Most religions, if not all, teach us to do good to our fellow men.
As Methodists, there is a very strong emphasis on "good works". Hence, there are outreach programs, funds set up for the poor and needy, evangelistic events during Easter and Christmas, and so on.
But how do we distinguish between what is "good works" which is pleasing to God, and what is "dead works" which is nothing more than filthy rags in His sight?
I like the illustration that Ps Prince gave in a sermon he preached two weeks ago entitled "Put the "Amazing" Back into Grace" in which he spoke about the River Nile.
Most people would associate the river Nile with Egypt. This is because it spans the entire nation from the south to the north and provides its people with the irrigation required for its crops. In fact, the ancient Egyptians went to the extent of worshipping the Nile and that is why God turned it into blood, to show Pharaoh that He was the true God.
However, if one were to trace the Nile southwards towards its true source, one would be surprised that it goes all the way past Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda to the mountains in Burundi, which is in Central Africa! This is not obvious to most people. What is obvious is where it ends, ie. in the Mediterranean Sea just above where Egypt is.
And so likewise it is with good works, which is what is visible to others. The source of good works is not immediately obvious to most people too, even fellow Christians.
Paul tells us in Eph 2:10 that we are God's masterpieces, created in Christ Jesus to do "good works".
But let us trace that back to the earlier two verses to see what the source of good works is...
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Verse 8 tells us that God's grace is the source of our good works!
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, without His grace being the source and motivation for us, anything and everything we do, however noble, will all be in vain. That is what is so amazing about grace. Amen?
Speaking of which, many Christians like to quote James 2:20 that "faith without works is dead". I wonder how many of them are aware of what James cited as examples of "good works" in the 5 verses that follow that, ie verses 21 through 25
21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
Prima facie, murdering one's own son or betraying one's own country would hardly be considered "good works". It would have been safer for James to quote the example of say, Barnabas selling his field and giving the money to church (as recorded in Acts 4:36-37). Unless...
... those works themselves came about because of the great faith and belief that Abraham and Rahab had in God. The former because God Himself had spoken to him time and again about how he would be the heir of the world through his seed. The latter had heard stories of how God had delivered His people from the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea, taken care of them whilst in the desert and were now just outside the land promised to them.
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