How Do I Know If Good Works Are of My Flesh or of the Holy Spirit? - Ask Ligonier

Summary4 min read

Ask Ligonier Podcast:

How Do I Know If Good Works Are of My Flesh or of the Holy Spirit?
Date: September 4, 2025
Host: Nathan W. Bingham
Guest: Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, Teaching Fellow & Vice Chairman, Ligonier Ministries

Episode Overview

This episode centers on a question at the heart of Christian living: How can a believer discern whether their good works originate from their own sinful nature ("the flesh") or from the transformative presence of the Holy Spirit? Dr. Sinclair Ferguson brings biblical insight and pastoral wisdom to help listeners navigate this common yet important concern, grounding his answers in Scripture and classic Christian teaching.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Danger of Excessive Introspection

Timestamp: 00:26
Dr. Ferguson begins by cautioning Christians against becoming overly introspective or neurotic when evaluating their good works.
- "At the end of the day, because we are sinners, none of our works will be perfectly good. So it's possible to have a kind of neurosis about answering that question." — Dr. Sinclair Ferguson [00:29]

2. Criteria for Good Works

Motive and Direction Matter Most
- Good works are fundamentally characterized by the right motive (love) and the right direction (to the right Person, namely God).
- He references the Westminster Confession of Faith for its helpful explanation in this area:
  - "Good works are works that are done out of the right motive and directed to the right person." — Dr. Sinclair Ferguson [00:42]

3. Biblical Illustration: Serving in the Context of Slavery

Paul’s Teaching as a Paradigm
- Dr. Ferguson draws on Paul's instructions to slaves in the New Testament as an example.
  - "When you serve your master, do it with an eye, not first to pleasing him, but to please God." — Dr. Sinclair Ferguson [01:05]
- This shifts the servant’s motivation from pleasing a human master (who may be unkind) to pleasing God, transforming even difficult acts of service.

4. The Transformational Power of Doing Good for God

The Heart Transformed Toward Others
- Fixing one’s heart and motivation on God, even in hard circumstances, enables compassion and love, even for those who may be harsh or unloving.
  - "When your eye is on the Lord and when your heart is in tune with the Lord…the result is that you actually have compassion on this man because he is so spiritually blind." — Dr. Sinclair Ferguson [01:40]
- Principle: Doing things for the glory of God ensures they are truly good works.

5. The Parental Analogy: Child’s Drawing

Imperfect Yet Cherished
- Dr. Ferguson then offers the illustration of a child presenting a drawing to a parent, imperfect but motivated by love.
  - "A child comes up to you at the end of the service and hands you a drawing that they've made of you…you say, 'that is absolutely splendid.' …You did this out of love for me, and I appreciate it, and you did it to please me." — Dr. Sinclair Ferguson [02:31]
- God’s Perspective on Our Good Works
  - Like the parent who values the child's loving intent over artistic skill, God looks to the believer’s heart and motive.

6. Assurance in God’s Fatherly Love

Freedom and Joy in Service
- However imperfectly done, when acts are prompted by love for God and a desire for His glory, believers can be confident that God accepts and delights in those works, because of Christ.
  - "When that is true of us, however imperfectly, we know that our Heavenly Father accepts what we do and rejoices in what we do for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's a wonderful liberation it gives to us." — Dr. Sinclair Ferguson [03:37]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On introspection:
"None of our works will be perfectly good… it's possible to have a kind of neurosis about answering that question." — Dr. Ferguson [00:29]
On biblical motive:
"Good works will be things that we do out of love for those for whom we do it and ultimately for the glory of God." — Dr. Ferguson [00:50]
On parental analogy:
"You did this out of love for me, and I appreciate it, and you did it to please me." — Dr. Ferguson [02:50]
On God’s acceptance:
"We know that our Heavenly Father accepts what we do and rejoices in what we do for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ." — Dr. Ferguson [03:37]

Important Segment Timestamps

00:04 – Question introduction and guest announcement
00:26 – Dr. Ferguson on introspection and the imperfection of works
00:42 – Criteria for what makes a work truly "good"
01:05 – Pauline example: Serving masters as service to God
01:40 – The power of redirecting motives and the freedom it brings
02:31 – Parental/child drawing analogy to illustrate God’s fatherly love
03:37 – Assurance: God’s acceptance and delight in our imperfect, Spirit-motivated works

Summary Takeaway

Dr. Sinclair Ferguson counsels believers not to be paralyzed by self-analysis, but to focus on doing good works out of love and for the glory of God. Even when those works are imperfect, if their ultimate direction and motive are toward God—prompted by the Holy Spirit—believers can be assured that God, as a loving Father, delights in them. This truth brings both humility and great liberation to Christian service.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:04]
A
How do I know if good works are of my flesh or of the Holy Spirit? Well, joining us this week on the Ask Ligonier podcast is Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, one of Ligonier's teaching fellows, also the Vice Chairman of Ligonier Ministries. Dr. Ferguson, how do I know if good works are of my flesh or of the Holy Spirit?
[00:27]
B
Well, that's an interesting question, and one on which I think we shouldn't be overly introspective, because at the end of the day, because we are sinners, none of our works will be perfectly good. So it's possible to have a kind of neurosis about answering that question. But I think the fundamental principles are that good works are works that are done out of the right motive and directed to the right person. And actually, the Westminster Confession of Faith has a really helpful chapter on good works where it expounds this in detail. So what do I mean by that? Well, good works will be things that we do out of love for those for whom we do it and ultimately for the glory of God. So a good example, maybe from Paul's teaching, would be the way in which he addresses those who are probably in different categories of slavery in the New Testament. And he says to them, now when you serve your master, do it with an eye, not first to pleasing him, but to please God. And part of the genius of that statement is the master of foolishly thinks my slave is doing this to please me. And he doesn't realize that actually the pleasure the master is given is really being directed in the servant's heart to the Lord. And that transforms the way in which the servant or slave does things. He could have a cruel and harsh master, and if his eye was on that master, it would be exceedingly difficult to serve. Well, but when your eye is on the Lord and when your heart is in tune with the Lord, and the result is that you actually have compassion on this man because he is so spiritually blind, then everything that you do for the glory of God will be a good work. And of course, the great thing about this is that when we do things for the glory of God, we're doing things for the glory of our Father. And I suppose, you know, every preacher has used this illustration. You know, a child comes up to you at the end of the service and hands you a drawing that they've made of you while you've been preaching. And you actually thought you weren't as small as that, and your features weren't quite as sharp as that. And it's an imperfect, you know, the child is not yet Van Gogh or Leonardo da Vinci, but because you love the child. And this is true of all of us who are fathers, isn't it? We say, that is absolutely splendid. And what we're really saying is you did this out of love for me, and I appreciate it, and you did it to please me. So I don't assess that on a false basis or a false standard. I assess it on the basis of your motivation in doing it out of love and your desire to bring glory to me. And when that is true of us, however imperfectly, we know that our Heavenly Father accepts what we do and rejoices in what we do for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's a wonderful liberation it gives to us.
[04:02]
A
This is Nathan W. Bingham, and you've been listening to Ask Ligonier. If you like the show, why not subscribe or write a review on your favorite podcast app? If you'd like more information or for the archive of episodes, simply visit ask.ligonier.org podcast.