Created for Good Works

Created for Good Works

by

Jimmy Humphrey

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." ~ John Wesley

Over the years, there has been a certain tension in the Church. It is a tension that centers around the relationship of the Christian to that of good works, faith, and the preaching of the gospel message. Extremes exist. There are some who think "works" to be a four letter word. Yet there are others who are suspicious of anybody who makes it their main goal in life to simply preach the gospel message. Instead of viewing these things in tension and at odds with one another, I believe firmly that the Scriptures look at this as an issue without any tension whatsoever.

There is a nice little passage in the Scriptures that I think sums up everything perfectly:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10; NASB)

Let there be no doubt about it. As Paul argues strongly for in Romans, and says so clearly here, we are brought into a saving relationship with God, having our sins forgiven and being born again, simply by exercising faith in Christ alone. We have done nothing whatsoever to earn our salvation, nor can we do anything whatsoever to maintain our salvation. We are saved through the unmerited kindness of God towards us who believe, because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, in His death and resurrection. God did for us in Christ what we could not do for ourselves. Such is His free gift towards all who have believed.

But, Paul's theology does not stop there. For though we have been saved by grace through faith, Paul argues there is a logical outworking of this salvation, and something that follows it. If God's only purpose was to forgive us of our sins and take us to heaven, then the moment we got saved, God would've actually done such. But as we know, God doesn't do that. Rather, according to Paul in Ephesians 2:10, God saved us so that He could make us into somebody that does something. According to Paul, our salvation was "for" a purpose beyond our individual salvation, and that purpose is we that would become a people who are consumed with doing good works.

You see, as important as the preaching of the gospel message is, so that people might actually be saved, we must strive to make much room for laboring in good works after we get saved. Again, we don't do such so that we might be saved, but because we are a supernaturally transformed people who are determined to do the will of God in our lives. We work because that's what saved people do. Of course, we must do as the apostles did in the book of Acts, and be careful to not "neglect" the ministry of the word and spending time in prayer. But we must not make that the only thing we are about, even as they did not make it the only thing they were about.

Yes, the preaching of the gospel message has a great place in our lives and ministry. It must be our priority. But at the same time we must realize that God didn't create us to be preachers of the gospel message. Adam had no preaching ministry in the garden of Eden, nor will we have a preaching ministry when God creates a new heavens and new earth. The preaching of the gospel is but a temporary thing, and something we labor in between the times. But the doing of good works is something we were created to do from before the creation of the world, and will continue to do forever in the world to come. As we were created to do good works, so we have been saved to do good works.

Preaching is important. For in our preaching we announce to the world that Jesus Christ is Lord. But good works are equally as important. For in our good works we show the world that Jesus Christ is Lord. With this being the case, let us abound in word and deed. For as our works justify and perfect our faith (James 2:21-22), so our works justify and perfect our preaching of the gospel. Truth be told, without works, our gospel has no teeth to it at all. Which is why Jesus was just as interested in healing the sick and feeding the hungry as He was in preaching the gospel message. Such is why our four gospels tell us just as much about what Jesus actually did as what He actually taught.

Jesus Christ never took an either/or approach towards preaching the gospel and doing good works. Neither did His apostles. And following their pattern, neither should we. Therefore, let us make the most of the opportunities set before us, and do not only the good we know to do, but to discover new opportunities to demonstrate the love and mercy of God in the lives of other people. Let us embrace the attitude of John Wesley, whom though he preached almost three times a day for over fifty years, still put a great emphasis on doing good deeds, and even made time to do them. Let us do all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways we can, in all the places we can, to all the people we can, as long as we can!

http://www.iamadisciple.com/articles/created_for_good_works.php

Truth be told, without works, our gospel has no teeth to it at all. Which is why Jesus was just as interested in healing the sick and feeding the hungry as He was in preaching the gospel message. Such is why our four gospels tell us just as much about what Jesus actually did as what He actually taught.

Amen. I was reminded of Acts 10:38, where Peter, speaking of Jesus says, "how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."

Thanks Jimmy, great article.

Good post Jimmy,

I've wondered if our needless divide in this area comes from a needless pitting against of two interpretations of the cross; namely penal substitution and Christos Victor. To say that the cross was exclusively concerned with satisfying God's eternal wrath towards humanity without concern for the earthly welfare of that same humanity, and vice versa, is akin to arguing needlessly whether Jesus was divine or human.

It's an unnecessary debate that not only divides the church, but divides spirit from bone within our own inward consciences. How much of Christ's peace in our hearts has been lost, because we must object to feeding and clothing people unless the deed is branded with our church name or our investment purchases an instant opportunity for evangelism? Indeed, when an unbeliever such as Oprah or Bill Gates give money to help some unwashed group of people, some of us feel obligated to say that God sees no value in their charity. We forget that God affectionately placed great value in the charity of an unsaved Roman soldier; ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor".

The point is that God's love is a bigger subject then we can paint within a single theological canvas. It gloriously divine, and loathsomely human all at the same time. Some of us are moved by the glory of God, and others are moved by the suffering of humanity. All of these stirrings and more are just part of the overflowing love of God poured out on us...we can each only hold what our heart is willing to pour out, and so we shouldn't imagine that what's in our cup is the whole river!

Blessings,

Mike

I believe that when we see unsaved people give that we see them merely attempting to do what God created them to do: good works. However fallen and corrupt, they are still created in the image of God, and to some degree are trying to fulfill the purpose of creation God put inside them from the beginning. Granted, most of them have probably gone pharisaical, and are doing it to be seen of men, because it's "good business." But that corruption doesn't mean there isn't some God driven impulse behind it.

I think the reason some shy away from Christus Victor is because we lose sight of God's eternal plan. We are so "spiritual" that we've lost the doctrine of the bodily resurrection of the dead and the redemption of all of this physical creation. In the story of redemption, God is just as interested in the physical as He is the spiritual. Both get ministered to in the temporal, and both are to experience a resurrection. One now, the other later.

Acts 10:38, where Peter, speaking of Jesus says, "how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."

Amen. Great verse. I think it would also be a good thing in our preaching of the gospel message, especially to the lost, in order to show how "relevant" Jesus is, that we make much to do about the good that Jesus did; and with Him being the same yesterday today, and forever, make much to do about the good that Jesus wants to do now.

Jesus is always in the business of doing good.

From start to finish of his life, it was always doing what His Father showed Him what to do and what to preach.

Which is why Jesus was "interested" in healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and preaching the gospel. He willed to do it because He wanted to do the Father's will.

Somebody asked me something, and I thought I might reply to it here:

just exactly what did Jesus do that were 'good' works and what exactly does He expect us to do that are the same (good) works, as He did them, and even greater works? Unbelievers can do good works, and they do, and very well. What is the difference between what Jesus calls His (good) works and the ones unbelievers do?

Well, John at the end of his gospel tells us that there were many other works that Jesus did that were not written down, but he supposes that all the books in the world could not contain them if all those works were recorded. So, it goes without saying, Jesus did a lot! And I can see the Lord agreeing with Wesley's motto, for us to do as much good as often as we can to all that we can. But what qualifies as a "good work" and what distinguishes our "good works" from that of the unbeliever?

Well, first I think it is important to point out that we are all created in the image of God. Therefore, even the unregenerate man bares something of the image of God in his person, and will sometimes act accordingly. Thus, God recognized Cornelius's charity prior to his conversion as a good thing. And when the unregenerate do good works, it still shows to some measure that they are attempting to fulfill God's original intent for their lives, even when they don't realize it.

What makes something a, "good work?" Well, I don't think the Scriptures ever attempt to define this idea precisely. It's almost as if God has deliberately left the phrase undefined, so that I think we might allow Him to fill the endless possibilities of our imaginations, and the unique situations we find ourselves in over the course of our lives, so that He can ultimately guide us in these works "that He prepared beforehand for us to walk in." (Eph 2:10) Thus, through walking with the Lord, He will inspire and direct us to the good He would have us do. One thing seems for sure though, the good works the Lord would have us do seems to always be others-oriented in their nature. To do a good work is to do whatever love, justice, and mercy demands. To do a good work is to actively, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It's the doing the good you know to do, in any given moment of time, so far as you are able to do it.

Now, what separates the Christian's good works from the unregenerate? Well, in their actual actions, much of the time they will be one in the same. Thus, once upon a time, the Pharisees gave large sums of money to the upkeep of the Temple. But at the same time, a poor widow also gave, but what she gave was only a small amount in comparison. Both were good works. But what separated the two? Ultimately what distinguished the widows giving from the Pharisees giving was the fragrance of Christ in her giving. Thus, she was able to dig deep and give her all, though her all was less than sum amount of the abundance which the Pharisees gave out of. The good she did was out of the life of God within her, and thus gave off a wonderful scent, which the Lord had detected. But the good the Pharisees did, they did as dead men, and what they did gave off a putrid smell, which the Lord had also detected, because ultimately the good they did was nothing but a "dead work." (Hebrews 6:1)

So, what are the greater works that we as believers will do than surpass that of Jesus good works? Well, I'm not sure that the actual manifestations of those works could be qualified as greater in the sense that we will do things Jesus never did. I mean, what could we possibly do that Jesus did not Himself do? Multiply food? Heal the sick? Raise the dead? Die for the sins of the world? Conquer death? Action wise, I don't think there is anything we can do that would actually top Christ's own actions. But, it seems at least to me that in John 14:12, Jesus views the works we will do as equal to and greater than His, "because I go to the Father." Thus, our works are equal to and greater that Christ's own actions, because He is now enthroned in our doing them. Thus, we are encouraged in John 14:13-14 to ask to do these things in His name, so whatever we do, we do out of the authority of Him who sits on the throne.

But the good the Pharisees did, they did as dead men, and what they did gave off a putrid smell, which the Lord had also detected, because ultimately the good they did was nothing but a "dead work." (Hebrews 6:1)

So, hm...how shall i go about this.

so, going along with another post from earlier...
to decipher between good works and dead works one would need discernment. Because just because someone's "work" looks good doesn't mean it's "good works."
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Henceforth why preaching of the word is so necessary. :))

but then again, preaching could also be a dead work, if not done for the love of Christ...

Jimmy,

This is an excellent discussion. The Lord bless you for giving us such an unusually clear vantage point of this eternal mystery... faith that works. :)

Peace in Jesus,

Very Good Article Sir, I received your article and this one from another saint in my e-mail inbox on the same day. I would highly recommend Pastor Schultze's monthly letter and the archives of past ones. (www.schultze.org)

God Bless.

BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH - What For?
By Reimar A C. Schultze

Preachers sometimes preach a text out of context, either the immediate context or out of the total context of all God has revealed. Most doctrinal divisions, most denominations and sects come out of this kind of careless, neglectful scholarship. A preacher finds a text he is excited about, and then he runs with it and adds other Scriptures out of context to build a pyramid that he will defend to his very death. Let me list three popular Scriptures that are often taken out of context, and then we shall focus on one of them at length.

1. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand (John 10:28). The distortion: once we are saved, once we have become His sheep, we will always be His sheep, we will be everlastingly secure. But the previous verse, the context, tells us who the believers are to whom this verse applies:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life... (John 10:27). The question is: who shall never perish? The answer is those who hear and follow Jesus shall not be plucked out of His hand. They are the ones who are secure.

2. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever (Ps. 136:1). Someone who is living in adultery once told me: "you just don't know how great God's mercy is, it is far bigger than you or I can imagine." But look at the topical context of the word mercy. And there you find this verse:

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.(Ps. 103:17,18). Conclusion: God's mercy is everlasting for the saints, but is given in measure to the sinner. Not one drop of mercy will fall upon the parched tongue of anyone in hell (Luke 16:24).

3. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8, 9). This word explains that one's forgiveness cannot be bought by any good works we may have done. Forgiveness and reconciliation with God is a result of God's work on the cross.

But unfortunately many just run with this verse and talk about this blood-bought salvation the rest of their lives. To many this becomes the only doctrine. As beautiful, as essential as this doctrine is, it was never meant to be our only doctrine. Paul admonishes us in Hebrews 6:1 to go on from there! The whole of Paul's salvation message in all his epistles is impregnated with let us go on. His grief, his deep sorrow with most of his converts was over the fact that most of them were slothfully parking on their salvation experience, going nowhere! Almost all testimonies in churches are a dry expression of Ephesians 2:8, by grace we are saved, neglecting what we're saved for, as he explains in the next verse: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10).

So here Paul tells us what we are saved for. Here Paul tells us what a testimony meeting should be composed of: our experiences in walking with God, our walking in the works God has preplanned, prearranged and pre-appointed for us even before He made the world (1 Cor. 2:9). Oh, my friend, salvation must never be understood as an isolated spiritual event in one's personal history, but always as a life given to God.

There's not a single hour of your day for which God does not have a plan. There is no indifference in the Trinity toward anything you do any moment of the day. God has your life planned out for a fruitful ministry satisfying His divine purposes for you, in you and through you. God will never turn His back and say: I have no plans for you for the next hour. Your whole life in Jesus must be "thy will be done." That is what you are saved for.

Unfortunately, most converts, once they rise up from the altar as newborn lambs, will never be found at the next prayer meeting but will continue to be at the next movie or ballgame. They continue, as a whole, in their own plans, never realizing all that God has for them.

Now then, how do I find out what God's plan is for me as I go through the day? Well, first begin with the obvious. Much of this comes out of the Word of God. But once you begin to obey the Word on the obvious things, then the Holy Spirit will begin to prompt you and direct you in the more specific areas of your life. For the Bible says as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Rom. 8:16). If you don't obey God in what is already obvious, God will never take you into the spirit-led life, into those "my sheep hear my voice" experiences (John 10:27).

What is obvious?

Once you're born again it is obvious that you will give yourselves to daily prayer, the daily reading of God's Word and to praise (Acts 2:42, 47). Now, it is also obvious that you should testify of what God has done for you (Rev. 12:11), and be on a mission to lead others to Christ (Mark 16:15). It is obvious that you should break fellowship with ungodly friends (Ps.1), and go often to church services where the Word of God is proclaimed and prayer is being made (Heb. 10:25). It is obvious that you should forgive all those wronged you (Matt. 6:14, 15); that you should start tithing (Matt. 23; 23; 1 Cor. 16:2); and that you should start dressing for Jesus and not to please the world. You will stop dressing sloppy. Jesus was not sloppy and although He preached to the poor He did not dress like them. Women need to dress as becomes holiness, not to attract men sexually, and not adorning themselves as the world does (1Tim. 2:9). It is also obvious that you start being on time, that you start saying what you mean and meaning what you say (Matt. 5:37).

It is obvious once you're saved that you will keep the Sabbath day holy (Is. 58:13, 14); and that you will gather your family together daily to read the Bible and pray together. It is obvious that you will remove all ungodly magazines, books, tapes, CDs and videos from your home (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:11). Remember what you see and read is what you will think about. The apostle Paul tells you what to think about (Phil. 4:8). Keep ungodly or empty things out of your mind for they will prevent you from receiving living waters from the throne of God. It is obvious that you will be content with such things as you have (Heb. 13:5). The list goes on. The word of God will continue to instruct you.

If you do the obvious things, you will get to the precious beginning of a walk where you will at times hear the voice of Jesus giving you direction in all kinds of ways such as what to say in a conversation, whom to call or visit and what and whom to pray for. Jesus said, "my sheep hear my voice and they follow me." There can be no following without hearing. There can be no hearing unless we are empty of all worldliness and the self-life.

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for specific works that He has prearranged for us. You may want to be a doctor, but the Lord may want you to be a lawyer. You may want to vacation in the mountains, but Jesus may want you at the seashore. You may want to go to your favorite restaurant, but the Holy Spirit may direct you to another place where a waitress is ready to be saved. Preacher, how do you know what to preach on and what hymns to select? Only what is of the Holy Spirit will feed souls. The Holy Spirit wants to help us absolutely in everything. I heard of a farmer who never plants his seed when others do; he always waits for the Holy Spirit to tell him when to sow. He always has a good harvest. I have a friend who is a fisherman. Once he and others toiled all day for nothing off the coast of Florida. That evening a man of God got on the ship and told him to turn 20° right off course. He caught more fish than he knew what to do with.

Friend, Jesus did not only come to give you forgiveness of sins, but He sent the Holy Spirit that through Him you might have life abundantly. I'm glad you're born again but remember that our Savior wants to live in your body exactly as He lived in his own body 2000 years ago. He wants intimacy with you every hour of the day. He's a jealous God and He never wants you to do anything without Him. He wants a bridal relationship with you. And being born again should only be looked upon as the beginning of that relationship!

Preachers sometimes preach a text out of context, either the immediate context or out of the total context of all God has revealed.

Indeed, it is amazing to see people so misuse texts to suit whatever doctrines they want, whether right or wrong. There is a book out there I have seen called, "Right Doctrine, Wrong Texts," that documents this phenomenon.

Ephesians 2:8-9 is almost cited entirely apart from verse 10.

Work in me by Your grace;
Work in me godliness,
Work in me holiness,
Work in me righteousness,
Work in me Your blessed Will
By Your Spirit, LORD; By Your Spirit!
For I am Your handiwork, Your workmanship
recreated in Christ Jesus. AMEN & AMEN

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but this entire thread is predicated on doing outward works because of an internal change of heart and encounter with God. If you didn't get that impression, you should probably read everything again. Because that is what we've been talking about.

Good works should be defined to be "doing the will of the Father". Jesus makes it very clear that he came to do the will of the Father and that it was the Father who did His work through Jesus and that the Father told Jesus what to say and command. Jesus said the wise man is he who puts into practice all that Jesus commands . Jesus' commands are many but issue forth from the three greatest:

1. Love God
2. Love neighbor as self
3. Love your spiritual brothers as Christ loved the church.

Proclaiming Christ and/or giving a cup of cold water do all three. There is no choice to be made between sharing the gospel and doing a "good deed". The only choice is to do the will of the Father and the Bible says if you will offer your body as a living sacrifice and be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you will know that good and perfect will of the Father. ( Romans 12:1-5 ).

Living faith is both trusting in Christ for forgiveness and in relying on Him for obedience. The Greek word for faith includes its usage for trust and its usage for faithfulness ( God supplies both by the blood of Christ ).

If Christ continues to do the will of the Father through us by His commands through Christ and through His power by His Spirit in us, then do the Father's will.

Some good things to be sure, but we must make plainly known that life with the Lord is not a life of "to-do lists".

No doubt. But I'm not so sure I understood this one brother's post to be so much a laundry list of rules and regulations so much as just some practical considerations and exhortations. Most I thought are fair things that should be in all of our lives. Some things I disagree with. But over all, not that bad.

Don't you think that the Lord wants us to be consumed more with knowing Him

No doubt, knowing Him is the chief thing. And we should make increasing our knowledge of Him the chief thing. But knowing Him, and increasing in one's intimate knowledge of Him, always results in a practical outworking of that knowledge. James and John have much to say in their epistles about people that claim to know God, but don't demonstrate their knowledge of Him in practical and tangible ways in keeping with that knowledge. Indeed, it is their argument that if one is lacking in practical good works, one is lacking a true knowledge of God.

The deeper workings of the Holy Spirit on the inside always result in the baring of fruit on the outside.

Never once was anything said about "knowing the Lord".

That exact language was never employed, this is true. But I talked about one having undergone the supernatural transformation of the Spirit, and coming into a "saving relationship." So, while I might have never used the exact language you were looking for, I talked about it using other language just the same.

I hope you don't corral new believers and give them this list, however, it does happen, way too much.

Nope. Making a list of rules and regulations only brings people into bondage. Law based living cripples Spirit based living every single time.

It's all about abiding in Him. Good works are a result of a life intimately and vitally connected to Jesus.

Agreed.

I know most of the list above came from Jimmy Hudson, and I waited and was surprised that you did not say anything.

Well, I just didn't feel like saying anything was really necessary. I didn't agree with everything said in it, but simply thought, "oh well." :-)