Okay, let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this Lord's Day. Thank you for your many blessings. Lord, we pray that you would help us, Lord, to understand good works, the relationship to salvation, and Lord, please help us to better understand who we are in light of who you are, Lord God, that we may live rightly and glorify you with our lives. Please bless our time and services this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay, where is the, yeah. Yeah. Okay, so we are continuing with Chapter 16 of Good Works. There we go. We'll skip that. So remember that good works we said fit there under sanctification in the order salutis. And so we're focusing in. Last week we did the first three paragraphs of chapter 16. And today we're going to be finishing up the rest, so four through seven. This is the outline. Paragraph four through seven, the limitations of good works, the weakness of good works, the acceptableness of Christian good works, and the rejection of non-Christian works. So a review from last week. We saw that good works are those works which are commanded by God in his word. We saw that in paragraph one. Good works are the fruits of true and lively faith. So they are done by faith as the fruits of faith. Good works are also a manifestation of the believer's thankfulness. So because of the great salvation that God has done for us, that he's given to us, that he saved us from our sin, from condemnation, we ought to live thankfully and do good works. And so good works then are a manifestation of our thankfulness. And then also good works glorify God. We also saw that there was blessings of good works and that is that as we live rightly, as we live according to God's word, it strengthens our assurance that we are in Christ. It edifies the brethren as they see the good works that we perform. They adorn the profession of the gospel that we profess. We profess to be people that have been delivered from sin. But if we continue to live in sin, then we're causing the gospel or God to be blasphemed. And so when we do good works, it adorns that profession of the gospel. And then also it stops the mouth of the adversaries. Good works are possible only by the enabling of the Holy Spirit. We saw that, that even as believers we still need, well not we still need, we need the Holy Spirit to to do those good works that God has commanded us to do. And this is possible by the graces that we receive at conversion, but then also the actual influence of the Holy Spirit in our life as we live our lives. He's influencing us. He's working in us to will and to do for God's good pleasure. I also want us to remember that so then that we saw that what is a good work? A good work is one that is according to the Word of God. We can say that's the matter. Okay, the principle is a work is done in faith. So according to God's Word, done in faith, and then the end of a good work is the glory of God. So the matter is according to the Word of God. Its principle is done in faith as a fruit of faith. Its end is the glory of God. And this is what constitutes a truly good work. Again, why is this important? We saw this because there are many wrong views concerning the relationship between works and salvation. We even get accused as well of having a wrong view of the relationship between works and salvation. We asked, are they necessary for salvation? Are they meritorious or worthy of reward? And we saw that they weren't. So now, last week I also mentioned an argument by a Roman Catholic that I heard. So this is basically the way he set it up. So I want to ask you guys to read, I'll read this and then see how you guys would respond to this. So this is what he said. So again, he's trying to say that even though we believe, even though we're saying that works are just the evidence of our salvation, that because we still need to do good works, he's saying, logically, they're still necessary for salvation. They're still necessary. So this is his argument. He says, if you are saved, then you will be baptized and obey Christ. You did not get baptized and you did not obey Christ, therefore you are not saved. And so he's saying, if you just go through this argument, the works are necessary to be saved. So works are necessary to be saved. So how would you answer that? How would you guys answer that? Works are necessary for salvation. Yes. Yeah, exactly. So yeah, and I think there's problems in the way he says, you will be baptized. I think he said, you should be baptized. You should obey God's command. But of course, not everybody will be baptized in God's providence. Some people don't get baptized. So that's wrong right there. But then again, he's not understanding, again, the relationship between, he's saying, so if you're not doing these things then you won't be saved but no we're not saying that these are works that eventually you know we're not saved and they'll earn a salvation they'll merit salvation again we're saying that they are evidences um and i think i mentioned last week that it was um it's like a corpse right a corpse if you see there's a body right corpses can't you know breathe they can't you know they can't see or hear. So what would be the evidences that would say, okay, this body's alive, this person's alive. It's them breathing, them seeing. Those are just evidences of life, but you wouldn't need to do those things before because you can't, you're dead, right? You can't perform certain tasks when you're dead. So those are just evidences. So if you don't have that, then if a person's not breathing, then you say they're what? They're dead. If they're not breathing, if they're not thinking, they're not breathing, their heart's not beating, they're what? They're dead. But those things don't make them alive. They're evidences of the life that they have. And so, again, in their mind, and I think part of it too is because the way they see justification, the way they see salvation is a process, right? When we went to justification, we saw that it was what? It was forensic. It was God declaring us righteous, that we're right before God, we have eternal life. So we have that already for us. We're justified. It's not a process. For Roman Catholics, justification is a process. And so for them, the justification, the righteousness that they have at the end is their own, right? God is working that righteousness in them so that they actually are righteous, and that's how they view justification. Whereas we would say, no, we're justified, but then we begin this process of sanctification, and then ultimately glorification. So they have a different view, again, of salvation, that it's a process, it's being worked out, and it's not until you get to the end, that's when you get, you know, you're saved and justified ultimately. And so, but again, we have life now. We have eternal life now. We're justified now. And God is simply right now just, you know, cleansing us. He's sanctifying us and bringing us to that ultimate consummation of that salvation that we presently have in Christ. Okay. So now, how would you respond? Now, again, given the relationship between works and salvation, works are not, how would you answer this? A genuine believer says, I don't see or have enough works in my life. What if I'm not saved? Like they're concerned because they don't see enough fruit. And maybe they're, you know, so they're doubting, what if I'm not a believer, you know, or I did this bad work, you know, what if, you know, I'm not saved? How would you answer that? Yes. I would say that's good. You should doubt. And so, you know, we're told to make a calling and election sure. And how do we make our calling and election sure? We look to see if the works that we think are not enough are the works that God commands us to. Because sometimes church they're going to tell you to do something because this pleases Jesus and it might not. So maybe that's why you're doubting. Because you're being told to wear a suit on Sunday because that's what God wants. That's a good work. So the doubting may come from that. From false teaching or a false understanding of what a good work is. And that's why it's really important then to have right doctrine. One thing we could say too is, if we remember, works are not the ground of our salvation. So if there's some works, there's not enough works, or maybe you committed a sin, what do we tell a genuine believer? Okay, well, it's not based on your works. It's not based on your performance. Trust in Christ. Yes, repent. And like Walter says, yes, sometimes there's a need to doubt, a need to, to examine ourselves, but you know, again, or even our confession says that when we hear the warnings, what do we do as believers? We tremble. We fear. And so, so yeah, so as a believer, genuine believer, yeah, we can fear, we should be careful, but ultimately remembering that if salvation is not grounded on our works, but on Christ's work, on what he has done for us, that's the basis of our sanctification or of our justification, then we can rest in Christ and in him, You know, so we just, we can, we would encourage the brother or sister to confess their sin. Uh, yeah. And to acknowledge that it's great that they've acknowledged that they don't have, they don't see the work that they would like to have, but then just to rest in Christ, to trust in him and in his promises and press forward. Yes. Yeah Yes, yes Yeah, and like Walter said sometimes it's because we we see that a lot because in a lot of churches there's no the teaching is there's a lot of false teaching and so people then have this false understanding of what a good work is or what it means to be a Christian. And then eventually the Lord starts, you know, showing them the truth. And so they get to this place where they're like, well, I don't have enough works or, you know, have I, am I, have I not been saved? And again, we want to point them to Christ, say, no, it's, I mean, obviously it's always a possibility, but we want to just encourage them to trust in Christ that salvation is not based upon our works. but on his, and then as we rest and trust in him, then we should see the fruit coming from that. Now, if we saw somebody that had absolutely no works, and just didn't care about whether they had works, then we would have reason to say, you know, brother, I don't think you're saved, because there should be some fruit coming from the person's life. So again, works are the fruit of faith, fruit of salvation, worked by the Holy Spirit. So now we begin in paragraph four, So chapter 16, paragraph four says, they who in their obedience attain to the greatest height, which is possible in this life are so far from being able to super arrogates and to do more than God requires as that they fall short of much, which in duty they are bound to do. Okay. So the main emphasis of this paragraph is that we cannot do more than what God has required us to do. We see that at the very beginning. So, question is, what does it mean to supererogate? So, what is supererogate? Does anybody know what that means? Yes. Yes, basically, kind of say this. So, it's from the Latin supererogare, to pay or to expend. So, super means above or beyond, over or above, and then to pay out or expend. So, that is to pay out more than is due. So, to do more than what is due. yeah, theological term, just to do more than what God has required. So this is a Roman Catholic doctrine. It comes primarily from, well, not primarily, but Thomas Aquinas has taught this. And so what we see here, again, is that, though they're not explicit in this, in saying, oh, we're, you know, like, for example, Francis Church would be clear in saying we're responding against the papists or against the, you know, whoever, but here, A lot of times in our confession, when they're confessing what they believe, they're actually at the same time responding against some false doctrine from either the Catholics or some other group. So here they have the Roman Catholic Church in mind. And so basically, what the Roman Catholic Church believes is that there are certain things, certain works, that are either not required by God as, you know, they're not required, they're not precepts, but there are counsels, things that you can do, and so they're not necessarily required to do. So if you do them, then you'd be doing more than what God actually requires. Or, Another thing is that maybe something is required, but then you can go above and beyond that. And so, for example, here in the Good Samaritan is an example that they often use, Luke 10.35. Let me go to the... So then here the Good Samaritan has already taken in the individual. He says, he takes him to the inn and then it says, verse 35, beginning of verse 35, he says, on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, take care of him and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you. And there the word, when it says whatever more you spend, we see the word actually in the Latin superarrogate is where we find that. And so the idea there is to give more than, you know, if there's more that I need to give, then I'll give more. So they use that as an example. But then they also use Zacchaeus as an example. When Zacchaeus is converted, He says, behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. So they'll say, he wasn't required to do that, but he went above and beyond. He did more than what was required by giving four times as much and then half of his possessions. And so Catholics then believe that you can actually do more than what God requires you to do and then earn more merit. But scripture tells us that that's not the case because of the war, the struggle that we have. For example, Galatians 5.17, for the flesh sets its desire against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please. And so in this life, yes, we can We're enabled to do good works and we do good works, but oftentimes we're hindered by our flesh. We're hindered and we cannot, we cannot, and we don't do the things that we do. We can't do them perfectly. And so scripture tells us, um, that, um, uh, that, that we can't, uh, because of this war, this, this struggle that we don't, uh, in this life, we can't even do those things that are required perfectly. So if we can't even do that, we can't do more than what God requires. Okay, so the conclusion here is that we cannot do all that God commands perfectly. We cannot do above and beyond what God has commanded. What we do is only what God has commanded. What we can do, I guess we can say. So what we can do is only what God has commanded, not go above and beyond that. So this is the reason then the limitation of good works. We can only do what he has commanded and even that is not perfect. We cannot do above and beyond that. Okay, so then the implications. So one implication in this, if you read the, let me go back to it. I'll just read it from here. If you go back to the beginning, Paragraph one. Actually it's for paragraph two. I'm sorry, that's for paragraph two. We'll get to that one. So the Heidelberg here actually also is helpful, and I'm pretty sure, I know I've read this before, and I think Pastor Jason, I forgot which one it was, you also referenced this one too, but Heidelberg Catechism 114 also speaks to this. It says, but can those converted to God keep these commandments perfectly? And the answer is no. In this life, even the holiest have a small beginning of disobedience. Nevertheless, with earnest purpose, they do begin to live not only according to some, but to all the commandments of God. So again, even the holiest, even the holiest, the most godly person in this life, only has a small beginning, a small beginning of disobedience. But with earnest purpose, they do begin to live not only according to some, but all of God's command. So they are living according to His commands, they are enabled by the Holy Spirit to do so, but they are only just beginning, only scratching the surface in this life of obedience. So we can't keep them perfectly, much less go above and beyond. So in paragraph five, We cannot, by our best works, merit pardon of sin or eternal life at the hand of God, by reason of the great disproportion that is between them and the glory to come, and the infinite distance that is between us and God, whom by them we can neither profit nor satisfy for the debt of our former sins. But when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty. and are unprofitable servants. And because as they are good, they proceed from His Spirit, and as they are robbed by us, they are defiled and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection that they cannot endure the severity of God's punishment. Okay, so why, it says, so the title, it's titled The Weakness of Good Works. Why would you think, why would we say the weakness of good works? I think, so it's in reference to salvation. It's weak as it concerns salvation. Our good works cannot, as the confession says, cannot merit pardon for sin or eternal life. Merit is either as a character or conduct deserving reward, honor, or esteem. And so again, none of our works are worthy or can ever merit or earn for us eternal life or pardon of sin. Reasons that the confession gives us that we cannot merit pardon of sin or eternal life is, first, there is a great disproportion between our works and the reward of the glory to come. It says, by reason of the great disproportion that is between them and the glory to come. So there's a great disproportion between the reward and the work. So our works are not even close, cannot be compared to the grandeur, the greatness of the reward. So there's nothing that we could ever do to earn that great reward. But then secondly, the Confession says there is an infinite distance between us and God. And what is this called, or what is this distinction between us and God called, and where do we see it in the Confession? Created creature, chapter four. yeah chapter 7 I think it's where it's alluding to yeah where it says so create a creature distinction and chapter 7 of God's covenant where he says the distance between God and the creature is so great that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience to him as a creator yet they could never have attained the reward of life but by some voluntary condescension on God's part which he has been pleased to express by way of covenant So again, yeah, there's this great distinction, this ontological distinction between God and creation, who God is and his essence and then who we are as the creation. There's a great, as it says here, a great distance between us. And so because of that, and because, again, that this great disproportion, We could never, by our works, attain eternal life, except, as the confession in chapter seven says, except by some voluntary condescension. God has to say, you know what? I will reward you if you do these things. And I was talking to somebody about this last night, I believe. So for example, I tell my kids, you know, clean your room and I'll take you to Disneyland. Now, is cleaning the room worthy of a Disneyland trip? No, it's not. And they could never say, they could never come up to me and say, hey, dad, I cleaned up my room, take me to Disneyland, you owe me that for cleaning the room. I'm like, no, I don't. You're only doing what you've been asked to do. But the moment that I give the promise and I say, hey, if you do this, I will take you to Disneyland, then once they do it, then they earn it, not because of the reward, not because of their work, but because I condescended and said, I will reward you in this manner. So that is the idea here. Our works can't ever attain or earn for us eternal life, but when God in Christ, in the covenant of grace, condescends and says, I will give you eternal life based on this, then And that's what is needed is God condescending and coming down to us and promising eternal life. Now, first, as we've seen before, it was promised to Adam, but he failed. But now in Christ, we have that promise by faith. We can accept, we can receive that eternal salvation by faith. And so that is why good works cannot merit or earn for us pardon of sin or eternal life. It is solely on Christ's work for us and His promise to us. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, and that's the point there. Christ wanted to show them, no, you're actually not keeping the commandments. Okay, so the results of the weakness of good works. Again, we cannot perform the good works. We cannot make satisfaction for our own sins by them. Here the scripture proofs, proofs Because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for through the law comes the knowledge of sin And that was Romans 3 20 Ephesians 2 89 for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves It is the gift of God not as a result of works so that no one may boast and then Romans 4 6 justice David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from work, so Again, the works are not what is justifying us. They're not the basis for our justification for our salvation. It's through faith. Our works cannot endure the severity of God's punishment. We see this in those scripture verses. And our attitude then toward good works should be one of humility, right? They cite Luke 17.10. But when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty and our unprofitable servant. So when we've done, when we've obeyed, we've only done what we've been asked to do. And so it should, we should have come to that, to the Lord with a heart of just humility, of being humble, not boasting that we have, you know, like the rich young ruler, I've done it, I've kept all the commandments. So if our good works are not meritorious, of no profit to us, are weak in satisfying for our sins, mixed with weakness and imperfections, why are they still called good works? Because it says as they are wrought by us, they are mixed with weakness and imperfections, but as they are wrought by the Holy Spirit, they are good. So in and of ourselves, they are mixed with weakness, they're defiled, imperfections, And in and of ourselves, they're not accepted by God. They're not pleasing to God, but because they are the work of the Holy Spirit in us as well, that's the confession says they are good on the basis of that. But then again, we think of the fact that, you know, if we do them in faith, faith is pleasing to the Lord. So chapter six. I'm sorry, paragraph six, yes. So paragraph six, yet notwithstanding the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in him, not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and unprovable in God's sight, but that he looking upon them in his son is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections." Okay, so again, they are good. They are good because of the Holy Spirit who enables us, gives us graces. He influences us to do by faith according to God's Word and for His glory. But if mixed with corruption and defilement, how are they accepted? the confession here in paragraph 6 says through Christ. So it's through our union with Christ. So when a person believes we're united to Christ and it is because of him, it's through him that our works are then accepted as it says when we believe we as a person are accepted in Christ And not only us, but that our works, as they are done by faith, are accepted in Christ or through Christ. And it says, the Confession says that God sees our works through Christ's perfect righteousness. So through Him. Not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable or unprovable in God's sight, but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections. So again, it's because of Christ. And all this, you know, what should all this do as we're hearing all this, you know, because there is a tendency to, you know, you're a Christian, you know, and there are a lot of people who there's false teaching that when you become a Christian, you don't sin anymore. You know, you're just, you know, you're just progressing. You're just becoming this wonderful Christian. But even, even, even, even not, not just that, but sometimes you know maybe in our progress and we can we can become a little prideful boastful but so far in all these what is it saying about like us and our works as they come from us, they're mixed with imperfections, they're defiled. Our works can never earn any merit or favor from God in and of themselves. We need the Holy Spirit. We need to be enabled by Him at regeneration, given those graces. We need to be influenced by Him, by the Holy Spirit. And then also, not only that, but Our works need to be filtered or seen through Christ Jesus. Otherwise, our works will not be accepting or accepted or pleasing to God. And so all this again should be humbling us and showing the great work that continues, so it's not just salvation in the moment you believed, but throughout our lives and how God is working that salvation out in us. How he's conforming us to the image of Christ. Okay, not only accepted, but it says rewarded. How are they rewarded? Are they or are they not meritorious? Remember, we said they were not meritorious, but now we're saying that they're rewarded. So are they meritorious or are they not? Not, so how are they rewarded? Exactly. Yeah. So again, just what we said earlier, it's God's promising to give us by grace, promise in Christ, promising to reward us, even though our works are, he doesn't profit by them, you know, he doesn't need them. Um, but, but he promises to reward us and, and that's a, that's a huge blessing that, you know, um, yes, go ahead. Just, I would say that it's a huge blessing and a comfort that God, our father has, has, has promised to bless our works. And so it's only by grace through Christ that we are rewarded. Yeah Yeah for his yeah for his continued work in our life, yeah, were you gonna say something It is acceptable to God And I just felt so horrible. And then when I became a Calvinist, I was like, wait a minute, it's not up to me. It's up to the Lord. And that was so comforting because I could still be zealous and have biblical arguments, but at the end of the day, this is not my good work. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's um, there's a lot of misunderstandings not only like outside the church, but yeah within the church to people don't understand the relationship of works and and that yeah, ultimately God is the one that's working that in us and Not only in us, but then as we, if we're evangelizing, he's the one that's working that in the, you know, there is a work to be done. He's the one that's doing it. Not us. We're not the ones that are saving them by our great, you know, arguments or, or, you know, or a great speech. No, we're, we're being faithful. We're doing what he's commanded us to do by faith. And he's the one that's working that in us. But if there's going to be another work to be done and then the person receiving that, the gospel. then again, it's going to be his work and not ours. So it's important to see that. And then also just from the, you know, we've this past Thursday, we're talking to this young, I don't know what military. Yeah. I don't know what branch they were, but yeah, he was kept going to his works like, well, you know, I've done this or. He just kept going to his works, his works, and he didn't have a proper understanding of works. What is a good work? He thought he was doing good works, but then he also understood that there was some bad things that he was doing that he didn't want to stop doing. And he, so yeah, we talked to him for a while, but yeah, we need to have a right understanding of what a good work is, because yeah, there's a lot of people, like I think I mentioned this last week, that we get a lot of people that say, well, I haven't killed anybody, I haven't done this, so I'm good. It's like, well, are you really good? And so even the, let's take your best work and we can examine that. And then just by those three, are they done in faith? Are they done according to God's word and for his glory? And in most cases, they won't be. And so it's not a good work. And we'll talk about that actually in the next paragraph, in this one here. So is there any more questions before we continue or comments? Yes. I remember the point that's being made here, paragraph six, of even as believers, the weakness and imperfections of our good works. I remember John Owen talking about that, and I wish this was a proof text here, but he goes back to the high priestly garments in Leviticus, and he says, you know, the crown that says holiness to the Lord, and it explains that when the high priest comes in, he's representing the people, and it says that he bears the guilt of their holy things. It's amazing, even their holy things and their worship still has iniquity that has to be purified through the work of the high priest. That's through Christ. Our high priest who purifies our works. Okay, paragraph 7. So the first... Six were Christians and their works. Now the chapter ends by saying something about the works of the unregenerate or of unbelievers. So it says, works done by unregenerate men, although for the matter of them, they may be things which God commands and of good use. So then the question is, can a unregenerate and unbeliever do a good work or are they completely depraved and they can do no good thing what's what do you say given what this says and what we've gone through so far huh okay so not true and a true good work yes Yeah, and yeah, here they have it clearly, purified by faith, right manner according to God's word, and to the glory of God, so yeah. Yeah, it's a good thing, yeah. Yeah. So we can say no on the one hand and yes in another sense. What were you going to say? Good work. Yeah. Yeah. So then we have to differentiate and keep this in mind. So is it a good work in the true sense by faith according to his word and for the glory of God? purified by faith. So again, not truly good works. So again, here's the three things, the matter, principle, and end. But they can do, we can say outwardly or externally, do something good that we can say is a good work. Like he was saying, saving somebody from getting hit by a car or helping the poor. Those are all good works. So the confession acknowledges that as to the matter, according to God's work, law, or natural law, the unregenerate can do things which God commands and that are of use to them and to others. So according to the matter, so according to God's word, so if God says to help, to help our neighbor, to love our neighbor, they can, to some degree, love their neighbor by helping them out, by providing for them, by protecting them. So externally they can do that, but where's the problem? The problem is that they're not doing it by the principle or by the right principle or the right end. So they're not doing it in faith and they're not doing it for the glory of God. And so therefore the confession says they are sinful and cannot please God. Cause even, and I mentioned this last week as well, there's atheists who like, who like to claim that They'll say, you don't need to believe in God in order to be good, right? And so they'll boast in that. I've done this and I've done that. And a lot of times they do good things, I think, to kind of to show, in rebellion, to show that they can do works apart from God. That's a whole other issue, but when you look at what a good work is, no, they're not doing good works. Just outwardly, they're conforming, they're doing the things that God has commanded, but they're not doing them in the right principle or to the right end. Now, Francis Turretin, I often go to him, he says this, in response to the Romanists, we say two things. First, although we confess that some good can be found in these actions as to the external honesty of the act commanded by God, and which therefore cannot but be good, still we deny that they can be called properly or univocally good works as to the truth of the thing and mode of operation, to wit, internal rectitude of heart and intention of the end, We assert with Augustine that they were nothing but splendid sin. Second, whatever good or less evil they performed was not owing to their own strength, but to God's special help because of the inability of the sinner. No works truly good can be performed by the unrenewed man. So again, he's saying what we're saying. Outwardly, externally, they can do, yes, I like that too, splendid sin. They can do something which God commands, But he says, according to, where is it? The mode of operation, which is the internal rectitude of heart and the intention of the end. So that's by faith and for the glory of God, they're not doing that. And so because they're not doing that, we can't say that it's a truly good work. So, So if this is the case then, it's not a matter of works. And what do I mean by that? So salvation then, whether somebody does something good, hold on, let me get to that real quick. So when we're talking about salvation then, Then, you know, going back to what the Roman Catholic person said, it has nothing to do with necessarily works when it comes to salvation. Because we saw both the regenerate and the unregenerate, the believer, the unbeliever, our works in and of ourselves cannot please God. You know, it's only because of Christ's works, it works for us, it's because what He's done for us, the grace given to us by the Holy Spirit, then influencing us, and because of all that, then our works can be accepted because we are accepted in Christ. So it's ultimately Christ's work for us. It's never our works. So then the question is, if they can truly do a good work, should the unregenerate not do them? Should they just neglect doing good works? And yeah, the confession says no, because it would be a greater sin to neglect them. The neglect of them is more sinful. And another reason is that they are of use to them and to others. So if there's atheists or whoever, just unbelieving neighbors that are doing good things to others, then other people are benefiting from their good works. And they benefit as well. And so there is benefits to, of course, to doing good, because that's how God created us. But if they're not doing them in faith, if they're not doing them for the glory of God, then their good works are not accepted. And that's one thing that we need to remind people. One thing, too, is that we need to keep in mind is sometimes we go to an extreme and we'll say, no, you guys cannot do anything good. And we tell unbelievers that your works are filthy and you can't do it. We belittle them in one sense. And so we want to acknowledge that, look, what you're doing is good and praise the Lord for that. But as long as you're doing it as an unbeliever, you're not doing it in faith, you're not doing it for the glory of God, they're not pleasing to God. You're stealing your sin, you're still condemned. So we can still acknowledge that they're doing good, but then at the same time, show them where the problem is so that they can hopefully seek the remedy for that. And so we do wanna encourage them to continue to do that and praise them even for that. At the same time, remind them that whatever good is in them is because of God. And even then, if it's not done for the glory of God and in faith, they are not accepted. They're still in their sins and they need Christ. Okay. Again, we'll close with Francis Turretin. As he says, as the moral actions of the heathen are not sins per se, and as the substance of the work, But by accident, and as to the mode of operation in the essential conditions on account of the various defects mentioned before, not on that account is it better to omit than to perform them, lest we sin. But the defects should rather be corrected and supplied. What are of themselves sins for forbidden of God should be omitted, but what are only accidentally such from some defect of circumstance should not be omitted, but corrected." So again, basically, The substance, the work itself is a good work, but we should not neglect them because they're more sinful. Again, he's basically agreeing with the confession. They should not be omitted, but performed lest we sin. So again, it's the idea, again, it's better to do them than to omit them, even though they're still sinful. They're still not accepted by God because They're not done in faith and for the glory of God. They're not done for the right reasons. So just to close out. Oh yes, go ahead. What's this? It has. And it's a religion in which there are a lot of good works done to the glory of my corporation. But I think that ultimately, Yeah, I feel that that's the motivator of the secular. Yeah, agreed. Yeah, yeah. And my question is, and I suppose this applies to any religion, any false religion that we can come into contact with, should we participate in the good works with them that they are doing? What do you mean? Like you said, at work? Like if you're at work and... Yes. We have a lot of new bidders in our society, right? And should we participate with them in their good deeds? My sense is that it is part of a false religion. Okay. So, I mean, if you're... Obviously, if it's like a religious context, you don't want to participate. But if you're at work or something, and they're doing something good, the thing is good, so you should do the good as well, but you're doing it for the right reasons. And if they're not, then they're responsible before God. So like a 5K run for Save the Whales or something? Yeah, or the cancer, yeah. The ABC Corporation is sponsoring a 5K run, and with the money we raise, it's going to save the whales on Saturday. Yeah, like the cancer, the walking for, what is it, running for it? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I would say that that Turretin quote and the distinctions he make is helpful. You know, really the sinfulness, it comes from the person's own intention. Yeah. So the work itself is per se and by its nature good. But yeah, an unbeliever can do that, and it'd be sin. And a believer can do that with work, and it'd be a truly good work. So the work becomes defiled because of our intentions. And so if an unbeliever does it, it's sinful. But then an unbeliever does it in faith and for the glory of God, and it's accepted. Yeah. And I would say, too, this last paragraph, I think, helps to answer the question that For some reason, a lot even like reformed parents have about, should I have my child pray? Because he's not a Christian. Well, okay, yeah, your child can pray. And if the child is praying simply to please you or to make themselves look good, then yeah, that's actually a sin to do it. But the neglect of that good work is even worse. And so it's like, they gotta be worshiping God and they gotta be singing God's praises. Yeah, that's a good point, Adnan. Going back to believers can make good works, the first proposal would be yes or no, but for the sake of simplicity, I would say yes, they are able to do good works, but they are not acceptable. Yes, to do good things. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. And I would say there would be a great distinction between, hey, let's get together for a 5K run on Saturday and save the whales versus donating to Planned Parenthood. Yeah, that's true. So that wouldn't be considered. Yeah. Yeah. Good, good. Okay, so in summary of all the paragraphs of the whole chapter, our works are not the ground of our justification, our works are the fruits of faith, the evidence of our salvation. Even as believers, our works are imperfect, therefore we cannot please God in and of ourselves. Believers are able to do good works because of the Holy Spirit's work working in us. But even then, believers must be diligent to stir up the grace of God. Remember, we can't wait for the Holy Spirit to move us to do good things. We need to be diligent to stir up those graces and do good works. We can never do more than what God required. And our works are only accepted because of our union with Christ, and therefore salvation is entirely of God. So it's all of Him. Yes. question because i've had even like in christian organizations that have or you know they're supposed to be christian organizations and i i've always kind of had a difficult time with this because if i don't absolutely know you know that organization well i don't want to you know put my hands to it and so um it was presented to me like this organization that um that Helped other kids in other countries, you know to go to school, you know, you know able to Yeah, yeah, but anyway and it seems like really great because they actually keep in contact with these kids and all this stuff, you know, you get to you know, see how they're doing and Was that when I looked at the background of like some of the people who are on these Working together with this Yeah, I would like to hear more. What do you think about that? You have these high-end people running these organizations that do good work, but they're wicked. They support wicked stuff. That's the part I'm like, ooh. And I think it's like what Walter was saying, as long as we're not supporting Planned Parenthood or their wicked organizations, I think that whatever good work they're doing, we can do the good work and do it for the glory of God, do it in faith. And those people that are doing wickedness, then they will be held responsible by God. Yeah, they're being held responsible by God by what they do. Because in my mind, I think sometimes I'm like, what if they're taking some of my money, put it in with their wicked stuff? You know what I mean? So that's the part like, I don't know. OK, so they're not just. Yeah, they're. They're the ones that are having. Oh, we don't know that. Yeah. It's like I cannot see why they would take some of that and put with the wicked stuff that they do. You know what I mean? Yeah, I don't know what you say. Yeah, I mean, it's a big question, big answer, but I mean, you could say that with, if I shop at Walmart, and they're gonna give some of that money to support Planned Parenthood or something like that, are we complicit in that? And a lot of, some Christians do argue that, like they say, you can't give to any big insurance plan, even though that insurance plan is through your employer, it's the only one that you can afford. but they use some of their funds to pay for abortions. Are Christians complicit in that or responsible for that? Each believer, I think, has to come to terms in their own minds and hearts, but I completely believe that that's not sinful for a believer to do something like that. You're paying into this to protect your family and your health. You're fulfilling the sixth commandment in that sense, and you're not responsible for what other wicked people do. And it's because once you take some of those complicity arguments to their logical extremes, you basically get to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5, which is, don't associate with believers who are in unrepentant sin. I'm not saying this about unbelievers, because then you'd have to go out of the world. I mean, you could trace every dollar you spend perhaps to some wicked purpose. I mean, even if it's just going into the coffers of an unregenerate man who just uses that for his own pleasure and his own purposes and everything. But yeah, you know, where the righteousness or the sinfulness comes from is your intentions, your purposes in doing those things. And that's what God sees. And that's how God will judge. Well, we're three minutes over, so maybe we can just, unless you really, is it quick? Okay. Yeah, I think Galatians 6, 9, and 10 tells us about good works, and it gives us a priority. First in the household of God. If you've got time, first in the household of God. If you've got treasures, first in the household of God. If you've got talents, first in the household of God. And then to all men. So the church should be the primary recipient of all the good works. And I think that helps us in some of these other struggles and do I get to them, and do I go on Saturday, and you know, time, you know. It's Beverly. It's Beverly, okay. Oh yeah, I was just gonna say, to me, one of the greatest things I see of that is, well, taxes. Yeah. Yeah, to the Roman government. Yeah, yeah. Two words, killing. Yeah. Okay, well, let us pray. Thank you. That's a good point. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this study, Lord God. I pray that you would continue to teach and instruct us throughout this day that we may live rightly, that we may make wise decisions to glorify you in all that we do. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.