Doing Good (summary) Matt 5:13-16; John 17:4-5; Acts 10:34-38; Eph 2:8-10; 2 Tim 3:16-17; Tit 3:4-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgsXLNqgpWs
Introduction
Since Jesus pronounced that through seeing our “good works” people would glorify God (Matt 5:16), any confusion about the prominence of good works in the Christian life must be seen as a strategy of the devil to hinder the progress of the gospel. God alone is good (Luke 18:19) and his goodness consists in his delight in communicating blessedness. God’s heart has always been God is that we enjoy fully life as he intended (Ps 5:12; 112:1). Creation was structured around displaying the goodness of God for this purpose.
Creation
Genesis 1 is riddled with references to the goodness (vv. 4, 9, 18, 25) and blessedness of creation (vv. 22, 28, cf. 2:3). The Lord made everything “to be enjoyed” (1 Tim 6:17) as an outflow of the eternal blessedness of enjoying himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Rom 9:5; 1 Tim 1:11; 6:15). We were made by God to enjoy themselves in him (Psalm 104:15; Eccl 3:12–13; Jer 31:10–14; Acts 14:15, 17). As such, nothing was lacking from the blessing Adam enjoyed in his good work to care for the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:12, 15).
Fall
The temptation in Eden was an attack on God’s plan to expand his goodness through the world. Satan rejected the proposition that blessedness depended on obeying the Lord’s own boundaries about good and evil (Gen 3:4-5; Isa 5:20). When Adam and Eve turned to eating the tree as the fountain of blessing, they elevated created things above the Creator and lost the happiness of sharing in the Lord’s own eternal life (Rom 1:25).
The Plan of Salvation
A Good God however could never abandon his children. The blessings meant for Adam shifted to the descendants of Abraham (Gen 12:2-3; 17:2, 6, 8; 22:16ff; 26:3-4, 24; 28:3; 35:11-12; 47:27; 48:3-4) in the new “good land” of Canaan (Ex 3:8; Deut 1:25; 4:21; 8:7; 9:7). Israel became God’s “son” (Ex 4:22; Jer 31:9; Hos 11:1 cf. Luke 3:38) called to shine the light of his goodness before the nations (Pss 67; 96; 117). Concern for the welfare of others was at the heart of the Law of the Lord. To bless others was to wish them good in every dimension of life (land, progeny, protection, food, clothing, health), “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Mic 6:8). Since however Israel failed utterly to radiate the goodness of God to the world, expectation shifted to the reign of the coming Messiah (e.g. Ps 72; Isa 11:1-9; Zech 9:10), Jesus.
Jesus as the Ultimate Do-Gooder
In his numerous miracles and delivering people for people from demonic powers (Matt 8:16; Acts 10:38) Jesus is unmistakeably the ultimate doer of good. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount expounds the sort of good deeds which will invoke the favour of God. The beatitudes with their repeated, “Blessed are…” (Matt 5:3-12), refer not only favour in this world but also in the age to come. The Beatitudes are radically because pronounced upon people who would not normally be thought of as enjoying fullness of life; the poor in spirit, the meek, mourning, reviled etc. are blessed, because they are most like Jesus (Matt 11:6).
The great work the Father gave Jesus to complete for his glory was to die for our sins (John 4:34; 17:4-5). It was Christ’s supreme focus (John 12:27-28). The final cry from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30), declares this best and most blessed work has been accomplished. That there is “no good thing” in us as sinners (Rom 7:18) has been completely overcome by the limitless goodness of the work of Jesus on our behalf. This is why “good works” done “in Christ” (Rom 15:17; Eph 2:10) will not survive the fires of final judgement (1 Cor 3:10-15) and be eternally rewarded ((Matt 25:21, 23, 34-36; Rev 14:13). We may be saved by grace, but we are saved for good works.
A Comprehensive Vision
“we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10). These works are more beautiful than anything in the original creation. Because these deeds bring supreme pleasure to God the New Testament exhorts us to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10). It’s at this point things get difficult. In Christ doing good often lead to persecution, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil…. therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Pet 3:17; 4:19). In the wisdom of God, the more intense our suffering for doing good the more powerful their impact for Christ’s kingdom.
Good Works and Present Judgement
In the book Revelation, Jesus repeatedly speaks of coming to judge local churches (2:5, 16; 3:3) because but “I know your works” (2:2, 19, 23; 3:1, 8, 15). This is a judgement in the present hour based on what we do, not on what we believe! This shouldn’t surprise us for in the End, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Cor 5:10 cf. Matt 5:11f; 10:32f; 10:41f; 16:27; Rom 2:5-10; 1 Cor 3:10-15).
Conclusion
Unlike many today, the Protestant Reformers were not confused about the vital importance of doing good. “Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works.” (Luther) “It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone…” (Calvin). There aren’t enough do-gooders in the Church. To “do the works of God” we must believe in Jesus (John 6:28-29) from our hearts and live in such a way that even outsiders can see that our “works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:21). These works bring great pleasure to the Father (Rom 12:1-2; 14:18; 2 Cor 5:9; Phil 4:18; 1 Thess 2:15; 4:1) and so reveal the blessed reason why God created the world.