Every child of God is ordained by redemption to shine. Shining for a child of God is not optional but mandatory as the prophet states it in Isaiah 60:1,
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee."
Even Jesus Christ confirms
the shinning mandate of believers inMatthew 5:16 whereby he
commands his disciples,
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
HOW TO
SHINE?
Scriptures reveal unto us
one principal way a believer is called to shine. This way is called "good
works"
What constitutes "good
works"? What is the definition of "good
works"?
As we look at Scriptures,
we find that the word that is translated "good" means that which is
by its nature pleasing (that is, pleasing to God), that which is upright and
honorable in His sight.
WHAT
"GOOD WORKS" IS NOT
Scripturally speaking, it
is made clear that "good works" does not mean essentially and
primarily caring for the poor or giving to others or sacrificying for others.
No. Let us confirm it from two facts straight from the Bible :
1st fact :
When Mary lovingly poured an expensive bottle of perfume on Jesus, Judas
objects on the grounds of practicality: This resource could have been
liquidated and redistributed to the poor. We find it in John 12:5,
"Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?"
At first glance Judas'
attitude looks great because he was claiming to care for the poor. But after
scanning carrefully his inner motives and intentions, nothing was so sure that
he actually was minding the poor because the Bible says concerning him in John
12:6,
"This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein."
2nd fact : Usually,
someone who acts generously is showing love. However, Paul in 1
Corinthians 13:3 shows us that this may not always be so. He says,
"And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
In this text, Paul
describes someone who carries out a very generous act. In fact, it is the most
generous act that anyone can imagine. This person gives away all his
possessions to poor people. However, for this person, that act is not generous
enough. So he gives even more; he gives his own life. We do not know why; he
gives it for something that he believes in. He accepts a terrible death. It is
so terrible that nothing remains of his body for anyone to bury. People would
consider that an awful way to die. Paul then tells us that this person was
acting without love.
Whatever that number is, multiply it by zero. What do
you get? Zero. It doesn’t matter what you start with on the left. If the number
on the right is zero, the answer will always be zero.
God is saying that life
without love is zero. You can pile up all the good deeds, all the education,
all the spiritual gifts, and all the noble works that you like. Without love,
it still equals zero. You can be smart, beautiful, strong, wealthy, educated,
multi-lingual, rich and famous but without love it still equals zero.
WHAT DO
"GOOD WORKS" MEAN FROM SCRIPTURES?
1) From Scriptures,
acceptable good works are not meant to earn or win salvation but to prove
salvation.
"By grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not
of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
2) From
Scriptures, acceptable good works are not meant to glorify men but to
glorify God.
Jesus said to His followers, “Let your light shine
before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your
Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
"Having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they
may by [your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in
the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:12)
3) From
Scriptures, acceptable good works are motivated by and rooted in love
not by anything else (selfish ambition, personal gain, pride, pleasing people,
...).
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:3, "And
though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to
be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
4) From Scriptures,
acceptable good works are godly actions which are godly motivated
and godly performed by godly people in order to meet people's needs and to
solve their problems.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
"[This is] a faithful saying, and these things I
will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God
might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and
profitable unto men." (Titus 3:8)
🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃🔃
SO SHALL IT BE!
JESUS IS LORD!
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