Most religious people think ALL works are bad. Actually, the Bible talks about both BAD works and GOOD works. Let’s start with the bad works first.
BAD WORKS
EPHESIANS 2:9- “…not of works lest anyone should BOAST.” What are “boastful” works? I suppose those are works that originate with man—his works—that he thinks up himself. They can’t be from God because Luke 17:10 tells us that when we have done what God commands us to do, we cannot boast about it because we have only done OUR DUTY.
GALATIONS 2:16- says, “ We are not justified by “WORKS OF THE LAW.” These are also bad works, in the sense that they will not save us. The entire book of Galations is mostly talking about these kind of works.
Galations 5:19- another kind of bad works is WORKS OF THE FLESH.
GOOD WORKS
JAMES 2:14:-26- talks about many different kinds of “GOOD WORKS.” Some were charitable, such as giving food and clothes to the needy;but also such GOOD WORKS as obeying the commands of God. Those are called GOOD WORKS and he uses the example of Abraham offering his son Issac as a sacrifice. So obeying God’s commandments are GOOD WORKS that James says we are JUSTIFIED by these kinds of works. It’s very important to see that knowing what KIND OF WORKS makes all the difference in understanding the scriptures properly. Because in one scripture, the Bible says we are NOT justified by “works” (Ephesians 2:9) and in another scripture the Bible says we ARE justified by works ( James 2:24). Someone could easily argue that the Bible contradicts itself. Not so. It is imperative that we understand WHAT KIND OF WORKS are being discussed in each passage.
One other kind of GOOD WORKS that saves us are the WORKS OF GOD in John 6:28-29. Jesus’s disciples said to Him, “ What must we do to WORK. the WORKS OF GOD? This verse clearly tells us that there ARE things we must do. The disciples knew this and Jesus confirms it. Jesus said, “This is the WORK OF GOD THAT YOU BELIEVE in Him whom He sent.” Jesus says that believing is a WORK!! But it is one of the GOOD works that are from God and are part of our salvation. There are other scriptures that tell us that faith is a work—one is in 2 Thess. 1:11–“ THE WORK OF FAITH…”. The crucial question here is…do you believe the Bible? Do you believe what God said? If Faith is a work, and I don’t doubt it because Jesus says that it is, then that makes “repentance a WORK OF GOD, too and “CONFESSION” IS A WORK OF GOD; and “BAPTISM” is a WORK OF GOD. They are “works” of God because they originated with God—not man—and they are all commanded by God. They are HIS works—not man’s works. Isn’t this exactly what Jesus asked the Jews in Mark 11:30? He said, “John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men?” They would not answer. They knew if they said, “From heaven.” He would say then why haven’t you obeyed it? Well, if John’s baptism was from heaven, how much more the baptism of Jesus the Messiah!
So, to the followers of John Calvin who want to say that we are NOT SAVED BY WORKS—actuallly, we. ARE! We are saved by DOING the WORKS OF GOD. because Jesus said FAITH IS A WORK and we all agree that faith is necessary to be saved. And to those same people who say baptism is a WORK, you are right!! It is a WORK OF GOD—it came from God-not man, and it was commanded by God (Acts 2:38 and Acts 10:48). So when you say. “ we are not saved by works.” It is important that you identify which works. Because ABSOLUTELY we are NOT saved by “boastful works” or “works of the old law of Moses” and certainly not by “works of the flesh. BUT We ARE Isaved by the WORKS OF GOD.
BAD WORKS
EPHESIANS 2:9- “…not of works lest anyone should BOAST.” What are “boastful” works? I suppose those are works that originate with man—his works—that he thinks up himself. They can’t be from God because Luke 17:10 tells us that when we have done what God commands us to do, we cannot boast about it because we have only done OUR DUTY.
GALATIONS 2:16- says, “ We are not justified by “WORKS OF THE LAW.” These are also bad works, in the sense that they will not save us. The entire book of Galations is mostly talking about these kind of works.
Galations 5:19- another kind of bad works is WORKS OF THE FLESH.
GOOD WORKS
JAMES 2:14:-26- talks about many different kinds of “GOOD WORKS.” Some were charitable, such as giving food and clothes to the needy;but also such GOOD WORKS as obeying the commands of God. Those are called GOOD WORKS and he uses the example of Abraham offering his son Issac as a sacrifice. So obeying God’s commandments are GOOD WORKS that James says we are JUSTIFIED by these kinds of works. It’s very important to see that knowing what KIND OF WORKS makes all the difference in understanding the scriptures properly. Because in one scripture, the Bible says we are NOT justified by “works” (Ephesians 2:9) and in another scripture the Bible says we ARE justified by works ( James 2:24). Someone could easily argue that the Bible contradicts itself. Not so. It is imperative that we understand WHAT KIND OF WORKS are being discussed in each passage.
One other kind of GOOD WORKS that saves us are the WORKS OF GOD in John 6:28-29. Jesus’s disciples said to Him, “ What must we do to WORK. the WORKS OF GOD? This verse clearly tells us that there ARE things we must do. The disciples knew this and Jesus confirms it. Jesus said, “This is the WORK OF GOD THAT YOU BELIEVE in Him whom He sent.” Jesus says that believing is a WORK!! But it is one of the GOOD works that are from God and are part of our salvation. There are other scriptures that tell us that faith is a work—one is in 2 Thess. 1:11–“ THE WORK OF FAITH…”. The crucial question here is…do you believe the Bible? Do you believe what God said? If Faith is a work, and I don’t doubt it because Jesus says that it is, then that makes “repentance a WORK OF GOD, too and “CONFESSION” IS A WORK OF GOD; and “BAPTISM” is a WORK OF GOD. They are “works” of God because they originated with God—not man—and they are all commanded by God. They are HIS works—not man’s works. Isn’t this exactly what Jesus asked the Jews in Mark 11:30? He said, “John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men?” They would not answer. They knew if they said, “From heaven.” He would say then why haven’t you obeyed it? Well, if John’s baptism was from heaven, how much more the baptism of Jesus the Messiah!
So, to the followers of John Calvin who want to say that we are NOT SAVED BY WORKS—actuallly, we. ARE! We are saved by DOING the WORKS OF GOD. because Jesus said FAITH IS A WORK and we all agree that faith is necessary to be saved. And to those same people who say baptism is a WORK, you are right!! It is a WORK OF GOD—it came from God-not man, and it was commanded by God (Acts 2:38 and Acts 10:48). So when you say. “ we are not saved by works.” It is important that you identify which works. Because ABSOLUTELY we are NOT saved by “boastful works” or “works of the old law of Moses” and certainly not by “works of the flesh. BUT We ARE Isaved by the WORKS OF GOD.
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