"Trust in the LORD and do good, Then you will live safely in the land and prosper" (Psalm 37:3, NLT).
"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit [motive]" (Prov. 16:2, ESV).
"Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever" (Psalm 37:27, NLT).
"For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive..." (1 Cor. 4:7, ESV).
"All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one good, not even one" (Rom. 3:12, ESV).
"Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven in mine" (Job 41:11, NLT).
We are to repent in the manner of ceasing to do evil and learning to do good, but Jeremiah 13:23, NLT, says that the evil cannot do good: "Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil." The problem in a works religion is that you never know how much is enough! I am not against works per se, but only those done in the energy of the flesh without the Spirit's enabling. What I mean is that you can distinguish faith and works, but you cannot separate them, God has made them go hand in hand and not to be divorced. (Mark 10:9 says, "What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.") Therefore, man can do nothing to please God, or gain His approbation by good behavior, but can only be used by God for His purposes. On the other hand, a Christian is one whose mind thinks for Christ; whose heart loves for Christ; whose voice speaks for Christ; and whose hand helps for Christ.
There is no inherent goodness in man, in the Fall we have ceased to be good, but haven't ceased to be human. Our dignity and goodness are extrinsic due to being in the image of God and we are merely enabled by the Holy Spirit to do good. We all have feet of clay and a dark side to our character, but Jesus sees through the veneer and loves us despite this fact just the way we are. The problem with man is that he thinks he can be good enough to be saved--au contraire, we are never good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation, and we cannot know how bad we are until we've tried to be good, and we must know how bad we are to be good (the catch-22 of C. S. Lewis fame). We are in a dilemma and under the delusion, we are good and must be convicted of our sin--man doesn't see his sin without the work of God (cf. John 16:8).
The reality is that God doesn't grade on a curve--we're all in the same boat and have fallen short of the glory of God. Man is mistaken to compare himself with others and do not realize the majesty, glory, and goodness of God that should humble him. Of course, you may look like a saint, comparing yourself to the likes of a ruthless dictator or tyrants like the leader of North Korea, or Hitler, if you know your history! We tend to look down on the likes of Judas and think we are much better, but George Whitefield said it best when he saw a man go to the gallows: "There but for the grace of God, go I." To humble believers, it must be pointed out that they were not saved because they were good in any way; for nothing in them merited salvation! In a works religion, you never know how much is enough; and the ironic thing is that "man is incurably addicted to doing something for their salvation," according to Charles Swindoll.
We are not called to be goody-two-shoes, or people who are do-gooders with an affectation or pretense (note that these are slur words and used in a derogatory manner). Our good deeds spring from faith, as the direct fruit of the Spirit and as a result of walking with the Lord in fellowship (fulfilling all that He has ordained for us to do per Eph. 2:10). Good deeds automatically follow saving faith and are its evidence, not its substitute. Works are fruit, and no fruit implies no faith. We shall know them by their fruits, by the way, and so we are fruit inspectors (cf. Matt. 7:16).
Some merely get converted to the program, not to Christ and are not spiritual at all but just out to make an impression as a people-pleaser. We ought to do everything in the name of the Lord and to His glory, and then there will be justified reward for our efforts (note that the success is up to God). There are many do-gooders out there who have gained a reputation and name for themselves, but it cannot be rewarded due to the motive behind the deed. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart and sees motives (cf. Prov. 16:2; Sam. 16:7; Prov. 21:2). We are not in a position to judge where someone is spiritually, but there are many wolves in sheep's clothing out to devour the flock and lead it astray, and their chief methodology is that they try to do good and be good without God in the equation.
There is no such thing as good without God, who alone defines goodness and is good (note that this is the essence of God and not just a description of His acts). Our righteousness is as "filthy rags" according to Isaiah 64:6, and that means that it's useless and good for nothing. Lost man's good deeds will not be rewarded on Judgment Day, for they fall short of God's standards. Our righteousness must be God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isa. 45:24; Hos. 14:8; Isa. 26:12; Rom. 15:18)! We don't give God anything in our good deeds but only are used by Him as vessels of honor to bring Him His glory. Yes, it's ironic that God rewards us for working through us! Even if we could be good, it would profit God nothing, for He alone defines and delimits what it is. God has nothing to gain--the glory belongs to Him despite us.
The only good that counts is that done in the power of the Spirit. Remember that Jesus said that no one is good but God and we mistakenly think we are good. Genuine saving faith produces works or it's not validated; as the Reformers taught: We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone! Works must be the byproduct and prove the reality of faith, otherwise, it's bogus and suspects.
James says that faith without works is dead; you can have worked without faith, but not faith without works! It must be stressed that we are not saved by works, but unto works, we are not saved by works, but not without them either! If we had to do some good work, we'd fail! James would say that he'll show you his faith by his works, while Paul the converse: showing you his works by faith. Or it's also been said that Paul teaches that works must spring forth from faith and James teaches that faith must be proved by works.
Note that Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, it is said, but dead people alive! He came to give abundant, eternal life (cf. John 10:10) in the Spirit and to share His life with us as we live for Him, not ourselves--we are never out to get the spotlight, the attention, or the applause of others, but to bring glory to Christ in all we do. Don't celebrate or boast that you are doing something for God, but that He is using you for His glory! If you boast, boast in the Lord, according to 1 Cor. 1:31. We are enabled by God himself; Jesus told the disciples: "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (cf. John 15:5). Elihu sums it up in Job 35:7 as follows: "If you are good, is this some great gift to him? What could you possibly give him?" And yet again the LORD speaks to Job in Job 40:11, saying, "Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine." Soli Deo Gloria!
"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit [motive]" (Prov. 16:2, ESV).
"Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever" (Psalm 37:27, NLT).
"For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive..." (1 Cor. 4:7, ESV).
"All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one good, not even one" (Rom. 3:12, ESV).
"Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven in mine" (Job 41:11, NLT).
This is the dangerous lie of New Age worldview or mental outlook: "You do not become good by trying to be good, but discovering the good inside."
God alone is good by definition and He invites us to let Him authenticate Himself, as the proof of the pudding is in the eating: "Taste and see that the LORD is good! ..." (Cf. Psalm 34:8).
God alone is good by definition and He invites us to let Him authenticate Himself, as the proof of the pudding is in the eating: "Taste and see that the LORD is good! ..." (Cf. Psalm 34:8).
We are to repent in the manner of ceasing to do evil and learning to do good, but Jeremiah 13:23, NLT, says that the evil cannot do good: "Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil." The problem in a works religion is that you never know how much is enough! I am not against works per se, but only those done in the energy of the flesh without the Spirit's enabling. What I mean is that you can distinguish faith and works, but you cannot separate them, God has made them go hand in hand and not to be divorced. (Mark 10:9 says, "What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.") Therefore, man can do nothing to please God, or gain His approbation by good behavior, but can only be used by God for His purposes. On the other hand, a Christian is one whose mind thinks for Christ; whose heart loves for Christ; whose voice speaks for Christ; and whose hand helps for Christ.
There is no inherent goodness in man, in the Fall we have ceased to be good, but haven't ceased to be human. Our dignity and goodness are extrinsic due to being in the image of God and we are merely enabled by the Holy Spirit to do good. We all have feet of clay and a dark side to our character, but Jesus sees through the veneer and loves us despite this fact just the way we are. The problem with man is that he thinks he can be good enough to be saved--au contraire, we are never good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation, and we cannot know how bad we are until we've tried to be good, and we must know how bad we are to be good (the catch-22 of C. S. Lewis fame). We are in a dilemma and under the delusion, we are good and must be convicted of our sin--man doesn't see his sin without the work of God (cf. John 16:8).
The reality is that God doesn't grade on a curve--we're all in the same boat and have fallen short of the glory of God. Man is mistaken to compare himself with others and do not realize the majesty, glory, and goodness of God that should humble him. Of course, you may look like a saint, comparing yourself to the likes of a ruthless dictator or tyrants like the leader of North Korea, or Hitler, if you know your history! We tend to look down on the likes of Judas and think we are much better, but George Whitefield said it best when he saw a man go to the gallows: "There but for the grace of God, go I." To humble believers, it must be pointed out that they were not saved because they were good in any way; for nothing in them merited salvation! In a works religion, you never know how much is enough; and the ironic thing is that "man is incurably addicted to doing something for their salvation," according to Charles Swindoll.
We are not called to be goody-two-shoes, or people who are do-gooders with an affectation or pretense (note that these are slur words and used in a derogatory manner). Our good deeds spring from faith, as the direct fruit of the Spirit and as a result of walking with the Lord in fellowship (fulfilling all that He has ordained for us to do per Eph. 2:10). Good deeds automatically follow saving faith and are its evidence, not its substitute. Works are fruit, and no fruit implies no faith. We shall know them by their fruits, by the way, and so we are fruit inspectors (cf. Matt. 7:16).
Some merely get converted to the program, not to Christ and are not spiritual at all but just out to make an impression as a people-pleaser. We ought to do everything in the name of the Lord and to His glory, and then there will be justified reward for our efforts (note that the success is up to God). There are many do-gooders out there who have gained a reputation and name for themselves, but it cannot be rewarded due to the motive behind the deed. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart and sees motives (cf. Prov. 16:2; Sam. 16:7; Prov. 21:2). We are not in a position to judge where someone is spiritually, but there are many wolves in sheep's clothing out to devour the flock and lead it astray, and their chief methodology is that they try to do good and be good without God in the equation.
There is no such thing as good without God, who alone defines goodness and is good (note that this is the essence of God and not just a description of His acts). Our righteousness is as "filthy rags" according to Isaiah 64:6, and that means that it's useless and good for nothing. Lost man's good deeds will not be rewarded on Judgment Day, for they fall short of God's standards. Our righteousness must be God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isa. 45:24; Hos. 14:8; Isa. 26:12; Rom. 15:18)! We don't give God anything in our good deeds but only are used by Him as vessels of honor to bring Him His glory. Yes, it's ironic that God rewards us for working through us! Even if we could be good, it would profit God nothing, for He alone defines and delimits what it is. God has nothing to gain--the glory belongs to Him despite us.
The only good that counts is that done in the power of the Spirit. Remember that Jesus said that no one is good but God and we mistakenly think we are good. Genuine saving faith produces works or it's not validated; as the Reformers taught: We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone! Works must be the byproduct and prove the reality of faith, otherwise, it's bogus and suspects.
James says that faith without works is dead; you can have worked without faith, but not faith without works! It must be stressed that we are not saved by works, but unto works, we are not saved by works, but not without them either! If we had to do some good work, we'd fail! James would say that he'll show you his faith by his works, while Paul the converse: showing you his works by faith. Or it's also been said that Paul teaches that works must spring forth from faith and James teaches that faith must be proved by works.
Note that Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, it is said, but dead people alive! He came to give abundant, eternal life (cf. John 10:10) in the Spirit and to share His life with us as we live for Him, not ourselves--we are never out to get the spotlight, the attention, or the applause of others, but to bring glory to Christ in all we do. Don't celebrate or boast that you are doing something for God, but that He is using you for His glory! If you boast, boast in the Lord, according to 1 Cor. 1:31. We are enabled by God himself; Jesus told the disciples: "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (cf. John 15:5). Elihu sums it up in Job 35:7 as follows: "If you are good, is this some great gift to him? What could you possibly give him?" And yet again the LORD speaks to Job in Job 40:11, saying, "Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine." Soli Deo Gloria!
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