Explain the term "works".
Well, let's see... Jonah 3:10 says, "God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways..." So according to this scripture, God views turning from evil as a work.
This would go along with Ephesians 2:8,9 when Paul says "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."
We learn a couple of things in this verse... a work would be anything that a man could boast about with regards to his getting saved or justified. Now that could be anything that is moral in nature. For example, if a sinner named John was saved or justified because he was moral enough to quit committing adultery whereas his friend Jeff was not saved because He wasn't moral enough to quit... then John could boast that he is saved and Jeff isn't because he was a good enough person to quit committing Adultery whereas Jeff wasn't. So since he can reasonably boast about it, it has to be considered a work.
So turning from Adultery is turning from evil, and turning from evil according to Jonah is a work. Also one can brag that he is saved where others aren't because he was willing to turn from Adultery whereas others weren't so the ability to brag about a moral action pretty much demonstrates that it is viewed as a work.
Notice also that Paul did not say that works for justification are okay as long as they result from God's grace. Augustine tried to say that baptism for salvation is not considered a work because the willingness to do it is the result of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. By that logic the Judaizers in Galatia could have said that insisting on circumcision for justification was okay because the willingness to do it results from God's gracious work in the sinner. No. Paul never said that circumcision for justification was okay so long as we give the Holy Spirit the credit. A work for justification is a work regardless.
What all could we brag about with regards to the issue of works for justification? 1. Turning from sin. 2 Participating in ceremonies. 3 Doing good deeds. 4. Loving God. (the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses is to Love the Lord and fulfilling commandments in the law is definately a work) 5. Promises, resolving, submitting, making commitments, repenting OF SINS.
All these things are good but they are not what we do for justification they are the results of justification and they follow justification.
first God gives us faith and justifies us.... Then once we are justified we are a legally clean temple so the Holy Spirit enters us.... then that causes us to produce the fruits of the Spirit which are Love and goodness and self-control etc. Then, because we now have love for God and goodness etc. we will turn from evil and do good works. Probably that whole process only takes a few seconds...but the order is important.
If we say that we first must make commitments to turn from evil and we must keep the command to Love the Lord and we must resolve to quit this and promise to do that before we can be justified, we are saying that we must become godly to be justified. But Paul says "But to him who DOES NOT WORK, but believes on Him who justifies the UNGODLY, his faith is accounted as righteousness." (Romans 4:5)
The faith that justifies... is trusting and believing that even though I am ungodly, I am right with God because the blood of Jesus covers my sins and saves me. We have the right to believe that because the Gospel says that whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely. Notice the word freely.
Gratitude for salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit will then produce works.
Finally, to repent (metanoia) means to change your mind. When the issue is salvation and the Apostles tell unbelievers to repent, they mean that those who are not believing that Jesus is God and Messiah and Savior must change their minds.
They cannot mean that we must turn from drinking and cussing and chasing women to be justified because A. That would be turning from evil and turning from evil is a work according to Jonah. B. 1 John 3:4 says
"sin is the transgression of the law" and so if we tell a person they must repent OF SINS in order to be saved we are telling them they must resolve to keep the law to be saved... Yet Paul says this ...'therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith APART FROM the deeds of the law". C. The Apostles never tell an unsaved sinner to repent OF SINS to be saved. With the one exception of belief in Idols because you have to change your mind about believing in a false God to believe in the true one.
Thanks ....
I know works are useless without faith, I just wish people understood faith is non existent without at least striving for the works too.
