The first of the elementary principles found in Hebrews 6:1-3 is “Repentance from Dead Works”. We covered “Repentance” in the last post. Now we will look at “Works” and “Dead-works.
Keep in mind that the book of Hebrews was written from a Jewish perspective. This was so the new Jewish believers would recognize that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah described in the Torah. By the way, the Jews don’t refer to their Bible as the “Old Testament”, but they call it the Tanakh! Technically, the first five books of the Bible is the Torah. The word Torah can also describe the entire Tanakh or what we would call the Old Testament.Show More
What is a Work? The Jews believed that the Torah contained 613 Mitzvots or commandments. A practicing Jew observed these Laws. 365 of these commandments were negative Mitzvots or Laws. These the practicing Jew had to avoid. There were also 248 positive Commandments to keep or observe. With so many positive and negative laws it was almost impossible to keep them all. So, God provided repentance through sacrifices and restitution to cover the sin.
A “work” then involved: Keeping the positive laws, avoiding the negative laws, and making sacrifices of repentance when a law was violated. Doing the works of the Law was the normal practice of Hebrew life under the Law.
Jesus Christ ushered in a New Covenant and it replaced the Law found in the Torah or Tanakh. Not that any of the 613 Mitzvots were wrong or not beneficial, but Grace replaced the Law. We no longer please God by observing the letter of the Law; now we please God through a relationship with Him. God’s Grace makes relationships possible.
What is a Dead Work? Anytime you see the word “dead” at the beginning of a phrase you know that it isn’t going to be good. So, it is with the phrase “dead works.” Dead works are the works of the Law in a New Covenant setting. The key point here is if you are under Grace, it makes no sense to continue in the works of the Law. In essence the works of the Law are pointless to pleasing God because Grace has replaced the Law with Grace.
How do I know if an act is dead or not? To distinguish if an action is a dead work it is necessary to understand the word “Grace”. God’s grace means that it is a free gift. God’s salvation is the greatest example of grace. God’s gift of salvation to mankind is not on the basis of merit, no one deserves it! One cannot earn God’s Grace! The moment you try to deserve or work for your salvation is the moment you nullify God’s grace. Grace and works are opposite sides of the coin. If it is by grace it can’t be by work; if it is by work, it can’t be grace!
God’s love makes Grace available to us. The New Testament of the Bible was originally written in Greek. There are four Greek words translated as love and they are: A. Eros – passionate love as found between husband and wife. B. Philio- brotherly love, Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love. C. Storge- family love of parents, children, relatives, and close friends. D. Agape- unconditional love, a love not based on performance but on a decision to love!
The highest form of love is Agape; Agape is God’s kind of love. God decided to love you and there is nothing you can say or do to make Him un-love you! It is not about what you do for God, but who you are in Christ!
Let’s put it all together, Repentance from Dead Works: Dead works can be those actions to try and balance out the wrong you have done. It is the idea of the Balance Scale, trying to make sure you do more good works to outweigh sinful works. The problem is that no one can be good enough!
Rites, rituals, traditions, and practices of the Christian religion have only one true purpose and that is to point to Jesus Christ. They exist to help us remember what Jesus did, is doing, and will do for those who put their trust in Him. Those rites, rituals, traditions, and practices were never meant to put us in God’s favor or to earn or deserve His grace.
In conclusion, the book of James teaches us that true faith has an outworking or work. This is the kind of work that pleases God because it is by faith (Heb 11:6). The evidence of faith can be a work, but a work isn’t necessarily by faith. The key to knowing if what you are doing is by faith or simply a ritual is to look at your motivation. Are you motivated by the love of God and His Holy Spirit or is it simply a religious practice or habit?
