Redemption and Good Works

It is strange to me how "good works" can almost have a bad rap in some Christian circles, as if the emphasis on doing them is somehow tied to a works-based faith.  While it is true some people wrongfully imagine they can earn favour or even salvation from God through doing good deeds, there is no question we are saved by grace to do good works.  To preach the necessity of doing good works in itself is not legalism but is evidence we have genuinely been born again.  Instead of seeing good works as a burden or drudgery, our regenerated souls delight to do what pleases God.

Jesus modelled and preached good works to those under Law when He rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  The Pharisees were preoccupied with maintaining a squeaky-clean image and embraced burdensome traditions to appear pious but neglected the unclean conditions of their hearts.  They were hypocrites to put greater emphasis on little things others could see rather than addressing their inner wickedness.  Jesus pronounced woe upon them for their hypocrisy, and God forbid we who have been cleansed within by the grace of God and rendered righteous should have lives marked with sloth, selfishness and avoidance of doing good.  On the night Jesus was betrayed He humbled Himself and embraced the role of a servant of all by washing the disciple's feet as an example we should follow, for a servant is not above his Master.

When the Jews asked Jesus how to do the works of God John 6:29 says, "Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Faith in God is a good work we ought to do, and this leads to embracing a primary purpose of our salvation by the Gospel:  to do good works!  It is written of born-again Christians in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  Anyone who is excited about the place Jesus is preparing for us in heaven ought also to be delighted to do the good works God has already prepared beforehand for us to walk in.  During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 5:14-16:  "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  The purpose of lighting a lamp is to give light to everyone in the house, and the purpose for the salvation of lost sinners is do all that Jesus commands us so God will be glorified through the good works of His people:  to love and forgive one another, repent of our sin, deny ourselves, take up our cross, and obediently follow Jesus.  The commands of Christ are not burdensome, for He has provided the indwelling Holy Spirit Who helps us to know and do God's will.

The doctrine of grace, rather than leading to smug indolence or justifying ourselves, teaches us to embrace our sanctification and good works because we have been justified by faith in Jesus.  Paul wrote in Titus 2:11-14:  "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."  We do not work with the hope of gaining favour from God because we already have received grace upon grace.  Having been redeemed from death and made alive to God, we are to do the good works of rejecting an ungodly lifestyle and instead living soberly, righteously and godly right now.  It is our reasonable service to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to our Saviour who laid down His life for us by looking to Him, walking in fellowship with Him, zealous for good works.

Good works are not a burden we are to place upon others like the hypocritical Pharisees did, but what Jesus leads us to joyfully labour for Him and serve one another as His redeemed.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:29-30, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  A yoke was placed upon a team of oxen to do work like pulling a cart, to plough or thresh grain.  Jesus bids us come alongside Him, for He will support, help and teach us how to do God's work.  In our flesh we are unable to do the first works of God, yet at Jesus' side we are greatly helped and encouraged to do His good works that bring honour and glory to our Saviour Who has redeemed us for His glorious purposes.

The Mirror Miracle

God is present in the everyday situations of life, and sometimes we are given insight to see Him at work that brings encouragement.  Looking back on God's faithfulness to people in the pages of scripture, through the testimonies of others and our own experiences, we can rest assured God will be faithful to us presently and in the future forever.  Though the future is uncertain, we can know without a doubt our good God knows us and will preserve us going forward.

Recently I reminisced over a challenging move that took place years ago.  Several fellows from church and I organised to help a family move house.  This move was a struggle because the family moving was not sufficiently prepared, it was on a weeknight, and we needed to travel a long distance--and we were all slated to work early the following day.  In our initial discussion, we were told to be extra careful with a bureau and a large matching mirror.  The furniture had been in the family for a long time and it carried a great deal of sentimental value.  "I don't really care if anything else breaks," he said.  "This is the one thing that cannot be broken."  We carefully communicated the importance of the furniture to the crew and carefully secured it in the truck.

After overcoming hiccups and obstacles, we finally arrived at the new residence.  It was nearly midnight as we began transferring items from the truck into the garage--and we were far from home and hours from sleeping in bed.  The unloading was much quicker than the loading had been.  And then the unthinkable happened:  as I raised the Tommy Gate to full height I watched in horror as the large mirror began to fall forward in slow motion.  We were too far away to catch the mirror as it quickly gathered speed and slammed to the deck.  I was in disbelief how this could have possibly happened with all the precautions we had taken.  In grim silence a fellow worker and I lifted the mirror that amazingly, miraculously had been preserved.  There was not a scratch or mark on the mirror that should have shattered into a million pieces after falling straight onto the truck bed.  Our sigh of relief was also praise to God who marvelously helped us.

If God saw fit to preserve a mirror that was special to someone, how much more will He preserve His beloved children He treasures though they fall?  He is there to lift us up again.  Jesus asked in Luke 12:6-7:  "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  Sparrows were not precious, five of them purchased in exchange for two small coins, yet God took note of every one of these small, relatively insignificant birds.  God is not only concerned with a bird or a whole person but knows the number of all the hairs on our heads.  Jesus exhorted His hearers, "Do no fear:  you are of more value than many sparrows."  Glory to God for loving and valuing us as He does, and assured of His faithfulness we need not fear anything that befalls us.

Not Under the Law

"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!"

Romans 6:15

In the movie The Princess Bride, a hired swordsman named Inigo wondered if his boss knew what "inconceivable" meant because he repeated it over and over.  "You keep using that word," he said.  "I do not think it means what you think it means."  There is debate over whether the swordsman was showing his ignorance, that he ironically instructed his "genius" boss or accurately identified hyperbole.  The fact is, people can mean different things by saying the same word or phrase.  "Taking out the trash" may mean carrying rubbish from inside the house to outside or also include hauling the bins to the kerb for pickup.  Not understanding the full implications of a word or phrase can lead to misunderstanding or a job only half done.

Sometimes I feel a bit like Inigo when I hear people talk about not being "under the Law."  The biblical phrase is used with regularity in Christian circles, but I wonder if we comprehend the full force of it since we have never experienced life as a Jew under the Law of Moses.  To them it was a badge of honour and identify with God, not the drudgery we expect it must be.  The implication I pick up on from Christians is gratitude for not being under the Law is appreciation not to observe rules and regulations.  As we read the Law in the Torah we are blown away by the almost oppressive nature of it in every area of life:  the hundreds of commands and prohibitions, kinds of food to be eaten or refused, the composition of clothes to wear, ceremonial cleansings, sacrificing, appearing before the LORD in Jerusalem in observance of feasts and on.  Born-again Christians can be like happy children because time-consuming chores on their daily list have already been completed by an adult, and thus they can do as they please and embrace playtime.  If this is what not being "under the Law" means to you, some important realities are not being considered.

Not being "under the Law" does not mean we are free to do as we please, for having been born again we are led by the Holy Spirit in our thoughts, words and deeds to go beyond the letter of the Law of Moses.  Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount repeatedly made the point to His disciples "It has been written...but I say unto you..."  The definition of adultery was expanded beyond sleeping with a married woman to simply looking with lust; instead of hating enemies followers of Jesus were to love them, pray for them and do good unto them.  Because the Holy Spirit fills each Christian, we are provided guidance, wisdom and help to do God's will even as Jesus did the will of the Father--not according to the letter of the Law of Moses, but by the leading of the Spirit.  We are not to limit the good we do by the leading of the Spirit to the extra mile but to the ends of the earth for God's glory.  Being under grace does not mean our workload has decreased at all but increased from being under Law that could never save a soul.  Jesus has established a new standard for living by the Gospel, for He works within us to do the Father's will.

No longer being under the Law is cause for rejoicing because we have been freed from the condemnation and curse of the Law:  the letter of the Law kills, but the Spirit gives life by faith in Jesus.  The handwriting of ordinances that condemned us has been taken out of the way and nailed to the cross, and Christ's righteousness is freely imputed to us by faith in Him.  The Law had no power to save and could only condemn, and those who kept it as best as they could still had no promise of everlasting life.  Hebrews 8:6 speaks of what Jesus accomplished:  "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."  The Jews searched the scriptures, thinking in them they had eternal life, but Jesus said they testified of Him.  The Law was like a schoolmaster that led the Jews by the hand to know and receive Jesus Christ the Saviour of sinners.

Rather than obeying the letter of the Law out of fear of punishment or retribution from God, we are under grace that leads us to humble ourselves before God in faithful service who has drawn us to Himself in goodness, love and mercy.  Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  Instead of trying to work to measure up to an impossible standard that was incapable of saving us, Jesus has provided the gift of salvation for all who trust Him.   As His workmanship and new creations, we walk in obedience to God and joyfully do the good works He has prepared for us to do that go beyond the Law.  We repent of conviction for sins that are not plainly condemned in the Law because the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.  Jesus did what the Law could never do by atoning for our sins and adopting whosoever will believe in Him as children of God, and He is worthy of all praise and rejoicing.  Better than rejoicing we are no longer "under Law" we ought to rejoice in our Saviour Jesus Who continually works in and through us under grace.

Stir Up the Gift of God

Because Timothy was a man who had genuine faith in Jesus, Paul urged him in 2 Timothy 1:6-7:  "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  Paul had been instrumental in Timothy receiving the gift of God, the filling with the Holy Spirit Jesus promised to give to all who trust in Hm.  In addition to producing the fruit of the Spirit in the life of a born-again believer, the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each one according to the will of God.  Paul reminded Timothy to "stir up the gift of God" that was in him without fear, the the Spirit He has given is of power, of love and of a sound mind.

Timothy was exhorted to stir up the gift of the Spirit as one fans coals that began to smolder back into flame.  The Holy Spirit provides the fuel to let the light of the Gospel shine before men through us, and it seems Timothy had neglected this or there was more he could do to that end.  When I think of stirring up things, one reason we do is to agitate and better incorporate every ingredient in a drink or dish.  Perhaps there were many ways Timothy could better incorporate the gift of God into his daily labour and activities.  Another way we commonly say something is "stirred up" is like when a crocodile goes from laying still and silent and suddenly goes into a death roll.  Crocodiles are masters of camouflage, lying still as a log until they violently stir up the water as they feed.  It may have been Timothy was fine for the gift of God to fly under the radar, camouflaged from the view of others out of fear they would not approve or understand.

The divine Holy Spirit God has given us is not a spirit of fear, but in stark contrast a Spirit of power and of love and sound mind.  The Holy Spirit empowers believers to be God's faithful, bold witnesses wherever He leads us and gives us supernatural ability we do not naturally possess.  God gives His people power to humble ourselves and to love others as Jesus loves us actively and sacrificially.  God's love is described in detail in 1 Corinthians 13 and demonstrated by Jesus in the manner of His life as He selflessly served others and by His death for lost sinners.  The Holy Spirit also gives us a sound mind, understanding and discernment of spiritual things we could not otherwise know.  God provides a circumspect perspective and sober-mindedness, the ability to identify and put off the works of the flesh while walking according to the leading of the Holy Spirit in holiness.

Christians have been given the Spirit of God that rested upon Jesus Christ as it was prophesied in Isaiah 11:1-2:  "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. ² The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."  The fear of God frees us from the oppressive fear of man that would allow the gift of the Spirit to die down like a fire in the rain.  By fanning the flames of the Spirit of God by faith and obedience to Christ, we are led by God as it is written in Romans 8:14-15:  "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."  Having been born again we are adopted as sons of God, and thus we need reminding to stir up the gift of God to walk worthily of our glorious Saviour.