Question 86: Since we have been saved from our misery by God's grace through Christ, not by our own efforts, why should we do good works?

 

Part 3: Man's Gratitude to God

 

Question 86: Since we have been saved from our misery by God's grace through Christ, not by our own efforts, why should we do good works?

Answer: It is true that Christ has redeemed us with his blood; but we do it so that we may give thanks to God for all his graces bestowed upon us throughout our lives, and so that Christ may be glorified through us. Furthermore, not only may we ourselves be assured of our faith by the fruits of salvation, but also by our godly conduct we may be able to win our neighbors to Christ.

We must be clear about what "good" means. It's easy to think of good as doing something that positively influences others, but that's not what the Bible means by good.

Regarding good (Hebrew: tov), ​​Luke 18:18-19 says, “A ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’” The goodness mentioned here does not refer to some holy attribute or character, but to an absolute standard. The absolute standard is God, and apart from God, one is not good. Therefore, if a believer is in God, he is good.

Doing good and being good have distinct meanings. Those who abide in God are good, and those who do God's will do good. "Doing good and doing good things in the eyes of the world" does not mean doing good. While good and virtuous deeds may be helpful in spreading the gospel, they do not constitute fundamental goodness.

To do good is to do God's will, to believe in the one sent by God, to obey the words of the one sent by God, and to tell others about this is to do good.

When a believer preaches the gospel to a non-believer, and the person who hears the gospel accepts it with his heart and believes, he can be said to have become good, and the person who preached the gospel can also be said to have done a good deed.

The Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus called them full of evil. Matthew 23:33, "You serpents, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?"

Those who mix the gospel and legalism within today's church community are precisely these people. Those who "say that we must believe the gospel and keep the law diligently and follow it" are evil in God's eyes. When ecstasy-mongers test God, they are also evil in God's eyes. When mystics believe and act as if they have received God's power, they are evil in God's eyes.

 

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