What exactly counts as good works?

[JohnB445]

Think of a landlord, they provide housing for tenants.
And then there is a volunteer who has their own domestic violence shelter that helps women have a safe place to stay.

One exists for profit, the other does not gain anything. We do need both landlords and domestic violence shelters.
Are both of them doing good works, or is only one of them? Does God count the landlord for providing housing for tenants?

 

[JesusFollowerForever]

Think of a landlord, they provide housing for tenants.
And then there is a volunteer who has their own domestic violence shelter that helps women have a safe place to stay.

One exists for profit, the other does not gain anything. We do need both landlords and domestic violence shelters.
Are both of them doing good works, or is only one of them? Does God count the landlord for providing housing for tenants?

works for profit is not works, a landlord renting an apartment is business and not works. works is anything out of Love that helps someone or people and is given freely.

 

[Laodicean60]

Love your neighbor.

 

[Richard T]

Good question. Here is my two cents.

Good works mean nothing to God,
Isaiah 64:6 NIV: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

Good works to God are ones that are done unto Him by faith. If the shelter has no faith how does it glorify God? What are its motives? At the end of the day do they pat themselves on the back? Their reward might be zilch.

A Christian landlord, that serves God with his properties can certainly be good. They do it in faith acknowledge God and truly try to be a help to the tenant, when needed. Remember too that it is excess profits that can fund Christian shelters. God uses Christians like some landlord or employer in all sorts of ways.

A Christian Shelter that is non for profit is an even higher faith though. Here they are not just trying to make a decent profit while serving but they are using their faith for all the bills including maintenance, and giving glory to God for their good works.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Think of a landlord, they provide housing for tenants.
And then there is a volunteer who has their own domestic violence shelter that helps women have a safe place to stay.

One exists for profit, the other does not gain anything. We do need both landlords and domestic violence shelters.
Are both of them doing good works, or is only one of them? Does God count the landlord for providing housing for tenants?

A shoemaker does not do a good work by making and selling shoes.
A shoemaker does a good work by making shoes and giving them freely to the shoeless.

Now here's the rub:

If it were possible to do a truly good work--a work entirely free of sin and evil--then it would be possible for us to attain righteousness through personal effort. That isn't possible.

Even our most noble works are still done imperfectly, with the corruption of sin. Which means that the good work can never be counted as righteousness for the one who does it; though the good work can be good in that it benefits our neighbor.

This is why you will hear Lutherans say things like "God doesn't need our good works, but our neighbor does." Through our efforts we cannot be righteous before God. However, before our neighbor our good works are absolutely necessary, because our neighbor is hungry, our neighbor is thirsty, our neighbor is naked, our neighbor is sick, our neighbor is in prison, our neighbor is a foreigner. And how we treat our neighbor is how we will be judged on the Last Day. So it is absolutely necessary for good works to be done; but such good works do not and cannot justify us before God.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Stephen3141]

Think of a landlord, they provide housing for tenants.
And then there is a volunteer who has their own domestic violence shelter that helps women have a safe place to stay.

One exists for profit, the other does not gain anything. We do need both landlords and domestic violence shelters.
Are both of them doing good works, or is only one of them? Does God count the landlord for providing housing for tenants?

Could you give an example in Scripture, of what you think "good works" are?

I have a feeling that you are mixing up a couple of different cateries, that
exist in the sriting of Scripture.