Westminster Confession of Faith, 16 (Good Works)
(paraphrased into Modern English
and formatted to be read responsively)
| Leader: | Works that are genuinely good are only those that obey what God commands in his holy Word. |
| People: | Works that are genuinely good do not include works that people invent without the warrant of Scripture, whether they are motivated by misguided zeal or by a desire to give the appearance of godliness. |
| Leader: | Good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and living faith. |
| People: | By means of good works, we believers show our thankfulness; |
| Leader: | by means of good works, we strengthen our assurance of salvation; |
| People: | by means of good works, we build up our fellow believers; |
| Leader: | by means of good works, we make our profession of the gospel attractive; |
| People: | by means of good works, we silence the adversaries; |
| Leader: | by means of good works, we glorify God. |
| People: | We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, so that, bearing fruit that leads to holiness, we may reach the outcome, which is eternal life. |
| Leader: | Our ability to do good works is not at all from ourselves; it is entirely from the Spirit of Christ. |
| People: | Not only do we need the graces that we have already received from the Holy Spirit, but also we need his actual influence working in us both to will and to do what pleases God. |
| Leader: | Yet, we are not to grow careless on account of this, as if we are not bound to perform any duty except when we suppose that the Holy Spirit is especially moving us. |
| People: | Rather, no matter how we feel, we ought always to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in us. |
| Leader: | Even those believers who achieve the greatest heights of obedience possible in this life are so far away from being able to go beyond their duty and do more than God requires that, instead, they actually fall short of much that it is their duty to do. |
| People: | Even our best works can never merit forgiveness for sin or eternal life at God’s hand. |
| Leader: | This is true not only because of the great disparity between even our best works and the glory to come, |
| People: | but also because of the infinite distance between us and God. |
| Leader: | Even our best works can never either profit God or pay the debt of our former sins. |
| People: | Even when we have done all we can, we have merely done our duty; we are unprofitable servants. |
| Leader: | Not only that, but also to the degree that our works are good, they are from the Holy Spirit and not from us; to the degree that we do them, even our best works are defiled; |
| People: | they are mixed with so much weakness and imperfection that they can never endure the holy scrutiny of God’s judgement. |
| Leader: | Nevertheless, because God accepts us believers through Jesus Christ, he also accepts our good works through Jesus Christ. |
| People: | God accepts us, not because we are without blame or beyond reproach in his sight in this life, |
| Leader: | but rather, God accepts us because he looks upon us in his Son. |
| People: | God is pleased for Jesus’ sake to accept and reward what we do sincerely, even though it is joined with many weaknesses and imperfections. |
| Leader: | Unregenerate people may do works which in themselves are things that God commands and are useful to themselves and others. |
| People: | Even so, these works are sinful because they do not come from hearts purified by faith; |
| Leader: | these works are sinful because they are not done in a right manner according to God’s Word; |
| People: | these works are sinful because they are not done with the right goal, which is to glorify God. |
| Leader: | These works can never please God or make a person suitable to receive his grace. |
| People: | However, neglecting to do what God commands is even more sinful; neglecting to do what God commands is even more displeasing to God. |