PREPARED TO DO GOOD WORKS (part 2)

Good Deeds Meet Temporal Needs

Most Christians don't really dig into the facts concerning Jesus' statements in His parable of the sheep and the goats found in Matthew 25. Like, when did He feed the hungry or give drink to the thirsty? How did He do it? When did He care for strangers, clothe the naked, or visit prisoners? Was this parable, like most others, metaphorical or was it specifically literal?

When Jesus fed the five thousand they returned "not because [they] saw the signs but because [they] ate [their] fill of the loaves." Jesus then rebuked them: "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life" (John 6.26, 27). When the thirsty woman at the well asked for a drink, Jesus answered: "The water that I will give him will... [well] up to eternal life" (John 4.14). He told strangers to repent rather than giving them money, "set the captives free" from sin, not prison, and gave His life so that others might "put on Christ" as they would clothes. So, the answer is pretty clear: the center spiritual need is of far more value to Jesus than all the stuff that seems to envelope it.

So we must agree that temporal needs are outweighed by their seemingly less immediate and yet infinitely more significant, spiritual needs. That said, "If a brother... is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace... without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" Just as faith unites the body with the spirit (Jas 2.26), so do temporally good deeds, when they are coupled with spiritual growth, meet the entire needs of the person. But the real question is, how do we meet other's spiritual needs?

God's Good Deeds Meet Kingdom Needs

The word for "workmanship" found in Eph 2.10 is poiema and is only used one other time, in Rom 1.20: "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities have been clearly seen... from what has been made (poiema)." In essence, God has conceived two creations: the world and His children-His body, His people, the Church-created "in" His Son to perform His work within the confines of His first creation (the world). Our temporal (earthly) works meet the needs of the first creation (the world) but another type of work is required to meet the needs of those who are created in Christ Jesus.

A wealthy, motivated man once asked Jesus what good deed must he do to have eternal life. Jesus responds: "There is no one who is good except God" (Mt 19, Mk 10, Lk 18). Then our Lord preceded to help the man by telling him to keep the commandments, and ultimately, to sell all he had and give it to the poor. Two lessons about good deeds from this story: 1) Only God is good. Remember that "work" is defined simply as that which we do, which means that no deed or work we do can be defined as good without God also working through those same deeds (Isa 64.6; Phil 2.13). And 2) Doing good deeds must cost us our lives.

Of course, you remember that the rich man professed obedience to all the commandments and yet was saddened when Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor. Many Christians confuse the application of this narrative by assuming that either one must pledge themselves to poverty or that Jesus was only speaking those words to that one poor, rich man. The true lesson is in Jesus' banter with His disciples, who complained that they had given up all to follow the Lord. His reply is one we should never forget.