What deeds does Jesus know?

“I know your deeds,” says Jesus to the churches. He exhorts the Ephesians to do the deeds they did at first (Rev. 2:5), he rebukes the Sardisians for having incomplete deeds (Rev. 3:2), and he promises to reward the Thyatirans according to their deeds (Rev. 2:23). Clearly our deeds or works matter to Jesus. But what sort of deeds is Jesus referring to? The preacher of law says, “Jesus is referring to our law-keeping performance. We must keep the commands to please the Lord.” A similar interpretation is offered by the preacher of works. “Jesus is saying we need to work out our salvation, do the deeds that prove our repentance, and pursue the spiritual disciplines.” Yet both interpretations raise uncomfortable questions: How many deeds are needed to qualify? What if I neglect to keep all the commands? Worse, both interpretations do nothing but promote dead works and pride. What are dead works? We can distinguish dead works from faith works. Dead works of the flesh lead to death, while faith works release abundant life. The former relies on self; the latter leans on the Spirit. Living under any form of law is a dead work because the law is [...]