Good Works are for Glory (and do not convey the presence of goodness)
It may make us uncomfortable, but if you want to deal with God honestly, you have to admit that good deeds are not ultimately good as defined by their moral rightness, their "goodness," rather, they are good if they are done for God.
The focus is on the glory, not the good. If someone has no faith in Christ, then none of their good works can be for His glory, and so those "good" works are worthless. In fact, those works may very well be sin, in that the faithless person can do nothing out of faith and anything not done in faith, is sin.
Is this meant to condemn? Is this meant to judge?
Or is this line of reasoning meant to take the weight of salvation off of our hands (where it doesn't belong) and put that weight on Jesus (to whom the credit and burden of saving does belong...John 3:17)?
Your good works and the good works of others are not good unless they are done for the glory of God, working and acting and speaking as if for the Lord and not for men.
This is a good thing. For instead of trying to earn anything through our good works, we instead realize that our good works are not meant to display our goodness, but rather, they are meant to display God's glory and the works He does within us.
And that is good. God made us to give Him glory, and so we do good things for that very purpose. Any other reason to do any good thing makes that thing no longer a good thing, but, at best, merely a thing. A lifeless, worthless, pointless, meaningless, purposeless thing.
Because good works exist to give God glory. No work is good that does not do this.
Romans 3
Psalm 14:1-3
Psalm 5:9
Psalm 140:3
Psalm 10:7
Isaiah 59:7,8
Psalm 36:1
Still, be very aware of those around you who are not Christians. There may be some that are doing many good works, and through their actions, God is loving people. But don't think that these people have gained anything by doing good. However, the works they do may be evidence of a Spirit-led predisposition to the Gospel that we should be ready to take advantage of in an effort to share the Good News.
The focus is on the glory, not the good. If someone has no faith in Christ, then none of their good works can be for His glory, and so those "good" works are worthless. In fact, those works may very well be sin, in that the faithless person can do nothing out of faith and anything not done in faith, is sin.
Is this meant to condemn? Is this meant to judge?
Or is this line of reasoning meant to take the weight of salvation off of our hands (where it doesn't belong) and put that weight on Jesus (to whom the credit and burden of saving does belong...John 3:17)?
Your good works and the good works of others are not good unless they are done for the glory of God, working and acting and speaking as if for the Lord and not for men.
This is a good thing. For instead of trying to earn anything through our good works, we instead realize that our good works are not meant to display our goodness, but rather, they are meant to display God's glory and the works He does within us.
And that is good. God made us to give Him glory, and so we do good things for that very purpose. Any other reason to do any good thing makes that thing no longer a good thing, but, at best, merely a thing. A lifeless, worthless, pointless, meaningless, purposeless thing.
Because good works exist to give God glory. No work is good that does not do this.
Romans 3
Psalm 14:1-3
Psalm 5:9
Psalm 140:3
Psalm 10:7
Isaiah 59:7,8
Psalm 36:1
Still, be very aware of those around you who are not Christians. There may be some that are doing many good works, and through their actions, God is loving people. But don't think that these people have gained anything by doing good. However, the works they do may be evidence of a Spirit-led predisposition to the Gospel that we should be ready to take advantage of in an effort to share the Good News.
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