RUSHWAVE: Establishing Believers in the Christian Faith

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

Chapter 18: Good Works cannot Atone for Evil Works

Neither the quality nor quantity of man’s good works acquit him before God.

Consider this illustration. All were silent as the judge prepared to read his verdict. The man before him was a brutal, murderous warlord guilty of heinous crimes against the men, women and children of numerous villages. The prosecution argued for the death penalty, providing incontrovertible evidence of his terrible crimes. The defense argued for his acquittal, providing incontrovertible evidence of his good deeds. The judge made his decision and said:

The accused is indeed guilty of these crimes. But it must be kept in mind that he did good things too. He did give money to help his poor relatives, and he also provided leadership in the building of a hospital in his community. I therefore judge these good deeds warrant a dismissal of all charges, for these good works atone for all the wrongs he committed.

If the above scenario sounds ridiculous, it is intended to be. Such a verdict would rightly be considered a mockery of justice. But what exactly irks us about the ruling? We can make several observations.

First, the judge spoke of good works which “atone” for the bad works. Atonement is a judicial concept which has in view good works which satisfy the demands of justice and thereby acquit the guilty party.

In the illustration it is not the concept of atonement we find revolting for we all accept the concept in one way or another almost every day. When we are personally offended, we believe the offender must do something to make amends. It may involve showing remorse and giving an apology, repairing or paying for the object that what was broken, providing a refund for the damaged goods, and so on. When that action is accomplished, whether we realize it or not we are viewing the offense as having been “atoned” for. We are adopting the perspective he has made amends or provided satisfaction for his offense. So we apply principles of atonement to everyday life and think nothing of it.

If the concept of atonement in the judge’s ruling is not what we find revolting, then what is it? It is the weights, so to speak, the judge used on the scales of justice. If the warlord’s evil deeds were somehow placed on one side of a judicial scale, placing his good deeds on the other side would absolutely not outweigh or even balance his hideous offenses. How does donating money to poor relatives warrant dismissing charges of brutality and murder? It does not. It is therefore the judge’s gross misapplication of judicial principles of atonement that we find revolting.

Now man takes this whole concept of atonement and often applies it to himself in relation to God. He says to himself, “I certainly have done things wrong in my life, but I also have done many good things. When I stand before God, those good works will outweigh the bad, and I will not be condemned. Overall I am a good person.” But there are major problems with this perspective.

Man viewing his good works as atoning for his evil works is another example of man doing what is right in his own eyes. As has already been shown in a previous chapter, man incorrectly assesses his moral condition because he forms judgments based on what is right or wrong in his own eyes. Thus there are many deeds man considers good but God considers evil. But man not only misperceives the quality of his individual deeds. Man also projects upon God his own warped principles of justice and atonement. In his fallen, corrupted mind he determines the basis of his own acquittal.

What gives man the right to determine what good works makes amends for his evil works before almighty God? Is this not a display of the utmost arrogance and pride? Should a criminal stand before a court and say to the judge “I have done good things in my life, so you have no right to condemn me”? Is it for the criminal to dictate to a court what the standards of justice should be? If this is true for human courts, is it not even more so for the court of almighty God?

Man’s good works before God are detestable and abhorrent, so there is no possibility of atonement. The idea of good works outweighing the bad works presupposes man is actually capable of good works. But scripture disagrees.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6

The “filthy garment” referenced here is a used menstrual rag, and that is how God sees our good works. “Our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment”; they are disgusting and revolting. So the entire concept of God putting our evil works on one side of a scale, and our good deeds on the other, is a complete deception. All our works actually belong on one side of the scale: the side of evil works. There is nothing to put on the other side; there is actually nothing to commend us to God.

The good works God commands of Christians do not atone for their evil works. Without question the New Testament is filled with numerous commands from God for Christians to obey. Getting baptized, partaking of the Lord’s Supper, regularly attending church, forgiving fellow believers, loving one another, and helping the needy are just a few. But obeying these commands is never portrayed as a means to secure favor with God and atone for one’s sins.

Some make the serious error of viewing the New Testament as an updated rule book — just obey the commands of Jesus and His apostles to love, and your good works will acquit you of any wrongdoing. But this mindset completely misrepresents the spirit in which Christ’ commands are to be obeyed. Atonement is achieved through Jesus Christ’ sacrifice on the cross, and it is appropriated by faith. Believers are to obey God’s commands in response to the grace shown through the sacrifice of His only Son, and out of their love for God. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11) . And again, “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). In this series Good News in John 3:16, this concept of atonement will be fully explored in book 5 The Saving Work of Jesus Christ.

God alone has the right to determine what is necessary to atone for man’s evil works. God alone is all-knowing and ever-present; only He has a complete, infallible record of everything we have ever done. God alone is just and righteous; only He is capable of examining the evidence with complete impartiality. And it is the prerogative of God, and God alone, to determine what is necessary to atone for man’s sins. And He has determined there is absolutely nothing man can do to acquit himself. Man is incapable of atoning for his evil deeds.

It is not for you to project upon God what constitutes acquittal for your evil works. And you have no good works to place on the scales of justice anyway, for your perceived good deeds are actually abhorrent to God. Only God Himself, as the righteous Judge, reserves the right to determine the proper basis of your acquittal. And God has determined your perceived good deeds in no way atone for your evil deeds.

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

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