“When he had received the drink,

Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’" John 19:30

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;

for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work,

just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort

to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their

example of disobedience.” Heb. 4: 9-11

We seek to build upon and rest upon the

solid foundation of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

What exactly do we mean by the finished work?

When Jesus declared “it is finished”, He was saying that through His sacrificial death on the cross, the sins of every man, woman and child were paid for, thus making eternal life possible for every one that would place their trust in what he did for them as the basis of their salvation.

Everyone who places their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ receives the free gift of eternal life, which is neither earned nor deserved, but which is freely given to us by a gracious God.

Not only is our salvation totally dependent upon the finished work and the grace of God, but our growth as Christians and our enjoyment of the Christian life depends on how well we understand and rest in what Christ has already done for us.

For example, a person who gets saved by grace but who does not understand who they are in Christ or what has been provided for them to live a godly life, will eventually feel condemned and frustrated with their inability to live as they "should". This person will be forever trying to earn God’s love and acceptance, yet feeling that it isn't deserved, because of their failures.

Many Christians burn out, leave their churches, or conclude that they’re just not good enough. This is not God’s plan!

Our Values

People can serve the Lord from a position of rest in who He is and what He has done. Many people have found healing and renewed enthusiasm to serve God as they have discovered who they are in Christ and learned to rest in His finished work.

We love the Word of God, because it sets us free from our wrong thinking. We love our pastors, because they are shepherds after God’s heart and they feed us the words of life. We love to evangelize, because it is a joy to see others come to know the Savior. We love to fellowship together around the Word of God, because we recognize that we are eternally part of God’s family and one day we will be worshipping together around God’s throne. We love people because that is the heart of God.

Finished Work Faith

The idea of faith remains the same in all religions: Faith necessitates an object to focus upon. Faith, by definition, is to put one's trust in the word and/or ability of another. The basic difference between the world religions and true Christianity is that Jesus Christ calls us to trust in His Word and His ability to please God on our behalf.

This is where joyful service begins to break down among believers. Somehow the values of "faith, hope and love" drift away from the foundation of the Finished Work. The person who once received Christ by faith and as a result served Him with joy, has now switched the focus of their faith from Christ to their own ability to maintain joyful service. As a result their service is something less than fulfilling.

Finished Work Hope

Hope in the Bible is far more than wishful thinking. The New Testament idea of hope is a joyful, confident anticipation of future blessings. But, if this joyful confidence is based on my ability to accomplish something for God, then my confidence is destined to fluctuate with every human inconsistency and inadequacy I experience. This will surely have a direct effect on the longevity of my service unto God and my hope of hearing the words "Well done!".

If, however, my hope is firmly based on what Christ has accomplished for me on the cross and what He wants to accomplish through me by His Spirit, then and only then, can I anticipate eternal blessings with joyful confidence. This is Finished Work hope, because this hope is founded in Christ and Christ alone. This is the glorious message of God's grace.

Finished Work Love

Jesus states, "I have this against you that you have left your first love" (Revelation 2:4).

We believe that "first love" is not our love for God but rather God's unconditional love for us as sinners (Rom.5:8). Unless the believer is convinced that God will never reject them, they won't have the confidence to be honest about their sin and to confess it to God on a consistent basis. Once the believer begins to ignore, deny and/or justify areas of sin in their life, they begin, often unconsciously, to neutralize their feelings of guilt through a system of good works i.e. service to God. As a result, their service lacks the joy necessary to endure a lifetime.

(Finished Work Values, written by Pastor Rob Prokop, Vienna, Austria)