Graciously Justified Unto Good Works
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 2/20/2011 AM |
Text: | Luke 17:10; Lord's Day 24 |
Psalters: | 48, 333, 36, 313 |
- Their unworthiness.
- Human, sinful pride always wants the relationship to be such that we can merit something with God.
- One extreme is Anti-nomianism, which says works don’t do anything - ever.
- The Pelagian position says that salvation is by works (in part or whole).
- The Reformed faith holds that man’s works do not merit and cannot merit before God.
- First, the only righteousness which God approves is absolutely perfect.
- Second, every work of every human does not and cannot accomplish or earn salvation.
- The Reformation: our works are required even though they do nothing for our righteousness.
- The difficulty: if we are righteous without works, then why must we do good works?
- But grace does not mean that good works are unnecessary.
- First, God commands us to do good, to obey Him.
- Second, justification makes us alive unto God (Rom. 6:2,11-14).
- Third, we are sorry for sinning, so we do the good works of repenting, crying for mercy, and thanking Him.
- Fourth, the grace which justifies also sanctifies, making us willing and ready to live henceforth unto Him.
- Fifth, one who experiences God’s saving grace desires to bring forth fruits of thankfulness in good works.
- God rewards the good works He does in us with a reward of grace (not because our works merit).
- Scripture speaks of “rewards.”
- The Biblical word “reward” does not conflict with salvation being by grace alone without works.
- First,God is perfectly just (cf. Heb. 11:26) and thus there is (and must be) a reward.
- Second, the value ascribed to our good works is only because of the grace of God in Christ.
- Third, God treats us as children and gives us wonderful incentives to encourage us in our godly walk.
- So, saved by grace alone, let us glory in the grace which makes us perfectly righteous before God.