“the blood of Christ … cleanse your conscience from dead works” (Heb 9:14, NKJV)
In the last two teachings we focused on three often overlooked advantage of the blood of Jesus. Today, in concluding this subsection, we would like to point out a fourth advantage. This very important aspect is found in Heb 9:14 – “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Believers often experience confusion concerning the role of works in their lives. For the sake of clarity it is important to elucidate works from two perspectives – before and after conversion.
Before conversion and being born again there is NOTHING you can do to achieve redemption. All good works, including going to church, giving to the poor, helping the less privileged, leading a good life, regarding others as higher than yourself, chastising your body, living an ascetic life, going through pain and suffering, all that we could possible present as righteousness of our own making, God terms as “filthy rags” in Isa 64:6. As direct fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil these are obviously good fruit, but which also (like the bad fruit) bring forth death. We can never be saved through works (Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; 2 Tim 1:0) – “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5).
Thus – we assume that man is justified by faith without the works of the law (Rom 3:28).
After we have been saved and washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 1:5) a new dispensation originates, which James specificially writes about. In James 3:13 he makes it clear that we must also engage in works which signify our walk with God. Earlier in chapter 2 we find an argument that explains what he means by this statement – “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:14-18). After being born again works are the fruit of your walk with God, and if they are lacking, you cannot claim that this walk is indeed a reality.
But the mast head refers to dead works BEFORE and dead works AFTER being born again, in other words after the blood of Jesus has started operating in your life. We now understand good works before being born again, but what classifies as dead works after being born again?
- Sela: What are dead works in the life of believers?
- Read: Lev 19; Zech 1; Isa 59
- Memorise: Isa 59:1-2
