We are born of the Spirit, not of any work of our own. A good work is anything beneficial done to the glory of God. Bibles definition. Done in love and to the Glory of God. Giving to the poor is a good work. I dont consider going to church a work, but good works can be done there
Pro 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Pro 28:27
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master,
what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect,
go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Scripture seems to indicate, giving to the poor is a
work of the law, NOT a good work, as you understand it to be.
And there is one work we must do to be born again or saved.
Scripture us clear. Faith without a corresponding work, is dead.
Until one puts action to what one believes, God will not save that person.
You can repent all day, but until you act on the gospel, at the very least, by accepting the gospel and confessing Jesus as your own personal lord and savior, said person will remain as before. NOT SAVED.
Both faith and believing REQUIRE some type of action on our part.
Try casting out a demon by simply believing within your heart it will come out.
The same applies to receiving salvation.
Nothing will happen, except, the person might think they are born again, when they are not.
As for a good work, I believe, if the power of God wasn't involved to where God did the work, then it wasn't a good work.
Casting out an dirty spirit, is a good work, because you can't remove it with any of your strength, abilities, or power.
You do the commanding, but God does the work through your spoken word, and therefore gets the glory.
That is one example of a good work.
All the kind and compassionate works you do are simply works of the law, NOT good works.
I believe that is a more accurate description of what the bible's definition of a good work is.