Recently, we have been discussing the fundamentals of Christianity. We’ve discussed eternal life, repentance, commitment, grace, and more! Last week, we touched on the truth that we are the workmanship of God. From that, we need to understand that we have been created for a purpose. That is, to walk in good works.

It’s a common thing these days to hear the church bashing “works”. Most would say that it’s wrong and that you should never do good works, and some would say that we can’t do them. This comes from the idea that you have to “earn” your way to Heaven by doing “good works”. That isn’t what we are talking about today. We actually discussed that recently, and you can check it out here!

What we are talking about is doing good works, not to become saved, but to be a blessing to God, and others.

Created for Good Works

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). That doesn’t just mean that we were made better or forgiven, but we were made completely brand-new. In that new self, we find the Holy Spirit residing on the inside of us, so that it is no longer us that live, but Christ that lives within us (Galatians 2:20).

So, as we live, and as we walk, we aren’t just living for ourselves anymore. But we are living for Christ. And we aren’t living and doing life alone anymore either. We’re doing it with Christ and by Christ. That is why Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were created, in Christ Jesus, for good works. It isn’t us that is doing the good works, but it is Christ doing them through us.

Recently, I’ve had this idea. I’ve noticed that much of the Church focuses on Jesus coming and dying for our sins solely so we can go to Heaven. But in reality, Jesus came for so much more than that. He came so that we could experience intimacy with him again. He came so that we could be filled with his spirit. And what I’ve been thinking on, is that he came so that through us, with his spirit, he could bless the world.

We have been created brand new in Christ Jesus with a purpose. To do good works. But we can only do that when we operate in the way that we are supposed to operate. And that is through his spirit. We’ll get back to that later.

What Are Good Works?

The term, “good works”, is vague. It doesn’t really leave you with much direction as to what you are supposed to be doing.

This means that we have to look back at our foundational verse to give us some direction. Look back at Ephesians 2:10.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 emphasis added).

This verse gives us great insight as to what the good works are that we are supposed to be doing. It tells us that we are created for good works, which God prepared beforehand. We aren’t just left in the dark, or alone, but God already prepared the way beforehand. That leads us to a great conclusion.

I believe that what that verse refers to is the works that Jesus asked us to do before he left this Earth, and anything that he has already provided for. That does still leave us with a lot, as every good thing comes from God, but luckily, it makes “doing good works” a hard thing to miss when you are operating in the spirit.

Let’s look at some of those works.

Heal, Cleanse, Cast, and Raise

When Jesus first sent out his twelve disciples to go “evangelize”, he gave them four instructions. That is, to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, and raise the dead (Matthew 10:8). These, as you can certainly guess, were bold directions.

Imagine if you are in your church small group, and the leader tells everyone to go cast out a demon. It would get pretty intense, I’m sure. What if they asked you to go near someone with Ebola and pray for healing for them. That would be intense as well. Even if you were asked to pray for someone’s cold to be healed, or allergies, that would be intimidating in itself.

Jesus was directing them to do all that and more, and they did. I believe that those same miracles, signs, and wonders can be done today, in the name of Jesus, and I believe that it is what we were created, in Christ Jesus, to do.

Notice though that in Matthew 10:1, it tells us that Jesus gave them authority to do all those works. It wasn’t from their own authority that they raised the dead or cleansed the lepers. They didn’t say “in Simon Peter name, be healed!”. They did miracles in the name of Jesus, and that is something that we have the privilege to do as well!

Make Disciples

The Great Commission can be found in each of the four gospels, and it is this: go and make disciples of all nations.

Oftentimes, Christians can be obsessed with making converts. You’ll find Christians who go out and share the gospel, just enough to get people saved and they leave them at that. They share the good news, then they leave them with no direction, no help, no discipleship. While most would argue that sharing the gospel and making converts is enough, I would argue it isn’t.

When I think of the word, “disciples”, I think of the twelve disciples that Jesus personally taught and led. While Jesus still personally disciples us, leads us, and teaches us, we still need to do that for others.

I work at a pizza restaurant. During shifts, I make it my goal to share the gospel, and invite unbelievers to church and such. Recently, I’ve even seen many people come to church with me and it’s great! But I don’t want to stop there. I’ve began to pray and meet with the other believers at my job, so that we can not only grow together, but so that we can be more unified in making more disciples.

We weren’t just converts. We became disciples and have begun making disciples of our own. That is the greatest way we can evangelize, and a great way to do good works.

We hear of crazy stories about starting churches and going on missions, but that is an example of making disciples wherever you are.

Give

One of the other things that Jesus told his twelve disciples before he sent them out was to “give without pay” (Matthew 10:8). That is why I think giving, is one of the good works that we can do.

Everybody has something to give. Whether it’s money, time, energy, help, etc. There are all ways that we can give to others, and we can see it by the way that we receive.

Months ago, I wanted to start evangelizing and being bold. There was a full-time evangelist at my church, and I asked him for a few quick tips on how to evangelize. He didn’t give me any. Instead, he gave me something better when he offered to meet with me for coffee. I was able to take pages full of notes and tips. It was very impactful to my faith.

In this case, he didn’t give me money. What he gave me was something so much more impactful. He gave me his time, insight, and wisdom. From that conversation, I developed enough boldness to start a bible study at my work and pursue discipling myself and others at my job.

Money is not the only thing that we can give, and oftentimes, it’s not the most impactful. You can give to others and be a blessing to them. It doesn’t matter what you have, or who you think you are. You are a child of God and can be a major blessing to everyone around you through giving.

How Do We Do Good Works?

Now that you have some idea of what good works really look like, it’s important to know how to do them.

Looking back at what started this conversation, we saw in scripture that we were created brand new, and that we are the workmanship of God. That means something big for us.

As his workmanship, we are made in the likeness of God. Which means that what we do, is in the likeness of God, when we are abiding in him.

“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6).

When we are abiding in him, we walk in the same way that he walked. In other words, when we have a relationship with God, we walk the same way that Jesus walked. In other words, once again, when we have a real relationship with God, we will do good works.

The desire to see others healed, grows when you get closer to God. The desire and ability to make disciples comes from a place of having a relationship with God. And there is more to give, and of course, a greater desire to give when you have a greater relationship with God.

Having a relationship with God and abiding in him in both spirit and mind, is the key to doing good works. Good works come from an overflow of having a relationship with God. Remember that.

Final Thoughts

Good works are awesome, and we should all be doing them, as God actually created us, in Christ Jesus, for that very purpose. There are so many good works that we can do as Christians, and Jesus actually gave us a few examples of good works!

There are the miraculous works, like healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, casting out demons, and raising the dead. We can go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Jesus. And we can also give to others out of the abundance that God has given to us. These are all good works that we can do as Christians.

It’s important to remember though that we don’t do those good works because we want to, or because we’re better than other Christians. But we do those good works, from having a relationship with God, and abiding in Christ, both in spirit and mind. That is the key to doing good works.