Ephesians 2:10—For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them—not only speaks of God working in use but also of His working through us. And how is God working through us? By good works.
Once again, there is a great difference between works for salvation and works as a result of salvation. This difference is made all the more clear by the fact that both thoughts are in this context. As we’ve seen, verses 7‑9 say that we are saved by grace without works; verse 10 says salvation is followed by good works.
Any theology that mixes grace with works or faith with merit is heresy, plain and simple, and is to be cursed (Gal. 1:8-9). But may we add that a theology that eliminates works altogether and says that a person can be a Christian but show no evidence of it in his life, a person can do anything he wants to do, is equally heretical. Works most certainly are involved in the Christian life; while they are not the cause, they most assuredly are the result. Or to put it another way: We are saved by grace without works, and we now live through grace, which produces good works. As commentator William MacDonald puts it, “Good works are not the root but the fruit.”
It is also extremely significant that the works in verse 9 are not called good. This truth alone should obliterate any thought of salvation by works. Why? Because they are not good in God’s sight. Before Christ, there were no good works, not matter how good we might view them. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” that is, as the Hebrew word literally means, a “menstrual cloth” (Jer. 64:6). At best our works are self-serving, but not God-honoring. Yes, we can “boast” in them, but they are not good. The works in verse 10, however, are good in God’s sight.
Perhaps the most thrilling thought about living the Christian life is that these good works have already been ordained by God…that we should walk in them. In other words, the good works that the sovereign God is doing in me today have already been prepared.
Why are these works “good?” Because God has dictated them; that is, we do not produce them. God has already marked out what works are good and what works are not good. The reason the works of verse 9 are not called good is because they are man‑made instead of God‑ordained. Moreover, any works that man produces are “works of darkness” (Eph. 5:11; Rom. 13:12).
All this is proven by the words before ordained (proetoimazo), which means “to prepare before, to make ready beforehand.” One Greek authority sums it up well: “God prearranged a sphere of moral action for us to walk in. Not only are works the necessary outcome of faith, but the character and direction of the works are made ready by God.”
Many Christians walk around like “Christian boy‑scouts,” looking for good deeds to do in order to receive their “merit badge” (crown) when they get to heaven. But the main problem with that approach is that it leaves man to decide which works are good. This attitude is precisely what has caused much of the pragmatic ministry of our day, where we think that any ministry is okay. It is this attitude that has created the seeker-sensitive “mega-churches” that have become so popular to masses. We have decided what ministry is and how to conduct it. Instead of looking at Scripture alone, we think it up as we go along. But God never leaves man to decide anything. Rather, God has defined what is good. This, then, leads to the question: Which works are good? We’ll answer that next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment