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Belief and Faith
Grace and the Spirit
Works and Righteousness
Righteousness and unrighteousness. Do we really know what these terms mean in context with the Scriptures, the Gospel, and the Epistles, or have we assigned our own modern, colloquial definitions to them? Have we searched the Word of God to see how Jesus Christ, God the Father, the Prophets, and the Apostles defined them? Have we hungered and thirsted and have we dug as if for gold and silver? If not, how then can we know what these words mean in their context?
Most christians believe, for example, that grace is the free gift of salvation we receive when we pray the sinner's prayer. But is that what the Word of God says about Grace? Are we, as I have often heard, released from works when we pray the prayer and receive grace? Or have we pulled grace and other words out of their full contextual meaning and incorporated them into a believers' language that makes us feel righteous?
Let's begin by examining the principles, as taught to us in the Word, surrounding an interesting statement recorded by John in his gospel. In John 1:16-17, he tells us, "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." What many seekers tend to miss, is that there are two operations, or perhaps dispensations, of grace. Picture it, if you will, as if there are two opposing columns of an arch. Each side represents it's own function of grace. Now, the two sides of an arch normally require a keystone, or capstone, to connect them. Now read Zech. 4:7 in context, and remember that many gates (through which we must "enter in") into Jerusalem are arches!
The first grace is the knowledge of our sinful state as revealed in the Law, through which no man born of Adam can be justified (just as if we never sinned). This grace teaches us that there is a God, and that we must fear Him, because He is a jealous God with a righteous wrath for those who don't obey Him. ("Withiut the law, I would not have known sin..." - Paul)
Moses was well aware of the concept of two separate, though connected, works of grace. He prays, in Exodus 33:13: "Now therefore, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your Way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." God responds: "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Keep in mind, if you would, that Moses was not allowed, at that time, to enter into that rest which God had promised him, because of disobedience.
Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him," in John 6:44. He repeats Himself in John 6:65 by saying, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." I believe we are also all familiar with Jesus' statement that "My sheep hear My voice." Predestination is really not the subject of this particular writing, but let's take a look at II Thessalonians 2:13-14: "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning has chosen you to salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." So we can see that His sheep were 1) chosen, 2) sanctified (set apart) and 3) called by the gospel. But we still have to CHOOSE death-to-self (repentance) before we can receive His Spirit. The first grace, then, is that we were chosen at all, and that, by the Law, we were convicted of our sin nature, and that a call, the gospel, went out from the Shepherd. This is not as Calvin and TULIP state it, though. The Word says that "Those who would come to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." The identifiable distinction that must be observed, then, is that "Many are called, few are chosen."
The "first" grace was initiated, or Authored, by Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. We can take no credit for either the call, or for having heard it. We were selected to hear it from the beginning. There is, however, a step required of us, and we can take no credit even for that step, because "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God." That step is the response by us of obedience to His Son's Words, and that step of obedience requires faith, which is a gift (Romans 12:3) that each man has been given. I won"t say that faith and obedience are exactly the same, but, according to God's Word, we can't have the one without the other (Hebrews 3:18, Hebrews 11:6, James 2:21-24). The Word does indicate, repetitively, that faith without obedience is not pleasing to God, nor accounted as righteousness (Ecc. 12:13-14, James 2).
I'll take a step "aside" at this point to clarify a definitive problem which Satan successfully uses to cloud our responses to the call, and the manner in which we respond. The word shows quite clearly that the uses and translations of the words belief and faith are not necessarily the same, and that they do not have the same relationship as do obedience and faith. James spends much of his Epistle clarifying the difference, as obviously the issue had arisen and needed to be addressed in the early church. The Epistle to the Hebrews draws clear distinctions as well.
James demonstrates that one can have belief and still not have a saving faith. He writes, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe, and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Do you not see that faith was working together with (Abraham's) works, and by works faith was made perfect?" The trouble with the concept of works in today's christian environment is similar to that of the misconception about grace. Just as there is a "before"and "after" grace, there is also a "before" and "after" works. I'll return to that important concept a little later.
Belief does not metamorphasize into faith until we have responded to the call in obedience, and visa versa. Faith is an action, whereas (as we tend to look at it today) belief is a thought. James, and Hebrews, as well as the balance of the Scriptures, point out that belief should also be enacted, or it is of no value to God, or to ourselves. Both the man who said, "I believe; Help my unbelief" as well as King Agrippa in his conversation with Paul, realized this distinction.
What, then, is this action of obedience to be? Jesus says that "If a man loves Me, he will keep My Words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." He also says, "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and not do the things that I say?" And in this step is to be found the center of confusion in the ranks of the seeking, both in the days of Jesus and the Apostles, and in today's world. Jesus' Words are not suggestions, but instructions (commandments - "This is My Son - listen to him...") we're to follow in willing and obedient faith.
Jesus said to forsake all. He said it in so many different ways, and so many times, to every class of person, that we should not be able to miss it. The early church knew it (Acts Chapters 2&4). They also knew that it meant more than just forsaking material, or worldly things, and while true forsaking does not dismiss forsaking the material, there is yet more to forsake than the material. We today, however, tend to "spiritualize" the forsaking of the "things of the world." We say, "As long as my things don't own me I'm not in disobedience."
The Word says to "become fools so that we may be made wise." Our very thoughts; our agendas, our "beliefs," our goals, our legacies, our comforts, our own inhibitions; all this as well as the material must be forsaken, left behind, with no looking back, before our empty wineskins can be made into new and filled with new wine. The Egypt of our enslaving world must be left behind without a glance back at our Sodom. Jesus said, "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." He also says, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and his children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot become My disciple," and, "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." It's no coincidence that Abraham had to first leave his father's house and that Jesus, as well, left His (worldly) father's house as examples to us.
As long as we're here at these particular Words of Jesus, I'd like to take a look at the word "disciple." Disciple means, simply, follower, but more accurately, mimicker. A disciple, at least in that day and time, would follow his teacher, and for all practical purposes, would mimic him. Some, in order to justify their theology, have said that Jesus' teachings concerning disciples can be applied only to the Apostles and those others who were following Him around at that time. This is clearly not true. In the book of Acts, disciples and saints were one in the same, also called brethren, and the whole discipline the body followed was called The Way. There can be no mistake that the church followed the discipline of the Way. The questions we should ask of ourselves are then, "Am I a follower of Jesus?" and, "Do I follow the discipline that He and the Apostles taught?"
"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that (whether) Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified." There are clearly expectations of obedience that must be met before one is "qualified" to be a disciple: "For you have need of endurance, so that AFTER YOU HAVE DONE THE WILL OF GOD, you may receive the promise," and, "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the Word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith [the response of willing obedience] in those who heard it (and to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?)"
Continuing with the obedience of faith, all this is not meant to be a burden; quite the opposite! It is meant to remove the burden! To break the chains that bind us to this world! "Come unto Me, you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; for My yoke is easy and My burden is light" The material comforts of this world and our agendas and belief systems, our dreams and our goals, our "loyalty to our father's house," are burdens that restrain us from obedience, that separate us from Him! He has given us the keys to unlocking our chains that bind us to this perishing world! If we believe His Words, that He has a better World waiting for us, that the Kingdom is at hand, and that we can"t take our "treasures" with us, what's to stop us from entering His rest!? Only one thing. Lack of faith. Disobedience.
So, we see that because of God's free gift of grace, we have been chosen from the beginning, and then called by His Son to the gospel of peace with God. His Son has "pre-paid" for all of our previous sins (Romans 3:25). It's our move. We need to insert and turn the key, and remove the chains, and walk away from them, not looking back.
We are given instructions, and detailed ones at that, on how to insert the key, turn it, and remove the lock that fastens our chains to us. Those instructions are included in the package called "repentance." Again, these instructions are not suggestions, or "options."
I've heard several definitions for the word "repent." I have heard it means "confessing our sins and being really sorry for them." I have heard it means to do an "about face." I have also heard it means to "change our mind." But actually, what's revealed to us in the Word, is that repent means all of those things (corporately), while at the same time, none of them (singularly). Confused? So was I, but glory to God for His Mercy!
To repent means simply to die to everything of our previous life, but to remain breathing. And with true repentance comes the realization that all this time we were already dead in our sins, and that in dying, in accepting that we are dead, we have now been given life. Why would we want to hold on to, or go back to death? The proof of this is included in the ceremony referred to as "water baptism." The understanding of the person being baptized is, or should be, that when they are submerged in the water, the old person, and everything they were or had or wanted to ever be, is dead. Gone and buried. No longer in existence. Not even a memory. A thing of the past. Destroyed. Erased. Repented of.
When they come up out of the water, the baptized person is (symbolically) a new creature. Symbolically born again. Starting over from "scratch." (He paid for our PREVIOUS sins.) Made new. washed and cleansed from the previous "life" and all of its sins. Given a chance to "do it right this time." But repentance and water baptism does only "our part" of the necessary work. We must be given the New Life. But who do we get it from? Who can give Life?
A betrothal, or covenant, then occurs, for those who truly believe (with all their hearts and minds and strength), whose faith (the actions of willing obedience) is based on the Truth of the Scriptures and the Calling of the Lord, between the repentant soul and the Giver of Life. Before the Marriage, or union, has taken place, there must be a Covenant. And in matters of spiritual death and Life, a Covenant requires blood. But not just any blood. Only the Blood of Him Who is pure and without blemish will suffice. And after He told us how to enter into this Covenant with Him, He provided the Blood for us. And the Spirit of the New Life is in the Blood. When His Father approves of our obedience in faith, the Son is then permitted to provide us with the Blood of the Spirit of Life. This is the second grace, the very Spirit of Grace, given to us as a Betrothal Promise. The Word says if we don't have His Spirit, we're not His. Even "believing" is not "enough" without His Spirit! It is this matter of the "second" grace that is spoken of. Once His Blood and the Spirit have been provided, we are now not only called, we are also chosen and sanctified, set apart and made holy by His Blood, identified by His Spirit in us. We can now rest from "dead works." But is there more? Yes. We are to now prepare for His Coming in His Kingdom to take us to Our Wedding, our union with Him, our being made like Him, our putting on of incorruption. And we don't know exactly when that will be, so we need to keep our lamps filled with obeying His Words.
So now comes the "second works," the works of righteousness, the works that have been prepared for the called, chosen, and sanctified person from the beginning (Ephesians 2:10, Acts 26:20, James 2:18,26, 1 John 2:29).
What are these "good works?" Well, they are definitely not of our dead-and-buried selves. They are the works prepared for us by God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son from the beginning. There is no self or sin in them, if they are truly those works of righteousness prepared by Him and orchestrated by Christ in and through us. They are "unblemished by the stains of the world."
I'd hate for anyone to think me capable, or to think that I think I am capable, of producing a "list of God-ordained good works" that are guarantees of our admittance into His Kingdom. God Himself, through His Son, has prepared His list for each one who has entered into the Covenant with His Son. Our admittance into His Kingdom has been provided for if we continue in it and remain faithful. There are definitely warnings in the Word about not doing so. Our lamps can run out of oil and go out. Check what follows:
This is (somewhat; I wasn't Jewish and living in 33 AD!) how I understand the Jewish betrothal and wedding customs were followed: A young man (the Bridegroom) would go to a young woman's Father, and ask permission to ask His daughter for her hand, along with the rest of her, in marriage. The Father might at this time "test" the Young Man in some way to see if He is worthy of His daughter, or, already knowing the Young Man, may go ahead and agree to the Young Man's request. After gaining the Father's approval, the Young Man (after dressing in His "finest"), would approach the girl (but sometimes she wasn't even asked, she was just given) with His Proposal. In the cases where the Young Man went to the young woman, He would bring a Cup and some (hopefully good) wine, and pour some wine into the cup and offer it to the young woman. (Notice He doesn't drink of it yet!) The young woman, then, if she does not desire to be the Young Man's Bride, refuses to drink from the cup, and the young man departs and looks for another (unless He's really determined to have her, in which case He keeps coming back and knocking on the door!).
If She does drink from the cup, the action of drinking is Her agreement to a covenant to become the Young Man's Bride, and she shows that She will honor the Covenant by starting to prepare Herself for the Wedding Day. She is to begin wearing a veil, which signifies that she is Betrothed, Set Apart, and "bought with a Price." This is because the Young Man has also brought a "Wedding Contract" ("It is Finished") and some valuables with Him to show His Worth to Her, as well as Her worth to Him.
She also obtains a lamp that she will keep lit, where He can see it, until the Day He comes for Her. If the Young Man were to happen by, or come to get Her, and the Lamp is not lit, He will either assume that she has broken the covenant, or that she didn't care enough about Him to keep sufficient Oil in the Lamp and keep the wick trimmed for the brightest possible Light. The Betrothal is also considered to be as binding as Marriage where "relationships" with other people are concerned, and it is considered as Adultery to have such relationships with anyone (or anything) else during the Betrothal.
It is up to the Young Man at this point to keep His Promise, His side of the Covenant. He "pays the price," departs, and goes to His Father's House, and begins to Prepare a Bridal Chamber, or "Mansion" (dwelling place), to bring Her to in order that the Marriage may be Consummated. He wants It to be "just right," so custom dictated that only His Father could tell Him when it was Completed, and so even the Son did not know the Day or the Hour when He would be allowed to go and get His Bride. She never knows exactly when to expect Him. If she "gave up on Him," she would discontinue waiting for Him, her Lamp would go out, or she would no longer dress as His bride-to-be, in "spotless garments."
Now, once the Father of the Bridegroom gives His approval that the Mansion is prepared and the Day and the Hour are right, He tells the Bridegroom that He can go and take His Bride to His Father's house. Joyfully, He rounds up His friends, and they bring Trumpets, and making a great Shout at the Blowing of the Trumpet, approach Her house, enter it, and "gather" Her away. It could be at any Time, Day or Night. After "gathering" Her from Her house, they travel to the Mansion He has prepared for Her. He takes Her in, shuts the door, and the Consummation Period begins. If, however, He finds Her to have been unfaithful, if she is not pure, then according to the Law and Traditions He can, and perhaps will, give her a certificate of Divorce and show the "cloth," absent of The Blood, as proof. If She is "covered" by the Blood, however, they remain in the Mansion for the entire seven days, and then they Come Out to live out Their Marriage.
The Jewish believers of that period knew exactly what it meant that a Price had been paid, a Contract completed, Blood shed for them (since they could not pass the "purity test,") and that He was going to His Father's House to prepare "many Mansions." For them, to "drink the Cup of the Covenant" meant to begin preparing themselves and to remain Faithful. And they knew they were being made "betrothed" to Him, by being "baptized (immersed) into His Name." Adultery, or living as if they weren't Betrothed, was for them out of the question. They knew the cost of not agreeing to, and keeping, the Covenant. Jesus had offered the Cup to the Apostles at "the Last Supper" during the Passover feast, and they had accepted it, and knew Who He was claiming to be when He broke the "Hidden Matza (unleavened Bread)." And He, through them, was now offering the same Covenant to others, beginning with the Jews. He could not offer it through the Apostles until they had been filled with His Spirit. All this is why we must examine ourselves carefully before sharing in the "communion" of Fellowship in Him. Are we "keeping ourselves separate" from the rest of the world? Are we denying our fleshly lusts? Are we looking for our inheritance from other than His Father? Are we meticulously keeping oil in our Lamps and keeping our wicks trimmed by doing "the works of righteousness" that prepare us for His Arrival? To not do so is adultery.
Again, let me state my reluctance to make a "list" that must be legalistically followed, and having said that, let me say that something may be gained from following the Spirit of such a list, if we do it with a willing heart and mind, and all our strength.
The Word tells us that we're to:
1) Be holy (sanctified, set apart) as He is holy
2) Deny the lusts of our (dead) flesh
3) Conform ourselves, "put on," Jesus Christ
4) Pray without ceasing
5) Proclaim the Gospel Message
6) Be content with food to eat and clothing to wear
7) Work so that we may have something to give (materially OR spiritually)
8) Live in one accord with others of the Faith
9) Provide for the needs of those less fortunate, first for the Body, then others
10) Present our bodies a living sacrifice (put to death, living in Him)
11) Do not be conformed to this world
12) Wait and Watch for His Coming
Someone who does these things, in the right Spirit of joy and thankfulness, certainly is showing "signs" that they are indeed a true follower and betrothed to our Lord. A person who does all these things in the "unwashed flesh," thinking that these things will gain him admittance to "heaven" is lying to himself. Having said that, let me say that it is unlikely that a person not in the Covenant would desire to live such a life, but wolves do frequently gain entrance to our company. Jesus says, though, that the angels will be able to pick them out (remember though, the amount of "tares" mixed in with the "wheat" was pretty abundant!). So if a person is doing all the above, we should be careful not to question their motives. Also, if a person is not doing the spirit of what is listed above, we may, and we should, question them for their own well-being, in a spirit of exhortation (Truth and Restoration).
"Love" is an often-misunderstood necessity as well. When the Word speaks of "charity" (KJV), it is referring to the Greek word for unselfish love, which is agape'. Most often, the words used in the "New Testament" (actually, "New Covenant") for "charity" and "love" are one in the same word. There is only One Source for this agape' and that is the Spirit of Love, or, the Spirit of God. We cannot learn agape' in our sinful condition, but we can learn how to receive agape' as well as what to do with It once we have It (not meaning to call God's Holy Spirit "It"). You see, agape' is actually the Essence, or the Spirit, the character and Personality, of the Person(s) we know as the Godhead. Agape' is our Teacher, our Comforter, and our Promise, once we've died to our self (which was already dead) and confessed to the Covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. Something to keep in mind: Agape' is a verb. Verbs require action. Agape' and Faith go hand-in-hand. And confession in the New Testament usage means to make a covenant or vow.
Another word for love, phileo in the Greek, is “brotherly love" or the affection one has for friends and family. It is natural affection. Phileo can be accompanied by Agape' and Agape'indeed should be accompanied by phileo, but one can have phileo without Agape'. Now, while phileo can make us, even in our fallen state, “feel good," if it is not accompanied by Agape' it is actually dead, or useless. However, if someone says they have Agape' and does not outwardly show phileo, then one must question the claim of the person to have Agape'.
The Truth of the Word goes hand in hand with Agape'. They are never apart, and always speak of each other. As I’ve stated it before, having the one without the other is like having water without wet. However, someone speaking the Truth can be accused of not having phileo. I think we have all seen cases of this. “Well, that’s not very loving!, or, “He’s so critical!". Often times, in order to prevent another from having pain, we don’t tell them the Truth, and we consider this to be “loving." The actual Truth is, though, the Truth can be (and usually is) painful. And in telling someone the Truth, we may be sparing that person a worse torment later. Agape' Love always thinks eternally, and not temporally. Agape' thinks of the Kingdom instead of the temporary “comfort" if it is indeed true Agape' Love.
A third consideration that we are often confronted with occurs when we mix phileo with eros and confuse that with Agape'. An uncovenanted person will have the combined feelings of “human or brotherly love," and eros, or “erotic or attraction-based “love," that, when blended together, draw us to another person. Satan has a heyday with these feelings, often using them to lead us around wherever he wants us to go. What we usually don’t understand is that the only way to complete or fulfill the combination of phileo and eros is to join them together under Agape'. Only when dominated and controlled by Agape' (Spirit and Truth) will human love and attraction based love be complete, and not a cause to stumble or be blinded from the Truth (Ecc. 4:9-12). This is the story of Man (and Woman) in a nutshell. Infatuation and lust are thrown into the mix of phileo and eros and therefore bare their corruptive influence, and we’re back to square one. Only Agape' can deliver us from the consequences of such. And, before we can acquire the Agape' we’re faced with the painful ordeal of dying to our phileo and our eros, our own natural affection and our infatuation and our lust. (He who has suffered in the flesh has put on Christ.) But there are Promises from our Lord if we overcome (Rev. Chapters 2 and 3). What we must decide is if His Promises are the promises we want. Most often they aren’t, and most often we turn away from the One True Promise and hang onto the lie, and many times we deceive ourselves and believe we can have it both ways. But no one can serve two Masters.
So what I’ve shown and explained (I hope) is that a person begins life as dead in the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12), then the Law shows that person that they have sin (I Cor. 15:56) and that God is not appeased no matter how many “bulls and goats" we sacrifice to Him (Heb. 10:4), and that it is grace that He allowed us to “live" long enough to be aware of our sin (Romans 7:4). Next, we find out that He knew from the beginning who was, and who wasn’t, going to fear Him and be obedient to Him (II Thess. 2:13-14), so since the beginning He’s been preparing righteous works for those He foreknew to do (Eph. 2:10). In the meantime, God begets Himself by the Spirit in the form of a man named Jesus Christ (John 1:14). Jesus Christ has come to proclaim the “good news" of reconciliation with God and of the Coming Kingdom for all those who are “called," those who God knew in the beginning as having faith (Romans 8:29-30). Jesus (the Keystone of the Arch) (Zech. 4:7) starts proclaiming the Gospel (the transition from grace to grace) (John 1:16-17, Ex. 33:13, Zech. 4:7), and those who believe and obey hear His voice (John 10:27-28). He offers the Cup of the Covenant to the “foundation" of the church (Matthew 26:27-28), and they accept, though they really don’t realize yet what they are accepting (John 13:5,8,22). He then shows His Worth by dying and providing the Blood Covering (Heb. 10:14), both for the appeasement of God and for the “Marriage Cloth" (John 19:34). The Apostles then drink the “True" Cup, the obedience of dying to themselves (faith) upon seeing His Worth (Luke 24:45-53, Acts 2:38,42, Phil. 3:8), and having therefore agreed to the Covenant by confession (also covenant), are given The Promise (Acts 2:1-4), the second Grace, the True Baptism of the Spirit, His Life in them, to comfort them and lead them until the Bridegroom’s return (Romans 7:4). Continuing in obedience (Romans 2:5-8), they now live for His Gospel and for others who have been called (and may not know it yet) (Book of Acts), and teach all the other so called to do the same, thus building the church upon the Chief Cornerstone and the Foundation (Eph. 2:20-21), and accomplishing the “works of righteousness" that have been prepared for them since the beginning (Eph. 2:10). Did I forget anything?
So, we return to the opening question. What are righteousness and unrighteousness? It’s quite interesting that the modern Hebrew word for righteousness is the same as the word they use for charity, though they may not be totally aware of the connection. You see, in the “Old Testament," righteousness was indicated when a person would, of the blessings that God had given to him/her, give to someone less fortunate for His sake. The less fortunate (in the Old Testament) were described as the widow, the fatherless, the stranger, the afflicted, or the oppressed (afflicted and oppressed, by the way, mean "in debt"). In the context of the Scriptures, however, we’ll see a theme repeated (repetitively) through the Prophets. Israel would often come to a point when, for the most part, they would despise this group of “lower class citizens." Again, a modern definition problem occurs. “Despise," in context, meant to disregard, or to not meet the needs of, or to forsake, this group of people, the “less fortunate." When Israel would start “despising" them, God would raise up a Prophet to tell them, “Your sacred assemblies, your sacrifices of bulls and goats, and your songs of praise are not pleasing to Me. You fast and pray, but you do not take care of the widow, the orphan, and the afflicted, and the stranger. Even your fasting and praying are not pleasing to Me. The fast that pleases Me is to visit the widow and orphan in their distress, to care for the afflicted, and to welcome the stranger!"
Whenever the Old Testament speaks of the wicked (meaning worthless), God was, many times, speaking of those who gathered up to take care of their own needs, and did not see to the needs of others. (Amos 5:10-24, Micah 6:8, Zech. 7:5-11, Mal. 3:4-5, Jer. 5:26-31, Jer. 9:23-24, Ez. 18:4-18, Isaiah 1:14-17, Isaiah 32:7, Isaiah Chapter 58)
Now, in today’s world, I suppose that, if there were a person who had never heard the Gospel, and that person unselfishly took care of the needs of others as a priority, then because of His mercy, God may account that person’s unselfishness as righteousness, because such things, when done with unselfish motives, please Him. But consider the person who has heard the Gospel. That person may do all these unselfish things, he/she may even go regularly to church, be a non-smoker, non-drinker, have a good job and a good marriage, and be respected for all this in his/her community. But if that person has not died to themselves, forsaken all, accepted the Covenant Cup of the Savior, and taken His Spirit (the Love of the Truth) as his/her New Life, then all of those “good things" above are dead works, or, simply, unrighteous. They are stained. They are not acceptable to God, because the stain of self/sin may not enter into His presence.
If the same person did the same things after having heard the Gospel, and believing, in faith, had died to their dead life, and confessed to the Covenant and been washed clean, and had been given the New Life, and continued in it, then all of those things above that had been prepared for him to do would be accounted as works of righteousness, or, “treasures in Heaven." But none of the “previous" works would be on “his/her account" for having been stained.
Everything I ever did, thought, felt, or believed, or wanted before that Covenant moment is dead and buried. I cannot “take it with me" into His Kingdom and I’m just as glad! Why would I want to? It’s stained, as filthy rags, and must remain outside the camp. I even find that what I thought "I owned" really owned me!
This is the Gospel Message taught by Jesus and the Apostles, and that Message has not changed, though the world (and the Church!) has increased in apostasy and corruption. “Occasional unselfish works" that have not been sanctified will be “burned up" in the test, but if we continue in the works of righteousness He prepared for us, we shall receive a crown.
Beware of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the desire for the things of the world, because we don’t know exactly when He’s coming for us.
(I John Chapter 2)
dyer_tim@yahoo.com
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