Since becoming a Christian, one of the most personally motivating aspects for me is knowing that God has a plan for my life. I lived in such a destructive lifestyle and cycle before I met the Lord. I felt so powerless to see a change come. Now, through renewing my thinking to how awesome God is and how big He thinks, I’m challenged to live life without limits. I don’t want to settle for less than what He has in mind for me.
In Ephesians 2:10 Paul says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
I must understand that I am created for good works in Christ. What are good works? We can all think immediately of humanitarian endeavors that rescue dying and starving people. I often think of a dedicated life, going against all the odds to accomplish something great.
Well let’s look at another other verse of scripture that shows us what good works are not. In Hebrews 6 we see listed some of the very foundations of our faith. “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”
So we’ll need to ask, what are dead works? Dead works and good works can be the very same action, but each person is doing what they do from a particular heart motivation. God is a ‘heart’ God. We know that He looks on the heart.
Let’s say that I help someone by buying groceries for them. I have either done it to be seen by others and I expect to win God’s favor with my action, or I have allowed God’s compassion to flow through me to meet a need. The person may never know it was me. Then the first motivation would be ‘dead works’ and the other would be ‘good works.’
Familiarizing ourselves with the theme and thread that runs throughout the New Testament, we see how very foundational this concept really is. Paul devoted and based his entire life calling and ministry to making sure this was a clear issue to believers in Jesus Christ.
Paul says in 1Corinthians, “For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is” (NKJV).
King James says: “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."
In these verses, Paul is using a physical truth to illustrate a spiritual truth. In building a house, there must not only be a good foundation, but good materials must be used to build on that foundation. In the spiritual realm, faith in Christ is our foundation. The foundation is the most important part of the building.
Once we are saved, we can either have works of the flesh (wood, hay, stubble) or we can have works of the Spirit (gold, silver, precious stones). Christians will one day stand before the Lord for the purpose of receiving rewards, and all our actions will be revealed, whether they were our own doings or directed by the Spirit of God.
If they were spiritual (gold, silver, precious stones) we will be rewarded. If they were carnal—wood, hay and stubble—we will suffer loss. This is very similar to good works vs. dead works. (Andrew Wommack Life for Today Bible Commentary)
I know we all desire to build on good foundation. We want to use the right materials. Those materials are critical in the longevity or life of the building. Just think of these modern day home shows where builders are often nitpicked so harshly for cutting corners using poor building supplies. We don’t want to have to go back and tear down what we are building and start over. In that case, we should be honest with ourselves. The Holy Spirit will help us. He is the one who cleanses our conscience from dead works (wrongly motivated works) to serve God fully.
Hebrews 9:14 states, “ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
As we look at that same verse of scripture in the Message Bible, it reads, “Think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered Himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.”
What are we to do? In John 9 Jesus said of Himself, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” While this building is going on, let’s invest in understanding what a component of a ‘good work’ is.
The disciples asked Jesus about the ‘works’ they were to do in John chapter 6, “Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
So, our “DOING” is to believe! Our “work” is to believe. Out of our believing we will be doing as a response. Now, I do more in the kingdom of God in peace than I ever did striving, trying to gain approval or earn God’s blessing.
Paul said in Ephesians 1:6, “…to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” I am accepted in the beloved! The fact is, I am approved by God and pleasing unto Him because of who I am in Jesus. The day I received Jesus, I was approved. God sees me just as if He was looking at Jesus, because I am in Him and He is in me.
Paul says in Romans 3:21& 22 , “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.”
So if the works are to believe, I need to learn from some of those who have gone before who did that successfully.
God called Abraham righteous because of what he believed. Paul called it, “being fully persuaded.” I have found that if I persuade my heart to believe, the good works will result and flow out naturally from what I believe.
Romans 4:3 says, “For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Paul tells of Abraham in Romans 4:20-21 “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform” (KJV).
Bible reading, church attendance, and confessing the Word doesn’t make me righteous. What it does for me though is persuade my heart to believe! So, if all of your “doing” isn’t bringing you to a place of believing and trusting, then all of the doing is ‘dead works.’ All of these things I mentioned are good disciplines. Yet, what is the motivation of your heart?
As I confess God’s Word to persuade my heart, then I need to have my foundation settled that I am in right standing with God already. Romans 10:15-17 says, “As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
The context of this verse clearly shows that hearing the Word of God to get faith, is hearing the good news and gospel of peace in particular. Let me reemphasize that what you are to hear to get ‘faith’ is what was already accomplished for you by Jesus. You WILL get faith when you hear that. It takes you out of the center of it and puts Jesus in it. You are then free to serve God willingly and freely with good works flourishing out of that understanding. It is such good news, you cannot help but love, give and serve.
Father, I thank you today that I have a new and deeper understanding of good works versus dead works. I repent and change my mind about trying to earn any of Your goodness to me through my own self-effort. I thank you that I am a believer. I trust in Your ways and Your acceptance of me. I am a good receiver of what You have already provided for me through the finished work of Jesus. I believe in Your promises to me. I am sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am building on the only foundation, Christ Jesus. I am using Spirit quality materials of gold, silver and precious stones.
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