How should we encourage good works in our preaching?

This text is from a transcript of a talk by David Gooding, entitled ‘God’s Power for Salvation’ (2005).

It depends who you are talking to. If you are talking to believers, well the Epistles abound with the exhortation that we are to do good works! And our works will be judged, for Christians are judged by their works, Scripture says. If at the judgment seat of Christ, 'the fire of Christ's judgment' (notice the metaphor: the fire of his judgment) 'shall test everybody's work, of what sort it is' (see 1 Corinthians 3:13). It isn't quite the Sunday school prize giving, you know. The fire shall test each man's work to see of what quality it is. If it survives the fire of Christ's criticism, we shall have a reward and the work will abide, of course. It will be something to show for all eternity and a reward on top (1 Corinthians 3:14). If the fire of his criticism and judgment consumes our work and it is burned up, we shall suffer loss. We shall have nothing to show for it.

But then Scripture adds an important point. The man, if any, to whom this happens shall himself be saved. How can that be if all his works are burned up? Well, because salvation never did depend on works anyway. 'He himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire' (see 1 Corinthians 3:15).

If you want a vivid story to etch it on your minds, you could think of Lot. He was a righteous man. God saved him out of Sodom, yet so as by fire. His life's work was virtually burnt up. Second Peter 2 will tell you he was a saved man: he was a 'just man' (2 Peter 2:7). But his works? That was rather serious.

So, for believers, yes, there is the plain straightforward encouragement to do good works. Yes, but the last section of Romans will point us to our motivation: 'I beseech you by the mercies of God . . .' (see Romans 12:1). Christ died for us that he might be Lord (see Romans 14:9).

How would you encourage the unconverted? We must be careful in preaching the gospel and telling people our good works are like filthy rags lest we give the impression that God is against good works on the part of unbelievers. We cannot be saved by works; our works come short, but that doesn't mean that the unbeliever can say, 'Well, as long as I'm an unbeliever I can live as I like because my works don't count!' That is not true. And you see the case of Cornelius. To have told Cornelius: 'Your works are as filthy rags, so don't talk to me about your works,' would be nonsense. The angel had told him his good works had come up before God as a memorial. But he wasn't saved by his works. And the solemn Scriptures tell us that the unregenerate will be judged by their works, and it will be more tolerable for some than for others, so let me say again that we must not give the impression to the unconverted that it doesn't matter whether they do good works or bad, and that God is against good works. Of course, he's not. And sometimes unbelievers can be more full of good works than we believers, isn't that so? What of course has to be made clear is that they cannot by their good works earn salvation.