From The Pastor’s
Desk
Pastor
Randy Barnett, USA
LET US DO GOOD
“Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all,
especially to the
household of faith.”
Galatians 6:10 NKJV
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia
with very good instruction that is still very apropos to us today, which is to
do good. We, the Church, would do well to heed his instruction. It has been my
observation over two decades of pastoring God’s people that the modern-day
church has become obsessed with the acquisition of biblical knowledge and being
doctrinally correct. This comes at the
expense of obedience to the clear and simple command to do good works. This error may not be such a problem with
some quadrants of the Christian faith that seem to focus entirely upon social
responsibility; however, in the evangelical ranks I have been associated with
this as a deficiency we must cure.
Actually, there is
much written in Holy Writ about good works.
This is why it is important for us to be about doing them. Perhaps our spiritual retreat has been more
a matter of wrong doctrine as it has been with being slothful spiritually. Our spiritual fathers have stood in pulpits
and propounded the truth that we are indeed saved by grace and not by works.
They have instilled in us that it is the love of God extended to us, along with
our simple acceptance by faith that has wrought our wonderful covenant status
with God. This is good and sound doctrine.
But perhaps we have left the subject of good works too quickly after
espousing salvation by grace alone.
There is more to the doctrine of good works. Let us receive instruction and take heed to do what is right.
OK . . . so what comes
under the heading of doing good works?
To answer this let’s be sure to go back to the Word of God to determine
what these good works are. I believe
simply following Jesus on His earthly trek of ministry is the best study on
this subject. What did He do? He did not go looking for opportunities of
personal service to mankind, those opportunities sought Him out, just as they
will for you and me. Everywhere He went
He noticed those around Him. He was very aware of His surroundings.
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When He saw hungry folks,
what did He do? He fed them.
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When He encountered misery,
He alleviated it by speaking life into those who were miserable. He righted
discouragement and depression with truth. He was literally the mouthpiece of
God to those around Him.
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He forgave sin.
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He restored brokenness
anywhere He found it in whomever it was that He saw.
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He even did some
“not-so-critical” stuff like making certain the party host was not ashamed
because he had miscalculated the amount of wine for his guests.
Each of these is a good work.
Each is a lovely demonstration of love.
So it must be with you.
See how Jesus views
your good works from Matthew 25:40 – your good works are literally done “unto
Him.”
understanding of
good works. Your good works do not gain
some advantage for you with your heavenly Father, nor do they evoke from Him a
greater love. The truth you must learn
and develop in is the truth that…
when you do good
things for others, you
are personally
ministering to Jesus.
Reject all
notions of earning brownie points with God because of what you do. Determine that your love for Jesus is the
motivation of your heart, and that love moves you to serve others in whatever
way you can.
In our text verse of Galatians 6:10
notice the word “especially.” The Lord’s call through Paul was for good works
to all men; however, he emphasized more heavily the responsibility you have to
your brothers and sisters within your spiritual family – the Church. There apparently is an even greater
responsibility to serve other Christians than to serve mankind at large. The reason for this distinction is because
of the mutual covenant with God each of us who believes in Jesus has. It is our covenant status that moves God’s
people to do good things for other believers.
It is not out of some sense of duty, but rather the love because of your
covenant relationship that brings you to a new level of awareness and
acceptance for the responsibility for the plight of others in the
