Of Good Works
I. Good works are only such as God has commanded in His
holy Word,a and not such as, without the warrant thereof, are devised by men,
out of blind zeal, or upon any pretence of good intention.b
a. Micah 6:8; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 13:21.
b. Matt. 15:9; Is. 29:13; I Pet. 1:18; Rom. 10:2; John 16:2; I Sam.
15:21-23.
II. These good works, done in obedience to God's
commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith:a and by
them believers manifest their thankfulness,b strengthen their assurance,c
edify their brethren,d adorn the profession of the gospel,e stop the
mouths of the adversaries,f and glorify God,g whose workmanship they
are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto,h that, having their fruit unto
holiness, they may have the end, eternal life.i
a. James 2:18, 22.
b. Ps. 116:12-13; I Pet. 2:9.
c. I John 2:3, 5; II Pet. 1:5-10.
d. II Cor. 9:2; Matt. 5:16.
e. Tit. 2:5, 9-12; I Tim. 6:1.
f. I Pet. 2:15.
g. I Pet. 2:12; Phil. 1:11; John 15:8.
h. Eph. 2:10.
i. Rom. 6:22.
III. Their ability to do good works is not at all of
themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ.a And that they may be enabled
thereunto, beside the graces they have already received, there is required an actual
influence of the same Holy Spirit, to work in them to will, and to do, of His good
pleasure:b yet are they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if they were not
bound to perform any duty unless upon a special motion of the Spirit; but they ought to be
diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.c
a. John 15:4-6; Ezek. 36:26-27.
b. Phil. 2:13; 4:13; II Cor. 3:5.
c. Phil. 2:12; Heb. 6:11-12; II Pet. 1:3, 5, 10-11; Is.
64:7; II Tim. 1:6; Acts 26:6-7; Jude 20-21.
IV. They who, in their obedience, attain to the greatest
height which is possible in this life, are so far from being able to supererogate, and to
do more than God requires, as that they fall short of much which in duty they are bound to
do.a
a. Luke 17:10; Neh. 13:22; Job. 9:2-3; Gal 5:17.
V. We cannot by our best works merit pardon of sin, or
eternal life at the hand of God, by reason of the great disproportion that is between them
and the glory to come; and the infinite distance that is between us and God, whom, by
them, we can neither profit, nor satisfy for the debt of our former sins,a but
when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty, and are unprofitable servants:b
and because, as they are good, they proceed from His Spirit;c and as they are
wrought by us, they are defiled, and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection, that
they cannot endure the severity of God's judgment.d
a. Rom. 3:20; 4:2, 4, 6; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5-7; Rom. 8:18; Ps. 16:2;
Job 22:2-3; 35:7-8.
b. Luke 17:10.
c. Gal. 5:22-23.
d. Is. 64:6; Gal. 5:17; Rom. 7:15, 18; Ps. 143:2; 130:3.
VI. Notwithstanding, the persons of believers being
accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Him;a not as
though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreproveable in God's sight;b
but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is
sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.c
a. Eph. 1:6; I Pet. 2:5; Exod 28:38; Gen. 4:4; Heb. 11:4.
b. Job. 9:20; Ps. 143:2.
c. Heb. 13:20-21; II Cor. 8:12; Heb. 6:10; Matt. 25:21, 23.
VII. Works done by unregenerate men, although for the
matter of them they may be things which God commands; and of good use both to themselves
and others:a yet, because they proceed not from an heart purified by faith;b
nor are done in a right manner, according to the Word;c nor to a right end, the
glory of God,d they are therefore sinful, and cannot please God, or make a man
meet to receive grace from God:e and yet, their neglect of them is more sinful
and displeasing unto God.f
a. II Ki. 10:30-31; I Ki. 21:27, 29; Phil. 1:15-16, 18.
b. Gen. 4:5; Heb. 11:4, 6.
c. I Cor. 13:3; Is. 1:12.
d. Matt. 6:2, 5, 16.
e. Hag. 2:14; Tit. 1:15; Amos 5:21-22; Hosea 1:4; Rom.
9:16; Tit. 3:15.
f. Ps. 14:4; 36:3; Job. 21:14-15; Matt. 25:41-43, 45;
23:3.
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