No. 51 What exactly is a �good� work? What does the Holy Spirit use as the norm to discern what a �good� work is? Does a �good� work ever become �evil�? And isn�t it correct to say that good works are for others and not for ourselves? >>DR. LEOPALDO SANCHEZ M.: This is an important question, Dave. So let's get right to it. There are at least three ways of describing what a good work is for the Christian. One could go with what may be called a Gospel oriented answer. Here a good work is one that is done out of good faith in Christ who has saved me through the Gospel. This definition of a good work follows rather well from Luther's previous statement that faith is ultimately what makes one a Christian before God. And then good works are done because one has already been made a Christian. From this angle, one might say that whatever is not done out of faith is sin and ultimately falls short of pleasing God. A Gospel oriented answer to what a good work is speaks rather strongly of what the right motivation for a good work should be. Namely, God's love for us in Christ. Lutherans love this definition of a good work always speaking of loving others because Christ has first loved them. But one could also go with what I am going to call at least for now a law oriented answer to the question. By here I mean law oriented in the positive sense of the law as God's will for his creatures. Simply put: This means that a good work is one commanded by God. This definition of what constitutes a good work is quite helpful because it prevents Christians from making up or designing their own works. Luther, for example, thought of the monastic orders of his day and the prohibition of marriage for priests as an example of self designed works. Works of men that were not actually commanded by God. Left to ourselves we will up with all sorts of ideas of what good works might be. But are they the works that God commands? From this angle the law of God serves an important purpose. It functions as the norm or standard for what a good work should be. Do you want to know what a good work is? There is plenty in the Ten Commandments to last a lifetime and keep us busy. In this framework, know that the question of Gospel motivation is not the driving concern but rather the fulfillment of what God has commanded. Indeed whether one feels or not motivated by the Gospel all the time, it is still true that respect for one's parents, promoting the neighbor's well being and honoring one's marriage are good works because these are works commanded by God. Now, are these good works perfect? No. Do they earn us salvation? Of course not. But are these works the will of God for all his creatures? Absolutely. And especially so for Christians. Finally, we may say that a good work is one that is directed towards the neighbor as opposed to directed towards God. Here we have the question of the object of our good works. If we think of our good works, especially the ones that the Spirit works through us, as earning us God's favor and forgiveness, then we have made a mistake. We have made our good works an evil thing. In his Heidelberg Disputation, Luther will go as far as saying that any work that is put forth as an attempt to stand in a right relationship before God is likely to be a mortal sin. The lesson here is that God does not need our works. However, God has given us the neighbor to serve. In a sense then a good work is one that's reaching its intended target, our neighbor. It is then appropriate to remember that our good works are not ultimately for our own benefit but for the benefit of those whom God has placed in our lives to serve. Although we fail to do this often, we should still strive to help others unconditionally out of love and not to get something in return. We don't use the neighbor as a means to what we want. The neighbor himself is the end of our love.