"Finished"      Part 2

                                                                       WORKS

by Lorraine Costain

lac37j@yahoo.ca.

I want to look, in this part of our study, at, WORKS. I have let go of all the "speak religously correct", thing. Father speaks to me in words that I understand. He doesn't use words that cause me to say, "Hold on, Father, let me get a dictionary."   He speaks to each of us, in the way that HE knows we will understand. To try to be otherwise, IS WORKS.

From, Webster's Dictionary, the following is the definition of, WORK:

(1) Physical or mental effort directed to a goal. (2) a job or employment;  (3) the activity that serves as one's  regular source of livelihood; occupation; (4) something done as part of a job, task or duty. (5) something brought about by an effort; (6) the transfer of energy when a force is applied to a body. (sym., BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT, JOB, OCCUPATION; (7) to form or shape; (8) to move or contort, as from painful emotion; (9) to solve by figuring or reasoning; (10) to excite or provoke; (11) to achieve (a particular state) in stages; (12) to find a solution for; (13) an act or deed, as of charity; (14) something being produced, studied ir subjected to a process.

From, Strong's Concordance:

#2041= to toil,  (as an effort or occupation), an act: deed, labour, work. 

I have received several emails from the list, asking my opinion, on "WORKS".  There are those, like the Pharisees, that are constantly preaching, "Do nothing, do nothing, or else you're doing "works" and that is part of the "church system". "Rest and do nothing".  IF that were true, Jesus would have been part of that "church system". Jesus, Himself, says:

"The WORKS that I do..."     "There be some here, that will do the WORKS that I do, and greater WORKS will THEY do..".  "Faith without WORKS..."

Also, IF we did not do some works, Father would not be seen, through us. Now, for all of you that are of the thought, "WE can do nothing...", I do know, that it is Father who DOES the DOING through us. But, it is us/Him DOING the moving, here on earth, for Him to WORK through. There are "works" that we (this "WE" are His Body that HE WORKS, WALKS and SPEAKS through, not just mortal man) ARE to do. And there are "works" that we only learn from the DOING of them.

A precious sister in Canada, and I were talking about "works" sometime ago. When Father spoke to me about teachin "WORKS",  what she had shown me immediately came to mind. So, I'd like to share with you, the article that she sent me, probably, last year. Her name is Lorraine. So, let these words speak to you.

All of this talk about "works" really interests me, because this is something which puzzled me for the longest time. I understand the feelings of wanting to
'do' the things we are to be 'doing', but not 'doing' them just for the sake of "doing works"...which we refer to as 'works of the flesh'.

I have been learning that 'works' and 'rest' are actually the same thing, and this is what James is talking about in Chapter 2. Many think of rest, as doing nothing, but I don't believe this is what God is speaking of in Hebrews 4. I believe it is something
much different than what many have thought, and has everything to do with faith. The 'works' James talks about in James 2 is the rest, that the Father speaks of in
Hebrews 4.

How can we tell if the works we are doing are being done in faith or in our flesh?

It was in James 2 that the Spirit began showing me His answer to this question. He tied in James 2 and Heb 11 with Hebrews chapters 3 and 4.

The first time James puts forth the question "what good is faith without works?" is in James 2:14. We need to read verses 1-13 to see why James brought this
issue up in the first place. What was he discussing with those he was talking to?

In reading these verses we can see that James was trying to correct these believers because they were treating some better than others. They were showing preference to the rich, which was dishonoring the poor amongst them, and revealing their contempt for the poor.

James 2:8,9 - "IF indeed you [really] fulfill the royal Law in accordance with Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as [you love] yourself, you do well.
BUT IF you show servile regard (prejudice, favoritism) for people, you commit sin and are rebuked and convicted by the Law as violaters and offenders." AMP

What surprised me was that James was saying that one part of 'works' was in the way that we treat each other. I never saw it that way before. I had been taught that 'good works' was more a material thing, where we give food, clothing, etc...to the poor and witness to unbelievers. So, to look at "works" outside of that context was a new one for me.

James 2:12, 13 - "So SPEAK and so ACT as [people should] who are to be judged under the law of liberty (the moral instruction given by Christ, especially about love). For to him who has shown mercy, the judgement [will be] merciless, BUT mercy (full of glad confidence) exults victoriously over judgement." AMP

I had an eyeopener. James was telling me that one part of 'works' was in the way that I treated other people (in words and in actions) as in showing impartiality or prejudice. In the context of all of this, James puts forth this question:

James 2:14 - "What is the use (profit), my brethren, for ANYONE TO PROFESS to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save his soul]?" AMP

What I heard the Spirit saying to me was:     'Saying you have faith in Me is just words and is not real unless it shows a change of heart...which is proved by the
way that you treat (works) your fellow man. You can say all the right words, but, your treatment of others proves whether or not you believe My Word (have faith).

I never saw it that way before. To say the least, I was convicted in my dealings with others.

James takes us further concerning works in verses 15 and 16:

"If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day, AND one of you says to him, Good-bye!  Keep [yourself] warm and well fed, WITHOUT giving him
the necessities for the body, what good does that do?"

James uses these verses as another example of the 'works' we are to be doing. Then he compares these works to 'faith':

James 2:17 - "SO ALSO faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), BY ITSELF is destitute of power (inoperative, dead)."
AMP

The "also" in this verse, shows us that these first two aspects of 'works' are being compared as an example to "works" that are a product of faith. The first two
aspects of 'works' have been identified as: our attitudes and actions towards others.

As I pondered these verses I began to see that it is not just the natural needs of others that James is referring to. There are those who spiritually need food and clothing.

What I heard the Spirit saying to me was: " Your faith is just in words and not real if you walk away from those who need natural or spiritual food, clothes, etc...when you have the means to meet their needs and you don't."  Immediately we "think" that we should go "out" and do these things; but without His Spirit, this"doing" would only be in our own strength; therefore not a result of faith, but of our flesh. So I wondered; "How does faith play a part in meeting these needs?

Then I noticed that "deeds" and "acts of obedience" was the definition of "works". "In all things be led by the Spirit of God."  Wow! Be obedient to His leading in what 'deeds' or 'actions' that we are todo. In other words, hear Him and do it! This made
sense to me because I am understanding that all that is done outside of the Spirit leading, is just flesh.


Then I got it! These "works" will only be done in "faith", as Faith is allowed to do His Work in us. To apply it, it is like this: I will only treat others the way He wants me to treat them, to the extent that I allow Him to do His Work in my heart. These "works"
will only come forth in faith as I continue to receive His Heart for people. And...I will only meet the needs of the poor (both naturally and spiritually) as I learn to obey the leadings of His Spirit as He brings these ones into my life.

Many "good works" that we do in the flesh are not to be despised, as they do help others, but they are not to be mistaken as being done in 'faith', or as a result of faith.

One aspect of "works of the flesh" is running out and doing things we read about in His Word without being prompted by the Spirit to do so. We must allow the Spirit to lead in our "doing"  Often "works of the flesh" are mistaken for "works of faith".

"Works of flesh" will wear us down until faith becomes too heavy a burden to carry. This will lead us away from faith, rather than lead us into reliance upon the Spirit. This is evident in many religious practices that are void of His Spirit. This is why understanding His Rest, in accordance with "works of faith", is so important for us all to understand.

In James 2:1-17,  we learn of two aspects of "works": the way we treat each other, and the things we do for each other. They are only of faith, when and if they
are a product of the Spirit.

In all the Spirit's dealings and teaching with us, He always deals with us twofold: out attitude towards the Father and His Word...and our attitude towards each other. This can be summed up in Jesus words:

"Love the Lord God with all your spirit, soul, mind, and strength...and Love your neighbor as you love yourself."

Our true attitude towards the Father and His Word will always be revealed or reflected in the way we treat each other.

The Spirit is revealing two principles of one "faith", and the "works" that go along with this faith.

The first principle speaks of our dealings with each other...not our dealings with the Father. We mistake these "works", that James has been talking about, in vs. 1-17,
as being "righteous works", works that reveal "right standing in God".  We have been wrong. In fulfilling this first principle of "works of faith",  we have only began in our faith walk.

Mistaking our deeds and actions towards others as being "works which result in righteousness" has only increased the "works of the flesh" in peoples lives.
Mistakenly pursuing "works" in the hopes of proving we that are "righteous" has left us with dirty rags. I am not against "doing' good things for others", I am only realizing that we have misunderstood these "works" as being "righteous works", when they are not. "Righteous works" are something much different and are brought out in the remaining verses of James chapter 2, with examples being given from Heb 11.

James 2:20 - "Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is inactive and
ineffective and worthless?"

Obviously, some are arguing with James because he is getting quite firm here. James is now taking these ones and us deeper into these "works" and revealing to
us "works"  that cause us to be justified or made righteous in the sight of God. James is differentiating between two different kinds of "works" and now is going to identify the ones that result in "righteousness".  He begins by giving us examples of
"righteous works":

James 2:21,22 - "Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (make acceptabe to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his
[own] son Isaac? You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works."

vs. 23 - "And [so] the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and THIS was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God's will in thought and deed), and he was called God's friend."

These "works" are different than the ones James speaks of in the first of the chapter. James is now talking about how we personally respond to what the Father is speaking to us. We are no longer dealing with other people, but,  we are being brought face to face with whether or not we really believe the things the Father
tells us personally.

Abraham believed, had assurance in his heart that the nature of God was good towards him, and that God's promises to him were true. In obedience to this faith, and to the Voice of God, Abraham was willing to kill his own son...knowing that God would bring him back to life in order to perform His Word.

 Rahab gives us another example of 'works' that resulted in righteousness:

"SO ALSO with Rahab the harlot - was she not shown to be justified (pronounced righteous before God) by [good] deeds when she took in the scouts [spies] and
sent them away by a different route?"

Read Hebrews 11 and view the "works" that each of these saints did which resulted in them achieving "righteousness". These works have nothing to do with how much we feed the poor, or how many people we witness to. They have nothing to do with other people, but,  how we respond to the Father, ourselves, in our personal relationship with Him.

These "works" prove to the Father and prove to us whether or not we really do believe His Word...all that His Spirit reveals to us...and all the promises that He has given to us. These "works" are testings of our faith, and reveals to the Father exactly who we are believing in...Him or something else. These testings reveal our faith to be either "righteous" or unrighteous.

These kinds of "works" are strictly between the believer and their Father. These works are not between us and others, but between us and the One we claim to believe in. These testings reveal the true attitude we have towards the Father and His Word.  Only as we come out on the other side of these testings, do we realize just where our faith has really been placed...in Him or in something else.

When Abraham was willing to kill Isaac, this proved tothe Father that Abraham really did trust and rely upon Him for all things. The Father's deliverance of Isaac at the last second proved to Abraham that he had put his trust in the right place, in God.

These "works" will prove what is really in our heart towards the Father and His Word, regardless of what our mouths are saying. If we say we believe and we do
not, then these testings will prove it. Our faith will either be found to be "righteous" or unrighteous.

Abraham, Rahab, and all those listed in Hebrews 11 passed this proving of their faith, and it was accounted unto them as righteousness. This is my desire. To grow up to the place of faith where I can trust the Father and His Word as these ones did. It is impossible to make a list of these kinds of "works" and place them on a bulletin board for all to follow. These "works" are personal...between the believer and the One they claim to be believing in.

When we go through these types of testings and "works" they reveal just where our faith is. If we fail one of these testings then this encourages us to begin looking in the right direction, which is unto Him.

The first set of "works" James discusses deals with our attitudes and actions works] towards others. The second set of "works" James discusses deals with personal individual "works" that result in righteousness or right standing with God.

The first set of "works" can be done either in faith or in flesh (with only one being beneficial to Father and His Kingdom). The second set of "works" cannot be
counterfeited by our flesh. These types of "works" test us personally right where we are at. What we have put our trust in is proved clearly by the way we walk these out. This is the same faith "works" that led Jesus willingly to the Cross, knowing (believing in, trusting in, and relying upon) that His Father would bring Him forth from the grave.

We have often equated our fleshly attempt to do good things for others, as these same "works" that result in righteousness...and we have been wrong. We haven't
even come close to understanding these things correctly. But, I am thinking that the more we begin to experience such testings, the more realization we will receive. "Rest" is simply "doing" only what the Spirit is telling us to "do", when He is telling us to 'do' it. Nothing more, nothing less.