Unbelievers are unable to do good works because all their works are described as "dead." This fact alone severely corrupts true worship. The author of Hebrews made this connection in Heb. 9:14: "how much more will the blood of Christ cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Since good works are essentially the outflow of sincere worship of God, and pure worship cannot flow from a defiled conscience, it naturally follows that unbelievers with defiled consciences cannot truly worship/serve God and produce good works as a result. This episode stresses that salvation cleanses the conscience of all DEAD and so--called "good" works" based mostly on self-idolatry, for the purpose of undefiled, exclusive worship of the LIVING God.
Worship that Reverses the Great Exchange
This episode focuses on the high bar of true worship articulated by Christ in John 4:22-23, "An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." The statement naturally begs the question, "Were Jews previously worshiping the Father in the flesh and a lie?" This would be the natural conclusion of Christ's insistence that one MUST be born again and Paul's description of the great exchange in Rom 1, where men exchange the truth of God for a lie. Importantly, God had revealed His truth perfectly, highlighted by Christ's acknowledgment that "salvation is from the Jews." The Jews were nevertheless no exception to the great exchange, indicating that even though they were the blessed recipients of God's Word, the rampant idolatry of their hearts constantly produced fleshly worship more disposed to self-worship than the worship of the one true God. Idolatrous worship reigns among the unregenerate, those Jews who are "uncircumcised of heart and ears." (Acts 7:51) Regeneration, being born of the Spirit, is therefore the necessary precondition to worshipping God in Spirit and truth. With respect to the question about the possibility of good works for unbelievers, the logic is inescapable. If Jews prior to Christ couldn't escape their fleshly worship of the lie, even though they were entrusted with God's perfect Truth, how can unbelievers do good works when their idolatry is not remotely tempered by the Word of God?
You Worship what You Serve
This episode narrowly focuses on the condition of fallen mankind in which the image of corruptible man is worshipped, principally through self-centered lusts. This idolatrous worship taints all so-called "good works" that proceed out of man as he prioritizes his lusts. Immediately after describing the great exchange, in which mankind exchanges the glory of God for an image in the form of corruptible man (Rom. 1:23-25), Paul declares that God gives man over to his lusts. God allows him to pursue, in the words of John, "the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the lust for reputation ("the boastful pride of life") (1 John 2:16) While most unbelievers would never admit that they worship themselves, the continuous servicing of the "lusts of deceit" reveal the true object of worship. We worship what we predominantly serve (Mt. 4:10), and "the image in the form of corruptible man" is practically indistinguishable from the lusts that consume him. Critically, the service of his lusts, colors all his "good works," even rendering them disgusting. Isaiah therefore concludes that "all our righteous deeds are as filthy rags." (Is. 64:6)
Good Works and Worship
This episode tackles the false dichotomy between "worship" and "service" made by many unbelievers, where "good works" are mostly about service to others and don't flow from worship. Christ Himself exploded this distinction in Mat 4:10, connecting service to worship, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve." Service then is an expression of worship. Unbelievers don't typically connect service to worship of anyone, preferring to emphasize outward service divorced from worship as the basis of good works. The episode highlights that genuine worship of God sometimes conflicts with "service" to man, where affirmation and toleration of behavior, divorced from God's standards, is evidence of virtue or goodness. Good works in the form of "service" to man, even when it looks "intolerant," flows from worship of God. Not embracing God's standards, unbelievers usually omit "worship" from a discussion on "good works," instead imposing an anthropocentric psuedo-morality that emphasizes tolerance and outward acts of service as the ground of good works.
Whose Pleasure are You Living For?
"Good works" largely depend on the object worshipped and whose glory the works are intended to serve. Since all men participate in the great exchange, where the glory of man is sought out over the glory of God, then "good works" are evident to the extent they promote the glory of man. This dynamic helps explain why there is such a disconnect between the Biblical basis of good works (the glory of God) and a secular foundation of good works (the glory of man). An easier way to measure whose glory is supreme is to gage whose pleasure is in view. Living for the glory of God means to live for the pleasure of God. Christ did this perfectly, in whom "the good pleasure of the Lord prospered in hand." (Isaiah 53:10) And, He always chose God's glory or pleasure over man's. Most of the episode highlights how God's glory and pleasure should be the ultimate aim of the Christians.
Good Works’ Reflect the Object Worshipped
This episode provides the reason why most unbelievers consider themselves good people capable of doing good works. As a consequence of the great exchange, where all people exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve themselves, "good" and "bad" is primarily measured by service/disservice to the object being worshipped. Mankind becomes the measure, and this idolatrous thermometer leads to assessments in which men commend themselves by themselves. (2 Cor: 10:12) This faulty assessment of course misses the true standard of God in which God is the object of worship. The episode closes with an exhortation to do good works by embracing the standard of God in the person of Christ.
Re-defining ‘Good’ to Serve Mankind
This episode elaborates on the great exchange of Romans 1:18-23, in which mankind exchanges the glory of God for an image in the form of himself. This exchange is critical to understanding unbelievers' basis for doing good works. Morality and "good works" are ultimately defined by the object they serve. Mankind is the fundamental god of unbelievers and "good works" describe the relationship of man's works to man's god, i.e. himself. So not surprisingly, man commends himself when his works serve himself, even calling his evil works "good." Isaiah commented on the disconnect between divine morality and man-made morality: "woe to those who call evil good, and good, evil." (Is 5:20) The last part of the episode explains how the great exchange is reversed by following Christ.
The god behind the ‘Good Works’ of Unbelievers
This episode addresses the root reason why unbelievers are often adamant about their ability to do good works. Works can be described as "good" in so far as they serve some purpose. Since mankind was created for God's glory (Isaiah 43:7), but has nevertheless fallen short of that glory (Romans 3:23), his works can not logically be described as "good." But if man rejects his purpose, that he was created for God's glory, and even exchanges that glory for man's glory, then the works of man are evaluated based on their service to the glory of man. Morality itself becomes a social construct ultimately aimed at the glory of man. Romans 1:18-25 traces the descent of exchanging the glory of God for an image in the form of corruptible man, concluding that man "worships and serves the creature rather than the Creator." Very critically, unregenerate man rejects the glory of God as the purpose of man, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, and substitutes himself as the object of worship. Morality and "good" works merely reflect the god that is served, so not surprisingly, many unbelievers insist that they do good works.
Are You Putting on the Right Armor?
This episode addresses the belt of truth by contrasting it with the belt of the autonomous self, the outlook of all who reject Christ. The belt of the old self is actually a lie and corresponds with the great exchange of Rom 1:25, where unbelievers "exchange the truth of God for a lie." This episode, following the pattern of Eph. 6:10-17, contrasts the armor of God with the armor of man. Every faculty in unregenerate man is devoted to protecting the autonomous self which is principally defined by devotion to the "lusts of deceit." Some of the armor pieces of the autonomous self are the breastplate of self-confidence, the shield of independence, the shoes of hostility, and the sword of the soul, the word of the self. The episode provides a stark contrast of how believers and unbelievers engage the world. Believers are called to honestly evaluate their lingering sympathies with "the lie," while unbelievers are called to reassess their commitment to the lie.
See His Glory and Repent
This episode highlights the dynamics involved in the reversal of the Great Exchange. When we were not in Christ, we had exchanged the glory of God for images and produced a litany of sins based on this fundamental idolatry. In sanctification the Holy Spirit progressively reverses the Great Exchange, moving us to repent from dead works and live for the glory of God. Very interesting is one of the means that the Holy Spirit uses to inspire us to repent. The Holy Spirit uncovers some of the glory of Christ, and we perceive the vileness of our idolatry contrasted with the glory of Christ. The more we see the glory of God in the person of Christ, the more we sin our sinfulness, losing all hope apart from the mercy and grace in Christ. So when we have degrees of the beatific vision in this life, when we progressively behold God's glory, we repent and change our mind about our particular sins based on self-idolatry. The result is we become more and more like Christ. Struggling to repent of particular sins? Ask God to uncover His glory, and that experience will devastate and transform you.
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