Repentance from Dead Works

God’s Will over Free Will

In theological conversations the concept of free will arises. Do we have freedom of choice? Are our decision made for us? So on and so forth.

While this is part of a much larger conversation I surface this to bring clarity to the discussion of what dead works are.

There is something in Christianity we have come to learn “It is no longer I who lives but Christ in me.

Repentance from Dead Works is the Ultimate Surrender of our free will.

Hebrews 6:1–3 ESV

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.

Elementary doctrines does not imply we should abandon instead that it serves us as a foundational building block

Not to give priority of one over another but each as part of our firm foundation.

Repentance from dead works is more than the act of Salvation

Hebrews 9:13–14 ESV

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The covenant we are under is a greater covenant that purifies our conscience from dead works

This indicates dead works weigh us down and become our baggage

The purpose of this purification is to be able to serve the living God.

*lets define what dead works are

Dead Works-Things that Lead To Death

The easiest form of dead works are those which lead to death.

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Pre-Christ everything we dead was considered dead.

The dead do not raise themselves to life through any amount of good deeds.

These actions not matter how good we believe them to be, are dead

Passions of the flesh

Desires of the minds and body

what led us to take the actions were selfish motivations to make the self feel good.

These are the works conquered on the cross.

Dead Works-Religious Traditions

Jesus was the harshest on the Religious Leaders

Matthew 23:1–7 ESV

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

The greatest threat to each of us is doing things out of :

obligation

need to be seen

without checking in with the Holy Spirit

The second greatest threat is the work of religiosity

it is the failure to see people as God sees them

it is the work of using people for self gain.

The third greatest threat is the legalism that we ourselves cannot fulfill

The ceremonial law was fulfilled on the cross, but the law of God was engrained into our hearts.

Dead Works- Idolatry

The Jewish nation as well as the Greeks had a fascination in worshiping false Gods

Idolatry to us takes form in many ways

Our Jobs

Our Hobbies

Our Time

Our Money

Anything we are willing to put in front of God… What about in the way we “serve” God

Matthew 7:22–23 ESV

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

These are the ones work not for the Lord but to be seated in high places

They did work that was of the Lord but not for the Lord

Work we do out of guilt, obligation, that is not given by the Holy Spirit.

Moving from Death to Life

Romans 6:11–13 ESV

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

It was sin that led to death

we are dead to sin alive in Christ

The drum beat is surrendering our Free Will to Put on the Will of God

in this act we seat God in His rightful place as Lord of our Lives

1 Peter 4:1–2 ESV

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

The suffering of our flesh is the surrender of our will

this subjection hurts bu

We do not stop living in the flesh, as imperfect as we are, we surrender our human passions and live for the will of God

Repentance from Dead Works is the work of:

Dying to the things that led to death: coming to the cross and repenting from the life we lived before Christ

Dying to Religiosity: not living into laws we can never fulfill especially when they have been fulfilled by Christ

Dying to Idolatry: in everything we do it for Christ

When we move from death to life we are surrendering the our free will and putting on the Will of the Father.