The Purpose Of Good Works

19 March 2015

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"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

Very often I am confronted during Biblical discussions with the same question. When the other person realizes that I truly do believe that salvation is by grace plus nothing, they inevitably ask, "then why do good works?"

I love it when they ask that question. Rather than directly answering their question, like to turn the the tables and ask them this question, "why do YOU do good works?"

Most of the time, I get the same response, "because I want to go to heaven!"

My answer — "Well, isn't that a bit selfish?"

If salvation is by grace plus nothing (which I truly believe it is), then why do good works?

The answer is simple, God told us to.

Good works do not gain us a place in heaven. Neither do they prove to God that we really want to go so He will save us. Good works are an evidence to us and others that God has done a wondrous things for us and in us, but we are not justified in the sight of a Holy God by good works.

Our motivation to do good work should simply be obedience to God's commandments. And, when we consider how merciful He has been to us, we should be so thankful that all we desire to do is please Him.

We have an amazing liberty in Christ. We are not living under the watch of a judge that will declare us unjust each time we make a mistake. No, we are free to live righteously knowing that God has eternally forgiven us for Christ's sake. We do not have to slavishly seek to please God by our will or works. We can, with great liberty, live our live in thankful righteousness.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:2, 15)

Tags: discipleship, evangelism, harmony_of_the_gospels, matthew, romans, sermon_on_the_mount

Welcome

Brentwood Hills Primitive Baptist Church is a community of believers working together to transform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. We believe it is our duty and privilege to live the gospel of the doctrines of grace in such a way as to edify the families within our church and other children of God in our community. Through regular worship based on strong Biblical principles, fellowship, admonishment, and outreach, we glory in the grace of the sovereign God working in our lives thereby showing the Spirit of God in the world.

Brentwood Hills was organized in 1906 in Fort Worth, Texas as Laodicea Primitive Baptist Church. You can find much of the history of the church, as well as other churches here: Primitive Baptist History Database

We identify ourselves as an old-line Primitive Baptist church. If you read our Articles of Faith, you’ll see that we hold to such doctrines as the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. We recognize the King James Version (KJV) as the only English translation worthy of being called the Bible. We believe in salvation solely by the grace of a sovereign God. We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to the earth to do the will of His Father, which was to deliver from the sentence of death all those the Father gave Him before the world began. We believe that Jesus fully satisfied the Father by atoning for all the sins of all His people. In time, we believe the Holy Spirit comes to each person that belongs to Jesus and regenerates them. Then (and only then) can anyone have faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit, by which you are able to believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not you ever hear the gospel, or believe it if you did hear it, or obey it if you did believe it, rest assured that Jesus will remain forever faithful to you because, if He died for you, He will never deny that you belong to Him.

We believe that everyone for whom Christ died will without fail be raised again from the dead to a glorified life. Even if we are alive when He returns to raise the dead, we shall be changed to a glorified life. All the Redeemed will meet the Lord in the air. Then He will take us to Heaven and there we shall forever be with the Lord. The wicked will be raised at the same time as the righteous, but the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment along with Satan and his angels. Until that glorious day when Christ returns to raise the dead, He has provided a place for His people to find rest for their souls. This place is the Church. Jesus Christ set-up His church on this earth before His death on the Cross. The church is there for those of His people who have come to believe that God saved them by His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe that Christ “paid it all” gives believers the strongest motivation to serve Him. Once enlightened to this glorious truth, then the child of God should feel an obligation to become and remain an active member of the His church. To serve the Lord in His church makes for one of the great blessings to experience this side of Heaven. It fulfills you to serve in His church and it gives your life purpose and meaning.

Living in Liberty

Elder Bryce Lowrance

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