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Q: The Bible says faith by itself, if not accompanied by deeds/good works is dead. (James 2:14, 17) What role do work and effort play in a person’s life, what he/she achieves, and becomes?
A: Thanks for this pivotal question, touching on areas that are critical to both our spiritual and carnal life on Earth. This question deserves a reply with no short-cuts. ;o)
There are lots of good works in the world, and folks who do such might understandably conclude they, themselves, are/must be ‘good’, and those who do not, are ‘not good, or are bad’. This is the fruit of our carnal human nature and thinking. Trust me, it has nothing at all to do with what God refers to when He says through Paul, ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’ (Ephesians 2:10)
Any Bible concept must/must be interpreted and understood in context of (not outside of) God’s much broader, ultimate strategy and objectives, which are:
(a) recognition and repentance of our sins and sinful nature,
(b) acceptance of His FREE gift of eternal salvation in and through Jesus as Savior and Lord, and
(c) development of our spirit into one that walks with and pleases Him.
Thus, His perspective and concern about good works derive from this strategy and objectives, which correspond to building The Kingdom of God in our personal lives, and on Earth, in general. Good works that are not a derivative of this are, therefore, irrelevant, null and void in His calculus, as underscored in these examples:
1. Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you [through relationship], where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. (Luke 13:24-28)
2. Not everyone who says to Me [Jesus], ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven [which starts with being re-born of His Spirit]. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not [done good works] prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders [good works] in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. (Matthew 7:21- 27)
One of His sayings is, ‘You must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’ This is the foundation of ‘knowing God’, and apart from this, we are simply DEAD to Him. (See: 21 Verses About Spiritually Dead) He says it is a foolish man who ignores this, and thinks he will inherit eternal life in Heaven because he did some so-called good works during his life. That notion nullifies the principal points in God’s multi-millennial strategy and objectives in His dealings with humans. It also nullifies Grace and insults God because it signals pride in human good works. This is one of the major deceptive tactics satan uses against us, to get us to DENY the sufficiency of God’s Grace through salvation in Christ’s sacrificial work on our behalf.
Good works from God’s perspective are those His Spirit inspires and enables us to do, that build upon the foundation of His Kingdom in Earth. Apart from the born-again experience, we are spiritually DEAD to God, and dead people can do none of His good works because God’s Spirit has not yet made them ‘spiritually alive’ to Him. He does not ‘know’ or have an intimate relationship with them through Jesus as Christ. Think of salvation through faith in Jesus’ works as the equivalent of the ‘spiritual birth canal’ to being born into God’s Kingdom. Only citizens of His Kingdom can do works of His Kingdom.
Saul (who later became Paul) was one of the brightest legal minds in Israel in his day, and he used his deep knowledge of The Torah to persecute the early church. In order to get through his ardent mind and to his spirit, God had to knock him off his ass (donkey), and onto his ass (derriere). God later changed his name to Paul, and greatly used him to build the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Today, folks all over the world still sit pridefully high on the equivalent of their ‘asses’, ignoring or denying what God has repeatedly said to them in many ways, many voices. It’s simply their devilish pride, which God HATES, that keeps them so seated. 'Asses' today on which folks sit include: their education, degrees, jobs, titles, wealth, intellect, knowledge, cars, travels, families, followers, professional and social achievements, etc., etc.
God’s will is for all people to come to the knowledge of, and embrace His gracious offer of salvation through faith in Jesus as Christ’s substitutionary death, resurrection and His current work as our Lord, Master and Intercessor. It is only through Him can we be born into His Kingdom, then allow His Spirit to inspire, lead, empower and bless what He calls ‘good works’. This is His prime objective, His Seed and Tap Root, from which derive all other things He deems as good. If good works being done in a person’s life, and across a land are not the fruits of this specific seed and root, they are of NO effective spiritual value to The Kingdom of God, because they are not spawned by Him. When we think of doing good works, keep in mind doing good works does not make us good. Jesus said no man is good. Period. Apart from the re-birth experience, our human nature is inherently sinful and evil, and we are hopelessly lost.
Here is a handy way to think of good works from God’s perspective laid out in The Bible. G-O-O-D:
G --> Godly, i.e., God-inspired and motivated in His saints, not the ain’ts
O --> Others-focused mostly, not driven by selfish, prideful, feel good motives
O --> Only works His Spirit inspires through our relationship with Jesus, and knowledge of His Word, i.e., works that build His Kingdom on Earth in the minds, hearts and lives of people, and that glorify Him, not self
D --> Delivering deeds/works that help to free people from satan’s exceedingly tight grips of ignorance and deception, from the impacts of their sin, and from their ignorance about God’s will in life, which is eternal salvation in Christ and an increasingly righteous walk with/in Him; walking in good works He empowers.
Jesus taught us to pray, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth. This happens when His good works are accomplished in accordance with His strategy and objectives, not outside of them. Paul told Timothy, ‘Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) God’s ‘workmen’ who perform His good works, first and foremost work at intimately learning His Word, The Bible. Only through an intimate relationship with His Word can we learn to ‘hear His voice’. With no relationship to/with His Word, we have no means by which to learn His voice, then hear and, in faith, perform His good works.
