# Can the unsaved do good?



## Herald (May 20, 2008)

*Romans 3:10-18* 10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." 13 "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS"; 14 "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS"; 15 "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, 17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN." 18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES." 

*Romans 3:23* 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

*Genesis 6:5* 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

*Isaiah 64:6 * 6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 

*Ephesians 2:1-3* And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 

*Matthew 7:22-23* 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' 

Good works (works of righteousness) can only be performed by those who have been born from above. Within the orthodox faith this is generally accepted as a true statement. Goodness is an attribute of God. It is a manifestation of God's mercy and love, therefore those who do good are those who have tasted truly of God's mercy and love through Jesus Christ. Invariably that leads to the following question, "Can unbelievers do good works?" Our answer is usually no for the reasons articulated earlier in this paragraph and the passages I posted. Yet no one can deny that some of the deeds of the unrighteous are meritorious in the deed itself. Oskar Schindler comes to mind and the over one thousand Jews that he schemed to keep from Auschwitz, Treblinka and Dachau. By all accounts Schindler was not a Christian, yet who will deny that the Jews he harbored from Nazi Germany was a good thing?

All of this got me to ponder a parable of Jesus in Luke.

*Luke 18:1-8 * Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' 4 "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'" 6 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" 

The judge in this parable was unquestionably unrighteous. That is beyond dispute. But equally beyond dispute is that the judge, on behalf of the widow, did a deed that was intrinsically good. The deed itself was good even though the man was unrighteous. How can this be? It seems paradoxical. But is it? Can it be that the deed of the unrighteous can actually be good but not credited as originating from the unrighteous? Can it be God, using the unrighteous as an agent of his beckoning in order to do good? If so, then it is God who is doing the good, not the sinner. We know that God uses the unrighteous for His purposes. He hardened Pharaoh's heart and called on Assyria and Babylon to take Israel and Judah into captivity. All three were agents through whom God worked, even though they were unrighteous. Am I rightly viewing the deeds of the unrighteous that would be considered "good deeds" if performed by a believer? 

Thoughts?


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## Herald (May 20, 2008)

> However, I certainly don't think the unregenerate's "good" works are acceptable to God, insofar as the "Selfy" motives that underlie their actions.


Josh, agreed. If the unregenerate performs a work that is good and beneficial, the unregenerate is not considered good nor did he perform a good work. That the work itself is helpful, meritorious or beneficial to another does not make the unregenerate responsible for a good work. What I am wondering is whether a good work was performed, albeit by God, using the unregenerate as His agent.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (May 20, 2008)

Agreed on both counts.


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## VictorBravo (May 20, 2008)

Bill, I think there is a difference between administered justice (do the right thing) and righteous acts. Doing the right thing in the eyes of God is pleasing to him, but it isn't a justifying thing. So a reprobate who pursues justice according to God's law is a blessing and a good thing in that sense, but still a wicked act because it is the product of a wicked actor.


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## MW (May 20, 2008)

A couple of quick reflections:

1. They are unable to do spiritual good. Naturally, our Saviour says evil men know how to give good gifts to their children. Further, to be without natural affection and to be disobedient to parents are considered to be particularly grievous evils. But spiritual good requires a believing heart. Heb. 11:33, who through faith wrought righteousness.

2. Eschatologically, the natural man is unable to do even natural good. As Rev. 18 reveals, the unregenerate society seeks a paradise in rebellion against God and destroys the works of its own hands. The good is unobtainable without God. Hence every work of an unregenerate man contains the seeds of its own destruction.


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## Pergamum (May 21, 2008)

The unsaved succeed at doing acts that are deemed "good" and helpful sometimes. I guess we would call these "civil goods." Of course these are not spiritual meritorious for heaven, but even pagans can jump on a grenade for a buddy or save a child from a burniong building and I am glad for these things.


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## Kevin Lewis (May 21, 2008)

*I think it depends on how we see "good"*



North Jersey Baptist said:


> > However, I certainly don't think the unregenerate's "good" works are acceptable to God, insofar as the "Selfy" motives that underlie their actions.
> 
> 
> Josh, agreed. If the unregenerate performs a work that is good and beneficial, the unregenerate is not considered good nor did he perform a good work. That the work itself is helpful, meritorious or beneficial to another does not make the unregenerate responsible for a good work. What I am wondering is whether a good work was performed, albeit by God, using the unregenerate as His agent.


If we use God's standard of "good" instead of our own definition, then I would say no unregenerate can do good (based upon your Romans 3 quote).


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## jaybird0827 (May 21, 2008)

> But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
> 
> Isaiah 64:6 (AV)


 
If all *our* righteousnesses are as filthy rags, what does that make the outwardly good works of those who are out of Christ?


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## Blue Tick (May 21, 2008)

> What I am wondering is whether a good work was performed, albeit by God, using the unregenerate as His agent.



Consider this situation. An unbelieving atheist surgeon performs a life saving surgery on a small child. Was is it a good deed that the surgeon performed? Yes, in the sense that the surgeon is contributing to society and utilizing his God given gifts to be a productive citizen. However, because of his unbelief and rebellion towards God he gives credit to himself for the good work and not God. A good work was performed but it does not have any salvific merit attached to it. If the child's parents are believers then the credit is going to be given to God for providing a skillful surgeon to save their child. Ultimately, the good work was performed by God using a wicked man as the means.

Good works accomplished by unbelievers are acts of God's providence and decrees to bring glory to his name and to bring provision to the saints.


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## ColdSilverMoon (May 21, 2008)

Like the brief discussion we had on selfless acts over the weekend, an unsaved person cannot do good works because the works are ultimately derived from the person's self/flesh, and not from the Spirit. Thus it is flesh-driven and according to the sinful nature, and not of God. So, spiritually speaking, an unsaved person cannot do good works because they are not led by the Spirit.


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