What Are "works"?

The "works" Christians do are of the spirit and manifest themselves outside the body (flesh). The things of God are shown in our attitude, how we treat people and the "fruit" that comes from our action. Christian "works" start by believing in the Lord and what He has done: accepting that God's works, the work of Jesus Christ on the cross is what is important.

To do the "works" of the Lord we must first believe and then begin to obey. Our obedience to the law is the submission to Christ's will. We do 'works' by following in His example, by becoming a servant and taking on Christ's characteristics.

We are to 'take on one another's burdens', and be kind and gentle (meek & humble). We are to serve our fellow man-these are the "works" of god.

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

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

John 7:7
The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

John 6:28
Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Matthew 23:12
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Matthew 20:25
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Titus 1:16
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Titus 2:7
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
 
Grow the fruit of the spirit:


Titus 3:
1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.


2 Timothy 1:
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

Galatians 5:
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
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.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
 
Believe me DRS, I do understand what you are saying.

I am not trying to be wet blanket, just trying to make sure we all graso what Scripture teaches.

Your comment was.......
"Our obedience to the law is the submission to Christ's will"

But is that really what the Scriptures tell us??? Our obedience to the law is required to do God's will?
John 14:15
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (ESV)


It is true that the Bible places strong emphasis on obedience, and I infact agree with your comments, it is also just as clear that it's important to remember that believers are not "justified" by our obedience.

Salvation is a free gift of God, and we can do nothing to merit it.
True Christian obedience flows from a heart f gratitude for thegracce we have received from God which we do not deserve. It seems to me that the Scriptures teach of that obedience is more about worship than doing something.

Romans 12:1
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship.
 
@ Major: I think we are saying the same thing here?

The question above is about qualifying what "works" are when it comes to the Christian life-not that works are required or that our obedience to the law is mandatory for salvation. However the subjects are linked together.

Let me put it this way: if we are truly "saved" and following the Lord in His ways (laws/ commandments); the fruit of the spirit are the characteristics of Jesus Christ and we are "free" from the law when there is 'no sin' * in our lives. The 'works' we do are of the spirit since the flesh is corrupt. The works of the spirit will manifest themselves physically (in the flesh) when we apply Christ's characteristics in what we are doing.

Goodness comes from God through the spirit; not of our own 'works" lest we should boast. When we serve in God's name, it is about Him. when we serve seeking gain from this world-it is selfishness.

I guess the real question we need to ask ourselves when 'working' is: am I doing this out of love through the spirit; or am I doing this for recognition, pride, fame, money, anything else worldly....?

* (We do not live a sinless life here on this Earth-that's why we need Christ!)
 
Let me throw out another cryptic comment here and see what comes of it. Our works truly reflect our faith. Our faith is revealed through our works. It is easy to say, with Peter, Lord I will die for you, and then run away when the test of that faith comes. Peter DID die for Jesus, later, when his faith and his works matched.
 
Peter walked on water with Jesus. His denial of Jesus was not at the same depth of intent as was his faith and love. It was merely a temporary stumble / fall.

We need to question what drives our works? What is the depth / level of intent to please God in our hearts? God has searched the hearts of man in both the OT (Jer 17:10, 1 Samuel 16:7) and the NT (Luke 16:15). Man has always been defiled from his heart, Mark 7:15.

There are works we resist and works we don't resist. Getting on our knees before God should be on par with the effort needed to propose to our fiance. A bad husband needs extreme effort / motivation / sweat to be faithful to his wife. A good man sees faithfulness to his wife as a breaze / pleasure.

It is also interesting to consider Abraham's bosom / Sheol. Those in it had met God's requirement of faithfulness / good heart. Unless Jesus died for them, they would never qualify for God's presence. Salvation is hence 100% God's doing. Accepting it is 100% our doing.
 
@ Major: I think we are saying the same thing here?

The question above is about qualifying what "works" are when it comes to the Christian life-not that works are required or that our obedience to the law is mandatory for salvation. However the subjects are linked together.

Let me put it this way: if we are truly "saved" and following the Lord in His ways (laws/ commandments); the fruit of the spirit are the characteristics of Jesus Christ and we are "free" from the law when there is 'no sin' * in our lives. The 'works' we do are of the spirit since the flesh is corrupt. The works of the spirit will manifest themselves physically (in the flesh) when we apply Christ's characteristics in what we are doing.

Goodness comes from God through the spirit; not of our own 'works" lest we should boast. When we serve in God's name, it is about Him. when we serve seeking gain from this world-it is selfishness.

I guess the real question we need to ask ourselves when 'working' is: am I doing this out of love through the spirit; or am I doing this for recognition, pride, fame, money, anything else worldly....?

* (We do not live a sinless life here on this Earth-that's why we need Christ!)

Yes we are and I said that somewhere DRS.........I think on the other thread leading to this one.

Doing "things" for Christ is a joy when we are saved. We are blesssed to be able to help and do those things that bless others.
 
Charity - is that a work God wants from us? I don't know about all of you, but I am outraged by the continuing news stories about sham or fake charities. I am afraid to donate to any animal charities, so many of them take your dollar and 95 cents goes to the "administrators". One woman claimed she had cancer and local businesses collected money to pay for her medical bills. She was a drug addict. Sham donation web sites for victims in the Newtown killings. Ditto for Hurricane Sandy. So now, you do, indeed, have to work to give to a worthy cause.
 
Charity - is that a work God wants from us? I don't know about all of you, but I am outraged by the continuing news stories about sham or fake charities. I am afraid to donate to any animal charities, so many of them take your dollar and 95 cents goes to the "administrators". One woman claimed she had cancer and local businesses collected money to pay for her medical bills. She was a drug addict. Sham donation web sites for victims in the Newtown killings. Ditto for Hurricane Sandy. So now, you do, indeed, have to work to give to a worthy cause.

It used to be that the Church WAS the charitable arm of society; as with all good and Godly things; humans have a way of corrupting the system. The more a society embraces socialism and government welfare dependency-the more corrupt it becomes. Historical fact.....

Well I guess that depends on your perspective nowadays since the same people taking advantage of the system in the 'high places' are also writing the textbooks....

Why tithe? The government takes more than 10% and gives it ways to somebody else. I'm getting to the point where I can't afford to tithe....
 
Charity - is that a work God wants from us? I don't know about all of you, but I am outraged by the continuing news stories about sham or fake charities. I am afraid to donate to any animal charities, so many of them take your dollar and 95 cents goes to the "administrators". One woman claimed she had cancer and local businesses collected money to pay for her medical bills. She was a drug addict. Sham donation web sites for victims in the Newtown killings. Ditto for Hurricane Sandy. So now, you do, indeed, have to work to give to a worthy cause.

Silk, go and visit some of the churches in your area. Take time to speak with some of the leaders and deacons etc.
Make a point to talk to the pastor. Not right after the services, he has a whole lot of people to speak then.

Ask if they have a "benevolant" system in place to help the needy financially or a food pantry to help the hungry.

Uselly, the local church will be the one who knowes the scammers because they were the first ones taken. They would then be in a position to inform others who are not legitimate.

The Church could then be your source of distrobution.

Example: In 2004 a series of hurricanes (3) came through central Florida 3 weeks apart. A Southern Baptist church in south Georgia called down here and asked if our church would be able to help the people in need close to us. We of course said YES. That wonderful church sent $10,000.00 to our church and the deacons went door to door (sometimes an empty lot or tent where the door used to be) giving everyone $100.00 a family. They did it without asking any questions or demanding that the afflicted be a member of a church and every single dollar was given away!. You can just imagine how the tears flowed.

Now $100.00 is not a lot, but for those people who had lost everything, it was fantastic. We collected the names of all who were helped and then that list sent to the church in Georgia and they shed more tears because they were able to be such a real blessing to 500 families.
 
It used to be that the Church WAS the charitable arm of society; as with all good and Godly things; humans have a way of corrupting the system. The more a society embraces socialism and government welfare dependency-the more corrupt it becomes. Historical fact.....

Well I guess that depends on your perspective nowadays since the same people taking advantage of the system in the 'high places' are also writing the textbooks....

Why tithe? The government takes more than 10% and gives it ways to somebody else. I'm getting to the point where I can't afford to tithe....

DRS............You cannot afford not to tithe.
 
CNN's Anderson Cooper has done a number of exposes on Vet Charities that are scams (CNN.com) or try this http://http://startingpoint.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/27/can-charities-be-trusted-to-do-good-author-ken-stern-on-the-need-for-accountability-and-her-new-book-with-charity-for-all/?iref=allsearch

Um, Major - did the Georgia Church want to know what you did with the other $5,000? (500x100=5000). I would more prefer to trust the Church than bogus charities but there are web sites that check on charities, too. Understandably, the Church isn't going to support animals before people. But even if they did, their collections and special collections are the particular pastor's direction and it should be covered in the tithe.

I was just saying that the Devil has thoroughly attacked the charity system. Can you feel good for donating for what you thought were medical bills but instead went for drugs? This is a type of donation, you can't claim on your taxes - it is done out of the goodness of your heart.

And DRS, 12 years ago I was on welfare, going thru a bad time, with medical problems, and out of work. They paid me $50 every two weeks ($100 a month) plus food stamps (which was indeed a blessing). I was on for less than a year.They paid no monies toward my heat or my mortgage (I was being evicted). When I recieved monies, I had to pay back every dime and some that wasn't given to me in the first place - $2,500. When I processed a second claim that they had shorted me in the original claim, they paid the welfare agency $2,500 again! And they refused to regain the money for me as it was sent directly to the welfare. 10 years later, I was at a state sponsored "casino" and won $1,000 - $350 was taken for what I owed to welfare (a new law). When I questioned this, I was told I owed $4,500. They didn't give me enough to live on at the time I needed it - then just kept taking, wherever they could. And they require unbelievable paperwork to get on and stay on, plus you are forced to go all day training whether you are incapicitated or not. So believe me when I say - it's no giveaway. And you can only get it for 5 years and most states have a limit on how long you can get it. It's not charity - it's slavery.
 
It was more of a rhetorical rant statement. :D But I am seriously getting to the point where bills aren't getting paid....plus my current employment end November 31st. NO PRESSURE!

I tried to send this PM but it says you don't take those. I would much rather help someone like you and altho I don't have alot - you have my help, if needed. I say this because I know you would do the same for me.
 
I tried to send this PM but it says you don't take those. I would much rather help someone like you and altho I don't have alot - you have my help, if needed. I say this because I know you would do the same for me.

Hmmm, not sure why PM settings got changed? But it should be fixed now....:D

Any prayers would be much appreciated Silk, Thank you!
 
CNN's Anderson Cooper has done a number of exposes on Vet Charities that are scams (CNN.com) or try this http://http://startingpoint.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/27/can-charities-be-trusted-to-do-good-author-ken-stern-on-the-need-for-accountability-and-her-new-book-with-charity-for-all/?iref=allsearch

Um, Major - did the Georgia Church want to know what you did with the other $5,000? (500x100=5000). I would more prefer to trust the Church than bogus charities but there are web sites that check on charities, too. Understandably, the Church isn't going to support animals before people. But even if they did, their collections and special collections are the particular pastor's direction and it should be covered in the tithe.

I was just saying that the Devil has thoroughly attacked the charity system. Can you feel good for donating for what you thought were medical bills but instead went for drugs? This is a type of donation, you can't claim on your taxes - it is done out of the goodness of your heart.

And DRS, 12 years ago I was on welfare, going thru a bad time, with medical problems, and out of work. They paid me $50 every two weeks ($100 a month) plus food stamps (which was indeed a blessing). I was on for less than a year.They paid no monies toward my heat or my mortgage (I was being evicted). When I recieved monies, I had to pay back every dime and some that wasn't given to me in the first place - $2,500. When I processed a second claim that they had shorted me in the original claim, they paid the welfare agency $2,500 again! And they refused to regain the money for me as it was sent directly to the welfare. 10 years later, I was at a state sponsored "casino" and won $1,000 - $350 was taken for what I owed to welfare (a new law). When I questioned this, I was told I owed $4,500. They didn't give me enough to live on at the time I needed it - then just kept taking, wherever they could. And they require unbelievable paperwork to get on and stay on, plus you are forced to go all day training whether you are incapicitated or not. So believe me when I say - it's no giveaway. And you can only get it for 5 years and most states have a limit on how long you can get it. It's not charity - it's slavery.

Boy you are sharper than an insulin needle. My mistake..........we gave it all away and sent them a record of it. They actually trusted us and did not ask for anything at all but to be above board we recored it for them.
 
I don't use any organizations, secular or clerical....I ask the Lord where $$ is needed, and I find the person/persons. Works fine; no middle men.

So offering help to our fellow human beings is a correct path for faith?
 
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