Charles Spurgeon on Good Works
Charles Spurgeon was a proponent of the good works brought forth by faith. In fact, as a person who believes that though salvation is by faith alone but it is never by a faith that is devoid of good works as a result. The Bible is clear in Ephesians 2:8-10 and Titus 2:11-14 that God's Gospel is a life changing one. There is the problem of doing good works if there's a much different motive. So in answer to Roman Catholic apologists who tried to argue against my stand that good works is rather a proof of salvation than the cause of salvation. So they say, "Well what about the atheist." Good question. Pretty much I would like to show the motives of doing "dead works" vs. doing good works.
The situation can be like this- an unbeliever does the correct thing (but is in reality a dead work not a good one) out of a different motive a spirit. He or she may give money for "good for goodness sake" which is rather self-glorifying like how a child who believes that Santa Claus exists does all the good he or she can, gets a reward (no it can't be even called a gift) in the motive to get something rather than to glorify God. Some people may even donate huge sums of money to charity out of the spirit of self-satisfaction and self-glorifying rather than to glorify God or to develop a self-image. The average person today whether or not they believed in Santa Claus as a child believes that if they do enough good even if they were atheists, they will eventually please God trying to win his favor. What is so often ignored is that James 2:10-11 is clear if you break even at least one of God's ten commandments, you have broken them all. In fact, how many times have you lied, stole something even if it's small, etc. One transgression drops a person from the righteous standard of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 is clear that the unrighteous cannot enter God's Kingdom and Romans 3:10 is clear nobody is really righteous by God's standards. Eventually the ugly picture is that works salvation becomes a license to sin like how one can do charity yet be a habitual womanizer and drunkard.
On the other hand as a Christian, I have a very different motive to do good works. The Christian does good works not in order to persevere to Heaven but rather his perseverance is the proof that he or she is saved. God has actually ordained the Christian to do good works only for the glory of God out of grace (Ephesians 2:8-10) and in Titus 2:11-14 and James 2, we are made clear that no authentic faith is a dead work, faith without works is a dead faith or not real faith. Martin Luther made it clear during the Reformation that true faith cannot be separated from good works that is, it will never fail to produce even one good work. Not that Christians are sinless but they are on their path to perfection. My experience has to be that I don't feel good about sin and half-heartedness, I feel guilty whenever I neglect reading God's Word or when I do something horribly wrong or that I am sick of sin and want out of it. No Christian can ever truly revel in their sins and feel no remorse. Christians do good works out of humble spirit and pure motive, that is God be glorified and not them. That is the drawing line between unbeliever and Christian in the doing of good works.