The Lord’s Work – Part 29
Man’s works are evil
This world is evil.
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
The works of the world are evil.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
The works of the flesh are evil.
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
These are the works of the flesh, and there is not a single good one among them.
The works of the flesh are Idolatry.
They which do the works of the flesh shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Where do all these evil things come from?
Man’s works come from his heart, his evil heart.
Jeremiah 18:12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
Jeremiah 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Why is it called evil? Because it is full of evil.
Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Its full of evil because sin is dwelling in it.
Romans 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
And whatever thing is in the heart, is the thing that will come out of it.
Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually.
Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Everything that man imagines and desires to do, is evil. If man devises a good thing with good intentions, it is still evil. There can only evil come from his imaginations/inventions.
If something originates from man’s heart, it is evil.
John 8:39-44 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. … 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. … 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. …
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
This is really pretty crazy. Jesus talking about who Satan was from the beginning. Jesus was there. Jesus made Lucifer. He watched him sin. He beheld him when Satan as lightning fell from Heaven.
He’s the inventor of lies, the father of lying. Lies are his own.
There is no truth, no good, no righteousness in Satan. Neither is there in his children.
John 2:25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
The works of sinners (all men) are the works of the devil. That’s were they come from.
Their father. God is not man’s father. Satan is. What is in man, what an works, is from Satan.
There is no good in those works, there is nothing redemptive in those works. Jesus came to destroy them.
Man’s works are evil. Its not all man’s fault. Its Satan’s fault. Man thinks he is doing good, but his own works defile him.
He is incapable of bringing forth good of himself. When he works, he works the works of Satan, and those works defile him.
Mark 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Psalms 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
Man’s works are works of iniquity.
Isaiah 59:6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
And in case you would want to exclude yourself, and just apply this to one generation or one group of sinners…
Isaiah 59:7-8 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
Notice the red text. There is a new testament cross-reference for this. Do you know where?
Romans 3:10-17 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known:
Romans 1-3 is not talking about the Pharisees only, or the heathen only, or the Gentiles only. Romans 3 is talking about every man, all men.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Every man:
Rom 1:18 … men, …
Rom 1:26 … their women …
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, …
Rom 2:1 … O man, whosoever thou art …
Rom 2:3 … O man, …
Rom 2:6 … every man …
Rom 2:10 … the Jew … the Gentile …
Rom 2:25 … circumcision … uncircumcision.
Every man. They are all the same. They all do the same things.
Rom 2:9 … every soul of man that doeth evil …
Rom 2:10 … every man that worketh good …
A man either does good or he does evil. Not both. Which are you? Well..
Rom 2:12 … if thou be a breaker of the law, …
Then this condemnation in Romans 3, is to you. You’re no different. No matter how you were born, no matter what you’ve done, every man who is a breaker of the law doeth evil. The same things that he judges as evil, he does the same things. All men are the same.
This condemnation in Romans 3 applies to …
Rom 2:12 … as many as have sinned …
None escapes. Not one man who is a sinner is counted as better than another sinner.
Rom 3:4 … every man a liar; …
The only ones that escape are those that have judged themselves as sinners, and have died and been born again as NOT sinners, having been made righteous in Christ Jesus.
Romans 2:1-3 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
If you judge men who are sinners, according to their sins, you will be judged as a sinner, according to your sins.
John 8:15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man [after the flesh].
Jesus is THE JUDGE. But He does not judge after the flesh. He judges men according to truth.
He judges men according to the heart, according to the things that proceed from the heart. Jesus judges by the words, the understanding, the secrets of the heart. He judges according to truth.
Rom 2:2 …the judgment of God is according to truth…
Does truth come out of your heart, or no?
Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Judge not (men after the flesh), that ye be not judged (after the flesh, as a sinner).
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance [the flesh], but judge righteous judgment.
Well which one is it? Should we judge or should we not judge? … Both of course!
We should not judge after the flesh. We should judge righteous judgment.
Righteous judgment is to judge all sinners, yourself included, as worthy of death and the wrath of God.
Righteous judgment is to judge all men as sinners, and only Jesus Christ righteous.
Righteous judgment is judge carnal sons of men as evil, and spiritual sons of God as righteous.
Righteous judgment is to judge all works of the flesh as evil, and profitable for nothing.
Righteous judgment is to judge after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
Righteous judgment is to judge after the record of Jesus Christ: He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Which once is it, are we going to be judged, or not be judged? … Both of course!
We will not be judged according to the flesh as sinners, but we will be judged according to righteousness, as children of God.
If we judge righteous judgment, according to the truth of the gospel, we won’t be judged as sinners.
That is the only way to escape the condemnation. Because the condemnation is on ALL men. ALL men, do the same things.
By nature, all men are sinners, all men ONLY do evil, and all men are incapable of doing good things.
Romans 3:9-12 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
So Isaiah is talking about the same group of people that Paul is talking about in Romans 3, that is: all men. All sinners. All breakers of the law. they are all the same, they cannot do good, and their works are only of one type:
Isaiah 59:6 … their works are works of iniquity, …
Jeremiah 32:30-31 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.
And so the final nail in the coffin: Man’s works are evil.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
There is not a single work of the flesh that is a true good work. They are all evil. Even the “good” ones.
Everything that a man thinks is evil, everything that comes out of man’s heart is evil. Every work that man does is evil. Every fruit he brings forth is evil.
True good works are only wrought in Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ, men’s works are evil.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
We were righteous! We did the Lord’s works! We did good works!
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Works of the flesh are works of iniquity. You do the works of the flesh. You never did the Lord’s works. You never did a true good thing or brought forth a true good fruit. You never even did one true good work for the Lord. Not even one thing. Not even once. Not one work.
Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Every good work that an unsaved man does is reprobate: a fake, a counterfeit.
They profess that they did many wonderful things, but truthfully, they did many reprobate things.
Why? Because their works are done in the flesh, and not in Christ.
Because themselves are IN WORKS, and not in Christ. In works, they deny Him. BEING in the flesh, every good work that they work, is reprobate.
All of man’s works are evil. There is none that doeth good, no not one. There is none that has ever done true good, outside of Jesus Christ.
You’re thinking.. “None of our good works are true good works!?!? All our good works are just
- figures and shadows,
- vanity, and
- idols?
How can that be? Is there not a single work I can do that is good, true good? Every good work in the flesh is fake, reprobate? Not because of one’s sincerity, but just because it is fleshly!?”
Yes, just because it is made with hands. Just because it is done outside of Christ. Just because it comes from an unsaved man. Just because it proceeds from an evil spirit in an evil heart.
You say, “How can you say that??? How can that be?? What about this one, and that one?”
This is a tough pill to swallow, agree? Indeed, this is hard to digest! And if you think so too, I believe there is a reason for that… this truth is hard to eat, because this truth is strong meat!
Hebrews 5:13-14 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Strong meat belongeth to them, even to those, who discern both good and evil.
Strong meat is to discern both good and evil.
A grown man of full age, knows how to discern good and evil. A grown Christian of full age knows how to discern (that is, to identify, to discover, to distinguish, to make a difference, to divide) both good and evil.
Not just discerning (dividing) good FROM evil. But BOTH good AND evil.
A full grown Christian, can discern (differentiate) good, and also can discern (differentiate) evil.
A full grown Christian, can discern good by itself, and evil by itself.
We ought to divide the evil from the figure of the evil. (e.g. an idol is nothing in the world).
We’ve got to divide the good, from the figure of the good.
What senses are we talking about? Spiritual senses. With our spiritual minds and eyes.
We are talking about growing the new man, the new creature. We are not talking about discerning between the good and evil of this world, or of the law, or of man’s judgment. You know what those are. A carnal man knows the difference between carnal good and evil. You were born with a conscience of sins, and you’ve grown that conscience (perhaps defiled it, seared it) over your whole life.
You know how to discern man’s meat – good from evil. But do you know how to discern spiritual meat – good AND evil? not just the good from the evil, but also the good from the good, and evil from the evil. Can you discern The Lord’s good things from man’s good things. The spiritual bread from man’s carnal bread? The Lord’s spiritual bread from the false prophet’s spiritual bread?
We are talking about TRUE good and evil. Spiritual good and spiritual evil. To discern these from each other, AND from their respective carnal figures, is strong meat!
John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
This is an hard saying. This is strong meat. This is hard to chew, hard to swallow, hard to digest. I don’t have it all figured out. I have many questions of my own.. Maybe I’m still a child, a baby.
But I believe this is, if we will receive it, strong meat.
This world is evil.
The works of the world are evil.
All works of the flesh are evil.
The works of the flesh, even the good ones, are fake.
There is not a single work of the flesh that is a true good work.
Dec 5 2021
The Lord’s Work – Part 29
Downloadable Word document:
The Lord’s Work – Part 29
The Lord’s Work – Part 29
Man’s works are evil
This world is evil.
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
The works of the world are evil.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
The works of the flesh are evil.
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
These are the works of the flesh, and there is not a single good one among them.
The works of the flesh are Idolatry.
They which do the works of the flesh shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Where do all these evil things come from?
Man’s works come from his heart, his evil heart.
Jeremiah 18:12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
Jeremiah 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Why is it called evil? Because it is full of evil.
Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Its full of evil because sin is dwelling in it.
Romans 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
And whatever thing is in the heart, is the thing that will come out of it.
Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually.
Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Everything that man imagines and desires to do, is evil. If man devises a good thing with good intentions, it is still evil. There can only evil come from his imaginations/inventions.
If something originates from man’s heart, it is evil.
John 8:39-44 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. … 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. … 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. …
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
This is really pretty crazy. Jesus talking about who Satan was from the beginning. Jesus was there. Jesus made Lucifer. He watched him sin. He beheld him when Satan as lightning fell from Heaven.
He’s the inventor of lies, the father of lying. Lies are his own.
There is no truth, no good, no righteousness in Satan. Neither is there in his children.
John 2:25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
The works of sinners (all men) are the works of the devil. That’s were they come from.
Their father. God is not man’s father. Satan is. What is in man, what an works, is from Satan.
There is no good in those works, there is nothing redemptive in those works. Jesus came to destroy them.
Man’s works are evil. Its not all man’s fault. Its Satan’s fault. Man thinks he is doing good, but his own works defile him.
He is incapable of bringing forth good of himself. When he works, he works the works of Satan, and those works defile him.
Mark 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Psalms 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
Man’s works are works of iniquity.
Isaiah 59:6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
And in case you would want to exclude yourself, and just apply this to one generation or one group of sinners…
Isaiah 59:7-8 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
Notice the red text. There is a new testament cross-reference for this. Do you know where?
Romans 3:10-17 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known:
Romans 1-3 is not talking about the Pharisees only, or the heathen only, or the Gentiles only. Romans 3 is talking about every man, all men.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Every man:
Rom 1:18 … men, …
Rom 1:26 … their women …
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, …
Rom 2:1 … O man, whosoever thou art …
Rom 2:3 … O man, …
Rom 2:6 … every man …
Rom 2:10 … the Jew … the Gentile …
Rom 2:25 … circumcision … uncircumcision.
Every man. They are all the same. They all do the same things.
Rom 2:9 … every soul of man that doeth evil …
Rom 2:10 … every man that worketh good …
A man either does good or he does evil. Not both. Which are you? Well..
Rom 2:12 … if thou be a breaker of the law, …
Then this condemnation in Romans 3, is to you. You’re no different. No matter how you were born, no matter what you’ve done, every man who is a breaker of the law doeth evil. The same things that he judges as evil, he does the same things. All men are the same.
This condemnation in Romans 3 applies to …
Rom 2:12 … as many as have sinned …
None escapes. Not one man who is a sinner is counted as better than another sinner.
Rom 3:4 … every man a liar; …
The only ones that escape are those that have judged themselves as sinners, and have died and been born again as NOT sinners, having been made righteous in Christ Jesus.
Romans 2:1-3 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
If you judge men who are sinners, according to their sins, you will be judged as a sinner, according to your sins.
John 8:15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man [after the flesh].
Jesus is THE JUDGE. But He does not judge after the flesh. He judges men according to truth.
He judges men according to the heart, according to the things that proceed from the heart. Jesus judges by the words, the understanding, the secrets of the heart. He judges according to truth.
Rom 2:2 …the judgment of God is according to truth…
Does truth come out of your heart, or no?
Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Judge not (men after the flesh), that ye be not judged (after the flesh, as a sinner).
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance [the flesh], but judge righteous judgment.
Well which one is it? Should we judge or should we not judge? … Both of course!
We should not judge after the flesh. We should judge righteous judgment.
Righteous judgment is to judge all sinners, yourself included, as worthy of death and the wrath of God.
Righteous judgment is to judge all men as sinners, and only Jesus Christ righteous.
Righteous judgment is judge carnal sons of men as evil, and spiritual sons of God as righteous.
Righteous judgment is to judge all works of the flesh as evil, and profitable for nothing.
Righteous judgment is to judge after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
Righteous judgment is to judge after the record of Jesus Christ: He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Which once is it, are we going to be judged, or not be judged? … Both of course!
We will not be judged according to the flesh as sinners, but we will be judged according to righteousness, as children of God.
If we judge righteous judgment, according to the truth of the gospel, we won’t be judged as sinners.
That is the only way to escape the condemnation. Because the condemnation is on ALL men. ALL men, do the same things.
By nature, all men are sinners, all men ONLY do evil, and all men are incapable of doing good things.
Romans 3:9-12 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
So Isaiah is talking about the same group of people that Paul is talking about in Romans 3, that is: all men. All sinners. All breakers of the law. they are all the same, they cannot do good, and their works are only of one type:
Isaiah 59:6 … their works are works of iniquity, …
Jeremiah 32:30-31 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.
And so the final nail in the coffin: Man’s works are evil.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
There is not a single work of the flesh that is a true good work. They are all evil. Even the “good” ones.
Everything that a man thinks is evil, everything that comes out of man’s heart is evil. Every work that man does is evil. Every fruit he brings forth is evil.
True good works are only wrought in Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ, men’s works are evil.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
We were righteous! We did the Lord’s works! We did good works!
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Works of the flesh are works of iniquity. You do the works of the flesh. You never did the Lord’s works. You never did a true good thing or brought forth a true good fruit. You never even did one true good work for the Lord. Not even one thing. Not even once. Not one work.
Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Every good work that an unsaved man does is reprobate: a fake, a counterfeit.
They profess that they did many wonderful things, but truthfully, they did many reprobate things.
Why? Because their works are done in the flesh, and not in Christ.
Because themselves are IN WORKS, and not in Christ. In works, they deny Him. BEING in the flesh, every good work that they work, is reprobate.
All of man’s works are evil. There is none that doeth good, no not one. There is none that has ever done true good, outside of Jesus Christ.
You’re thinking.. “None of our good works are true good works!?!? All our good works are just
How can that be? Is there not a single work I can do that is good, true good? Every good work in the flesh is fake, reprobate? Not because of one’s sincerity, but just because it is fleshly!?”
Yes, just because it is made with hands. Just because it is done outside of Christ. Just because it comes from an unsaved man. Just because it proceeds from an evil spirit in an evil heart.
You say, “How can you say that??? How can that be?? What about this one, and that one?”
This is a tough pill to swallow, agree? Indeed, this is hard to digest! And if you think so too, I believe there is a reason for that… this truth is hard to eat, because this truth is strong meat!
Hebrews 5:13-14 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Strong meat belongeth to them, even to those, who discern both good and evil.
Strong meat is to discern both good and evil.
A grown man of full age, knows how to discern good and evil. A grown Christian of full age knows how to discern (that is, to identify, to discover, to distinguish, to make a difference, to divide) both good and evil.
Not just discerning (dividing) good FROM evil. But BOTH good AND evil.
A full grown Christian, can discern (differentiate) good, and also can discern (differentiate) evil.
A full grown Christian, can discern good by itself, and evil by itself.
We ought to divide the evil from the figure of the evil. (e.g. an idol is nothing in the world).
We’ve got to divide the good, from the figure of the good.
What senses are we talking about? Spiritual senses. With our spiritual minds and eyes.
We are talking about growing the new man, the new creature. We are not talking about discerning between the good and evil of this world, or of the law, or of man’s judgment. You know what those are. A carnal man knows the difference between carnal good and evil. You were born with a conscience of sins, and you’ve grown that conscience (perhaps defiled it, seared it) over your whole life.
You know how to discern man’s meat – good from evil. But do you know how to discern spiritual meat – good AND evil? not just the good from the evil, but also the good from the good, and evil from the evil. Can you discern The Lord’s good things from man’s good things. The spiritual bread from man’s carnal bread? The Lord’s spiritual bread from the false prophet’s spiritual bread?
We are talking about TRUE good and evil. Spiritual good and spiritual evil. To discern these from each other, AND from their respective carnal figures, is strong meat!
John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
This is an hard saying. This is strong meat. This is hard to chew, hard to swallow, hard to digest. I don’t have it all figured out. I have many questions of my own.. Maybe I’m still a child, a baby.
But I believe this is, if we will receive it, strong meat.
This world is evil.
The works of the world are evil.
All works of the flesh are evil.
The works of the flesh, even the good ones, are fake.
There is not a single work of the flesh that is a true good work.
By Pastor • Christian Doctrine, Good Works • 0