Failed Good Works from the Sinner and the Saint
There is a wretched man who knows the truth that God’s judgment awaits him, and his course is to suppress the truth and to live in libertine turpitude. There is another man who hates God as much as the first (Rom 1:30), but he fears the wrath of God with sincerity (Mt 3:7; Lk 3:7; Rom 1:18). The first does nothing to win favor with God, while the second labors in earnest to secure his salvation from eternal punishment.
Religious people around the world share a default mode known as “salvation by works.” They are intent on earning their salvation. These people view God as a hard taskmaster (Mt 25:24) because they never attain true godliness. Invariably, they mistake their zeal…for a godliness that is acceptable to God. They even take pride in how devout they are to their religious exercises. The truth is these people love religion, not Jesus Christ.
Many embrace justification by faith, only to revert to sanctification by works (Synergism). The devil deceives the soul to lose faith in the Gospel, as the power of God unto sanctification. We must diligently remind ourselves that salvation is all of God (Ps 3:8; Jon 2:9; Rev 19:1), from predestination through the Gospel call, all the way through death, and unto glorification (Rom 8:30). He who began the good work of faith in you, Christian, will surely bring it to its perfect end (Phil 1:6).
Insidious is the masquerade of works salvation, posing as the true Gospel. The core idea in this charade is, “enablement.” When the preacher tells the assembly that God has done something, by His grace, which enables you to do the works of the Law, in the guise of obedient faith, he is misleading you. Grace does not enable works of the Law. It is the Spirit of God, Christ in us, who is working and any obedience seen in us must be attributed to Him (Is 26:12; Gal 2:20; Phil 2:13). It is the Spirit who causes the Christian to walk in God’s statutes (Ezek 36:27).
Works of the Law is a false way of salvation. Judaism is the perversion of the Gospel of grace because it insists on obedience to the Law. Jews have never admitted perfection in keeping the Law, but they place their trust in sincere efforts. No one could keep the Law, so the Jews have always presumed God was grading them on a curve.
The Apostle Paul was faced with a hybrid interpretation that blended Judaism and Christianity. His opponents were the Judaizers, who taught that Jesus saved, by giving grace unto obedience to the Law. So, Jesus, plus good works of obedience to the Law, is what saved sinners. Whether one was a Pharisaical Jew, who thanked God for grace enabling some obedient works, or whether one was a Galatian Christian doing the same, albeit, in the name of Jesus, both remained condemned with their confidence in good works.
The Law of God requires its adherents to do the Law one hundred percent. One breach, and you are guilty of all (Jas 2:10). The Gospel of God requires believers to not do the Law of God one hundred percent (Rom 4:4–5). Salvation is through faith in Christ Jesus’ perfect work (Eph 2:8–9). It is not at all by our works of obedience. If you opt to try and live in God’s favor, by the Law, you must be perfect, or you will be condemned by the Law. If you receive the gift of faith, and walk in the faith given to you, then it will be reckoned to you as righteousness (Rom 4:5; Gal 3:12).
Moses and Christ are not contradictory, nor exclusive. The Law came through Moses, and Christ fulfilled the Law. He did not abolish it, nor did He simplify it when He summarized it. Simply put, God’s Law remains in full effect. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (Jn 1:17). The Law is very much the truth of God, but it is grace that justifies the sinner (Rom 3:24; Gal 5:4; Titus 3:7). It is also grace that sanctifies the saint. This is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who accomplishes all that concerns us (Ps 57:2; 138:8).
We must discard every notion that a condition of any kind exists for our obedience unto life, or for the avoidance of death. Old Testament Israel operated under this notion of the covenant being a mutual agreement between God and His people, demanding their obedience to the Law, for life and blessing. They failed (Rom 2).
The Law inflicts a curse on anyone, Jew or Gentile, who tries to keep it to gain right standing (righteousness) with God. It curses “Christians” who position themselves back under it for favor in the Christian life (sanctification).
Why should preachers of the Gospel continue to have sermon series on the Ten Commandments? The Law of God is holy. It is spiritual. It is good. It serves God’s chosen people, Israel, the church of God (Gal 6:16), by teaching the holiness of God. It also teaches the sinfulness of sin (Rom 3:20). The knowledge of the truth about holiness and sinfulness cause Christians to be mindful of both.
Jesus Christ has done what we all fail to do — keep the Law of God to perfection. His right standing before God His Father, the righteous Judge, is imputed to His elect ones, by His grace given to them. This produces humility and gratitude, for the gift of salvation received (Jn 1:12), when the Holy Spirit baptizes and indwells the dead, clay object in the Potter’s hand (Jer 18; Mt 3:11; Mk 1:18; Acts 2:38; 10:45; Rom 8:9, 11; 9:21; Gal 4:6; 2 Tim 1:14; Jas 4:5).
Friend, your good works are filthy rags in God’s assessment (Is 64:6). You can never attain the righteousness, that you do not have, by your efforts at obedience to the Law of God. You must not work at all (Rom 4:5), only believe (Jn 20:31; Acts 8:37; Rom 3:22; 10:4), and faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17).
Christian, you know the faith given to you as a gift of God (Gal 3:22; Phil 1:29), at the preaching of the Gospel (1 Cor 1:21; 15:11), was all grace. Do not revert to good works to attain holiness in the Christian life, only believe that He who began the good work of sanctification in you, will sanctify you, fully (Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; 1 Thess 4:3, 7; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2). Trust in Him, for He will do it (Ps 37:5).
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
May 16, 2022
