June 24, 2001

Works Don't Work

Ephesians 2: 8-9, Galatians

This last Wednesday night, the topic at the Bible study was favorite verses. Everybody was encouraged to share what their favorite verses were, and why. Mine is Ephesians 2:8-9, " For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."
But I didn't talk about it Wednesday, because I wanted to save that for this morning. So here we go.

This verse has an incredible amount of gospel truth in a few words. It tells us who saves, namely God. It tells us what saves; God's grace. It tells us the method by which His grace saves us, faith. It tells us that it is all of God, and none of us. It tells us that salvation is free. It tells us that there is nothing I can do to earn salvation, because gifts are not earned, because if they are earned, then they are not gifts, they are payments, rewards.

It tells us that no one is more deserving of salvation than anyone else, because if there is no boasting involved, then everyone is on the same basis. Nothing depends on us, everything depends on God, and God does it all through His grace. And if you take the letters G R A C E, and use them for an acrostic, then they mean God's Riches At Christ's Expense. I like that. This is Good News. This is the sort of thing I like to hear, and I wish that everyone could hear it. Everyone needs to know about it, because there are too many people that don't know that this is how God saves.

There are too many people that are trying to obtain salvation by their own efforts, and they need to know that salvation is free, it is entirely of God's grace, and they need to quit trying to earn something that cannot be purchased, or qualify for something that is given away free for the asking.

This verse also has a lot to say to the person that is already a believer. This verse is not just for the unsaved, it is also for the saved, because there are too many Christians that have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, but they think there is still something they need to add to it. There are too many Christians that believe that they are saved by grace through faith, and then they turn around and try to please God or make God love them more by their works. They trust in Christ for their salvation, and then they trust in themselves to live a life that is pleasing to God. When they do that they come up frustrated and disappointed. Because works don't work.

What I want us to study today is the relationship between the law and grace, and good works. What are we trusting in for our salvation? What are we trusting in for our growth in grace? What are we trusting in to make our lives pleasing to God?

If you have your Bibles with you today, and I hope you do, turn to the book of Galatians. Galatia was a province in southern Turkey, and Paul wrote this letter to these folks because they were being seduced away from the truth of the gospel. Various teachers had come into their congregations that were teaching that although trusting in Christ was necessary for salvation, it was also necessary to do other things as well, in order to really be saved. The whole book of Galatians deals with the question of the believer's relationship to the law, and to works, and grace. Does a believer need to keep the law of Moses to be saved? Does a believer have to have good works to be sanctified?

Chapter 1 and verse 6: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
Let me speak very plainly here, and I trust no one will be offended, but Paul is so upset here, that by the Holy Spirit, he tells these people that even if he, or Barnabas, or John Mark, or an angel comes to them and tells them a different gospel that what he told them before, they should go to the devil. That's how strongly he puts it. This is a terribly serious matter. He wants his readers to make no mistake about how serious this is. He wants no confusion. And neither do I, so follow close with me here, because the Greek says something that is not obvious in English.

The word for "another" in verses 6 and 7 is not the same word, it is two different words. In verse 7, it means another of the same sort, and in verse 6, it means another of a different sort. If you are a person who likes to make little marginal notes in your Bible, in verse 6, the word for another is heteros, another of a different sort. In verse 7, it is allos, another of the same sort.

For instance, Solomon, Luke, and David are all Collinses, and they are all of the same sort, they are all males, Abigail and Miriam are Collinses, but they are of a different sort, they are females. So if I was to say that Solomon is one Collins, and Luke is another Collins, I would use the word allos to indicate another of the same kind. But if I said that Solomon is one Collins, and Abigail is another Collins, I would use the word heteros, because she is a Collins of a different kind. For instance, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints runs those TV infomercials for the book of Mormon, their gospel is not another gospel of the same kind, it is another gospel of a different kind. It is not the same sort of gospel, it is a different sort of gospel altogether.

So the book of Galatians starts right out telling us in the strongest possible terms that anything that changes the gospel is worthy of damnation, just so that nobody misunderstands, and then Paul explains why.
During the time that the Lord Jesus carried out His ministry on earth, He frequently had His biggest problems from the Pharisees. These were people that believed that they could obtain salvation by keeping the laws and commandments found in the first five books of the Bible. Paul wants to make sure none of the Galatians, or us, make that same mistake.

Peter had been in Antioch, and although he was a Jew, he understood that under the grace of the gospel, it was not necessary to keep all the Jewish dietary laws and ordinances, so he lived just like the Gentiles that he was ministering to. But then he messed up. A group of believers from James's church in Jerusalem, (which was a church of Jewish believers,) came to visit Antioch, and Peter quit having fellowship with the Gentiles. Jews traditionally did not associate with Gentiles or Samaritans. Then Peter's bad example caused a bunch of the other Jewish Christians to behave the same way. And Paul jumps him for it.

Chapter 2, verse 11: "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. - cultural peer pressure-
Gal 2:13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation."
This word dissemble, and dissimulation here means to act like a hypocrite. They were being two-faced.
Verse 14: "But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Gal 2:15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

He is pointing out two things here: first of all, their behavior was hypocritical, and second, they should know better. He draws attention to the fact that the Jew's manner of life, their lifestyle, even if they think it is based on Old Testament law, it cannot save them. He reminds them in verse 16; "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, that is why we believed in Jesus Christ, because we know that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Paul is pointing out something that he and Peter both knew, and that all the Jews should have known; you don't get saved by your works. He is making the point that using the Old Testament law as a good work toward salvation is a waste of time, and they all knew it, because it cannot save you, and they all knew that too.

In verse 15, he contrasts himself and Peter as Jews, people having the law, in contrast to the Gentiles, people that did not have the law, follow along with his argument here in verse 15:
"We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Gal 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, - if we put ourselves on the same level, the same basis as the Gentiles- is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid."
He is saying that if believing Jews put themselves on the same basis as believing Gentiles, not having the law, does that make them sinners? Does trusting only in Christ by faith, without works, make a person a sinner? Does not having the law make a person a sinner? Does trusting only in Christ for salvation make a person a sinner? No way. God doesn't work that way. God forbid.

Verse 18: "For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor."
If I thought the law was not good enough to save me and so I chuck it, and then I change my mind, well obviously I must think the law is still in force, but now I have disrespected it. Which makes me a transgressor of the law.

Verse 19: "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." The purpose of the law is to demonstrate to me that I can't live up to God's holiness. The purpose of the law is to convict me of sinfulness. The law kills me. The law sentences me to death for being contrary to God's holiness. It convicts me I need to give up on trying to satisfy God in my flesh, and simply trust in Christ. That's what the law is for.

Now we get to the big question: can law and grace co-exist? Can salvation by faith in Christ, and salvation by works both fit together? Verse 20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
If it were possible to be saved by some law, don't you think God would have made one? If it were possible for us to be saved by doing something, or working something out ourselves, don't you think God would have rather had that than to have His Son die on the cross? That's a no-brainer.

If we could be made righteous by the law, then Jesus Christ died for nothing. He died in vain, He wasted His time. If we could be made righteous by our works, then Jesus sure did things the hard way, didn't He?

In chapter 3, Paul moves on to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He asks questions to make us realize what it is that fills us with the Holy Spirit and draws us closer to God, and it is not our works.
Verse 1: "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" He tells them; "Let me just ask you one question: how did you get saved? Did you get saved by your works? Or by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, by the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." And then in verse 3 he asks: "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"

You got saved by the work of the Holy Spirit within you, so now are you going to make spiritual progress by your good behavior? Grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ by keeping rules and regulations? Does sanctification come by scoring Brownie points? Dotting your I's and crossing your T's? Trying to keep any set of rules and regulations, even the Ten Commandments? I don't think so.

God's game plan was not that the law came first, and then grace was an improvement, but grace through faith came first, and the promise has always been by grace through faith.
Verse 7: "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." In other words, if you are a saved believer, then God counts you as someone who is a child of Abraham.
Verse 8: "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen -that's us- through faith, preached before the gospel- many hundreds of years before Jesus- preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
If you have faith in God like Abraham did, then you get the same blessing that Abraham gets.

Now in contrast to the blessing, there is also a curse. Verse 10: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."
If you are trying to please God by works, living under the law, and fail to keep all the law, every one of them, all the time, then you inherit the curses written in the law. The law does not have the power to save, the law only has the power to convict of sin, and to condemn the sinner.

This is what he explains in verses 11 & 12: "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." Only one person has ever kept all the law; Jesus Christ. Since He kept the law, He did not come under it's curse. But He took the curse on Himself voluntarily, for us, to pay for our sins.
Verse 13: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The blessing that was promised to Abraham because of his faith has come down to every believer in God through faith in Christ. God made a covenant with Abraham, and that covenant has never been revoked or put away, that same covenant is still in force.
Verse 15: "Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."
The promise was specifically to Abraham, and to Abraham's most important heir, Jesus Christ. That is an eternal covenant. It is not to be annulled or added to. And that covenant was made long before the law of Moses was given at Mount Sinai.
Verse 17: "And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise."

Abraham did not earn the blessing of God's promise by keeping the law, he got the blessing as a free promise from God because of his faith in God. Abraham didn't even know that someday there would ever even be a law.
Verse 19: "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;"

Before we got saved, we probably all thought we were pretty nice people. Probably none of us thought of ourselves as sinners or transgressors. The purpose of the law is to show us that we are transgressors, that we live and think and act contrary to God's standards of good and bad. And God wanted people to think about it, and try to live up to it, and fail, and realize that they couldn't do it, until the Messiah would come and deliver them from both the presence and the penalty of sins. That is the purpose of the law, to convict of sin. That's why God gave it.

Verse 21: "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all -everybody, every one of us- under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster -our tutor, our personal nanny and trainer- to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."

The purpose of the law is to teach people that they are sinners, and they need a Savior. But after they have received the Savior, then the law has completed it's job, the children are grown, spiritually they have turned 21, and they no longer need that instructor, that legalistic schoolmaster. They have graduated from the instruction of the law, they are free to go out on their own, walking in the Holy Spirit.
Verse 26: "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Salvation is not by the law, not by works, and the law is not something we keep to satisfy God. If you belong to Jesus Christ by faith, then you are on the same basis as Abraham is, and you are just as saved as he is. And he never even knew anything about the law, the law came years after he was dead and gone. He didn't need the law to get saved, or stay saved, or please God. Instead, he trusted God, he believed God, and that was what made him acceptable to God. His faith in God's grace.

Maybe some of you never quite realized that, and this is a new thing to you, that's good, because that's why I'm doing this. Possibly there are also some of you that have always understood that particular aspect of your salvation, but maybe there is something legalistic, some works that you are doing that are a bit more subtle, and maybe you don't even realize it.

If I was to ask how many people here today are completely satisfied with your Christian walk, your sanctification, your closeness to God, probably none of you are. But you really want to be. But meanwhile, that old fleshly nature is giving you a fit, you have this lust over here, or that angry attitude over there, or some other selfish, un-Christlike something somewhere else. And you know it, and you don't like it, so you'll try almost anything to be delivered from those sinful things.

That's good. So you make your self some rules, to help you with the process. Or you adopt some rules that somebody else made up, to help them with the process. Or you just go ahead and use the rules that God gave to Israel 3,400 years ago. That's bad.

I can understand your desire to do better, but you have taken yourself out of freedom in Christ, and put yourself back into the bondage of works and legalism.

Chapter 5, and verse 1: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
Paul is saying: "Don't go back!" Once you put yourself back under that system, then you just burden yourself down, it will totally steal your freedom. Does that mean that there are no rules? Does that mean we can just do anything we want?
Verse 13: "Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

There is a time and place for Christians to do good works, James tells us that faith without works is dead, and I'm afraid that too many churches have too many Christians sitting happily on their faith, and never doing anything to show love to others. We do not do good works to earn Brownie points, we show genuine love and concern and compassion for others, and God counts them as good works. In a normal healthy family situation, do we do things for our spouse or our kids in order to earn their approval, or because we love them, and we enjoy pleasing them? My wife does good things for me because she loves me, not to score points or earn something from me. Jesus did things to please His Father, not because He needed to prove anything, His motives were based on an affectionate relationship. And that's what God wants us to do too. Jesus tells us; "If you love me, keep my commandments."

Verse 15: "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
That is a very important thing to understand. If you belong to Jesus, if the Holy Spirit dwells in you, then the law has no claim on you at all.

In verse 22, he tells us: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
If you are living in the Holy Spirit, if He dwells in you, then the law has no claim on you. The law is still good, it is still God's standard for righteousness, and it still applies for showing an unbeliever the contrast between God's holiness, and how far short of that holiness the unbeliever is. But you need to be careful, or you can come across as holier than thou, and really turn people off. How do you be careful? Live your life in verse 24: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

If you ever use the law to show an unbeliever how they fall short of the holiness of God, then you better make sure you do it gently and in grace, in the power of the Holy Spirit, or else all you will do is bash on them. And they won't get convicted, they will just get annoyed, and they'll think you are a Pharisee. And they'll be right.

Any time we compare ourselves to another person, whether they are saved or unsaved, we have a great potential to really fall into sin. Sins of pride. Sins of jealousy. Because even if you are living and walking in the Spirit, there is still a potential for the flesh to show itself. The flesh will you get thinking that you are more spiritual than somebody else, or that somebody else is more spiritual than you are, and then you get jealous of them.

Verse 26: "Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."
The flesh will tempt you to compare yourself to another believer, and make you think you have something to be proud of. "My works are better than your works, my understanding of Scripture is better than your understanding of Scripture, my sanctification is holier than your sanctification." That is not spiritual, and that is not what the Holy Spirit does. That is just the flesh acting religious. Bleah.

One last summary: is the law good? Yes, it tells us God's standards of holiness, and shows us how far short we fall, it convicts us of sin.

Is the law capable of saving us? No. Can we keep the law? No, only Jesus kept the law, and He kept it for each one of us.

Do we need to keep the law to please God? No, we please God by loving our neighbor as ourselves, in Christ, and in the love of Christ.

Do we get ourselves closer to the Holy Spirit by keeping the law, or by doing good works? No, and even if we could, that would still be putting the cart before the horse. We walk in the Spirit, and then He produces thoughts and actions, and behaviors in us that turn out to be good works.

Good works, and behavior that conforms to the character of God is the result of living and walking in the Spirit. It is a one way street: if you live and walk in the Spirit, good things come as a result. But doing good things, good works, will not result in getting you closer to God.

"By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."

If there is someone here today that has been trying to please God or earn His favor by doing something, there is only one thing you can do to please God: by faith receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you have already done that, then there is nothing you can add to that to improve your standing with God. But if you have not received Jesus Christ as your Savior, then there is nothing else you can do that will do you any good at all. Nothing. Nothing.

If you have never received Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you are trying to earn your way to heaven instead, by being good, or keeping the law, or doing good works, then anything and everything you do is filthy in God's sight, because you have valued that what-ever-it-is as being more valuable than His Son, Jesus Christ. And God does not like to have His Son insulted that way.

God has provided a redeemer for you. Will you accept Him and be saved today? Or will you reject Him, and try and provide something yourself instead? Please don't, it won't work, it never has, and you won't be the first.

Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior today?