Walking Through Westminster, WCF 16.1-4 "Of Good Works" Pt. 1

Westminster Confession of Faith 16.1-4

I. Good works are only such as God has commanded in his holy Word, and not such as, without the warrant thereof, are devised by men, out of blind zeal, or upon any pretence of good intention.

II. These good works, done in obedience to God's commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith: and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the Gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that, having their fruit unto holiness, they may have the end, eternal life.

III. Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ. And that they may be enabled thereunto, beside the graces they have already received, there is required an actual influence of the same Holy Spirit, to work in them to will, and to do, of his good pleasure: yet are they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if they were not bound to perform any duty unless upon a special motion of the Spirit; but they ought to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.

IV. They who, in their obedience, attain to the greatest height which is possibly in this life, are so far from being able to supererogate, and to do more than God requires, as that they fall short of much which in duty they are bound to do.

Summary

What is it that makes something good? We are often tempted to think that our own positive imaginings, ideas, or feelings about a thing make it "good". We like a particular person and so we call him a "good man". We like a particular idea and so we call it a "good idea". But the Scripture teaches, and the confession summarizes this truth, that the only thing that makes something good or not is what God says about it. God is all-goodness, there is no spot in Him of evil or wrongdoing. So, when He says that a thing is "good", it must be, of necessity. And anything that He declares "not good" is not good, of necessity. 

Based on this, when we come to the question of what makes a work good, the confession teaches that only thing that makes a work good is what God has said about it. Only if God has commanded it in His holy Word is a work defined as "good". We, in our unending efforts to justify ourselves, want our works to become good based on our own zeal or good intentions. This is what leads certain religious sects towards self-flagellation, extreme ascetism, or unneeded suffering. But God never called any of these things "good", and so we cannot call them good works. Many people today may proclaim the goodness of veganism, teetotalling, grain-free diets, childlessness, etc. But they are either self-deceived, or willingly imposing a standard on themselves and others that God has not set. 

Paul saw this in the church in Colosse. He said to them, "you subject yourselves to regulations -- 'Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,' which all concern things which perish with the using...these things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh." (Col 2:20-23) Good works are those that God says are good, and no others. 

Only the believer is truly capable of doing good works. While unbelievers may have the appearance of good works, they do not come from a living soul, freed from sin. Sin corrupts the human soul to the core so that no one living apart from Christ can truly do anything good. Yet, believers adorn their faith in Christ with their good works. The good works of the Christian are what stops the mouths of their enemies. The Spirit gives believers the ability to do good works, and continually produces goodness in them as the fruit of His work in their souls. 

When the confession speaks of works that "supererogate", it is speaking of the idea that we could ever meet and go beyond God's standards. Even if we did everything that God commanded of us, Jesus still said that the proper response was to say, "We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do." (Luke 17:10) Even when we have done all that is commanded of us, we have not profited God anything. God has not gained anything when we have only done what we were obligated to do. A child may occasionally be rewarded for good behavior, but that reward is a grace. A child ought to obey their parents simply because of their authority. In the same manner, God expects us to obey Him. He may reward us for our obedience, but that is a grace and we can never surpass His commandments to the point where He is indebted to us for anything. 

God is good. He tells us what is good. His Spirit enables us to do good through faith in Christ. And He is good to graciously reward even the smallest motions of faith and obedience. He loves His children, and He loves even the most childlike acts of godliness.

+ Blessings in Christ +