Our Father, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy only begotten Son. He is most precious to us. In Him, Thou hast blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily, and we are complete in Him. Our Father, we do thank Thee for Thy marvelous love toward us. We thank Thee for the greatest gift that Thou hast given us. We thank Thee for the unsearchable riches that are in Christ, and we thank Thee that Thou hast given Thy all in Thy Son to us.
So we want to offer our praise and thanks to Thee for Thy great gift, our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to declare that He is the First and He is the Last, and He is all in all. Make it very real to every one of us. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Well, this is a study hour.
Yesterday, I mentioned that when you want to study something in the Scripture, the first thing is trying to find—say, for instance, if we study grace in Galatians—then you find the word grace in that whole book, of course.
There are many, many places where the word grace is not mentioned, and yet we know it is talking about grace. But to start with, you can try to find the word, the key word, in that book, and try to find all the places where that word occurs. Then, after that, you try to group them together, analyze them, and put them in order. That will, in a sense, give you some idea of what the word grace is.
But, as a matter of fact, before you can do such a thing, there is something that you should do first.
I remember once there were three sisters at a certain place where our dear brother Watchman Nee was. These three sisters came to our brother and said, “Would you study the Book of Revelation with us?”
Our brother said, “Yes, if you will read the Book of Revelation one hundred times, then you come, and we will study.”
So they did. They read the Book of Revelation one hundred times, and they came and studied that book with our brother.
Now, of course, if I should say that you have to study Galatians one hundred times before we come to study it, then we will be home already. There would not be time for that. But that should show us a very important principle in studying the Bible.
The one way to study the Bible is to read it. You know, oftentimes we try to understand the Word of God without reading it.
When I first came to this country, I discovered one thing. I came to a so-called Christian country, and I thought that everyone in this country was a Christian who knew the Bible.
I did discover that you know a lot about the Bible. You know a lot of the teachings and doctrines in the Bible, but most of that which you know came by hearing, not by reading.
You heard a lot. But I discovered—now, I am speaking to young Christians—that they did not read the Word as they should.
So the first thing in studying the Bible is that you have to read it. Read it, read it, and read it.
Now, it is not one hundred times. I believe that if you read, say, a book twenty-five times, you will get to know something. Why? Because the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not able to do something if there is not that sword.
So we need to be acquainted with the Word, and I believe this is the first principle of studying the Bible. The first thing in study is to read it.
Then, after you have read it, the second thing, as we have suggested, is that you can try to find out the key word in that book—perhaps, if you are lazy, with the help of a concordance.
Then the third thing is probably that you can go into a Bible dictionary, an encyclopedia, or a word dictionary, and try to find out what that word really means. Well, that is just the beginning of studying the Bible. It does not mean that after you have done that, then you know it all.
That is just the beginning. In other words, that gives you some kind of instruments, some kind of ground, for future study—for the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you into His blessed Word.
Now we are studying the Epistle to the Galatians. In the letter to the Galatians, we find that it tells us all the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the letter to the Galatians, Paul, as it were, lays firmly the foundation of the gospel so that we may not be distracted and move away from that foundation.
In the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there are three essential elements. Number one, of course, is grace. The gospel of Jesus Christ is called the gospel of grace. It is not the gospel of law; it is the gospel of grace. The opposite of grace is law. Now, that is what we covered very briefly yesterday.
This afternoon, we would like to go into the second element in the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will find it in this letter to the Galatians: faith versus works.
Now, the assignment: have you gone through this book and found out how many times the word faith occurs in this letter? And found out how many times the word works occurs in this letter? I hope you have done it.
Those who have done that—not copied from anybody else, but have done it yourself, or perhaps done it together, which is all right, but not copied—please raise your hands.
Thank God, most of you.
How many times is the word faith used in the letter to the Galatians? Anybody? Twenty-one? Twenty-two? Twenty-three?
All right, let us not count the word faithful or believing in it. Let us not count the word believe in it. Just the noun faith—how many times?
My, it is a short letter. Well, I will suggest it is twenty-two times.
The occurrences are: Galatians 1:23; Galatians 2:16, twice; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 23 twice, 24, 25, and 26; Galatians 5:5, 6, and 22; and Galatians 6:10.
Do you want me to read them again and check with your list? All right.
Galatians 1:23; Galatians 2:16, twice; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 22, 23 twice, 24, 25, and 26; Galatians 5:5, 6, and 22; and Galatians 6:10.
Yes, probably. Okay, everybody is right then.
But this is not only according to translation. This is according to the original Greek word. There are twenty-two times. So whatever translation it may be, if you go back to the original Greek, you will find there are twenty-two times when this word is used in this letter to the Galatians.
First of all, I would just like to give you a brief analysis of these verses. I will give it according to the order of thought. In other words, I will not give it according to the order in which these verses occur, but according to the thoughts that you find in these verses, grouping them in some kind of order.
I think that is a very important thing when you study the Word of God. You first find out where this word occurs in all these places, and then you try to gather them together and put them into some kind of order. When you see that, it will give you a better understanding of that matter of faith.
First, the gospel is called the gospel of faith. Since it is the gospel of grace, of course it must be the gospel of faith.
Second, we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of law. Justification is by faith, by believing in our Lord Jesus Christ, not by doing or keeping the law.
Third, it is on the basis of the report of faith that we receive the Holy Spirit and that works of miracles are done. Now, the word report—probably in some versions you may find preaching—the report of faith.
In other words, we are not only justified by faith, but it is through the preaching of faith. It is not by the preaching of works that you receive the Holy Spirit. It is when faith is preached that the Holy Spirit is given.
It is not by the preaching of works that God begins to do wonders. It is by the preaching of faith that God works His works of miracles.
Fourth, it is on the principle of faith that we become Abraham’s sons, blessed with believing Abraham. Now we are Abraham’s sons. Why? Because Abraham is believing Abraham. He is the father of faith, and we who believe are all children of Abraham. It is on the basis of faith only.
Fifth, we are shut up to faith by law. The law shuts us up to faith, as we mentioned yesterday. There is no other way.
Sixth, promise is related to faith. Inheritance comes only by faith. God promised Abraham an inheritance, but this promise comes by faith. This inheritance comes by faith, not by law.
Seventh, it is from faith to faith. For we, by the Spirit, on the principle of faith, await the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus, faith works through love—works of faith, as shown by James.
In other words, as we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are not only justified, but on that same principle the Holy Spirit is able to work within us His righteousness, which is what James calls the works of faith.
Finally, we live by faith. We are not only justified by faith, but we live by faith, and it is the faith of the Son of God. In other words, not your faith or my faith—it is His faithfulness.
Now, this is an analysis of these verses. We will come to the second point.
This word faith, in Greek—the transliteration is pistis, P-I-S-T-I-S—primarily means persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing.
I do not want to go into details, but I would just suggest that this word faith, as it is used in the Scripture, has within itself a threefold meaning.
Number one: a firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgment of God’s revelation as truth.
What is faith? Faith is a firm conviction. You are fully convinced, and because you are fully convinced, it produces within you an acknowledgment—a full acknowledgment—of God’s revelation of grace. You are fully convinced, and you acknowledge it as such. Now, that is faith.
Second: a personal surrender to Him. After you have acknowledged the revelation, the truth of it, then there must be a personal surrender to the truth—all to Christ.
Third: a conduct inspired by such surrender. After you have surrendered yourself to Him, then it will produce within you a conduct inspired by such surrender.
For instance, it will inspire within you trust in Him. You just trust Him. That is the conduct.
So you find that in the original word pistis, in that original word faith, all these three things are included. Not only is there conviction and acknowledgment, but there is also personal surrender and a corresponding conduct of trust.
Now, sometimes some people may have an acknowledgment. They may give a mental consent to something, but it is not followed by a personal self-surrendering.
Maybe you have heard that there is a very famous doctor who is so skillful, who is an expert in a certain disease. You are fully convinced that here is a doctor who is so skillful and is an authority on that kind of disease.
But suppose you have that disease, and yet you do not surrender yourself into the hands of that doctor. That does not mean that you have faith in that doctor. Mentally, you give assent, but you do not surrender yourself to the doctor.
You do not have the conduct of trusting him. For instance, if he is a surgeon, do you dare to trust your body to that surgeon and let him cut you?
If you do not, you do not believe in that doctor at all.
Now, in Christianity today, you find there are many, many people who give a mental consent to Jesus Christ, and yet they have never surrendered themselves to the Lord. They do not dare to trust themselves to the Lord.
Can you say that they have faith in the Lord Jesus? That is the reason why you find some people profess to have faith, and yet they are not saved. It is only a mental consent. There is not that full surrender and trust in the Lord.
That is the reason why you find the word faith, when it is a verb, means believe in. You have to believe and to believe in Him.
I think probably some of you know that when John G. Paton went to the New Hebrides to preach the gospel, the people did not have a written language. In order to translate and give them the Bible, he had to listen to the people, learn their words, and develop a written language for them.
The first book he tried to translate was the Gospel according to John. After he had been with them for a while, he collected quite a number of their expressions, their words, and their sounds, and he began to translate the Gospel according to John.
But when he came to John 3:16, he had a problem. Why? Because these people did not have the word believe. They did not have that word.
If you do not have the word believe, how can you translate the Bible? “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever…” There was no word for it.
But one day he was out hunting with the natives, and they got a big deer. He and his friend, the one who helped him, carried that deer home. It was so heavy.
When they arrived home and saw their house, they threw that deer down. The native rushed to the veranda, where there was a couch, stretched himself upon the couch, and said, “I stretch myself on the couch.”
Immediately John G. Paton said, “That is the word.”
So his translation was: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever stretches himself upon Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
You have faith sitting on these chairs. That is right. You are not doubting that this chair will fall off and wondering what will happen to you. No, you just get yourself into the chair. That is faith.
So, dear brothers and sisters, just remember one thing. Faith is this: you are fully convinced; you acknowledge it as true; and because of that, on the basis of that, you surrender yourself fully to it and to Christ.
Then there is a corresponding conduct that comes out of it, and that is trust in the Lord.
You find faith in the Scripture is always connected—well, especially in the Book of Galatians—with revelation.
You know, Paul, when he wrote the letter to the Galatians, addressed believers who were disturbed and enticed by some Judaizers—those so-called Jewish Christians.
Now, of course, there is no such thing as Jewish Christians. A Christian is a Christian—neither Jew nor Gentile. But at that time there were some so-called Jewish Christians. They came to Galatia and began to teach these Galatian believers.
They said, “Now, if you want to be perfect, you believe in the Lord Jesus—yes, that is all right—but if you want to be perfect, you have to keep the law. You have to be circumcised. You have to keep the days, the years, the seasons, and the festivals. Then you will be perfect.”
At the same time, they tried to undermine the apostolic authority of Paul. They said, “Paul—who is he? We know Peter. We know John. We know James. These people were apostles. They saw the Lord. They traveled with the Lord from the very beginning until the Lord was taken away from them. But who was Paul?”
In undermining the apostolic authority of Paul, they undermined the gospel that he preached.
So here you find the letter to the Galatians. Paul started out, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, not from men, neither through man.”
Where did Paul receive the gospel of Jesus Christ? He received the gospel by revelation.
Of course, the revelation began on the road to Damascus. He was on the road to Damascus when the Lord appeared to him. The Lord commanded him to preach the gospel—that is to say, to preach Him, the Lord.
What is the gospel? The gospel is not a doctrine. The gospel is not a teaching. The gospel is not a system of theology. The gospel is a Person: Jesus Christ. Go and preach Him.
Paul received the gospel by revelation. His faith came by revelation.
After he received the revelation, he went to Arabia for about three years. Why? Because he had to re-study the Bible.
You know, Paul was a Pharisee. He was trained from his youth in the Old Testament, and his interpretation of the Old Testament was according to the school of the Pharisees.
Through all the years, great rabbis interpreted the Old Testament, the law of Moses. Through the years, great teachers were raised up in Judaism, trying to interpret the teachings of these former great rabbis.
So you find interpretation upon interpretation upon interpretation. Finally, you find Judaism was just a great system of the traditions of the fathers. That was Judaism.
Paul, when he was young, was instructed in Judaism. He was more advanced than his contemporaries. He knew a great deal about the Old Testament according to the interpretations handed down by the fathers.
His understanding of Judaism was not by revelation. He did not receive any revelation concerning Judaism. His whole understanding of Judaism was something taught by men.
And so the law of Moses was literally buried under a great mountain of the traditions of the fathers.
But on the road to Damascus, for the first time, he received a revelation. That is where his faith began.
So after he knew the Lord Jesus, after he met the Lord Jesus, he had to go to Arabia. He had to go to a place where he could be alone with the Lord, and the Holy Spirit would teach him to re-study the Bible.
Remember, at this time it was the Old Testament. He did not have the New Testament yet. So he had to re-study the Old Testament, not by the teachings of the elders, but by the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
He spent about three years under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. After he came back, you remember, he came back to Damascus, and there he proved to the people that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah.
Yes, he went to Jerusalem. The first time he went to Jerusalem after he came back from Arabia, he was there only fourteen days. He saw only Peter and James, the brother of our Lord. He had fellowship with them. It was for confirmation, not for instruction.
Then, fourteen years later, by revelation again, he went to Jerusalem because of the controversy concerning whether the Gentile believers must be circumcised. He went by revelation. He went there so that the truth of the gospel might not be adulterated.
Nothing was added, but everything was confirmed. You remember the three pillars in the church in Jerusalem extended to him the right hand of fellowship.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you find with Paul, faith is a matter of revelation. Because his faith was based upon revelation, you find his faith was living and vibrant.
Dear brothers and sisters, how about us? How does faith come?
Well, in Romans 10:17, we are told that faith comes by the report, and the report comes by the Word of God. That is how faith comes. It comes by the report, by the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.
In other words, here is the Word of God, and if you preach the Word of God, then faith comes from it. Now, if you do not preach the Word of God, then there is no way to help men.
But suppose you preach the Word of God. According to Romans 10:17, faith comes by the report, and the report by the Word of God. Then you will say, “Well, if the Word of God is preached, surely there will be faith.”
All right, read on in Romans 10.
So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
But I say, Did they not hear? Yea, verily,
Their sound went out into all the earth,
And their words unto the ends of the world.
But I say, Did Israel not know?
First Moses saith,
I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation,
With a nation void of understanding will I anger you.
In other words, you find the nation Israel had heard. They had heard the Word of God, and yet they had not heard. They had no faith. Why? Why?
So here, brothers and sisters, you see something. Faith comes by report, and report by the Word of God. But if there is no revelation, even if there is the Word of God, the letter kills; the Spirit gives life.
Here is the Word of God. We must hear it. But if you do not receive revelation, you may study it a hundred times. It does not work. It does not work.
But one day, when you hear the Word of God and the Spirit of God gives you a revelation, immediately that Word becomes living, and faith springs up.
Is that not your experience when you were saved? You may have been brought up in a Christian family. You may have been educated in Christian schools. You may be living in a so-called Christian country.
From your childhood, you may have been brought up to be a Christian, taught and educated to be a Christian. But do you have a living experience of Jesus Christ as your Savior?
You know the Word, but does this work? Is it real? Does it operate?
Thank God, one day you may hear the same Word, the same old gospel with which you have been brought up and in which you have been educated all these years. But that day, when you hear the same old Word and the Spirit of God begins to unveil the Word to you, that is revelation.
By revelation, I do not mean that you receive a new revelation outside of the Bible. No, never. All the revelation of God is completed in the Bible.
But by revelation, it simply means an unveiling of the Word that God has once spoken. Thus, He speaks again. He speaks again by His already spoken Word.
It is an unveiling of the Word. When the Word is unveiled, you see Christ, the living Word. That is where faith comes. Immediately faith springs up when we see the Word; we see Christ.
Now, that is your experience in salvation. But remember, this is not only true when you first believe; it is true throughout your life. This principle is real throughout your life. We live by faith.
In other words, our whole life should be governed by revelation.
Paul—even his going to Jerusalem—was governed by revelation. If you read the Book of Acts, you find that because there was a controversy over this matter of circumcision, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas and some other brothers to Jerusalem to settle that matter.
On the one hand, you find it was the decision of the church in Acts 15. But in Galatians 2, you find that Paul said, “I went up by revelation.” Is there any contradiction? No, there is no contradiction.
On the one hand, in the church, they saw that it should be done. But on the other hand, Paul received a revelation from the Lord. Every action, every walk of Paul, was governed by revelation. That is to say, God revealed His mind to him, and he walked accordingly.
Dear brothers and sisters, our faith is based on revelation. Our faith is not based on tradition.
Once upon a time, Paul lived in tradition. He could persecute Christians and think that he was serving God.
But when God opened his eyes by revelation, then you find he had living faith, and he was able to preach Christ to the nations.
Brothers and sisters, never walk by expediency. Always walk by revelation.
Peter had a revelation. Why? Because you remember in Matthew 16, he confessed the Lord Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, because this is not something taught thee by flesh and blood, but it is the Father Who is in heaven Who revealed it to thee.”
Peter had the revelation of Jesus Christ. But in Galatians 2, you remember, after the council in Jerusalem, Peter visited Antioch.
When he visited Antioch, he freely mingled with the Gentile believers. He ate with them. Now, according to tradition, a Jew should never eat with a Gentile, because the Gentiles ate unclean food and the Jews ate only clean food.
But here you find Peter in Antioch. He freely mingled with the Gentiles and ate with them. But when some brothers came from Jerusalem—these brothers were very strict, and they were followers of James, a leading brother in Jerusalem—Peter got frightened.
Peter always got frightened. He began to keep himself away from eating with the Gentile believers. Of course, the other Jewish believers followed his manner, and even Barnabas was affected.
He acted by expediency, not by revelation. Always remember this: never do anything by expediency, but always by revelation. Of course, revelation is based on the Word of God. We have to remember that.
Now, how will faith come to us? Of course, first of all, we say faith comes by report, and report by the Word of God. In the reporting, there must be the element of revelation.
Now, secondly, we cannot work up faith. Sometimes people try to work out or manufacture a kind of faith. The way we try to manufacture faith is to try to hypnotize ourselves.
Have you tried that before? I am afraid that many, many have done that. You try to tell yourself, “I do believe, I do believe, I do believe, I do believe,” and you think that if you tell yourself, “I do believe,” then you will believe.
The more you try to believe, the more you try to feel within yourself, the more you try to look within yourself, the more you find faith is not there. Now, where is it?
Hebrews 12:2:
Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of faith.
That is where faith comes from. It does not originate from you. Faith originates from Christ Jesus. So when you look off everything and look unto Jesus, He is the Author, the Beginner, and He is the Perfecter.
How can we grow in faith? The secret is always to look to the Lord Jesus. The more you look to Him, naturally faith will rise within you. Why? Because He is the Author.
You remember Peter. Once our Lord Jesus was in the midnight storm, and the disciples were rowing the boat. There was a great storm and wind. Peter said, “Now, if it is Thou, command that I may come unto Thee upon the waters.”
The Lord said, “Come.” So Peter stepped out of the boat. As he stepped out, no doubt his eyes were upon the Lord. He was looking at the Lord. He was going to the Lord, of course.
His eyes were upon the Lord. He stepped out of the boat, and he walked upon the waves.
Then he suddenly remembered that he was not in the boat. He looked at the wind, and he began to sink. Where was his faith?
So, brothers and sisters, always remember: faith is not in you. If you try to look within yourself, you will not find it there. There is only one place where you will find faith: it is in the Lord.
Look unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter. Oh, thank God, that is the secret. That is the secret.
Every time you look to the Lord, faith is given. Faith is a gift. It is not your work; it is a gift of God. The gift is given whenever you look unto Jesus.
We have to hurry on to works.
How many times is the word works used in the letter to the Galatians? Now, let me qualify it first: both the noun and the verb. All right, how many times?
Seven? Eight? Nine? Oh, say ten? How about eleven? No? It is eleven times.
You do not believe it? All right, that is right.
Galatians 2:16 contains the word three times:
Yet knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,
Even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ,
And not by works of the law:
Because by works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Then Galatians 3:2:
This only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Galatians 3:5:
He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you,
Doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Galatians 3:10:
For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse.
Galatians 5:6:
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love.
Galatians 5:19:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest.
Galatians 6:4:
But let each man prove his own work.
There is another one in Galatians 2:8: “For He that wrought effectually in Peter…” So, if you add them up, you will find eleven times.
Yes, it is a matter of translation. I think in the original you do not have the word work in some places, so we have to leave them off. I have to check with the Greek Testament, but if you check your text, you will not find it there.
Now, the word work in Greek is ergon, E-R-G-O-N. That is a transliteration.
First, a brief analysis of the word works in Galatians, and then we want to enlarge it and see the relationship, or the contrast, of works and faith.
First of all, in these verses you find that works is connected with law. It is called the works of law. People try to justify themselves by keeping the law. We know it is futile, because we are justified by faith, not by works of the law.
Number two: works here is also connected with the flesh, for it is the flesh that works. “The works of the flesh are manifest.” So, on the one hand, works is related to the law, and on the other hand, it is related to the flesh.
Works of the law will not bring in the Spirit, nor the mighty works of God. Instead, they bring us under a curse.
Number four: works of the flesh will never enable us to enter into the kingdom of God.
Now remember this: works of the flesh will never enable us to enter into the kingdom of God. I hope you underline it. I do not have time to explain it.
Number five: however, there is the work of God in us, which is by grace, and it is very effective.
Number six: out of God’s working, there shall come forth works of faith from us.
Now we go over this whole matter of works. We find, first of all, that works here is in contrast with faith: works of the law against faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith anchors in Christ. Works anchor in the law. Faith is done; works are to be done.
There is a contrast between works of the law and faith in Jesus Christ. You find faith always is in Jesus Christ, but works always anchor in the law.
Whenever you come to faith, you find it is done. It is done. There is nothing else for you to do but to believe.
But whenever you come to works, it is to be done. Do it. You do it. So that is the difference.
You find in the case of the Galatian believers, Paul said, “O foolish Galatians, is not Christ crucified portrayed before you? Do you not see that Christ has died on the cross?”
Have you not heard Him cry, “It is finished”? Do you not realize that it is done? Why is it that you are doing this and doing that, as if there were something yet to be done?
Dear brothers and sisters, there is nothing to be done. Whatever needs to be done is done. The Lord Jesus, on the cross—the finished work of Christ on the cross—it is finished. It is done.
You cannot do anything. God has done it all in Christ Jesus. What is left for us is just trust and obey. That is all.
If you try to do something, you are trying to add something to that which is already done. You spoil the work of God. You spoil it.
The Galatian believers had believed in the Lord Jesus and in His finished work. They were told that they must do something above what was already done by Christ Jesus. They must be circumcised. They must keep days, seasons, and festivals in order to be perfect.
Brothers and sisters, it is not only initially that our salvation is done—it is finished—but from the beginning to the end, it is done. If you want to be perfect, it is done.
It is by the finished work of Christ that we are delivered from the world. It is by the finished work of Christ that we are delivered from our flesh. It is by the finished work of Christ on the cross that we overcome our enemy.
It is on the basis of the finished work of Christ that the Holy Spirit will perfect us. Everything is done. It is done. All that is left for us is to trust and obey. That is all.
But works always say, “You do this. Do that. Do this. Do that.”
Works before salvation I call dead works. Why? They were done by dead people.
Do you mean to say that our Lord Jesus does not appreciate good works, good deeds?
You remember that rich young ruler. He ran to the Lord, knelt down, and said, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
You remember the Lord Jesus said, “Have you kept the commandments?” He said, “What commandments?” The Lord said, “Honor thy father and mother; thou shalt not steal,” and this and that—the second table of the law.
The young man looked up to the Lord and said, “I have kept all these from my childhood.” What does the Bible say? The Lord looked at him and loved him.
Because the Lord loved him so much, the Lord said, “Go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor. Come and follow Me, if thou wouldest be perfect.”
The young man went away sadly.
Does God not appreciate good deeds? Suppose you are a very moral person. Suppose you are a person who does something good. Do you think God does not appreciate it?
God loves it. And yet these good deeds have no merit in them. It is not because we have these good deeds that we therefore have merit to be saved. These are things that we ought to do.
Furthermore, even the good deeds that we do, our righteousnesses, are as filthy rags before God.
Look at this young ruler. He had kept all these commandments from his childhood. He had good deeds. Any merit? Not only no merit, but the Lord pointed out that these were filthy rags. Why? Because he had no compassion on the poor.
He was selfish, self-centered, all for himself. And self is the root of all evils.
So, dear brothers and sisters, before a person believes in the Lord Jesus, before salvation, all our works are dead works. According to the Book of Hebrews, we must be delivered from dead works.
How many people depend on their dead works? We must be delivered from dead works.
We must be delivered so as to see that these have no merit in themselves. These are things we ought to do, and even after we have done them, they are full of filthy things within. No merit, no righteousness.
We have to come to the Lord Jesus and see the finished work of Christ.
So before we are saved, our works were dead works. We were under bondage.
But you know, it is natural for people to do something, trying to justify themselves by doing something. Why? Because the flesh likes to boast of itself.
We like to do something that we may boast and say, “Now look here, I did it. I did it. And because I have done it, therefore…” You know, that is the flesh.
Flesh always likes to do something in order to boast. But if you try to do, you will find yourself under the bondage of the law, the curse, and condemnation.
So, number two: knowing that our works before we were saved were dead works and will not justify us, then what should we do? The second thing is that we accept by faith the work of God—not ours, but God’s work.
God did something. God did something by sending His Son into this world. God did something by His Son going to the cross, by His Son bearing our sins, by His Son being crucified on the cross in our stead.
In other words, this is the work of God. God has done a work. God does not command you to work, but He has worked Himself. Whatever He has done is for us to believe and to accept.
So you see, on the one hand, our works are dead. You cannot depend on them for justification. On the other hand, there is a work, which is God’s work, that you have to accept.
If you do not accept God’s work, then you cannot be saved. You cannot be justified. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Number three: after we have accepted the work of God in Christ Jesus, after we are saved, then God does expect good works from us.
Ephesians 2:10:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
Which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.
We are God’s workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works. God created us in Christ Jesus for what? For good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we have to be very clear on this point. Work before salvation is dead. We receive by faith the work of God in Christ Jesus and His finished work.
But after we have believed in the Lord Jesus, then God has created us in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared for us to do.
You know, it is very interesting. Martin Luther considered the letter to the Galatians as his letter, as his wife.
But once he said the letter of James is an epistle of straw. He had no use for it. He could not understand the letter of James. He was all out for the letter to the Galatians.
As he read the letter of James, well, he could not find any use for it. He said, “It is an epistle of straw—no use for it.”
But if you read Martin Luther’s commentary on the letter to the Galatians, you will find that he said, “Before you are saved, there is no place for your works. But after you are saved, there should be good works.”
That is what James teaches.
But how does it work? You will say, “Why is it that before I was saved, God did not want any work from me, but after I am saved, God says I should work? Why?”
Remember one thing: the secret is this. Before you were saved, it was you who worked. But after you are saved, it is God Who works in you, both the willing and the doing. You see the difference?
Do not think, “Now I am saved, so I have to work.” Then you will work by your flesh again. You have made a great mistake.
If you work by your flesh after you are saved, it is the same thing as your work before you were saved. The flesh never changes, and work is still dead work.
But remember, it is God Who works in you.
After you have accepted the Lord Jesus, His life is in you, His Spirit is in you, and you find that it is God Who works in you, both the willing and the doing. After He has worked in you, then you work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Now, that is how it works. So you may say, “It is I who work,” but really it is not you; it is Christ in you.
It is only Christ in you Who works out the good works for the glory of God.
James says faith without works is dead. Can you prove your faith? Now, we say we believe in the Lord Jesus, and we do. But how can we prove to the world that we have believed in the Lord Jesus? By good works.
But the good works are the result of the working of God—His life, His Spirit, within us. It is called the works of faith.
Not just any kind of work, not just the work of the flesh; it is called a work of faith. It is faith, and we already said faith is Christ.
It is Christ Who works in you. If you allow Christ to work in and through you, then these are good works, and God is glorified because of them.
Another point: such works do not earn you eternal life.
Eternal life is the gift of God. If it is a gift, you cannot earn it. If anything you can earn, it is wages. It is no longer a gift.
So even after we have done all these things—just like the servant, you remember—I used to think that was terrible. I did not understand it. Every time I read that place, I wondered about it. Well, I know a little bit now.
You remember a servant worked all day in the field. After he came back, what did the master say? “Serve me. Set my food before me. After you have finished serving, then you can eat.”
We would say, “He has worked all day. Certainly, he should come back and be served.” But no. As a servant, he worked in the field and came back to serve the master at the table. After he served, then he could eat.
Oftentimes you think, “Well, I worked so hard for the Lord, and certainly now I can enjoy it.” Is that it? No. There is nothing to it. There is no merit.
But remember, good works do not earn you eternal life. But they do one thing: you will be rewarded, because the Father is glorified.
Now, I cannot get into this whole realm because it is such a great theme in the Bible. In other words, good works do not earn your eternal life, but our place in the kingdom of God is governed by good works, by reward.
I will just put a few Scriptures.
Matthew 5:16:
Even so let your light shine before men;
That they may see your good works,
And glorify your Father Who is in heaven.
If we have good works, people will glorify God—not glorify you, but glorify God.
Matthew 7:21:
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
But he that doeth the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
In other words, if we do the will of the Father, which is good works, we shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
First Corinthians 3:13-14:
Each man’s work shall be made manifest:
For the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire;
And the fire itself shall prove each man’s work of what sort it is.
If any man’s work shall abide which he built thereon,
He shall receive a reward.
First Corinthians 15:58:
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable,
Always abounding in the work of the Lord,
Forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
So, dear brothers and sisters, just remember this: it has to do something with reward, and that is a great theme in the Bible.
I think we have to stop here. Anyway, you will find the works of faith are sometimes called the fruit of the Spirit.
Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that everything concerning us is done by our Lord Jesus. All that is required of us is to believe and to obey.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that even the works Thou dost require of us are all done by Thyself, by the Spirit of life in us. These are the fruits of the Spirit, and they are all for the sake of glorifying the Father.
God, how gracious Thou art. Thou hast done it all, and yet Thou wilt reward us with a kingdom. Oh, how we praise and worship in Thy precious name. Amen.