Okay, I was not saying that you should never do any Christian service! Obviously, if you haven’t read yesterday’s message, you might want to go back and do it! This can be the disclaimer.
The ultimate goal in the Christian’s life is to glorify God. What glorifies God is what we do with what He gives us. That way, He gets all the credit. If someone gives me $10,000,000, and I give $2,000,000 to charity, do I get the credit, or does the person who gave me the money get the credit? It’s the same way with God.
I absolutely believe that we should all perform Christian service. As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ will evaluate YOUR life and your Christian service that you performed.
Romans 14:10
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
But what matters is not how much you perform, but the quality:
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which
is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (This is
a passage for believers only. We have
laid the foundation for our lives as Christians by believing in Jesus
Christ. That is the only foundation.)
12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will
show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test
the quality of each man's
work. (Notice – not
quantity, but quality! What
was your motivation? Who gets the
credit?)
14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he
will receive a reward. (And these rewards
will last for all eternity!)
15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but
he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (There’s the eternal security issue again – once you’ve laid the proper
foundation, you cannot burn it away with fire.
Only the rewards will be lost, not the security of eternity in heaven.)
Here’s one more passage that talks about the same thing:
2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Good – AGATHOS – something that has intrinsic value.
Bad – FAULON – something worthless or counterfeit.
What matters is not whether you performed some good deeds or
not, but whether the deeds are worth anything.
If they are the deeds that “God prepared beforehand that we should walk
in them” (Ephesians
If we do them in our own power, or with wrong motivation, then they are counterfeit. They may look good on the outside, but are worth nothing, and will be burned up when evaluated by Jesus Christ.
Here’s the scary principle! You might think something looks good to other people (and it may), but God knows why you are doing it!
1 Corinthians 4:5
5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time,
but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to
light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's
hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.
Therefore, we SHOULD perform Christian service and good deeds, but be aware that they will be evaluated, not for the quantity or the outward appearance of them, but for their intrinsic value. Your motives will be revealed!