Of Good Works, XVI:1

Good works are only such as God has commanded in His holy Word, and not such as, without the warrant thereof, are devised by men, out of blind zeal, or upon any pretence of good intention.

In the gospel of grace there is most certainly a place for good works. As we move through this chapter we will get a better appreciation for all that is entailed, but right at the outset the mere fact that the Confession contains a chapter devoted to this subject should get our attention. Many evangelicals wrongly associate works with Roman Catholicism or some other form of legalism. Yet God has created us for good works (Ephesians 2:10). And it should then come as no surprise that good works are God's idea. Furthermore, only God knows what truly constitutes a good work. These he has commanded in his word. It is not up to the cleverness of man to devise works that he thinks are good and then expect that God will recognize them. It matters not whether a man has zeal or even "good" intentions when he follows his own thinking and not that of God. We must search the Scriptures to find out what God intends for us to do.

Tomorrow: The place of good works in the life of the believer.