Martin Bucer, who had left the Church of Rome in protest, wrote: “We agree with our adversaries in this, that the justified person must necessarily live righteously. We agree likewise that they will perish eternally, who do not perform good works.”

Peter Martyr said, “We must know that faith cannot be void of good works.”

Martin Chemnitz wrote “that he [God] requires from them [Christians] good works.”

In a sermon, John Calvin declared that “the gift of good works … shows that we have received the Spirit of adoption.”

I quote these particular theologians in the hope of emphasizing the importance of good works without going off onto a rabbit trail of theological controversy. These men were all early reformers who fiercely denied that good works could save a person, yet insisted that good works are integral to the Christian life. The Bible itself says a great deal about good works and their importance, but before going into that, it may be helpful to clarify what is meant by “good works.”

I do not mean what St. Paul sometimes meant by “works”: the performance of practices prescribed by the Law of Moses (e.g., Galatians 2:16). These are what might be called religious good works: circumcision being first among them, but also including adherence to dietary laws and the keeping of holy days (think weekly Sabbaths, high Sabbaths, and special days). When Paul argues against “works,” it is these kinds of “works” he has in mind.

Here, when I speak of good works, I am thinking of actions that are inspired by faith and expressed in service to God Titus 3:8; James 2:14-26). These could include, for example, a “religious” duty like going to church, but might also include taking a meal to a fellow church member who has lost a spouse, giving cash to an unemployed acquaintance, or helping the proverbial little old lady across the street. These are acts of love, and they are of great consequence in the lives of believers. Martin Bucer – as strongly opposed to a salvation-by-works doctrine as Luther himself – would say that people who do not perform such good works will perish eternally!

Across the theological spectrum, it is agreed that good works should characterize the follower of Jesus. It is, therefore, appropriate to ask ourselves if good works characterize us. What are we doing that is inspired by faith and expressed in service to God? What acts of love have we engaged in recently?

There are dozens of times in the New Testament when we are enjoined to do good/beautiful works or when such works are closely linked to a believer’s life. We are told that people will glorify God because of our good works (Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12). By doing what is good, we are protected from wasted and unproductive lives (Titus 3:14). God himself has prepared good deeds for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), and doing them will lead to a harvest (Galatians 6:9). A believer’s good works are the visible manifestation of what would otherwise be an invisible faith (James 2:18).

One text, often overlooked in a discussion about good works, is Colossians 1. Interceding for the believers in Colosse (vv. 9-12), Paul prays that they will please the Lord in every way, and then proceeds to list some of those ways. First on the list: “bearing fruit in every good work” (Colossians 1:10).

What comes next, “growing in the knowledge of God,” is closely connected to “bearing fruit in every good work” by the conjunction “and” (καὶ). Paul seems to intentionally link a growing knowledge of God with an engagement in fruit-bearing good works. Every believer who has ever done one of the “good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” has known God better because of it.

Want to know God better? Do the good works he prepared in advance for you to do. The equation goes like this: Doing good works God selected for you = knowing God better and more intimately.

A few verses later in Colossians 1, we see the other side of this equation. In English versions, this is easily missed, but it stands out in Greek. In verse 21, Paul reminds the Colossians that they were once alienated from God and their thinking was hostile toward him “in your evil works” (literal translation).

We get to know God better by doing the works he wisely chose for us to do. In Paul’s language, we “grow in the knowledge of him.” But we will grow in our alienation from, and hostility toward, God if we do the evil works God does not want us to do. Either way, the “works” we do play an important role in our relationship with God.

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