Self-righteous Good Works are as Filthy Rags.
Jesus
came as the express image of God revealing fully the character of
God. Therefore, to truly understand God the Father, Jesus is the lens
we must view Him through because He is The God Jesus Revealed. The
only one who has seen God.
No one has
ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in
closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known.
Therefore,
no matter what the prophets of the Old Testament, no matter what the
other authors of the Bible tell us, no matter what the
law-gospel-heralders preach, the only true picture of God is what
Jesus reveals to us about Him. Why? Because Jesus is God explaining
Himself to the Community of Humanity.
Jesus the
revelation of God reveals Him as a God who loves people. God is not
about judging us and punishing us according to our sins. His desire
is to redeem people including the best of humanity to the worst of
humanity. Those of us dressed in our self-righteous garbs are in need
of God's redeeming mercy, love and grace as much as are the Hitler's
of the world.
For to long
to many “religionists” have prostituted the love of God by
telling people that we must perform in our spiritual relationship by
doing the do's and not doing the don'ts in order for God to love
people. This is one of the greatest deceptions that the Community of
Humanity has been subjected to by the religions of the world.
Christendom in wallowing in a hog-wash of useless dead works when it
comes to being in relationship with God. Man-made religion has
portrayed our loving Father as the pagan god's were portrayed...full
of anger who must be appeased otherwise He will inflict punishment on
people. Ahhh...but Jesus reveals to us that God is looking on us with
eyes full of affection and a heart full of mercy, love and grace.
Have you
seen the glory of God?, If not you have not seen the glory of His
Son, who came from the Father full of Grace and truth...For the Law
was given through Moses; however, “grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ as we are told in John 17.
That
settles the fact, at least for me, that God is a “GRACE-GIVER”...NOT
a “law-giver”. Jesus came full of grace and truth...He came to
reveal the Father heart of God...that tells me that God is full of
grace and truth also. God sits on a throne of Grace, Mercy and Love,
not on a throne of Law, Judgement and Condemnation.
The Gospel
is the good news of God's grace where there is no manipulating people
to enter into a relationship with Him. He is showering grace upon
grace from His throne of grace, graciously upon the Community of
Humanity.
God is a
Good God...God is a Good Father and His love for people is beyond
measure and being in relationship with Him is not performance
oriented...it is love oriented.
Christ is not against doing good works but what he is against is doing good works in order for us to be saved. If we do good works because we are saved and love Christ and others then it has His approval.
ReplyDeleteBut He did give a warning not to do good works in order to be seen of men. As a matter He is going to reward us for our good works. But sad to say many grace people will stand before God empty handed if they listen to grace preachers who tell them that they do not have to do any good works to please God.
Matthew 6:1-4
King James Version (KJV)
6 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
I believe the grace message that Paul preached and not the modern day message sweeping our churches. Here is what Paul preached.
Colossians 3:17
King James Version (KJV)
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Galatians 6:9
King James Version (KJV)
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Hebrews 10:24
King James Version (KJV)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
I`ll just use one more Scripture.
Titus 2:7-9
King James Version (KJV)
7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
You say and I quote Therefore, no matter what the prophets of the Old Testament, no matter what the other authors of the Bible tell us, no matter what the law-gospel-heralders preach, the only true picture of God is what Jesus reveals to us about Him. Why? Because Jesus is God explaining Himself to the Community of Humanity.
Are you say that God told the Old Testament prophets something different than what He told Christ. God is not a man that He should lie neither the Son of man that He should repent.(Numbers 23:19)
Part One.
ReplyDeleteHubert, there is a time when doing good is bad for you.
When dealing with the first man and woman of His creation God gave them one “don't do” and that was not to eat of the fruit of the tree of Good and evil. Why do you think that was? Because God know how messed up man would be in knowing good and evil and to differentiate between good and evil for themselves.
The knowledge of good and evil is also the basis of every man-made religion of the religious world. But the knowledge of good and evil does nothing to promote a life of dependency on Jesus. Eating of that tree is telling God that we have no need of Him because we will determine what is good and evil like He can do...This is a lie of the devil that the do-gooders religion has bought into.
You read the Bible to learn what you can do to pleases God. You are essentially asking, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Mat 19:16). Your line of thinking runs like this: If I do good and avoid evil I will be judged to be a good person.
But there’s a problem. In the Bible you will find some good things that are bad for you.
An example of something that is good yet bad for you is the law. Paul said the law is “holy, righteous, and good” (Romans 7:12). He also said, “the law is good if one uses it properly” (1 Tim 1:8). When a do-gooder such as yourself, discovers the law his initial response is delight. Finally, some good instructions to live by! But when he tries to keep the law (like you do) he finds himself breaking it despite his best intentions (like you do). He tries harder and fails again (like you do). Then the law – which is good...begins to condemn him (2 Co 3:7). Worse, sin which he did not know he had until he met the law, rises up and begins to ravage him (Romans 7:10).
Paul said the law is good but those who rely on it place themselves under a curse (Gal 3:10). How is this possible?! How can something that is good be bad for us? Is the law defective? No...it’s good! The problem is not with the law but your flesh. Your flesh is too weak to cope with the law (Roamsm 8:3). And it’s not just the law. Anything that is good will become bad for you once your flesh gets involved: For if you live according to the flesh you will die… (Romans 8:13)
What does it mean to live according to the flesh? And why is this bad for us? Every day the Christian chooses between walking after the flesh or walking after the spirit. It’s a mutually exclusive choice. We walk after the flesh when we rely on our own knowledge, our own resources...our resolve..our abilities...our understanding. We walk after the spirit when we rely on His knowledge. It’s the difference between walking by sight or by faith.
Part 2.
DeleteIt is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. (John 6:63).
The supernatural and abundant life that we’re called to live can only be received by grace and experienced by living in Grace. This is why the New Testament writers repeatedly admonish us to put off the old ways of the flesh and put on the new ways of the spirit:
The bible teaches, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph 4:22-24,)
One of the biggest religious blind spots is buying into the idea that good things are good for us while bad things are bad for us. But this good versus evil logic is fruit off the wrong tree. It gets us keeping score in a game that God isn’t playing. The real issue is life versus death. And if you sow to the flesh you will reap corruption regardless of what you do.
You can do a lot of good walking after the flesh! The problem is it won’t do you any good. “The flesh profits nothing.” Live like this and you will be functionally identical to a moral sinner. You will miss opportunities to reveal the kingdom of God's Grace kingdom. You will be acting like a “mere man” (see 1 Cor 3:3).
Jesus didn’t suffer and die to make sinners good but to make the dead live. Christ is in you and He is your life. When you walk after the flesh, you are acting like the dead man you used to be. You are wasting your life in good-work pursuit of God's acceptance...there is no such thing. You can spend all your days doing good works but none of it will result in praise to your Father because they are your works and not His. You may feel like you’re making a mark but in reality you’re just accumulating fuel for the fire.
Sadly, this is exactly how you as a law-keeping believer chooses to live. You define the works of the flesh by reciting Paul’s list of “manifest” examples in Galatians 5. These are the biggies, if you like. It never occurs to you that walking after flesh can also bring death to the doing of your doing in everyday living. Are you getting the uselessness of doing good to please God? Here’s a simple test to find out: Which of the following works of the flesh gives you greater concern as a believer?
1. My doing something bad in a moment of rash passion, or
2. Wasting my life doing my good works that God has not prepared for me to do.
Let me guess your answer...doing something bad in a rash moment. Was I on the money? But a believer who, in a momentary loss of sanity, fools around with “bad” sin, is more likely to come to his senses than one who has been dulled by years of good service done in the flesh . I am not encouraging you to do bad things. I am discouraging you from walking after the flesh even if what you are doing is good. What seems right to you will in the end lead to death.
It’s time you discarded the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil and get you nourishment from the Tree of Life which is Christ. Your innate tendency to judge yourself as good or bad based on the good or bad things you are doing, is doing you no good at all. But, then again...would I be correct in saying that you do not bad because you try to do what is good?
It is time you die to yourself Hubert so you can come alive unto God!
I find it strange for you to tell me to die to myself. When I`ve heard you say so much that it is not what we do but what Christ has already done.
ReplyDeleteJust for your info I follow in steps of my grace teacher the apostle Paul and die daily.
Here is what the Apostle Paul said, I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.(1Cor. 15:31)
When we get hold of real grace message we will do more than those who haven`t. The Bible says to whom much is given much will be required. (Luke 12:48)
Don`t tell me Paul didn`t believe in doing anything.
Here is his record. I`d say he got a hold of real grace message.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
Here Paul speaks of his labours, his journeyings, his watchings, and his fasting often.