Good works.
​
​
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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We are redeemed, not by something good in us or done by us, but by something good in God and done by God. The Bible is abundantly clear on this topic. No impulse of goodness found in us, no act of obedience we have done, no ceremony we have participated in, no ritual we have performed had any bearing on our conversion. “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:4-5). Our best deeds, done from the purest motives, had no causality in the forgiveness of our sins. This is the testimony of every true Christian throughout the ages. As one theologian from a bygone generation put it, the only thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that made it necessary.
However, good works are a central part of every Christian’s life. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” At conversion, we have been recreated as new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17) to do the works which God has purposed for us to do. The Spirit of God is conforming us into the image of the Son. He enables us to begin to walk in obedience and to grow in holiness. This isn’t something we do in our own strength, or by our own goodness, but it is the work of God in us. He is working out of us those good and beautiful things His grace has worked into us. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). “Now the God of peace… make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever” (Hebrews 13:20-21). Jesus Christ “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). Holiness and obedience become the joy of the believer as he (or she; “he” is used in this article for brevity) is partaking in the beauty and delight of God’s wonderful character.
In fact, if someone does not advance, however slowly, in love and good works, he proves that the Holy Spirit has never begun the work of salvation in him in the first place. “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27); “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). The person without good works proves that the Lord hasn’t given him a new heart to love what he once hated and to hate what he once loved – a new heart that desires to walk in humble obedience to his Redeemer (Ezekiel 36:26). The power that converts us is the same power that sanctifies (purifies) us. The evidence that God has forgiven our sins and made us Christians is that He is still working in us those things that are pleasing to Him. He never starts a work only to abandon it part way through (Romans 8:29-30, Philippians 1:6).
But are those who strive after good works trying to earn their salvation? Are they seeking works righteousness? No, not the Christian who is operating biblically. These charges are typically made by professing Christians who have not yet been truly forgiven, or who are still trying to earn (or keep) their standing before God, or who are living by the flesh because they do not have the Spirit, or who do not have a true and God-given delight in holiness. The true Christian, however, has already been made right with God by the merits of Jesus Christ and through his faith in Him (a faith that was gifted to him by God). There is no fear in the Christian that he is trying to appease God or earn His favor, for Christ has already accomplished that for him. As well, the true Christian has already been clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ and does not see the need to add to it. The believer, thus, gratefully and freely loves his Savior with his thoughts, words, and deeds. The life of obedience and good works is a life of worship (Romans 12:1).
Good works are the evidence of being made right with God, not the cause of it. They are the outflow of justification (being declared righteous), not the source of it. They are the outworking of gratitude and worship. There is no such thing as salvation by works, but there is also no such thing as salvation without good works.
​
​
John Kastamo
​
​
​