“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. Not only are we saved by grace, but we were also created in Christ Jesus for good works. According to Paul it’s not one way or the other
it’s both: We are saved by grace AND created in Christ Jesus for good works.
'Wait a minute', you may say, ‘I heard that works are bad from a preacher or a book’. Are they really? Many of those who say good works are bad and think that Paul teaches this, apparently have not read the entire passage of Ephesians 2:8-10. To deny that we do not need to have good works is to deny what Paul is declaring here! Are we saying that you can be saved by your good works? Absolutely not. We have all alike sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), all we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) and are unable to save ourselves. It is the gift of God as Paul says above. But Paul also said that ‘we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works’. The key to what Paul is saying here is that ‘we are His workmanship’. Unless we have allowed God to fully recreate us, we are not yet fully ‘created in Christ Jesus for good works.’ Unless we are renewed by God’s grace and saved through faith, we can never consistently produce good works that are free from the taint of human pride, boasting, and selfishness that are true goodness. Some works may appear to be good to us, we can only see the outside of others, and sometimes we don’t fully comprehend the problems within ourselves as well, but God looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7. Only God can perfectly weigh both the actions, words, thoughts, and motives. “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:10 KJV. Unless someone has a vital connection with Jesus they can do nothing that is good. Jesus said, ‘Without me ye can do nothing’. John 15:5 KJV.
Let’s now focus on the last part of what Paul said in our theme text: ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 NASB. Walk in what? God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in the path of good works. Much difficulty and error would be avoided by God’s people if they would read the Bible in context, taking the meaning as it reads, and not taking an interpretation that contradicts other Bible passages, especially when they are clear. The Bible explains itself. How has God prepared beforehand ‘that we should walk in’ [good works]? By the death of His Son Jesus for our sins, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us live holy lives and perform good works, with unselfish motives. This is the very heart of Christianity, the basics! To be a Christian is to confess your sins (1 John 1:9), believe in Jesus (John 3:16-17), and become born again. John 3:3, 5. Every Christian should know these things and do them; it is what is taught by the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, by Jesus in the Gospels and by the Apostles from Acts to Revelation. There shouldn’t be any question about this in Christianity. But Christianity in many cases has drifted far from the pure and holy teaching of the Apostles in the book of Acts and the teaching of Jesus, and need to be taught again the fundamentals of the truth. We believe that many in their heart who have read the Bible know the truth of this, but have allowed the voice of error to drown out this simple truth that is taught by the Bible. If people would just listen to the voice of God in the Bible, instead of listening to the clamor of men, then they would know the truth and not be deceived. Paul also said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV. So the scriptures help you to become perfect and thoroughly furnished with the power and the gifts to perform good works, if you believe what you read and ask God for the power to be His son or daughter! What Paul is teaching here contradicts what is taught and believed by many people today. If you want to be furnished for all good works, believe what the Bible says and study it, and put what it teaches into practice, by God’s power. As you learn to love God more and more, and yield to His love, studying and performing all of His commands in the Bible will become a delight to you, and all of the Bible will then be joyous words of life to your soul, that you will greatly treasure above everything else in this life, because they are the words of God, whom you adore. God’s messages in the Bible will be a well of water inside of you springing up unto eternal life! John 4:14.
The truth is that doing good works can never be wrong, if you have given yourself to God, and have His Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart; this is the way you should live. Having good works in your life (that God helps you to do) is necessary for you to have, it shows God’s power in your life and brings honor and glory to His name; good works can only be done by you if you have Him dwelling in your heart. He helps you to carry out His will for your life and to serve Him and to help others to the kingdom too. You are saved by the merits of Jesus, but you must cooperate with God and allow Him to change you, then it becomes natural for you to do good works; as long as He dwells in you. The attempt to do good works by yourself will never save you, and it is utterly impossible that you can do good works without Him, without any taint of sin or selfishness, etc. But if someone doesn’t have good works in their life, that means they haven’t allowed God to change them and give them this power yet; this is an indicator that something is wrong in that person’s life or they haven’t learned enough of His love yet, or are still growing in grace, only God knows for sure. God gives us time to repent and yield ourselves to Him, that is what this life is for.
Some may think that we are contradicting ‘sound doctrine’ here that some teachers have supposedly ‘proven’ from the Bible. But any teaching that ignores parts (especially large parts of the Bible) is wrong. The fact that Paul’s says above in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved by grace (or as some say by grace alone) in no way contradicts what we have stated in this article. But the belief that ‘all attempts to try to do good works’, and ‘obeying God is wrong’ are not. The belief that we have no part to play in our salvation is a lie. They say ‘by Christ alone’, and yes it is by Christ alone, but they fail to realize that it is also by ‘Christ alone’ that any can live a good Christian life. Their understanding of ‘by Christ alone’ completely ignores very many clear passages in many places of the Bible. It is by ‘Christ alone’ that we can be forgiven, and it is by ‘Christ alone’ that we can do good works. Some say it is not faith + works, it is by faith alone. This argument seems good on the surface but is not completely correct, it is omitting the truth if it is taken too far and used to put down or alter other clear truths in the Bible. The argument we are making is not ‘your faith in God’ + ‘your works’ equals being saved, not true. Our argument is that your salvation from beginning to end is from God: Your faith is from God, as well as your good works are from God. If it has any element of your human nature in it, it is unfit to be called totally good.
Some people’s idea of faith is really works. They have too much faith in themselves or in their own ability and willpower to do what is right, but it is worthless, human, self-righteousness and “filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6 KJV. Faith can be from God or from yourself. True faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23. If you haven’t been born from above, you cannot have true faith in its fullness, but if you decide to believe what God is telling you and it develops into true faith in God, you are becoming born again. You can bring nothing good into being by yourself, and since faith is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and allows you to get answers to your prayers and the victory, you can have none of these good things apart from God or apart from the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” John 16:7-11 KJV. So the Holy Spirit will reprove the world of sin and righteousness. We would not even know that we needed to change if it wasn’t for His voice whispering to our heart!
Some people’s idea of faith is really just belief, the belief that demons have that fear and tremble. James says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:19-20 KJV. If you tremble because of your guilt, perhaps brought on by an endless cycle of sinning and feeling bad about it, then your faith is the same ‘belief’ that the devils have. If you have love for God and are clear before Him you will not have guilt or be afraid of Him. What you need is ‘saving faith’. See Hebrews 11:7 KJV for an example of saving faith. As a Christian you should not have any guilt, because God has made provision for it, all you have to do to get rid of the guilt is to humble your heart before God and confess yours sins to Him, then you will be cleared of them. And if you let God cleanse you from all unrighteousness, then He will help you break that cycle of endless sinning and feeling bad about it. (You may have to make something right in addition to confessing your sins.) If you have saving faith, you will have the power from God to overcome your sins, and He will help you break out of that endless cycle of sinning and sinful habits and give you a better attitude and take away your tendency to sin. The only part that you play is your choice to have faith, and your choice to love and obey God, but God supplies the power and the ability, by giving you the Holy Spirit. When you learn to love God all the way, and learn to trust Him completely to guide your life and protect you from all harm, this is saving faith! God will never violate your choice, but He may allow circumstances to happen to you, troubles and trials, to help you decide whether you will Have His salvation or not. If you will humble your heart before Him and repent from your sins, salvation will be yours.
The real truth does not contradict any portion of the Bible. The fact that Paul stated that we are saved by grace alone, and not by works, in no way negates any other passage of the Bible. The teachings of Jesus are the very pinnacle of what the Bible teaches, not some people’s misunderstanding of what Paul taught. There cannot be any authority higher than Jesus on this earth. Any idea that people think the Bible teaches which disagrees with anything Jesus clearly taught cannot be right. Later in this article we will share some of the statements of Jesus that clearly contradict the idea that you do not need to have good works to be saved, and that you can live a bad life and be saved without anything done by you on your part. Paul’s writings, when they are perfectly understood, read in their context, reading the whole verse and the whole section, not just one verse or one word, perfectly agrees with the rest of the Bible. You need to read everything Paul has to say on what you think he is teaching to understand what he really means, and compare it carefully with the rest of the Bible. His writings can help all know the important truths of God’s grace perhaps more clearly than some other places in the Bible. Paul’s writings can also help you to understand other parts of the Bible, when they are put together. There is a real harmony between all of the Bible, if people would only see it. Paul himself in Ephesians 2:8-10 contradicts this idea that people cannot be saved if they have good works, he says that we are created for good works, which means we should have good works – this is the path that God has laid out for His people. You need to read the whole passage in its context.
Our faith in God is necessary because it shows our choice to believe that God will save us. Our good works that we do, by living righteously and treating God and others with love can never be done in our own strength and power.
What are good works? What are bad works?
Good works are doing the right thing at the right time; living by all of the words of God in the Bible. I.e. righteousness. Bad works are works of sin, selfishness, or doing or saying any hurtful things to yourself, others or God; these are all violations of God’s Law of Love. Or trying to do ‘good works’ without completely consecrating yourself to God and allowing the Holy Spirit to produce these good works within you. Being good and doing good works are a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and proof that God is dwelling in your heart. Good works equals righteousness.
John gives us an important clue to the righteousness that God wants us to have: “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:7-8 NASB. Those who “practice” righteousness are righteous. Those whose ‘custom’ or ‘habit’ is to do the right thing are righteous. Those who ‘practice’ unrighteousness or sin are unrighteous. Those whose ‘custom’ or ‘habit’ is to do the wrong thing are unrighteous. Paul tells us: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 KJV. We all were unrighteous and sinners before we met God, but if we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and cleansed from all unrighteousness, then we are now sanctified for God’s glory and are being saved by Him.
The deacon Stephen also gives us a definition of bad works: “At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.” Acts 7:41 NASB. Those who set up idols in their heart, or think that they are able to take care of themselves or feed themselves by the work of their hands apart from God, or put anything before God are doing bad works. But Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, so He wants to help you to practice good works, if you will let Him. The prophet Jeremiah gives us a message from God that we should not worship other gods or the works of our hands. God told His people: “And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.” Jeremiah 25:6-7 KJV. So if you are setting up idols of your own ability to help yourself, or idols of sin, you are hurting God and are hurting yourself, because this will eventually cut you off from eternal life if you continue doing this. But why hurt yourself when God wants to help you and give you eternal life?
How can you do good works? “Then said they unto Him [Jesus], ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.’” John 6:28-29 KJV. The answer to how you can do good works is by believing in Jesus and His Father. You must believe in Jesus and His Father. See also John 3:16, 17 which teaches that you can only be saved if you believe in Jesus. What Paul said about good works fits perfectly with what Jesus said. It is by God alone that you can be forgiven and saved! It is by God alone that you can truly perform good works! (With pure, unselfish motives.) Being good or doing good is not within your ability to do; it is outside of your ability. Solomon also declared this truth when he said, “Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3 NASB. So it is only by God that you can have good works! So commit your plans, ways, dreams and life to Him and salvation will be yours!
Your good works cannot save you, but you will be lost without them:
Paul tells us that those who do the works of the flesh shall not inherit the kingdom of God: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery [or witchcraft in the KJV], enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 NASB. Paul also tells us that the end of the wicked will be according to their works: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 KJV. The end of the wicked will be according to their works as Paul declared, but the salvation of the saved will be by the works of God; they will have good works. Jesus said, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:27 KJV. Everyone will be rewarded according to their works, as Jesus plainly stated. Jesus also said, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Matthew 7:16-19 NASB. What makes someone’s works good or bad depends on which spirit is dwelling in them. If they have the Spirit of God, then their tree will be good and their works will be good, but if they haven’t given themselves totally to God, if at all, then their tree will be bad and their works will be bad. Jesus plainly declares here that all who do not bear good fruit for God will be cut down and thrown into the fire. This is pretty serious. Jesus also declares in Matthew that all the stumbling blocks, i.e. those that have bad works and mislead others will be lost: “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:40-42 NASB.
Therefore the only question that remains is whether you or I will be a stumbling block or a tare? Or will we bear good fruit for the Master? See also Revelation 2:19, 23; 3:1-2 for more texts on the importance of works in our salvation, as given by Jesus.
Still believe that you can be saved and not have any good works?
Jesus said in Matthew 7:16-19 that you can only bear good fruit if your tree is good. A bad tree bears bad fruit and a good tree bears good fruit. Jesus also tells us that ‘only God is good.’ Jesus said, ‘No one is good except God alone.’ Luke 11:18 NASB. Therefore no one can have good works unless God gives it to them. We also know from a statement by Jesus that the Father wants to give us good gifts (Matthew 7:11) – He wants to give us the Holy Spirit, if we will ask! Luke 11:13. And under the power of the Holy Spirit we will gain the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which enable us to bear good fruit for God! God really does supply all of our needs! “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 KJV. He will not only forgive you, but enable you to live a righteous life for Him, and have all the good works that you need, if you will continue to go to Him to get a fresh supply of His grace every day!
So do not believe preachers or others who try to tell you that you don’t need to have good works to be saved or that it is wrong to do good works. This is a lie! The very fact that it is necessary to write on this subject is ridiculous, considering that it should be common sense what we are writing about. But some have been so deceived nowadays that they seem to have lost all common sense about right and wrong. But if you ask some in the world, especially those that left the church, many will tell you why they left, ‘because of the hypocrites.’ So the devil deceives people into thinking that the way they live doesn’t matter, and then when they get totally discouraged, get tired and disgusted with it all, they leave the church, and start to say that the church is filled with hypocrites. But wisdom is vindicated by her children. Luke 7:35 NASB. They should have thought about themselves as being hypocrites before they left the church, then there would have been hope for them, because then they could have turned and repented, instead of being blind to their sins. And then they would have stopped being a stumbling block to others. There is no harm in admitting to God and to yourself that you are a hypocrite and have not always done what is right! Probably everyone has been a hypocrite at one time in their life. When you find out that you are a hypocrite, just turn to God and beg for mercy, and He will heal you. God will always listen to you if you admit that you are a sinner, confess, and plead with Him for His mercy!
Jesus dispels all these myths that you don’t need to be good or to do good works when He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV. If Jesus is your Master, you will be the salt of the earth and let your light shine for the world to see, to glorify His Father! Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” Matthew 5:13-15 KJV. Likewise, if Jesus is your Master, you can’t help but love Him and let your light shine for all the world to see; you will be unable to hide the light that He has given you, and will joyously declare His and His Father’s love to a dying world!
How many good things must you do to be saved? This is the wrong question to ask. You are saved by grace as Paul declares in our theme text, not by any of your good works or anything you have done. If you truly love Jesus your heart will be overflowing with His love and joy, and will long to do everything that you can to help people make their way to the kingdom, or to help them with their needs, and will not ask how much you need to do to be saved, for we are saved by grace, not by works. But the desire to do good things for God and others is a change that only God can bring about when you cooperate with Him, and it will be only natural, once His love takes possession of your heart, to lay everything on the alter and serve Him with all of your heart, and mind and soul! It will be no burden to you to do this! It will bring you much joy! Amen!
Let’s close with a blessing that God pronounces on all who rest from their labours, whose good works follow them to Heaven:
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” Revelation 14:13 KJV.
My prayer for you dear reader is that you will consecrate and devote yourself completely to God; that your works will follow you on your way to Heaven, that your life will be a pleasing aroma to God. ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works’ Ephesians 2: 10 NASB. Amen.
May the grace of God be with you all!
By
John Foll, finished 7/9/2017 to 7/16/2017.
© Copyright 2017 John Foll
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