Toward a Practical Theology of Good Works

Table of Contents

• Introduction

Part 1: God and His Good Works, and How We Participate with Him in Them

• God and His Good Works in Creation
• God and His Good Works in Relation to the Fall
• God and His Good Works in Old Testament History
• God and His  Good Works in the Incarnation
• God and His  Good Works in Jesus’ Earthly Ministry
• God and His Good Works in Redemption
• Finding Out What Pleases the Lord

Part 2: The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in the Old Testament

• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in the Pentateuch
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in Old Testament Historical Books
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in Old Testament Poetry and Wisdom Literature
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in Old Testament Major Prophets
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in Old Testament Pre-Exilic and Exilic Minor Prophets
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in Old Testament Post-Exilic  Minor Prophets

Part 3: The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in the New Testament

• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in the Gospels
• Communal Good Works and the Love of Christ
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37
• The Practice and Teaching of Communal Good Works in all of Acts
• The Practice and Teaching of Communal Good Works in the Book of James
• The Practice and Teaching of Communal Good Works in Paul’s Epistles
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in Hebrews, I,II Peter, I,II,III John, and Jude
• The Practice and Teaching of Good Works in the Book of Revelation
  

Conclusion

• What it Means to be a Servant of God Who is Fully Equipped for Every Good Work

Epilogue

• Modern American Evangelical Christianity, The Evangelical Church’s Missing Middle, and  Doing God’s Good Works as an Evangelical Christian in America

Appendix

• Mercy, Mutual Aid, and the Growth of the Church in the Roman Empire and Contemporary China, A Comparison

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Epilogue:

Modern American Evangelical Christianity,

the Evangelical Church’s Missing Middle,

and Doing God’s Good Works as an Evangelical Christian in America

A Christian Visitor from the Past Experiences Modern American Evangelical Christianity

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  Revelation 3:17

Imagine you were able to go back in time and transport a Christian from the second century into a modern American evangelical church. Our imaginary Christian would be shocked and surprised by many things, of course. Looking at a globe of the world, he would be amazed and filled with joy that Christianity has indeed spread “to the ends of the earth.” Attending an American evangelical worship service, our visitor from the past would marvel at how we can worship without fear in any way and at any time and place we want. He would notice how ubiquitous and massive our church buildings are, how elaborate our worship services have become, how wealthy Christians are, and how extensive our church ministries are. He would also learn that the Christian gospel message and music are broadcast 24/7 on TV, radio, and the Internet all over America, and that thousands of parachurch ministries, including evangelical Christian charities, hospitals, schools, colleges, universities, seminaries and other Christian institutions operate freely throughout the nation.

But he would also notice something else. He would notice that evangelical Christianity largely ignores a topic that he, as a second century Christian, would be very familiar with: the importance of good works in a Christian’s life. Back in the second century, our imaginary Christian would have regularly heard sermons and teaching on the importance of dong good works for his fellow believers, as well as for non-Christians who were in distress. Consequently, along with group worship and acts of personal piety, such as prayer, Scripture meditation, and fasting, our Christian brother would also consciously and personally practice good works toward others, especially toward his fellow believers. Good works would comprise a central role in his obedience to Christ’s command to love each other as he has loved us.

And finally, our Christian visitor from the past would learn something that would make him very sad and perplexed: modern American Evangelical Christianity is no longer growing in America. In fact, it has lost much of its moral authority and has been marginalized by society as irrelevant and even counter productive. He would see that, in spite of all that we have and all that we do, few are listening to Christians. He would remember that in his own time, Christianity was growing at an average rate of 40% per decade. It wasn’t if the Roman empire would become Christian, he remembered, just when. At this point, we can imagine him asking the logical question, “Could this modern American Christian malaise have resulted from the church’s tendency to avoid the subject of good works?

The Evangelical Church’s Missing Middle

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:20

“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34, 35

I believe the answer to that question is yes. While America’s evangelical church has been good at holding fast to historical Christian orthodoxy, when it comes to orthopraxy, that is, right practice, we have strayed far and wide. The reason is because Evangelical Christians almost completely avoid the subject of personal good works toward their fellow believers with chronic, long term pressing needs. It’s as if the entire corpus of biblical teaching about how good works apply to widows and orphans and others in our churches does not even exist. Consequently, this conscious or subconscious avoidance has resulted in huge negative ramifications for the church and for society as a whole. I call this problem “the Evangelical church’s missing middle.”

To put this problem in context, one way to visualize the purpose and importance of good works in a Christian’s life is to think of them as meeting the needs of people in five concentric circles, with the inner circles having greater priority and the outer circles having less priority. Here they are:

1. First (and inner) circle of responsibility – One’s self: becoming self-supporting so that we are not a burden to others (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12; Ephesians 4:28; Proverbs 6:6-11; 10:4; 12:11; Acts 20:33-35; 1 Corinthians 9:12, 15)
2. Second circle of responsibility – One’s immediate family: providing for our spouse and children (1 Timothy 5:8; Exodus 21:10; Ephesians 5:28, 29; Colossians 3:19-21; 2 Corinthians 12:14; Psalm 128:1-2; Proverbs 13:22; Luke 11:11-13)
3. Third circle of responsibility – One’s extended family: caring for elderly parents as well as siblings and other relatives with pressing needs (Mark 7:9-13; Matthew 15:3-6; 1 Timothy 5:4, 8, 16; Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Leviticus 25:35)
4. Fourth circle of responsibility – One’s church; meeting the pressing needs of widows, single moms, fatherless children, elderly couples, widowers, single dads, the disabled, and others in one’s own congregation (John 13:34, 35; Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35; 6:1-6; James 1:27; Galatians 6:2, 10; Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 5:1-16; 1 Corinthians 12:25-26; 2 Corinthians 8-9 entirety, Matthew 25:35-40; Luke 4:18-19; Acts 9:36-41; Acts 11:29-30; 1 John 3:16-18; Deuteronomy 14:28-29; Psalm 68:5-6; Isaiah 1:16-17)
5. Fifth (and outer) circle of responsibility – One’s neighbors: responding the the pressing needs of our literal neighbors and of those in the broader community (Luke 10:30-37; Matthew 22:37-40; Luke 6:35-36; Matthew 5:16; Luke 14:12-14; Galatians 6:10; Romans 12:17-21; Titus 3:1-2, 8; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Leviticus 19:9-10, 18; Proverbs 3:27, 28; 24:11, 12; Isaiah 58:6-10; Luke 7:4-5; Job 29:12-16)

I have referenced these five circles of a believer’s responsibility in this series before. But this time I have included scriptural references and highlighted circle #4.  With these circles in mind, I have three questions.

The first question is, which circle or circles do our modern Evangelical churches emphasize? Clearly, they almost always emphasize the first three, with their emphasis on personal piety, along with marriage and family. (We might also note that modern liberal Christianity places a large emphasis on circles #1, 2, 3 as well, but also adds circle #5, with #5 being their social gospel. Thus, both conservative and liberal Christians largely ignore circle #4.)

The second question is, which circle or circles did the early church (and the modern Chinese house church movement – see the appendix below) emphasize?  The overwhelming emphasis by the early church, both with its teaching and with its practice, was on circle #4.

And finally, which of these five circles best expresses the love of Christ to our watching world? We might answer that all five do, and that is true. But there are two things that are unique about circle #4 that make it essential for effectively demonstrating to the world both the uniqueness and effectiveness of practicing Christ’s love.

First of all, the people we are to love and do good works for in circle #4 are usually not physically related to us, like the people in circles #2 and #3 are. And secondly, the people in circle #4 are not just our neighbors and friends, like the people in circle #5 are. Rather, the people in circle #4 are our fellow members of the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We have been born again and share the same position before God and the same hope of eternal life. As such, we are bound together as the body of Christ, both in this life and into eternity, by a covenant–the New Covenant (Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24). In addition, our New Covenant is administered by a commandment – the New Commandment (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17; 1 John 2:7, 8; 3:23; 2 John 5). It is this New Covenant and this New Commandment that set Christians apart from the rest of the world. Thus, how we love each other becomes the most critical element in our witness to the world.

Therefore, when we ignore the implications that our New Commandment has for the neediest in our congregations, we eviscerate our New Covenant, our worship becomes vacuous, and our testimony to the world grows increasingly anemic. The result is that, no matter what we do as Christians, the world sees only empty emotion and meaningless words. Or, as Jesus put it, “The salt has lost its savor.”

Doing God’s Good Works as an Evangelical Christian in America

“You are the salt of the earth.

But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13

But when a church does take seriously our New Covenant and begins to obey our New Commandment, especially with respect to the neediest in our congregations, the world can’t help but take notice.

For example, Valley Community Baptist Church in Avon, Connecticut, has provided consistent and effective monthly care for its widows and single mothers for almost twenty years now. When I did the training in person for this church (All of my training is now online at NewCommandment.org.), I mentioned that, as a church takes its responsibility to its widows and single moms seriously, then God uses that experience to prepare them to meet any catastrophic needs that may arise.

For Valley Community, that catastrophic need arose the day “Sally” walked through the door of their church.

“I have ten children and my husband is in prison,” Sally explained. “I have just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and I have only a few weeks to live. Can you help me?” And then, sure enough, just a few weeks later, she died.

In my training at Valley Community, I had taught them, “As you take your responsibility to your widows, single moms, and others in your church with long term pressing needs seriously and see God provide everything you need to meet those needs, then when someone experiences a catastrophic need, you learn to walk toward liability instead of away from it, trusting God to provide the resources to meet it.

So after years of faithfully serving the neediest in their church, how did the believers at Valley Community Baptist Church respond to this tragic situation?

Ten couples in the church each took in one of the ten “orphaned” children, some as foster children and some as adopted children. The children got to see their brothers and sisters on Sundays at church and the families celebrated their birthdays together. In addition, the church set up a college tuition fund for the children. The last I heard, the two oldest children had graduated from college. One, with a degree in finance, took a job in finance in downtown Chicago. And one, with a degree in biology, landed a job in a lab on the east coast.

It’s no wonder, then, that this story made headlines in their local community.

There are 360,000 churches in North America. We should be hearing stories like this one dozens of times every day. Christians should be renowned for the way we love each other; for the way we sacrifice for each other. But we are not. Instead, when it comes to circle #4, the world hears only crickets.

Today there is a growing sense of unease in America that something is terribly wrong. The wheels are coming off our culture. God’s wrath seems to be hanging over us like a Damoclean sword. How should we as Christians respond? Fortunately, we know exactly how to respond because, when believers in Judah found themselves in a similar situation (Isaiah 1:1-15), God gave them these specific and concrete instructions.

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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom

and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.

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