1 Corinthians 15

Always Work Hard

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:9-10

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:58

God is not an excuse for us to be lazy. Unfortunately, in my experience, I've met several self-proclaimed Christians who will "leave it to God" and not spend any effort themselves. I believe that is wrong.

Of course, there is an element of faith when it comes to believing in God's will. That doesn't mean we get to sit back and relax and hope God will do those things in our place.

The greater the grace one experiences, the greater the impact it has on a person. In Paul's case, he heavily persecuted Christians, and he received proportionally more grace than the other apostles, and so ended up working harder than many. Not to cheapen grace, because all grace means is receiving something that we don't deserve.

But if we truly do believe in the grace that we received in Christ, our actions would reflect that. Yes, we are still justified by faith alone. But faith without works is dead (the book of James extensively talks about this).