A Good Work

Q: What does the Bible say about good works?

The Bible teaches that while we are saved by grace through faith, genuine faith produces good works as a response to God's grace. The Scriptures emphasize that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, this does not mean that good works are unimportant. According to Ephesians 2:10, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in. True good works stem from genuine faith. As seen in the story of Mary, her act of anointing Jesus was a 'good work' that expressed her faith in Him and understanding of His mission. This shows us that good works are an outward expression of our inward faith in Christ.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of grace is true?

The doctrine of grace is based on Scripture, demonstrating that salvation is entirely a work of God, not of ourselves. The truth of the doctrine of grace is affirmed throughout the entire Bible. For instance, Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly states that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. This doctrine emphasizes that salvation is God's sovereign work, grounded in His mercy and love, rather than any merit we could achieve. The narrative of Mary anointing Jesus illustrates this, as her genuine act of faith was rooted in her recognition of her need for a Savior. Therefore, trust in God's grace is foundational for the Christian faith, and it distinguishes genuine believers from those who rely on their own works.

Q: Why is faith important for Christians?

Faith is essential for Christians as it is through faith that we receive God's grace and forgiveness. Faith is the means by which believers receive the grace of God and the promises of salvation. Hebrews 11:6 states that without faith, it is impossible to please God, for one must believe that He is and rewards those who seek Him. Our faith points us away from ourselves and directs our trust solely on Christ and His finished work. This was exemplified by Mary, who acted in faith to anoint Jesus before His burial, recognizing the significance of His impending sacrifice. Thus, faith is not merely a mental assent, but a full reliance upon Christ and His righteousness, which gives birth to good works as a fruit of that belief.

Q: What are the consequences of relying on works for salvation?

Relying on works for salvation leads to the misconception that we can earn God's favor, resulting in spiritual pride and ultimately, condemnation. The reliance on works for salvation undermines the essence of the Gospel, which is that our acceptance by God is entirely based on Christ's righteousness, not our own. Scripture warns us against boasting in our works (Ephesians 2:9). When individuals place their hope in what they can accomplish, they risk standing before God with their inadequate works, which can only lead to condemnation. In contrast, true believers understand that all good works are a result of God's grace operating in them. Mary’s act serves as a reminder of what true humility looks like—she recognized her need and took action, not to earn salvation, but to express her faith in the One who saves.

Wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. I wanna tell the story of the gospel through this memorial of this woman. Matthew, Mark, and John all record this event. Matthew and Mark refer to her simply as a woman. a woman who broke open a jar of spikenard, an alabaster jar, and anointed the head and the feet of Christ six days before his crucifixion. And he said, she has anointed me for my burial. She has done a good work. Only time I can find in the Bible where God said of someone that they performed a good work.

I so want to understand. The significance of this event. The Lord said it would be preached everywhere throughout all the world. Wherever the gospels preached, this will be told. Had John not told the story, we wouldn't even know who it was. But John tells us that it was Mary. It was the sister of Martha and Lazarus that did this, that was commended of having done a good work. Let's read John's account. of this event, John chapter 12, verse one.

Then Jesus, six days before the Passover came to Bethany, he came to Bethany where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. That happened in chapter 11. You remember he left after the resurrection of Lazarus, the Jews plotted to have him put to death and he went and took his disciples and went to Ephraim and stayed there for some period of time. We don't know exactly how long, perhaps a few months, but now he's come back and it's six days before he's going to be crucified.

In verse two, there they made him a supper and Martha served Remember, it was Martha that said to the Lord, asked the Lord to rebuke her sister Mary because Mary was not helping in the service of the kitchen. And the Lord ended up rebuking Martha. Then took Mary. a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus. God has written his word in such a way as to give the unbeliever enough rope to hang himself.

And people read these events in different gospel accounts and they say, well, look, it's not consistent. No, the Holy Spirit is inspiring one writer to share the event from one perspective and another writer to share it from another. Well, didn't Matthew say that she anointed his head? Yes, and John says she anointed his feet, so she anointed both of them, his head and his feet. I don't have a problem with that. She anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

The gospel is called a savor, and that word savor means aroma, of life to them which are alive, and a savor of death to them which are dead. Whenever the alabaster jar of the gospel is broken open, and how hopeful we are that every time we come together and open God's word that the aroma will fill the house. Some, it will be a stench to their nostrils. Others, it'll be the sweetest smell they ever smelled. The whole house, everyone in the house, no one could deny the aroma of this spikenard.

Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him. And here again, John records it a little different than Matthew. Matthew said all the disciples. Judas says it was Judas. What do we surmise from these two events? Judas got it started and the rest of them agreed with him.

The Lord tells us, he warns us, that evil communications, that's bad company, corrupts good morals. How easily we are influenced by others. And the disciples were influenced by the objection that this hypocrite Judas made. He said this not because he was concerned for the poor, but because he wanted the money in the bag that he was keeping. But the disciples, like you and me, easily influenced by the opinions of others, joined in with him.

Well, that sounds really spiritual. That sounds really virtuous. Yeah, we should be concerned for the poor. Yeah, that sounds like a good thing. Oh. This he said, verse 6, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. And he had the bag, and he bare what was put therein.

I think it's Mark that tells us that it was a value of 300 pence. Now, a pence was a laborer's man's wages for the day. So what would laboring man's wages be for a day in our economy? Because times 300, that pretty much is an annual labor. What? $25,000, $30,000 minimum? Minimum. That's what this thing's worth in today's economy, a year's wages.

Verse 7, then said Jesus. Let her alone. Against the day of my bearing has she kept this. Against the day of my bearing has she kept this. For the poor always you have with you, but me you have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there, and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.

I've titled this message A Good Work, and I want to make just a couple of brief statements that everybody here I know knows, but it must not go unsaid. that we are saved by grace, not by works. There is no work that we can perform that would merit us any favor with God.

There is no work that we can do that would obligate God in any way to save us. Salvation is of the Lord. It is the work of Christ that saves, not our works. And we don't make a work out of our faith. For by grace are you saved. And that through faith, but that faith is not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of works, not of works. We don't make a work out of faith. Faith is not our contribution to the gospel.

God's done all he can do and now we're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna do the rest, no. No, if we have faith, we are confessing by our faith that we don't have any works. and that we are completely dependent upon the one who did the work for our salvation.

And that was a miracle of grace given to us of God. Any work that a man would look to as the hope or the evidence of his salvation, God calls a dead work. And in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 1, he brings us to repent of our dead works. God's people don't stand up in the day of judgment and say, but Lord, we did many wonderful works in thy name.

That's the unbeliever that says that. That's the unbeliever that's relying upon something they did. when the Lord says to them, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. You thought it was a good work. I'm telling you, it was an iniquitous work. It was an evil work, and it was a work that was not equal to what I require.

The only work that equals up to what God requires is the work of Christ. And through faith, we look to his work. That having been said, The Bible speaks of good works that believers are zealous for. Matter of fact, the verse that we just quoted in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9, for by grace, that's how we're saved, through faith, By grace are you saved through faith, and that, not of yourself, is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We've got nothing to boast in. And then verse 10 says, but we are his workmanship. Here's the good work.

Paul said, I am persuaded that he that began a good work in you will perform it until the day of his coming. That's the work of Christ. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which we shall walk in them. And the Lord says of Mary, she had done a good work. What good work is he commending her for?

Because I'm interested. I want to know what that is. Titus chapter 2 verse 14 says, he gave himself for us that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people who are zealous for good works. They will have a desire in their hearts to do that which is pleasing to God.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. For they that come unto him must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. A good work has to be done in faith. In faith, True faith does not draw attention to itself. It points to the object of it, of itself. It points to the cause, it points to the foundation on which it rests. Faith doesn't glory in itself.

And though the Lord said, wherever this gospel is preached throughout all the world, so this good work that she hath done, anointing me for my burial, will be told as a memorial of her. Of her. Not a memorial to her, but it will be a memorial of her. As I said, Matthew and Mark don't even mention her name. She's just a woman. What does it mean that it will be a memorial of her? It will be a memorial for us to understand why she did it and what exactly she did do so that we might be zealous for good works. A good work is a work that's done in faith.

And faith doesn't call attention to itself. Faith by its very definition is confessing that there is nothing in me worthy of attention. All the glory and all the praise and all the honor goes to Christ. My conviction, my comfort, my confidence, my contentment is not something that I discovered, and it's not something that's in me.

It's something that I find in Christ. He is the cause of all of that. He is the root. He's the vine. I'm just the branch. If there's any fruit on the branch, It's because the branch abides in the vine. You cut the branch away from the vine and the fruit will die. You cut the tree down from its root and the tree will die. I've got to be grafted into the root. That's where my life is.

And whatever faith produces in works, in conviction, in comfort, in peace, in joy, It is because of the object of that faith, not because of the faith. Not because of the one in whom the faith resides. The one in whom the faith resides is saying that that faith is completely grounded in another. It is completely dependent upon another. And he gets all the glory for it. This was done and is to be preached as a memorial of her faith. and her faith was Christ and his word.

Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12. I can remember in religion that we used to have what we called character studies, and we would take men and women of the Bible, particularly the faithful ones, and we would figure out what there was about their life and their personality and their pattern of works, and we would try to think what we could emulate that. And Hebrews chapter 11 would have been a gold mine of faithful saints of the old covenant. What can I learn from Abraham? And what can I learn from all these other saints that are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11? But let us not forget, and let us not lose sight of what the Lord says about Hebrews chapter 11 beginning in Hebrews chapter 12, verse one.

Wherefore, in light of these saints of God, wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, what are they witnessing to? They're not witnessing to themselves. They are standing as a witness to the faithfulness of God. Abraham believed God. These are witnesses pointing, a witness is one that's testifying of another, pointing attention away from itself to another. This memorial was of her, but it was of her faith. It was of her Lord.

Let us. lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us." Now it's true that each person has a different weakness and strength in their personality and in their pattern of life. Oftentimes our strengths are our weaknesses. But I believe when the Holy Spirit is saying this, the sin that does so easily beset every one of us is the sin of unbelief.

It's the sin of not believing God. This is the witness. These saints believed God. They depended and trusted on the word and the promises of God. This was the memorial of Mary. This is why this story is to be told, because of the one Mary believed in. Let us lay aside the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was before him endured the cross.

And that word despising, that means that he thought when you despise something, you think nothing of it. The Bible says he despised the shame. He did not consider what other men were saying about him hanging on the cross. It would have been the most shameful death that a man could suffer, a public humiliation of criminals. And the people were wagging their heads and saying, looky there, he claimed to be God. Look at him now. He despised that shame. He thought nothing of it. He was not influenced by it. Why? Because of the faith that he had to trust his father. He believed his father to his dying breath.

So all of these saints, including Mary, the Lord's not saying, learn from their example and follow them. He's saying to you and me, they are men of like passion just like you and me. And if God did this for them, God can do it for you. That's what James tells us about Elijah the prophet. We think of these people as being superhuman, super spiritual. And James tells us that Elijah the prophet prayed and God withheld the rain for three years. And he prayed again and God sent rain. And he's telling us to pray. And he says to us, Elijah was a man of light passion, just like you.

He had all the fears and worries and sin and everything else, but God gave him faith to believe on Christ and to trust him. And if God could do that for him, he can do it for you. And what does this say to us? Oh, Lord, I want that kind of faith. That's why we say we come to the Lord for faith, not with our faith. Lord, I want that kind of faith. She's doing this to anoint me for my burial.

Now, the Lord Jesus had made it clear that he was going to be arrested, he was gonna be crucified, he was gonna be placed in a tomb, and he was gonna raise the third day. And nobody believed him. The disciples, when they heard this, say, don't talk like that. That's not gonna happen. Peter said, I'll go with you and I'll die with you. And then he didn't. And when he rose from the dead and the reports came, they didn't believe that. Even after he rose from the dead. We look at Thomas and his unbelief, but Thomas is just representative of all the disciples.

They had to have proof. They had to have evidence. When the Lord died, he died just before the sunset at Passover. He had to be rushed to the grave. The anointing of the body was the outward sign of a resurrection. If a man like Judas died in shame, he was buried in the field of the dead, and there was no anointing. But when the body was treated properly, It was the sign that this person died in hope of the resurrection. And so there was no time to anoint the Lord's body when they put him in the tomb.

So the scripture tells us that Mary Magdalene, of whom the Lord cast out seven demons, Mary, the mother of James, And Salome went to the tomb early on resurrection morning with spices to anoint the body. They were going to have the soldiers roll the stone away and go into the tomb and properly anoint the body because they didn't get a chance to do it the night that he was buried. Mary. The sister of Martha and the sister of Lazarus didn't go with them.

When the Lord says that she's doing this for my burial, I believe what the Lord's saying is, she of all of you has understood what I've been saying, and she is anointing my body for burial. And she's not waiting for proof. She's not waiting for evidence. She's not waiting for those disciples on the road to Emmaus who were walking with the Lord after the resurrection, didn't know who he was.

They had thought their hopes were dashed. He promised he was going to be the Messiah, but now he's dead and all of our hopes are gone. Mary believed the Lord Jesus Christ. She took him on his word. And this is what the Lord's saying when he says, she's anointing my body for burial. She had no need to go to the tomb the resurrection morning. She knew he'd risen from the dead. The other disciples went. They found the tomb empty.

Mary Magdalene is the one that the Lord spoke to and called her by name. And she fell at his feet. But Mary, the mother of, she lived right there. Bethany is just right there on the other side of the Mount of Olives. of all the women that would have been there to help anoint the body would have been Mary, the mother.

She had no need to. She didn't need the outward evidence of that anointing to prove to her that he was going to raise from the dead. She had his word. And she believed what he said. And brethren, that's what we have. and a good work is nothing more and nothing less than believing God. We are His workmanship. He began a good work in us, and He will perform that work to the day of Jesus Christ, the day of His coming. And we grow in faith. What does that faith do? It believes God. We believe God more now than we ever believed Him before. And we've learned by our own unbelief, and we've learned more by the faithfulness of God to take Him at His word, to take Him at His word.

This is the memorial. This is the memorial that the Lord said will be spoken of everywhere in the world that this gospel is preached. In chapter 11, when Martha, when the Lord comes and Lazarus is in the tomb, and Martha and Mary are grieving, and the Lord says to Martha, When Martha said, I know that in the resurrection, my brother will rise from the dead.

And Martha said, the Lord Jesus said, Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he be dead, yet shall he live. And he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Martha, do you believe this? And what did Martha say? Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ that should come into the world. I believe what Martha's saying there is I don't understand all this thing about the resurrection, and you being the resurrection.

I believe there is going to be a resurrection, and I believe that you are the Christ. But she didn't say, oh, I see, Lord. I understand that you're going to raise from the dead. You're going to be crucified, and you're going to die, and you're going to be raised from the dead. And you are our life. And that is what you, the work that you're going to do is our salvation.

That's what Mary understood. Martha didn't understand it. The disciples didn't understand it. Mary got it. Why did she get it? Well, she had a need. She had a need. When Martha's need was to provide food for her company and to not look bad and being a bad host, Mary's need was to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus. And the Lord commended her by saying, she has chosen that one thing that is needful. Mary had a need.

Sinners have a need. Salvation doesn't begin with commitment. Salvation begins with need. Lord, I'm a sinner. I need for you to choose me in Christ and put me in Christ, in the covenant of grace before the foundation of the world. I don't have a problem with election. Lord, I'm needy. I need election.

I need a Savior that's going to be successful. in atoning for all my sins. And if what he did on the cross was for one person that's going to be in hell, I don't have any hope of salvation. I need a particular redemption. I need an atonement that is perfect. And I need grace to be irresistible.

Lord, if you leave it up to me to decide, I won't be saved. I need you to make me willing in the day of your power. And Lord, if you leave it up to me to be kept, I'll fall away. I'll leave you, I'll forsake you. Lord, I need you to keep me. Need is the beginning of faith. And need is what keeps faith alive. Lord, I've got to have Christ. This is the memorial. Lord, I'm needy. I have no idea how needy I really am. The gospel is for the poor and the needy. The memorial that Mary has of her faith and of her Christ is a memorial of humility.

In particular, a woman's hair, even as it is today, is a crown of glory. It accentuates their beauty. Feet, on the other hand, are a picture of that which connects us to the earth, that which is dirty and has to be washed, our creatureness, Even the seraphim, when they hovered over the throne of God in Isaiah chapter 6, had to cover their feet with two of their wings. They were unworthy, and their feet represented their unworthiness and their creatureness. So we have, in the anatomy of the body, we have the highest level of honor, the hair, being used to wipe the feet. and yet not just any feet. Oh, beautiful are the feet that bring good tidings. What is Mary demonstrating in what she's doing? She anoints his head with oil, yes, according to Matthew, but she wipes his feet with her hair, showing her unworthiness, her humility.

And a need always brings that. Faith always brings that. Believing God always causes us. The foolishness of God, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 says, he is wiser than man. Here we have the feet, the feet of Christ exalted over the hair of Mary. The weakness of God is stronger than man. Let him who glories, glory in the Lord. Our gospel gives to the Lord Jesus Christ all the glory, all the honor and all the praise. And we're just humbled servants in his presence. Song of Solomon, chapter 7, verse 1, says this.

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter. The Lord Jesus is speaking to his bride. He's speaking to his church. And he says, your feet are beautiful, long as they got shoes on them. What are those shoes? Our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel. Christ is those shoes. Daniel, Daniel said, I've been made comely with his comeliness. My comeliness has been turned into corruption, but he's made me beautiful in his sight. with his beauty, imputing to us his righteousness.

This is Mary's memorial. This is her faith. This is what she's testifying to. This is her witness. She's pointing to Christ as a needy sinner, humbled in his sight, and putting a year's wages for an alabaster jar, and she doesn't open it and pour a little bit out and save the rest for later. She breaks the jar and pours it all out. Isn't that what faith does? True faith, God-given faith.

Lord, what would you have me to do? Lord, it all belongs to you. My time is yours. My children are yours. My life is yours. You can take any of it anytime you want. My job is yours. My money is yours. My possessions out there all belong to you. Faith puts everything on the line. It just breaks it before God. It waits on the Lord. acknowledging that it all belongs to him. And finally, she did this in love. Faith is always done in love. That's what makes it a good work. All of the law and the prophets hang on this love. And we love him only because he first loved us. But oh, we do. We do love him. I want to close just pointing out a passage that we looked at Wednesday night. If you'll turn with me to Revelation chapter two. Revelation chapter two.

It's appropriate that this is the only place where the Lord has said that she has done a good work. The only place where the Lord commended someone for a good work. Not that these people aren't zealous for good works, but of all the people there, she's the only one that understood and believed what he was saying.

Now it is appropriate for us, particularly in a religious environment where God is blasphemed, the gospel is lied about, free will is rampant, a works gospel is believed by most, The Lord Jesus is denied his glory and salvation by saying, well, there's something you've got to do to make what he did work for you. And it's important for us in this environment of pagan religion to stand firm for the truth of the gospel and to make no compromise and to call out error for what it is. But we must do it. in a spirit of love. We must do it as a good work.

Revelation chapter 2 verse 1, unto the angel of the church at Ephesus, that's the pastor, the angel of the seven churches of the pastor, These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars, that's the seven churches in his right hand. All these churches are held in God's hand who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. That's the candlestick of the church that the Lord Jesus is walking amongst. He inhabits the praise of his people.

I know thy works. The Lord's commending the church at Ephesus, I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou cannot bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say that they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars, and is born, and has had patience. For my name's sake hast thou labored, and hast thou not fainted. You've been so faithful to stand for the truth, and to expose the error, Nevertheless, nevertheless, I have somewhat against you. In your zeal for the truth, your zealous for good works has waned, and that you have left your first love.

A good work is a work done in faith by needy sinners that lay it all out for Christ. And they do it in love. Believing God. Believing God. Our Heavenly Father, thank you for that good work that you perform. Lord, we would not believe you if you don't give us faith. Forgive us for our unbelief. Increase our faith. make us zealous for good works, that they might be a memorial for Christ and to Christ. We ask it in his name, amen. 228 in the hardback terminal, let's stand together. Yeah.

A Good Work

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about good works?

How do we know the doctrine of grace is true?

Why is faith important for Christians?

What are the consequences of relying on works for salvation?

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A Good Work

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about good works?

How do we know the doctrine of grace is true?

Why is faith important for Christians?

What are the consequences of relying on works for salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Greg Elmquist

Comments

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