WCF 16.1 WSC 88 (Of Good Works)

Good works are only those works identified as good by God and commanded by him in his holy word.1 They do not include other works, no matter how well-intentioned in design or zealously promoted by men.

Good works are only those works identified as good by God:

good works is defined by God, not by us.

Why? Only God is good. Mark 10:18 “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

And these good works are...

commanded by Him in His holy word:

(NEXT) Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Don’t misunderstand… This is not talking about works that are motivated by fear of punishment or brought on by conforming to the world, to make the world a “better” place.

This is talking about works brought about by the Holy Spirit resulting from obedience of faith for the sake of His name, for the glory of Christ alone because He is now central to your purpose of living.

So that you now fully agree and seek to obey the greatest commandment of loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and like it, loving your neighbors (Matt 22:37-39)

they do not include other works no matter how well-intentioned in design or zealously promoted by men:

To add to it with other works would simply be to indulge our flesh: Colossians 2:22–23 “(referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

(NEXT) Romans 10:2–4 “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

This includes works that may conform to God’s law merely “outwardly” without having the right heart in doing it… no matter how genuine it might appear. God knows your heart, and if your heart isn’t motivated to work because you trust in Christ and His righteousness, your heart is actually far from God, and He sees such works as evil!

This is because as it turns out, according to (Romans 10), you are doing these outward works to establish your own means of salvation apart from what Christ has already completely satisfied by His work on the cross, and you are rejecting His work as “incomplete”, making your filler works necessary.

So let’s consider Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

So as you are being sanctified for the sake of Christ, test your works and check whether you are trusting in Christ alone.

Q 88. What are the ordinary, external ways Christ uses to bring us the benefits of redemption?

The ordinary, external ways Christ uses to bring us the benefits of redemption are His regulations, particularly the word, sacraments, and prayer, all of which are made effective for the salvation of His chosen ones.

The ordinary, external ways Christ uses to bring us the benefits of redemption:

This is talking about some very important “external/outward” ways—not inward ways—Christ communicates/convicts us of the truth of how He saved us from sin and consequence of sin (wrath and rejection of God) for the rest of eternity.

He does this by...

His regulations:

Commandments given by Christ who has full, loving, authority over His church (that is you), being head of the church (body of Christ).

With His authority He said...

(NEXT) Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And we see the early church depicted in Acts following Christ’s instructions in...

(NEXT) Acts 2:41–42 “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

particularly the word:

We read here the power of His word, as the Spirit of Christ causes those who hear/read it to receive it… so that 3,000 souls were transformed in that single day.

And the church devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship (they gathered together to do this).

We also see the early church following Christ’s order to baptize those who receive His word, which is 1 of the 2...

sacraments (we practice):

which are simply what Christ ordered His church to do.

But what they signify is significant!

They are visible reminders to believers as a sign and seal of the new/final covenant (contractual promise) of how they are saved by the blood of Christ, through His death and resurrection, by whom we are declared righteous before God and united to Him and each other as the body of Christ.

Besides baptism, the other sacrament ordered by Christ is the Lord’s supper, which we see the early church depicted in Acts is doing by the “breaking of bread”.

and prayer:

Here we see how vital coming together to pray is. It is not distinguished as any less important than teaching or the breaking of bread.

So we also incorporate it into our worship service. We also have Friday night prayers and I hear some of our brothers are joining to do that. I commend and invite more of us to join without excuse, if you are able.

And we ought to pray that the Holy Spirit continue to work conviction in our church of the gospel truth and the glory of Christ the Lord, which He has been doing for all of eternity… to give us boldness for the sake of Christ’s name.

all of which are made effective for the salvation of His chosen ones:

You see how the church of Acts was united in “devoting” themselves to the commands of Christ (teaching, fellowshipping, reminding each other of the gospel promise, prayers)

Why would Christ command something that didn’t matter right? And what is so important to Christ, if not to save His chosen ones? So by His design to benefit us, as part of His church, He gives us this imperative, which the early church obeyed because of their love of Christ.