Study 32 – Dead Works

'The blood of Christ … cleanses your conscience from dead works to serve the living God' (Heb. 9:14 NASB).

Many Christians haven't realised how powerful grace really is. It doesn't just free us from sin, guilt and disqualification, it also releases us from 'dead works' (NIV margin – 'religious rituals'). Most evangelical Christians assume that they've already turned their backs on dead works. 'I'm born again' they insist. 'No formal "bells and smells" religion for me.' But the truth is that many are simply going through the motions and doing what others expect of them.

A work without faith
Obviously a dead work is something that has no life in it. How easy it is to get so involved in church routines that we forget why we're doing them! We're running this activity and overseeing that programme but never stop to consider whether they're still relevant and whether they fulfil any real purpose. Frankly they don't require faith any more. No one actually remembers why we do them, but we do them just the same.

A young woman once asked her mother, 'Why do you cut off the two ends of the Sunday roast and put them on top?" The mother had no idea. She was simply copying what her mother had always done. "Maybe it makes the juices flow better," she replied. Her daughter then asked her grandma for the reason and was met with astonishment. "Why are you still doing that?" she asked. "I used to cut the ends off because our oven was so small that it was the only way I could get the meat in."

Church programmes can be littered with events that have long since lost their meaning. What about the Sunday evening gospel service? Unsaved people never attend – which may account for the fact that there have been no conversions for years! It's a fruitless exercise but still the services take place and, needless to say, they're utterly devoid of faith and expectation.

We lack the 'no nonsense' ruthlessness that Jesus demonstrated when he encountered the unproductive fig tree. His instruction was simple and straightforward: "Cut it down!" When the disciples defended the tree, Jesus gave it one more year. If it remained fruitless it should be axed because it was taking up space.

To Meditate On

We work by faith.

'God's work … is by faith' (1 Tim.1:4).

'And without faith it is impossible to please God' (Heb. 11:6).

''We … call people … to the obedience that comes from faith' (Rom. 1:5).

To Read

READ Isaiah 1:10-17

Write down the words or phrases that God uses to describe how he feels about the people's 'devotion'

How do you think the people reached this low point in their relationship with God?

Food For Thought

Genesis 29:1-10 describes a situation when people waited when they should have acted.

1 Samuel 10:8; 13:5-14 describes a situation when someone acted when he should have waited.

John 5:1-9 describes a situation when Jesus interrupted someone who was waiting.

At what point does waiting for God become irrelevant, possibly even sinful?

To Consider

If church attendance and service aren't mixed with faith they'll become dead works.

Consider the activities in your local church.

Are you defending any unfruitful fig trees?

If so, what steps might you need to take?

Be Inspired

Faith is the root of works. A root that produces nothing is dead.

Thomas Wilson (English Bishop 1663-1755)