Grace and Good Works

Our Lord Jesus does recommend morality and good works, as all faithful ministers will do, and clears the moral law from many corrupt glosses put upon it by the letter-learned Pharisees. But before he comes to this, he talks of inward piety, such as poverty of spirit, meekness, holy mourning, purity of heart, and especially hungering and thirsting after righteousness. He then recommends good works as evidence that we have his righteousness imputed to us, and these graces wrought in our hearts. Matthew 5:16 says, "Let you light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Then Jesus immediately adds in the next verse, "Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them (to take away the force of it as a rule of life) but to fulfill them (to obey it in its whole latitude, and give the complete sense of it)." Then he goes on to show how broad the moral law is. So our Lord, instead of setting aside an imputed righteousness in his Sermon upon the Mount, confirms it by making good works a proof and evidence of its being imputed to our soul. Anyone who has eyes to see may read this truth plainly.

George Whitefield Daily Readings, Randall J. Pederson, ed., Christian Focus Publications, 2010,  June 29 reading.