Good Works

I’ve been considering the motivation to good works, and in looking back over my experience of growth have concluded that there are generally four things that motivate us to good works. Three of them rely on the law, and one on grace. Three seem reasonable and are easily understood, one not so much. Remember when I say law, I am referring to the give and take process of the fallen world we live in.

The first motivation to good works before God is what I would call ‘Redemption Driven’ and views works as a means of redeeming ourselves.  These would be works that we expect will justify us before God. This is full give and take. I do good – I expect good in return. This is completely law oriented and scripture tells us that such works have no power to justify us and are worthless in God’s sight. Unbelievers are generally motivated to good works by the hope of redemption through those works.

The second I would call ‘Compliance Driven’.  After we get saved, it is somewhat natural for us to believe that we are able to keep God’s commands and that we must work for God because he commands it. This could be labeled ‘Purpose Driven’ as well – God saved you to work, so find something good to do and do it.  It espouses the idea that grace is a means of helping us achieve what God commands. It falls under law because there is still an expectation that our ‘doing’ is garnering favor with God, and that not doing garners His disfavor. It cannot work because when we bring ourselves back under the law to try to keep the law, failure is the only option and with it burn out and frustration.

The third looks wonderfully noble. I would call it ‘Gratitude Driven’. Here our works are motivated by a response to God’s grace. It reasons that because Jesus loves us and gave all for us, we owe it to him to work for him. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Again, a subtle legality comes into play here. Our love and gratitude become works in themselves, and if we feel that we are not working enough we assume that we need to love God more and be more grateful so that we will desire to reciprocate to a greater degree.

The last motivation I will call ‘Gospel Driven’, and with it there is no reciprocal motivation at all to perform works. I person freed by the message of the unconditional acceptance of God has no desire for recompense from either God or neighbor in response to their works.  This person does not recognize their works as good because they do not belong to the world’s system which values works as good or bad, expecting to earn reward or punishment. He recognizes that he is led by the Spirit of God and simply does what he can without worrying about his image before either God or neighbor. He is not working to please God, but to do as God pleases. This is truly the light burden of Christ.

Which category would best describe you? You can become ‘Gospel Driven’ only by constant exposure to the good news of the gospel; that Christ met all of God’s conditions on your behalf so that God can love and accept you unconditionally. This is the only thing that will ever break our natural desire to work for love and acceptance and set us free to work alongside God.

God Bless