I posted this on another forum and also used this as a Bible study in a Baptist Church. I don't think any one got it though.
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If you really stop and think about it, our works have gotten us into trouble with God and man since the beginning of time. Works have caused man to be proud, self righteous, boastful. Our so called works have been used to try to please and impress God and man.
Adam and Eve:
God told them not to eat of the tree of good and evil, which he knew they would. They did and their nakedness, {or sin} was uncovered. They tried to cover their nakedness by their own works. They made themselves clothes out of fig leaves. Now you know what a big puff of wind would do to that? (Gen. 3:7)
God had to make them clothes out of skin, probably sheep. First sacrifice, blood had to be shed, nakedness, {or sins} was covered. Adam and Eve's work, was useless. The sheep or lamb represented Christ and the coats of skin represents the covering of sin (Gen. 3:21). This was a foreshadow of the coming of Christ to die for the world. Adam and Eve tried to cover their sins by their own works, in making clothes out of fig leaves.
Then we have Cain:
Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to God. Cain offered the works of his hands, the sweat of his brow. Able offered a sheep, a foreshadow of Christ. (Gen. 4:3-5) Now, Cain probably thought he worked harder than Abel, after all a garden takes a lot of work. He thought God would be more pleased with his offering since he worked with his own hands preparing it. Do you see pride developing? God wasn't pleased with Cain's offering. Why? Cain tried to please God by his own works, which resulted in being jealous and envious of Abel. Which led to murder. It was Cain's attitude and intentions of the heart about his own works that got him into trouble, not the works themselves. Even though God wasn't pleased with Cain's offering he told him if he did well he would be accepted. {Heb: Have the excellency}
Then we have Job:
Job was rich and respected in the streets by all the men. Enough to make one prideful. In Job's eyes he was righteous because of his works. Job said "I have been eyes to the blind, I have fed the poor, I have been father to the fatherless. (Job 29:12-17) Do you see the I's here? Job couldn't understand why God was giving him all these trials because he had done everything perfect. Works!!! Do you see a pattern, a puffing up, a boastful prideful pattern when it comes to our works? Job didn't mention God when he was pointing out the works he had done. He forgot to mention that it was God who gave him everything in order for him to do all the things he bragged about doing. Do you see pride and boastfulness here? (Job 42:5-6) Job said "I have heard of you but now mine eye seeth thee". "Wherefore, I abhor myself". Something we all must come to do. It wasn't the works that Job did that was bad or wrong, it was Job's attitude, intention, thoughts, and heart concerning those works, he only looked to himself, not God. When Job came to see he wasn't all that great and how little he was compared to God, he came to abhor himself. God said "where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth"? God told Job if he could deck himself with majesty and excellency and array himself with glory and beauty, bring the proud down low, tread down the wicked, then God would confess that Job's own right hand could save him (Job 40:10-14). Save him from the wretchedness he was in. If Job was so good, great, and mighty, he could restore himself to where he was before.
Then we go to Nebuchadnezzar:
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and Daniel interpreted it for the king and told him his kingdom would be taken away and what would happen. What did Nebchadnezzar do? He walked into the palace and said "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power". (Dan. 4:30-31) From that moment the kingdom was taken away from him. Nebuchadnezzar bragged about his works. God showed Nebuchadnezzar he wasn't as great as he thought he was. What did Nebuchadnezzar come to see? (Dan. 4:37) "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Nebuchadnezzar's works made him proud and boastful. This is where our works, …or attitude about our works, gets us into trouble.
Then we come to the Pharisees:
Jesus called them hypocrites, vipers, snakes, I call them a bunch of do do's. Lots of works, do this do that. They followed Jesus around trying to find things to accuse him of. They were proud, boastful, used their works to honor themselves and look good to man. This is what our attitude about our works does for us, it causes us to look inward to ourselves instead of upward to God for all things. (Matt. 23:5-7) Jesus said "all their works they do for to be seen of men". They put works above love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness (Matt. 23:23). Jesus said "they loved to stand in the market place and say long prayers and wear clothes that drew attention to themselves. They tried to look righteous to others.
Another example is the Pharisee and the Publican who went into the temple to pray (Luke18:10-13) The Pharisee prayed "God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possess". Isn't this a pride, boastful attitude? The publican prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner". Even though the Pharisee did the works that was required of him, he made them void by his attitude and self righteousness. His works made him boastful, proud, and self righteous. God wasn't even pleased with his prayer.
Do you see a continual pattern here?
Then we come to Paul:
Paul wasn't self righteous. He was different from the rest. Paul said "what do we have that wasn't given to us". Not by works of righteousness that we have done (Tit. 3:5). Paul said "if righteousness came by the works of the law, {any law,} then Christ is dead in vain" (Gal. 2:21). Paul came to see that our works wasn't important as far as our salvation was concerned. (Eph. 2:8-10) "For by grace are ye saved through faith and that {faith} not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath BEFORE ORDAINED {Heb: prepared} that we should walk in them". So, any good works we do they were already prepared, that we would do them. All these works that were bragged about, made men boastful, proud, self righteous, was not really their works, but God's. It was their attitude, intentions, heart, that Job and Nebuchadnezzar came to see that was wrong. They should have thanked and praised God for giving them the opportunity and means to do these things that they took credit for.
Here are the works that are most important. (Gal. 5:22-26) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance". If you notice there are no keeping of Holydays mentioned, no tithing, fasting, praying. All of these are outward appearances, they are not spiritual. God seeks for us to worship him in Spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). Not by any works that we can brag about. All of these are spiritual works. But even these works are not our works but Christ working in us. How can I say this? (Gal. 2:20) (Rom. 6:6-11) We are dead in Christ. Dead people don't work. It is no longer us working, but Christ working in us. We cannot brag, boast, or be self righteous about anything we do. If we do we are not giving God the glory, we are exalting our selves.
Even the good works we do can make us proud, boastful, and self righteous, this is what happened to Job. He didn't give God all the glory, honor, and praise for the works he did, he gave it to himself. It was his attitude, thoughts, and intentions of the heart about his works that God showed him was wrong.
Christ told his disciples they had to deny themselves. What does that mean? I think it means to give God all the praise and glory for all things that we do no matter what it is, instead of claiming glory for ourselves. We have to come to the place that Job and Nebuchadnezzar did. Job said "I abhor myself". Nebuchadnezzar said "I blessed the most high, and I praised and honoured him".
We should always remember, (Phil. 2:13) "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure". Not our pleasure, not our works. (Phil.. 3:9) "not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith". {Christ's faith} Any of the do's are law, which is our own righteousness. Our works cannot save us, they cannot make us righteous. When we claim our own works as our own all we get is self righteousness and a prideful, boastful, puffed up attitude.
We have absolutely nothing to boast, be proud, or self righteous, about.
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One other thing that is good to remember is... and some might not agree with me here.
The books of the Bible are out of order in most of the translations. Paul's works should be positioned last in the Bible, not James, Peter, or John. This is what makes it confusing. The writings of James, Peter, and John, were all written to the Jew's who were under the Law. This is why you see works preached in these epistles. Only the Jew's were under the New Covenant, not Gentiles. Even Paul when he first started went to the Jew's first but later to the Gentiles. You can see a difference in Pauls first writings from later, starting in Ephesians onward.
CHB
