On Good Works and Partial Faith

I was listening to a prominent Jewish conservative discuss what constituted acceptance by God, and the relative worth of faith and works. He made a statement which related a level of 'good works' with a 'level of faith'. This seems like a logical equation, yet it is completely wrong, for the Christian or the Jew. That is what we want to investigate here, yet a few foundation points need to be established before we look to God's desire in this matter. We ask you Lord to sanctify our hearts, we claim the purifying blood of Jesus as the perfect sacrifice, and with that blood enter into a place where we can worship and learn. May your Grace guide us to greater faith, experiential faith, faith that grows beyond ourselves and becomes a unbreakable body for You to fill with eternal life.

To begin with, we must return to Genesis and the amazing principle established by God himself with regards to accessing Him. After Adam and Eve had transgressed, God decreed the effect of that transgression then did something amazing. It is verse twenty-one of the third chapter in Genesis where God "... made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them." Here we find something glorious and wonderful. A innocent animal was sacrificed to cover the sin of Adam and Eve, and it was God himself who provided and accepted that sacrifice. From this we can gain illumination into the principal of being with God, entering into His presence, talking with Him and drawing close.

Adam and Eve saw their own nakedness and were afraid to be seen. Are we not the same? Afraid of being exposed, ashamed of our failures, hiding our inadequacies. Part of the personality of every human is a emotional and mental shield protecting and isolating the center of our existence. It develops as we learn, as we gain knowledge of our inadequacy, our nakedness. We learn that the life of man is confined to the natural due to our choice of wanting to know what is 'right' and 'wrong'. We want to sit in the place of judgment discerning the good from the bad. Yet we are incapable of omniscient discernment, and our judgment will inevitably be flawed. We perceive with this same knowledge that the heart of man is incomplete and can not enter into God's presence. We are a picture, a vessel, and need to have the tree of life in order to be complete. We need to access the source God provided for Adam. A source that would allow Adam to enjoy a relationship with God forever.

God loved Adam, and wanted to continue a relationship with Adam, so He provided for Adam a covering, a shield that allowed Adam to stand with God and not be ashamed of his incompleteness. As a side note, Adam and Eve clothed themselves beforehand with leaves, yet still hid from God. So their own attempt at covering their incomplete nature was not adequate to stand before God. Their own work did nothing to re-establish a relationship with God, it did nothing to bring them closer to completion. Yet the sacrifice God provided allowed them to remain in His presence, by no work of their own. This is the fundamental principal of faith. Access to God comes not from your work, your toil, but from God. He provides the sacrifice, He determines what is acceptable. He gives to us the ability to believe in that principal and experience it.

Now we are in a place to understand the concept of good works. A man can perform a lifetimes worth of good works, according to all that he knows, all the knowledge of what is good, and avoid that which is evil, yet never walk with God. This man is simply living according to his own judgment, or societies, and is unable to properly cover his nakedness, let alone address his incomplete nature. Works without faith are not recognized by God, how could they be? Supposedly 'good' works, as judged by man or society, are inherently flawed. That is not a license to avoid doing what is good or correct. There is a natural purpose to the guidelines for man, the boundaries of societal interaction. Clearly adherering to that which is proper enables greater progress in society, but is no guaranteed path to a relationship with God.

Faith is the true path, the confounding door which leads to God's presence. It is impossible to reason, mere wisdom will not create it. The finest intelect can not discern its essence. And it is experiential, not a passive concept. There is no partial faith. Faith is given to us by God, created in us by His Grace. We can then exercise that faith, use it to approach God. Use it to accomplish His desire in our lives. When we then do work for God, it is judged by Him, we are free from presiding over our own evaluation. What is most amazing, it is the path of faith that leads to that other tree, a source of eternal life. The access God grants to us to receive a higher life, a connection to being in His presence forever.

We can go beyond Adam and Eve. Our deepest desire of complete fulfillment, of becoming complete, of being clothed in light can be realized through the perfect sacrifice God has provide to us. I must bless God with the blessing He has given to me. Praise Him with the praises he has filled into my heart. No work of my own, no introspective self help, no construction to hide my incompleteness is fruitful without actual faith. We must honestly confess our utter inadequacy, our inherent impurity, and from that place receive faith to act. It is not the sum of a mans life that God weighs in the balance, but the measure of His own life that has entered into the man. This is where many, regardless of sect or doctrine, stumble.

Man on his own is unable to fulfill the requirement. We do not measure up, no matter how 'perfect' a life we live. And to persue a relationship with God, just satisfying God's own guidelines is insufficient. We must satisfy the will of God with His own energy, with the unblemished force He provides. No other action will yield entry, no matter how 'good' it looks to the individual or society. Faith is the gulf that separates the garden from the outside, the heavenly from the natural. It is the key that allows one to pass the "flame of a sword" and the Cherubim that stand protecting the path to the Tree of Life.

God bless all those who have a ear to hear. Grant us faith that leads to life. May we do works in your name and with the power you provide. Thank you endlessly.