Good Works and Salvation (part one)

…in the Reformed tradition

One reason many Reformed Christians today have a hard time accepting the thesis of this paper is that their view of righteousness is deficient. In their minds, there is only one kind of righteousness, which they understand to be a sinless moral perfection in the eyes of God’s Law.

It must be said that this reasoning is true, but only insofar as the righteousness in view is placed in a legal context, and salvation is something to be earned by the merits of good works. But when righteousness is defined in covenantal terms, with salvation as something to be obtained, the answer of the [Heidelberg Catechism] simply does not apply.

The Reformed Doctrine of the Necessity of Good Works, by Paul Liberati

In the second part of this study, I will borrow very liberally from this essay by Liberati, specifically the many quotes he has from Reformed theologians of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. In part one, I will examine the Biblical evidence for the necessity of good works toward our salvation – and please note: I write “necessity,” and not “cause.”

Ephesians 2: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We are saved from God’s wrath; Christ died for our sins; Christ took our punishment; His blood washed me clean. This is often, and almost uniquely, what I had come to understand “salvation” meant in protestant churches teaching in a generally Reformed tradition.

We are saved by faith and not by works. But what does this mean, exactly? The apostle Paul makes this distinction between “works” in verse nine and “good works” in verse ten in the above passage, a distinction made necessary due to the ongoing disagreements in the Church about the necessity of keeping Jewish law for Gentile Christians.

So…a question comes to the fore – for even the most devout Reformed Christian: yes, salvation begins by grace alone with faith alone in Christ alone. But does salvation end there? In other words, we are saved “from” something (punishment), but are we saved “for” something? And, if so, what is that “for” for which we are saved?

Paul tells us that there are good works that God prepared for us beforehand. In the Reformed view, there are no such things as good works prior to conversion or justification – prior to being “born again.” Certainly, “good works,” good in God’s eyes, are only possible when one’s faith is in Christ.

So, let’s consider what Paul is saying in verse ten. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. This is why we were created – for good works. God prepared these good works beforehand. I look at this and say God gave each of us certain gifts, gifts that are to be used in His service. He prepared the good works for us beforehand by preparing us beforehand for certain good works. We are to walk in these good works. That means do them, live them.

But this is just me talking. First, an examination of Scripture – because if it isn’t based on Scripture, whatever the early Reformed theologians have to say will not be considered meaningful to the Reformed Christian. I have already extensively covered the passage in Ephesians cited above, so I will not do so further here.

Paul’s letter to Titus, “a true son in our common faith,” is full of “good works” language.

Titus 2: 6 Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, 7(a) in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works

“A pattern of good works.” Consider what this means: our good works are to be so clear, so consistent, so repeated, that we become a “pattern” for those around us. This is how we are to live.

Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

We are to be zealous in these good works, meaning to show “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.” In other words, energetically doing good works is one of the key things for which a Christian should be known. Do this, and we become a pattern.

Titus 3: 1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work

We are always to be ready for good works – ready means to be alert to the opportunity to perform good works. After all, the opportunity in front of us just might be one of the good works God prepared for us beforehand.

Titus 3: 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

We are to maintain these good works – this isn’t a one-time calling, but a pattern, to be repeated zealously.

Now, I could include many references from James, but let’s just take one:

James 1: 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

The Christian life is not merely an intellectual life.

25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

The Christian life is a life of being a doer. “Doing what?” you ask. Doing the good works that God prepared for us beforehand.

Scripture is full of examples of God looking favorably on those who do His good works. It is full of examples of God commanding good works, at the most critical junctures in the history of God’s relationship to man. I have written of this here, and offer only a summary of such times:

To make a long winnowing process short, I thought to focus on a few passages: God’s first commands to man after creation, God’s first commands to Noah after the flood, God’s first commands after freedom from slavery in Egypt (the Ten Commandments), Jesus’s first commands (the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount), and Jesus speaking to John on Patmos about the seven churches. Each of these strikes me as a key moment in God’s relationship with man and His Church.

At each of these junctures, God commands “doing.”

1 John 2: 17(b) …he who does the will of God abides forever.

In Scripture we are exhorted numerous times to do the will of God.

Revelation 19: 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

What are righteous acts of the saints other than doing the will of God?

And then, this warning:

Matthew 7: 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Which would then exclude those who do not do the will of the Father.

Conclusion

OK, one quote for now, taken from Liberati:

Augustine: “Good works do not precede them that are to be justified, but follow them that are justified.”

We cannot do good works before justification. The will of the Father is that we do good works. If good works do not follow justification, then it seems one is not justified.

In the second part of this examination, I will offer a look at several quotes taken from the essay by Liberati.