LD 24 is really a follow up of LD23. Salvation is worked powerfully by God through faith and of grace and not good works. Unpopular as even we do not like to hear it is all of God and grace and nothing of ourselves. We are however saved by grace! Now there is brought up two things: 1. Good works meriting anything? (They have nothing to do with justification and salvation but sanctification!) 2. Do we not breed lethargy in the church with this doctrine? A child of God will inherently lead a sanctified life!

CHARACTER: What are good works exactly? Some connect good works with justification and God rewards in the afterlife with salvation. But we are talking of those things that proceed from a thankfulness that God rewards of grace. They find their very root in the result of the Spirit of God in us! They can never be part of our salvation and are only a SMALL beginning of that new obedience as they are still done in the body of this flesh and still are laden with sin! The flesh even pollutes these good works with sin. Though our goal and intention may be good initially, the flesh and body corrupts it and we can only begin to keep the law by the inner New man by the Holy Spirit in us!

REWARD: Thanks be to God these good works are NOT our justification! He sees them in Christ and as they are in us there is no merit. Matthew 26 speaks to good works and in various passages of a reward to good works. Matthew 20 in the parable the master hires everyone for a penny even the ones that come late and worked for only a short time...and our Lord says they all receive the same wage "eternal life" or penny even though some are called and did labor harder and we are receive our salvation according to the vessel He has made us! When God works in the heart and life of His children (no matter what the time or talents given are) each one Christ makes zealous unto good works! That is why the reward is ALWAYS a reward of grace as it is tied to His working within us and NOT to our merit.

NECESSITY: How is it possible to be incorporated in Christ but not have or show forth good works? Where do we find in scripture "rocking chair Christians?" Sin and lethargy may take hold of the child of God from time to time, but it is IMPOSSIBLE for the child of God to live in them! The Spirit itself within us resists it! If we find rest without sanctification we would be very mistaken.