Last week, we affirmed that the grace of Christ is not merely necessary for our justification but also for our sanctification. But while placing our trust in our good works would be a denial of Christ as our only Savior, His disciples must nevertheless still do good works. Indeed, we can largely make the same distinction about good works that we must make about baptism. They are not necessary for salvation, but they are necessary for the life of a Christian. Our good works play no role in our salvation. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Amen! But for those who have been saved, good works are a necessary component of the Christian life. (Note: the question says do good works and obey God’s Word but we should remember that good works can only be properly defined by God Himself.)

We can almost open to any New Testament epistle at random and immediately find our salvation by grace being explained right alongside exhortations for good works through obedience to the Scriptures. We see the necessity of obedience within the Great Commission, where Jesus makes it clear that He expects all of His disciples to be taught to obey all of His commands (which have been preserved for us through the Scriptures). Paul’s great description of our salvation in Ephesians 2:1-9 is immediately followed by verse 10, which says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Titus 2:11-14 is another clear passage:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training them to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

All those who have been saved in Christ will desire good works. This is because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, also renews us by his Spirit. Romans 6-8 makes that point very clear. Although every Christian will still battle sin throughout their lives, we are also being made into new creations through the indwelling Spirit with new affections and desires. Thus, no one can rightly profess to have faith in Christ without also having a new hunger and thirst to live righteously before God our Father.

The remainder of answer gives us three additional reasons why a Christian must still do good works by obeying God’s Word. First and most importantly, we should desire to show love and gratitude to God through our obedience. In Christ, we have been adopted as children of God. As such, our good works do not alter in anyway our Father’s loving disposition toward us, yet we should long to imitate Him as children who are dearly loved by Him and are overflowing with thankfulness for His abundant mercies.

Second, our good works assure us of our faith by the fruits. While a child of God can never be snatched from His hand, our disobedience and toleration of sin can result in us losing the assurance of our salvation. Just as Christian in the Pilgrim’s Progress lost his scroll from slothful sleeping, sin robs believers of their confidence in Christ. However, the converse is also true. Walking in obedience to God strengthens our assurance.

Third, we should do good works that by our good behavior others may be won to Christ. We should take care to remember that our good works alone do not proclaim the gospel. Evangelism requires the good news to be actually declared, either verbally or in writing. However, our godly behavior ought to be a potent witness to the Spirit’s working in our lives. Since we should desire for all men to come to saving faith in Christ, let us take care that our lives reflect the goodness of our Lord to all people.