Repentance from dead works.

Dead Works - Definition

The first of the elementary truths in Hebrews 6 is repentance from dead works. The writer does not say repentance from sin, but from dead works. The Bible speaks of three kinds of works: the works of the flesh, the work of the devil, and the work of God. There is only one work which lives and lasts forever and that is the work of God. What, then, is a dead work?

A dead work is anything a Christian ever does which is not initiated by God. If it is not initiated by God it will not be energised by God, and if not energised by him, will produce nothing for his glory.

Before a person becomes a Christian they are reliant on themselves, their own talents or abilities, or dependent on others. However, when God in his wonderful grace saves, we are totally dependent on him. What a simple but vital truth this is. How many mistakes and heartaches could be avoided if this truth were applied. Wrong plans, wrong financial decisions, wrong relationships and many wrong activities could be prevented by seeking God’s will and doing it.

Jesus is ‘the author and finisher of our faith’. If we ever want him to finish anything we do, we must ensure he begins it. Dead works can never produce life. One day Moses left the palace and saw an Egyptian and an Israelite fighting. With false zeal Moses slew the Egyptian and as a result had to flee the country. From a wrong motive King David ordered a national census of his troops which resulted in 70,000 men dying. As a result of impatience, Abraham married Hagar with Ishmael as the result.

If we ever want Jesus to finish anything we do, we must ensure he begins it.

Jesus, the Perfect Example

The Lord Jesus never did a dead work because in everything he did he was completely reliant on his Father, God. He said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the son also does” (John 5:19).

Jesus would neither be pushed by people or by circumstances. When he attended a wedding at Cana, with the embarrassing situation of the hosts running out of wine, his mother Mary said to him, “they have no more wine”, to which he replied, “why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” What did Jesus mean? He was saying that his Father had not yet told him to act.

A few minutes later the time did come and he performed his first miracle, not when Mary tried to push him but when God initiated his action. Later his brothers, who at that time did not believe in him, tried to persuade him to go to Jerusalem where all the crowds were gathering. Again he said, “The right time for me has not yet come”. He did go to Jerusalem - not when his brothers decided, but when God decided.

Why did Jesus not hurry to Bethany when he heard that his good friend Lazarus was sick? Did he not care? Of course he cared, but the circumstance did not dictate his action - only the revealed will and timing of God.

Repentance

We must ask ourselves, therefore, whether there are any dead works in our lives or whether we are doing anything which God did not start. Our activities, when initiated by him, will have his blessing, his power, his peace and the fulfilling of his purposes.

I suppose one of the most common dead works is worry or anxiety. I remember some years ago how the Holy Spirit convicted me of this particular dead work. I was involved in a national outreach programme and was facing many difficulties. I thought I was being very spiritual and ‘taking the burden’. I was meditating in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything…” The Lord showed me I was not taking the burden - but was worried to death. I had trespassed from the realm of God-given concern to anxiety. I had to repent and confess my sin of disobedience. If God says, “do not be anxious about anything” and I am anxious for something, I have sinned.

We must ask ourselves whether there are any dead works in our lives, or whether we are doing anything which God did not start.

There is only one way to get rid of sin and that is by confession, so I confessed my sin to the Lord. He forgave me and quickly brought the answer to the situation. Repentance is a change of mind and a change of attitude which leads to a change of action. For example, are you worried about anything? If so, you have been thinking wrongly, perhaps thinking you could solve the problem by yourself. A change is needed which involves the acknowledgment that without him we can do nothing, leading to a change of action as the psalmist exhorted, “Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass” (Ps 37:5, NKJV).

The word ‘commit’ means ‘to throw or to roll’. How wonderful it is to throw to him that situation which caused us to worry and trust him to resolve it. There is a wonderful promise in Proverbs 3:6, “In ALL your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” All our ways: our personal life, marriage, children, relationships, work, service, everything - acknowledge him…he will direct.

Questions

1. How would you define a ‘dead work’? Give some biblical or personal examples.
2. What action should be taken to ensure that God initiates everything we do?
3. Can you think of any 'dead works’ in your life and what should you do now?
4. In what ways is Jesus the perfect example of doing the works of God?

This article is part of a series. Click here for previous instalments.

A new series on the ‘elementary principles’ of Hebrews 6:1-2.

We begin a series about the basic requirements of the Christian life, as set out by the writer to the Hebrews. It is a timely reminder of the necessity for a proper grounding in the principles of life in Christ.

True Salvation

One of the reasons why there are unnecessary problems in the life of some Christians is because certain foundational truths have not been established. If the foundation of a building is weak those weaknesses affect the superstructure. Cracks will appear and things will come out of alignment, all detracting from the strength of the building. So it is in a Christian’s life.

Some years ago after living and ministering in New Zealand, we returned to England. My son, who was then 12 years of age, soon discovered there was a difference in the standard of education between New Zealand and England. For example, he had done no language study, apart from English, and found himself in a class where the students had already had about two years teaching of French and Latin.

Three years later we attended a parent-teacher evening and in conversation with the French master, he said, “I cannot understand your son, Stuart. He is clever and does well in his exams, but from time to time he makes the most elementary mistakes.” We reminded him that he had missed the initial teaching of the basics of the language. Although he had learned much, because the foundational teaching of the language had not been properly laid, the defects were manifested.

Before foundational truths can be established it is important to ensure that a person is a true Christian. Many people call themselves Christians, but are not. Therefore, it may be a good investment of a few minutes to check up on the reality of our profession of faith. Although this may seem a strange introduction to this series, I believe there is a precedent for it. At the end of Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, in which he had encouraged. taught, and corrected, he asks them to do something: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; text yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test” (2 Cor 13:5).

One of the reasons why there are unnecessary problems in the life of some Christians is because certain foundational truths have not been established.

He gives a clear definition of what a Christian is; someone with Christ in them. So the first question to ask ourselves is, ‘am I in the faith? Is Christ in me?’ He did not ask others to examine us, but made it personal. Here is a check-list of biblical references to help in this self-examination.

A person who has a right relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ knows it without any shadow of doubt. This assurance is given by the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom 8:16) and as John puts it, “Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart” (1 John 5:10).

John Wesley, the great preacher, used to say to his congregations, ‘make sure you have the witness'. You are not a Christian because someone says that you are, but because you have that inner knowledge given by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes people have come to me and said, ‘can you help me, I have never been sure whether I am a Christian or not.’ My response has been, ‘yes, I do want to help you, you are not.’ A true Christian knows.

Another proof is that there has been a change in your life. Something has happened. Paul puts it this way, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). A true Christian has a desire to obey God. John puts it bluntly but clearly, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ‘I know him’, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3, 4). The Lord Jesus made this challenging statement, “Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 7:21).

Another evidence of the reality of Christian experience is that we love other Christians. Before one becomes a Christian there is little or no desire to be with people who want to worship God, read the Bible, pray and talk about Jesus. They are not, ‘one of us’, and we are not ‘one of them’. However, when the miracle of salvation takes place there is a change of attitude which leads to a change of company! Again John says, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14).

The Apostle Paul gives a clear definition of what a Christian is: someone with Christ in them.

So, what is the result of the examination? Do you have the assurance of the Holy Spirit? Has there been a change in your life? Do you live to do the will of God? Do you love other Christians? Every true Christian will be able to say with Paul, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Tim 1:12).

If, however, you failed the test and sincerely desire to know God as your Father and Jesus Christ as your Lord, obey the word of God. Acknowledge your need. Agree with the Bible when it says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6) and, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).

Remember the cry of the tax collector in Luke 18:13, “God have mercy on me, a sinner”. If we have one good word to say for ourselves we are not candidates for God's salvation, because he is only the Saviour of sinners. Look to the Lord Jesus. He is the only Saviour. He is the only way to God. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The first step to salvation is to believe in the Lord Jesus. Believe what is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, who loves you, died for you and took the punishment for your sins at the Cross. Jesus who, “died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3). Receive him as your Saviour.

Having acknowledged your sin and repented, believing he died for you and rose again, ask Jesus to come in to your life, yielding it totally to his Lordship, knowing, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husbands will, but born of God” (John 1:12). Now confess him as Lord, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9).

Now look at the record, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11,12). We move on now to the foundational truths.

The first step to salvation is to believe in the Lord Jesus. Then, having acknowledged your sin and repented, believing he died for you and rose again, ask Jesus to come in to your life, yielding it totally to his Lordship.

Foundational Truths

The Lord Jesus told a story about two house builders. One built his house on a rock and when the storms and floods came his house stood firm. The other built his house on sand and his house was completely demolished when the deluge came.

As the storms and winds of adversity face the church of God it is imperative that Christian lives are solidly laid on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and on the truth of God's word. It is a sad fact of life that many Christians remain in the kindergarten of faith and never move on to maturity.

The writer to the Hebrews emphasises this point. He was writing to Christians who had just come through severe times of persecution and were on the threshold of even greater opposition. After declaring the glorious wonders of the Lord Jesus Christ, greater than angels, greater than Moses, “the apostle and High Priest of our confession. Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him who appointed him”, he pauses to express a certain fear. That fear was that some who had been truly born again would fail to go on to maturity.

One of the reasons for their immaturity was a failure to have certain truths established in their lives. He wants them to get beyond the ‘milk bottle’ stage. He complains that instead of their being able to teach others they themselves still need to be taught the elementary truths. In chapter 6 of Hebrews these truths are described in the New King James Version as repentance from dead works; faith toward God; the doctrine of baptisms; of laying on of hands; of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

The purpose of this short series is to teach these basic truths to ensure that they have been established in your life so that you can go on to maturity.

First published as a mini-book in 1992 by PWM Ministries, entitled ‘The Biblical Basis of First Principles’. Edited for online publication May 2018.