Toward a Practical Theology of Good Works: Communal Good Works and the Love of Christ

Our review of the practice and teaching of good works in the Old Testament demonstrated that communal good works are a rare event in Old Testament biblical history, and it has something to do with human nature

We saw two distinct types of good works in the Old Testament: individual good works and communal good works. We witnessed dozens of believers doing hundreds of individual good works in obedience to God’s call on them, and in the process, furthering God’s plan on earth. But instances in the Old Testament of believers doing communal good works, such as Judah offering himself up in place of his brother Benjamin, Ruth committing herself to care for Naomi, and Jonathan and David covenanting together to support each other are much less frequent in the Old Testament.

To be sure, there is one brief stretch of communal good works during the lives of David and Solomon. But they soon fizzled out. As Israel and Judah’s cultures continued to spiral out of control, we saw many instances of God pleading with Israel and Judah through his prophets to do communal good works and thereby escape his judgement. (Isaiah 1:17-18, “Learn to do good.., plead the case of the widow….” is one example.) Sadly, we also saw that Israel and Judah’s failure to “settle out of court” and do communal good works ultimately resulted in them suffering God’s judgement.

The lesson of the Old Testament, then, is that doing communal good works is not normal behavior for ordinary people because they are contrary to our human nature.

But in the gospels, communal good works blossom during Jesus’ ministry

When we come to the gospels, we see many examples of believers doing specific, individual good works that furthered God’s plan and purpose, just as we witnessed in the Old Testament. But, in contrast to the Old Testament, suddenly we see Jesus placing a major emphasis on communal good works in every aspect of his ministry. For example, we see…

Communal good works in Jesus’ miracles – Jesus raises the only son of a widow (Luke 7:11-17)
Communal good works in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount– “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
Communal good works by Jesus’ followers – “And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore to him fourfold.” (Luke 19:8)
Communal good works in Jesus’ parables – The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) “The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Communal good works in Jesus’ debates with Israel’s leaders – “But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition.” (Mark 7:12, 13) “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” (John 10:32)
Communal good works that Jesus did for his disciples during the Last Supper – “He poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:5)
Communal good works and Jesus’ Last Night Discourse – “A new command 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.” (Jesus repeats this command for his disciples to love one another three times in his last night discourse. (John 13:34–35; 15:12; and 15:17)
Communal good works in Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer – “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)
Communal good works during Jesus’ betrayal – “And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:50)
Communal good works by Jesus as he died on the cross – “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Also while on the cross Jesus made arrangements for his mother Mary, herself a widow and single mother, to be taken care of by John. (John 19:25-27)

Thus, while communal good works were only a rarity in the Old Testament, in the gospels Jesus continuously practiced communal good works and he taught his disciples to do so as well. And at the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus prayed that communal good works would become the norm for all future believers.

It is no wonder, then, that as we look at the concept of good works in the rest of the New Testament, communal good works take center stage in the daily life of the church.

The one prerequisite for doing God’s communal good works

By now, the Bible has made its point about the difference between individual good works and communal good works. And given this distinctive emphasis on communal good works in the New Testament, from this point on I’m going to dispense with long lists of individual good works and focus entirely on the rest of the New Testament’s teaching and practice of communal good works.

But before we venture into our exploration of communal good works in the rest of the New Testament, I want to make an important point. I’ll do it with a parable I made up.

A parable of an odd slave who had a chance at freedom, but instead freely chose to become his master’s permanent, irrevocable slave for life

There once was a man by the name of Sam who lost some money in a business venture and became deeply indebted. Since he couldn’t repay his debts, his creditors sold Sam into slavery to recover their loses. Fortunately, the laws of his country allowed Sam to work his way out of slavery, which he eventually became capable of doing. But on the day that he finally had the money to buy his freedom, Sam made a strange decision; he decided that he wanted to remain permanently enslaved to his master. To seal the deal and publicly announce that he would be his master’s slave until the day he died, Sam’s master pierced his ear on the doorpost of the front door of their home. Sam’s pierced ear would be a reminder to everyone that he would never be free again.

What an odd thing to do, you say. Why would someone who has the opportunity to become free permanently enslave himself? That is ridiculous!

And you are right. That would be a very strange thing for someone to do. But I have left out one important detail: love. That is right, love. Sam, you see, was in love.

It turns out that Sam, while a slave, had married Maria, who was also a slave, and they had five children together. Sam loved Maria and their children dearly. The problem, however, was that if Sam purchased his freedom, he could not take his wife and children with him. He would be separated from them forever. Not only did Sam love Maria and his children, Sam also loved his master. His master had treated him well. Sam was, after all, capable of buying his freedom.

But instead of buying his “freedom” from the very people he loved, Sam decided to become a permanent “slave” to the people he loved. In other words, the presence of love in Sam’s heart for his wife, his children, and even his master, made his slavery irrelevant. In fact, becoming a slave permanently itself became the greatest expression of his love for them and the opportunity for him to experience his greatest freedom.

Practicing God’s communal good works is incomprehensible and even impossible without the love of Christ in our hearts

“If the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free…” Exodus 21:5

This little parable of mine may sound preposterous, but it is based on a law in the Old Testament that addresses this very situation. It is called “the law of the willing slave.”

“But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.” (Exodus 21:5-6)

Returning to my parable, what if Sam loved his freedom more than he loved his wife, his children, and his master? I imagine that on the day he chooses to leave them that he might say to them something like the following.

‘Honey, I love you. I really do. But you have to understand that there is a whole world out there just waiting for me. Who knows what I will be able to do? I promise I will visit you and the kids often. I will even send you money and gifts. But I have to go. I really do. I will never forgive myself if I do not.”

I think we would all agree that Sam is in reality abandoning his wife and children for selfish reasons. (Much like many men in America have done today.) He doesn’t really love them.

Thus, the critical determinant in these two scenarios is the presence or absence of love in Sam’s heart. And love is the critical element when practicing God’s communal good works. In fact, it is not just love, but the love of Christ. Note that Jesus did not just command his disciples to love one another, but to love one another “as I have loved you.” Only the love of Christ in our hearts makes it possible for believers to do God’s communal good works.

^“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)

How do we acquire the love of Christ in our hearts?

The problem with us having the love of Christ in our hearts is that nasty little thing called human nature. Just two verses before Jesus made his famous statement to Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are “born again,” we read “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.” (John 2:23-25)

Jesus “knew what was in each person!” We have a sinful nature, born of Satan himself, that is utterly self-centered and selfish. And Jesus sees it. It is plain as day to him. Our sinful nature crowds out the love of Christ. In fact, it hates the love of Christ and sees it as foolish. In order to have the love the love of Christ in our hearts, then, we have to have an entirely new nature and learn how to nurture it and use it. Here is how to do that.

We must be born again. We must acknowledge to God that we have not just sinned, but that we are sinners, hopelessly enslaved to sin. And we must come to God with empty hands and accept by faith his provision for our sin, Jesus Christ. Jesus died in our place on the cross and bore our punishment for our sin. (John 3:16)
We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. We receive the holy Spirit when we, by faith, receive Jesus Christ as our savior. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our need for a savior, enlightens us, regenerates us, gifts us, leads us, empowers us, and comforts us. The Holy Spirit is our best friend on earth. To have Christ’s love in our hearts, we must be responding to the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. When we walk with the Holy Spirit, he produces fruit in our lives, the first of which is love. (Galatians 5:22, 23)
We must be walking in fellowship with God and with God’s people. While we still have a sinful nature that battles with our new nature, we have the power and ability to overcome it by walking in faith and obedience to God and his Word, and by confessing our sin when we do sin. The same applies to our fellow believers. We must keep a clean slate with each other if we sin against each other by confessing our sin and making things right with one another. (1 John 1:1-10)
Only then can we do the communal good works that God saved us and called us to do. As we grow in our knowledge and experience of the love of God, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, obvious needs among our fellow believers and others will come to our attention that need our response. The love of Christ is present in our hearts when we joyfully see these needs as opportunities to trust God to provide the means for us to meet them, and in the process please God and bring glory to his name. (2 Corinthians 9:8; Titus 2:14)

As we continue our journey through the New Testament seeking to understand what it means to do God’s good works, we must ask ourselves, “Do I truly have the love of Christ in my heart?” Because without it, we will never truly comprehend the nature of the good God wants us to do.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:19-12)

This post first appeared in New Commandment.org.

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