Podcast Summary: Doctrine Matters with Kevin DeYoung

Episode Title: What Does It Mean To Do Good Works?
Air Date: September 23, 2025
Host: Kevin DeYoung
Podcast By: Crossway

Overview

In this episode, Kevin DeYoung delves into the nature and necessity of "good works" in the life of the believer, particularly within the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) and the process of sanctification. DeYoung addresses common misconceptions about good works, their imperfection in this life, their genuine acceptability before God, and the means by which Christians persevere to the end. He draws from Scripture, theological tradition (especially Turretin, the Westminster Confession, and the Canons of Dort), and pastoral analogy to clarify these essential doctrines.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Imperfection and Possibility of Good Works

[00:28 – 08:33]

• Good Works Don't Justify:
  DeYoung reaffirms that "good works do not justify us" and "no one is justified by works of the law" (00:33), but also cautions against thinking good works are therefore unnecessary or incidental.

• Are Good Works Ever Perfect?
  He unpacks distinctions from the historical theologian Francis Turretin, noting different kinds of "perfection" (sincerity, parts, comparative, evangelical, legal):

  • Sincerity: Serving God with a whole heart
  • Parts: Sanctification body and soul
  • Comparative: Some believers are more advanced
  • Evangelical: God perfects our works with his grace
  • Legal: Absolute, flawless obedience—DeYoung argues this is impossible for us
  • Quote:

    "The renewed believer can never so scrupulously obey the divine law, such that God would have nothing to accuse and condemn in him or in us." (03:32)

• Legal Perfection Unattainable, but Good Works Genuinely Exist:
  Even though Christians can't fulfill the law with legal perfection, DeYoung insists this doesn't mean we can't perform genuinely good works.

2. Biblical Defense for Genuine Good Works

[08:34 – 12:31]

• Scripture Doesn't Speak of Good Works as Hypothetical:
  DeYoung points to Luke 1:6 (Zechariah and Elizabeth), Job, the Pauline epistles, James, and Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount—all commend real people for real obedience.

  • Quote:

    "If we go around saying, nope, there's no one who walks blameless, no one who is upright, no one who pleases God, no one who hears God's word and does them, then we're just not speaking in the way Scripture speaks." (09:22)

• Westminster Confession on Acceptable Good Works:
  Citing Westminster Confession 16:6, DeYoung maintains God is "pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections" (10:41).

3. Pastoral Illustration: The Parent and Child Analogy

[12:32 – 14:44]

• Illustrating Imperfect but Acceptable Good Works:
  Using a story of his own children cleaning their room, DeYoung demonstrates how a parent's pleasure in their child's obedience (even if imperfect) resembles God's acceptance and delight in our sincere, though flawed, works.

  • Quote:

    "Would I go up and say this is all filthy rags to me... You have failed to meet my demands? ...It is nevertheless a good work. What parent would not be pleased...?" (13:11)

  • This analogy underscores God's gracious, fatherly pleasure in our obedience.

• On Missing God’s Pleasure:
  DeYoung warns that many Christians "never feel the pleasure of following God" due to ongoing guilt and a focus only on justification (14:06).

4. Perseverance and the Role of Exhortation & Warning

[14:45 – 22:00]

• Doctrine of Perseverance:
  DeYoung clarifies, "Once saved, always saved" is true, but not in a mechanical sense.

  • Perseverance means God completes the work He began in us (Philippians 1:6), and the "golden chain" of salvation (foreknew, predestined, justified, sanctified, glorified) is unbreakable.
  • However, there are genuine warning passages in Scripture (e.g., Hebrews, Corinthians).

• Purpose of Biblical Warnings:
  Notable references:

  • 1 John 2:19 references those who fall away as "not really of us" (17:25).

  • Canons of Dort (Head of Doctrine 5, Article 14) say God uses exhortations, threats, and promises to keep believers persevering:

    • Quote:

      "Just as it has pleased God to begin this work of grace in us by the proclamation of the Gospel, so he preserves, continues and completes his work by the hearing and reading of the Gospel, by meditation on it, by its exhortations, threats and promises, and also by the use of the sacraments." (18:14)

  • God preserves His people through multiple means—not only promises, but also warnings.

  • The warnings in Scripture are meant to be real motivators, not ignored by "the elect." They stir believers toward perseverance, not undermine assurance.

    • Quote:

      "God keeps us from stumbling, Jude 24, and he does so in part by telling us to keep ourselves in the love of God, Jude 21." (20:21)

    • Quote:

      "In short, God uses these threats, these warning passages as the means by which we persevere. So the right way for the Christian is to not ignore them, not to say, I guess justification can be undone, but to say, oh Lord, may I not be one of those who fall away." (21:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Legal Perfection and Good Works:

  "Good works can be truly good without being, in a legal sense, perfectly good." – Kevin DeYoung (07:23)

• On God’s Fatherly Pleasure:

  "We have God's pleasure. We have the opportunity to live a life that God smiles upon." – Kevin DeYoung (11:49)

• On Missing Out on The Father's Smile:

  "I fear that so many Christians live life without ever knowing that smile of their heavenly Father... we never feel the pleasure of following God." – Kevin DeYoung (14:13)

• On Exhortation and Perseverance:

  "God causes us to persevere by several means. He makes promises. But ... he also makes threats. He has not bound himself to just one method." – Kevin DeYoung (18:32)

• On Responding to Warnings:

  "The right way for the Christian is to not ignore them... but to say, oh Lord, may I not be one of those who fall away. And in the elect, those exhortations so stir us and compel us that they move us toward the completion." – Kevin DeYoung (21:25)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:28 – What are good works, and why are they important?
• 02:00 – Legal perfection vs. other types of "perfection" explained
• 08:34 – Biblical examples of real, praiseworthy good works
• 10:41 – Westminster Confession on God’s acceptance of imperfect good works
• 12:32 – Child/parent analogy unpacking God’s fatherly delight
• 14:45 – What does perseverance ("once saved, always saved") mean?
• 17:25 – False conversions and Scripture's warning passages
• 18:14 – The Canons of Dort on God's means of keeping believers
• 21:18 – How Christians should respond to warnings and threats in Scripture

Conclusion

This episode thoughtfully unpacks a key tension in Reformed theology: how good works, though never perfect, are still genuinely accepted by God, why striving for holiness is neither futile nor prideful, and how God uses promises and warnings to ensure His people persevere to the end. DeYoung blends theological depth with pastoral warmth, encouraging Christians to pursue good works—imperfect but sincere—with the assurance of their heavenly Father's pleasure.