Saved Unto Good Works

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them"  (Eph. 2:10, ESV).

We are not saved without works to prove our faith.  We are saved by faith alone, but not that kind of faith that is alone, via the formula of the Reformers.  Faith is the gift of God (2 Pet. 1:1; Phil. 1:29; Rom. 12:3), but we are expected to put it into action. You can distinguish faith and works, but cannot separate them because they go hand in hand as being complimentary!   Actually, faith is knowledge in action!  We don't have faith, we do it and show it!  We are not saved by faith plus good works, as legalists believe, but faith unto good works.  

But Works prove faith, but are not the substitute for it.  If you have no good works, your faith is bogus or suspect!  Actually, we are ordained to do good works for God's glory as of the fulfillment of our faith (cf. Eph. 2:10). This is called putting your faith into practice or walking the walk!  John 13:17 (ESV) says, "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."

The problem with a works religion is that you never know your status and cannot have the security and assurance of salvation.  We are incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation (cf. John 6:28-29), and Jesus said the work of God is to believe in Him.  We are not saved by good works, it is said, but we are not saved without them either.  Works is just evidence of our salvation, and not a means of salvation.  Paul would say, "I'll show you my faith by my good works," while James would counter:  "I'll show you my good works by my faith!" James went on to say that faith without works is dead in James 2:17, 20.  

Note, works are important, for we are judged by our works, not our faith (cf. Romans 2:6).  We are not saved by our service, but unto service.  We were "created unto good works," or you could say we are His workmanship and our works are destined beforehand.  As we do good works we glorify God and represent Jesus to the world, as Dorcas was "full of good works and acts of charity" (cf. Acts 9:36).

Antinomians would have you believe that we are saved by faith minus works! The reason that we are saved apart from the works of the law and therefore we can live in a lawless manner.  We are not lawless and never receive the right to live according to personal whim.  We never have the right to do or live as we please or to do what is wrong!  God doesn't grant the license to do what's right in our own eyes, as Israel did in Judges 21:25 ("Each man did what was right in his own eyes...").  

There is a close relationship between works and faith--they can be distinguished, but not separated.   Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that only he who is obedient believes and only he who believes is obedient.  Obedience is the criterion for genuine faith and the only measure of it.  Feelings and ecstasies are not the measures of faith, but obedience is, and faith is the only thing that pleases God!

The Scripture equips us for all good works and gives us all we need to do God's will His way (cf. 2 Tim. 3:17). If we were saved by good works, it is argued, we would have reason to boast in God's presence. In the final analysis, the faith you have is the faith you show!  There is such a thing as works without faith, but not faith without works in God's eyes.  We must translate our creeds into deeds!  We must take the leap of faith in obedience:  "But they have not all obeyed the gospel..." (Rom. 10:16, ESV.

In sum, let me quote two verses:  "The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works" (Titus 3:8, ESV).  God wants to "purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14, ESV, emphasis mine).  Soli Deo Gloria!

That I Might Not Sin Against God

  "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance..." (Luke 3:8, ESV).  "... [T]hat they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance"  (Acts 26:20, ESV).
"Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God"  (Heb. 6:1, ESV).
"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death"  (2 Cor. 7:10, ESV).

The psalmist prayed that he might not sin against God, and that's why he hid God's Word in his heart (cf. Psalm 119:11).  All sin is ultimately against God--even sins against our neighbor are also against Him--because they offend His righteousness and holy standards.  Samuel writes:  "If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" (1 Sam. 2:25, NASB).  Job also wondered who could intercede for him and be a "Daysman betwixt" (cf. Job 9:33) him and God to lay hands on them both.

We can sin against our brother by offending him:  "And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ"  (1 Cor. 8:12, NASB).  David prayed in Psalm 51:4 that he had sinned against God alone!  Sometimes it seems like our sins are private matters and there are no injured parties or victims, but Moses prays:  "You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence"  (Psalm 90:8, NASB).  God knows all about us, and the good thing is that He did before we were saved and is surprised by none of our sins, but forgave them all upon salvation--past, present, and future; therefore, God's forgiveness is much like an Etch A Sketch that you can erase any trace of what's on the board forever!

The only way we could be infinitely forgiven (no matter what we do) is to have an infinite atonement from an infinitely holy God, who intercedes on our behalf.  That's why David prays for God to be gracious "according to [His] lovingkindness (Psalm 51:1, NASB).  God is able to "blot out" our sin much like a computer deleting memory banks never to be retrieved again.  God literally throws our sins behind His back (cf. Isa. 43:25), and into the bottom of the sea (cf. Mic. 7:19)--He also wipes them out "for His own sake"  (cf. Isaiah 44:22).

God is just and holy and therefore must deal with sin, but He is also full of compassion and can be both just and the Justifier.  David prays:  "Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities" (Psa. 51:8, NASB).  This is doubtless because David felt shame when he was told he was "the man," and remorse for what he had done. He also had faith that God was big enough to forgive him and to bury his sins, not to be remembered again--this is not just forgiveness, but freedom from guilt.

True repentance always brings with it conviction and remorse: a desire to make restitution and things right with God.  Grace is not cheap; we are expected to not only change our opinions about our sins, but our behavior.  True repentance is a requisite for salvation, though it doesn't stop there; we are to be penitent all our lives.  What it entails is a complete change of heart, mind, and will, and a turnaround or change from the inside out, not just turning over a new leaf, making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge.  Repentance, like faith, is the gift of God and it is granted (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:24).

We must "come clean" or own up to our sins and have the faith to let God change us into new persons:  "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come"  (2 Cor. 5:17, NASB). However, we are works in progress and God never gives up on us (Phil. 1:6 says, "...he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion...").  What the Christian life is, is a new life in Christ which began by putting Him in charge!  If there's no fruit, there's no repentance; there must be evidence of a change of a resultant change of behavior. 

Jesus said to Peter at the Last Supper in the Upper Room that if He couldn't wash us, we could have no part of Him.  When we get convicted we must confess them and then we will be washed from iniquity and cleansed from our sin (cf. Psa. 51:2).  The way to walk in the Spirit involves constant confession (the closer you get to God, the more sensitive and aware you become of sin and falling short of His holy standard).  The first of the 95 Theses of Martin Luther was that repentance was not a one-time event but a progressive element of our walk:  When we confess our sins according to 1 John 1:9, "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  

This means that God wipes the slate clean of sins we are unaware of too.  As we grow we realize what real sinners we are and what a real Savior Christ is--it seems like each time we are restored to fellowship by forgiveness we feel all the more grateful and aware of His grace. He who is forgiven much loves much.  Christ doesn't forgive us by quantity, but quality, it's the thoroughness of it that matters, and when we confess our sins we are only regaining fellowship, not salvation.

What repentance is not:  Attrition is not repentance but the only fear-motivated change of mind.  Repentance requires a full change of heart, not just your opinions of sin.  It's not just making an apology to God for your sin or saying you're sorry, either.  Judas was very sorry but didn't repent, because his sorrow wasn't matched with faith that God could and would forgive him.  It does not regret that we got caught in a sin, like a kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar--sorry about the consequences, not the sin.  Some people think that repentance is just fear of punishment or of hell, and look upon it as fire insurance.  True repentance involves a radical change of heart (that includes your emotions, mind, and will).  We must follow through with our determination to turn our backs on sin and hate sin just like God does.

What does authentic, genuine repentance look like?  First of all, there's no genuine repentance without saving faith and vice versa. We are to offer no lame excuses for our sin or even to rationalize why we do it--there's no excuse!   Repentance is a recurring motif in the NT with roughly 70 references.  It is the mandate that both John the Baptist and Christ opened their ministries with: "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!"  There are many ways to look at it:  The about-face; the U-turn; the turnaround; the 180-degree turn.  

We must renounce our known sins or repudiate any sin that we feel convicted of (not just having a vague sense of guilt, but the Holy Spirit performing an open-and-shut case to convict us), and come clean and honest with God--no playing games, especially the blame game!  Note that we can simply feel sorry about something we did just like Judas did, and not have genuine repentance (this is attrition as opposed to contrition).  We must own up to our wrongdoing and call a spade a spade.  Sometimes there is a sin we love and we have a tendency to not repent of that one that easily besets us (cf. Heb. 12:1).

It is key to understand that repentance and faith go hand in hand and are complementary:  "testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ"  (Acts 20:21, ESV).  Repentance is turning from sin and faith is turning to God!  This is called believing repentance or penitent faith; that's what pleases God.  David prayed:  "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and broken and contrite heart--these O God, You will not despise"  (Psalm 51:17, NASB, italics mine).   Soli Deo Gloria!