PREPARED TO DO GOOD WORKS (last)

Good works are God's works

"But many who are first will be last, and the last first" (Mt 19.30). Jesus followed this statement to His disciples with a parable about vineyard workers who were paid the same whether they worked all day or simply a few hours. The lesson: it isn't the work, or amount of it, that matters, but rather how we go about doing the work that is important to God.

Many of us know Matthew 5.16, "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." But how can we glorify God by what we do if what we do would not be defined as good by God? Meeting temporal needs is good, no on will argue there, but is it good to God if it does not glorify His Name by helping people grow closer to Him?

Paul once wrote: "Let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal 6.10). Why "especially" Christians? Think about it for a second: what one thing can Christians do for their brothers and sisters that no one else can? It's found in one simple word: edification (spiritual training). Only the Body of Jesus Christ can help the Body of our Lord, His Church, grow spiritually mature. Paul writes this about our good works: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3.17). Good works are not defined by acts like feeding the poor, going on missions trips, helping the homeless, teaching Bible studies, or helping old ladies cross the street. We "bear fruit in every good work" (Col 1.10) by letting Christ shine through our lives as we lead soldiers on patrol, parent children, teach teenagers, deliver pizza, finish our homework, or serve french fries. The problem is, most of us hide our lights under bushels while we work to meet temporal needs.

Prepared for the Fire

Just as surely as we must be trained to perform our earthly duties, the job or career we call our "work," so also God prepares us to do His good works. It's OJT (on-the-job training) that many of us avoid like we do tests or working on weekends! So how does God prepare us to do good works? "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for... training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped [or prepared] for every good work" (2Tim 3.16, 17).

However, did you know that there are certain types of people that are unqualified for good works? "They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work" (Titus 1.16). They say they are Christians, but their daily habits, lifestyle, goals, friends, and very lives do not match what they profess. Though they might do what others call "good," if their deeds do not train others in righteousness, then God calls them unfit for any good.

God tells us that our works will eventually pass through a metaphorical fire that will "test what sort of work each one has done" (1Cor 3.13). Our temporal deeds, be they good in the eyes of man or not, will burn in the fire of His judgment while or eternal good deeds-those through which God works-will result in our Heavenly reward. Are we prepared to do God's good works and not just those works which we call good?

 

 

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.

 

PREPARED TO DO GOOD WORKS (part 1)

What are Good Works?

Recently, our small group Bible study discussed Ephesians 2.10's reminder of our purpose: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." If we were created to do good works, and God has prepared those works for us to accomplish in advance of our creation, then maybe we should figure out what exactly those things are. After all, if I was hired for a job, I'd want to know exactly what was required of me, right?

The Greek word for "good," agathos, is used over 90 times and means exactly what you think "good" means. The Greek word for "work," ergon, appears 158 times as either "works" or "deeds" and is defined exactly as you know it. Yet, when we put those words together, "good works" transforms in our minds to some altruistic activity that catapults those who perform them to sainthood! Is that really what God means by "good works?"

Titus 3.14 tells us: "Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful." Simply put, good deeds meet man's needs. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, (the pyramid show above) describes an understanding of needs from a temporal perspective, but how does God see man's needs?

Good Deeds Meet Man's Needs

God sent His Son to live as a man with needs who "grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2.52). Jesus increased in the four facets of life that God considers our needs: mental (wisdom), physical (stature), in favor with man (social), and in favor with God (spiritual). When you think about it, all our "work" in life meets one of these needs as we hunt for food, establish shelter, learn how to survive, make friends, love families, and build and attend churches. Our needs aren't hierarchical any more than we might say that knowing who you are is more significant than not starving to death! In this model (the pie chart shown below) you will see that though all our needs are contiguous, our spiritual need is central because it unites all the others.

When most Christians consider good deeds they think of sustaining the hungry and thirsty, caring for strangers, clothing the naked, and showing compassion to the imprisoned. Why? Well, Jesus did say that if we do not do any of these things "for the least of these" then we will go into eternal punishment, right (Mt 25..41-46). But do these acts categorize good deeds?

Consider this question: can nonchristians, whether they are religious or not, or call themselves Christians or not, do good deeds? Can unbelievers care for physcial needs? Can they educate us so that we might prosper mentally? Are they friendly, caring, kind, patient, loving, generous, and faithful? We know the answer to these questions already, right? How about this one: what one area of need shown in the Luke 2.52 pie chart can nonchristians not purposefully meet in another soul's life? Think this has anything to do with how God defines good works?

 

 

 

 

Am I "Of God?"

Have you ever wondered why there are certain verses you won't see posted on Facebook pages, read prior to a sermon, or memorized by those who follow Jesus? They are either just too convicting, like Luke 6.46: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" Or they are too definitive, like 1John 2.6 "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." Or they are just too hard to explain in 200 words or less, like any verse that contains the word "predestined" (there's six direct and more indirect ones). But sometimes, we just think they are too simple to be true and thereby believed.

Take John 8.47 as an example. It plainly states: "Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." Jesus was telling "the Jews who had believed in Him" that they were unwilling to hear the truth from His mouth because they were sons of the Devil and not of God. If they were truly His disciples, they would abide in His word and know the truth, and then be free. They didn't ask Him questions about the Bible, about application, or about how to be godly, but instead argued that they were already free.

How many "who believe in Him" hear the Word and then argue that it doesn't apply to them? That they are free in Christ to live as their hearts lead them or that God's word is only a bunch of stories and not meant to be obeyed? The simple truth is that those who are of God will hear God's word and put its principles into practice. It's a simple truth many believers will never know because they are not willing to hear.