Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

without this no one can have the disposition (to obey God) and the motive (to glorify
God) that is required, Matt. 12:33; 7:17,18. (2) They are not only in external conformity
with the law of God, but are also done in conscious obedience to the revealed will of
God, that is, because they are required by God. They spring from the principle of love to
God and from the desire to do His will, Deut. 6:2; I Sam. 15:22; Isa. 1:12; 29:13; Matt.
15:9. (3) Whatever their proximate aim may be, their final aim is not the welfare of man,
but the glory of God, which is the highest conceivable aim of man’s life, I Cor. 10:31;
Rom. 12:1; Col. 3:17,23.
b. Good works in a more general sense. Though the term “good works” is generally
used in theology in the strict sense just indicated, it remains true that the unregenerate
can also perform works that may be called good in a superficial sense of the word. They
often perform works that are in outward conformity with the law of God and may be
called objectively good, in distinction from flagrant transgressions of the law. Such
works answer to a proximate aim that meets with the approval of God. Moreover, in
virtue of the remains of the image of God in the natural man and of the light of nature,
man may be guided in his relation to other men by motives which are laudable and in
so far bear the stamp of God’s approval. Those good works, however, cannot be
regarded as fruits of the corrupt heart of man. They find their explanation only in the
common grace of God. Furthermore, we should bear in mind that, though these works
can be called good in a certain sense and are so called in the Bible, Luke 6:33, they are
yet essentially defective. The deeds of the unregenerate are divorced from the spiritual
root of love to God. They represent no inner obedience to the law of God and no
subjection to the will of the sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth. They have no spiritual
aim, since they are not performed for the purpose of glorifying God, but only bear on
the relations of the natural life. The real quality of the act is, of course, determined by
the quality of its final aim. The ability of the unregenerate to perform good works in
some sense of the word has often been denied. Barth goes one step further when he
goes to the extreme of denying that believers can do good works, and asserts that all
their works are sins.
2. THE MERITORIOUS CHARACTER OF GOOD WORKS. Even from the earliest ages of the
Christian Church there was a tendency to ascribe a certain merit to good works, but the
doctrine of merit was really developed in the Middle Ages. At the time of the
Reformation it was very prominent in Roman Catholic theology and was pushed to
ridiculous extremes in practical life. The Reformers at once joined issue with the Church
of Rome on this point.
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