Doing good

DEVOTION

ROMANS

DOING GOOD

Rom 2:5-11

5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God "will give to each person according to what he has done."   7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

NIV

Well here it is, plain and simple, without and of the frills. If anyone tries to convince us that any amount of good deeds count toward eternal life we just have to point them to this truth. God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” The reason that is in quotes is that Paul is quoting from Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12. But we have to notice the explanation of what we have done. We either are persistent in doing well in seeking glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. Here is where some believers get into trouble about the doing good deeds. Although the NIV seems to translate “in doing good” the rendering in the Greek is more like “in doing good or well in seeking glory and honor and immortality. This is in contrast within the context to those who are self-seeking and reject the truth and follow evil. So we are either seeking honor, glory and immortality or seeking self. Who is honor? Who is glory? Who is immortality? God! Jesus! For those who seek Jesus, eternal life, for those who seek self, rejecting seeking Jesus, wrath. We just have to think about the fact the even those who reject Jesus do a whole lot of “good deeds” in a humanistic sense. Some even put us believers to shame regarding helping our fellow man. However, their “good deeds” do not earn them eternal life, nor do ours. The only way to receive eternal life is in seeking Jesus and finding him. There is the follow up after that. We are supposed to love him with every fiber of our being and love our neighbor. That is where we are supposed to be doing the good, in showing our neighbor we love them. How do we do that? Is it in “good deeds”? Maybe, but maybe not. We know for sure that are good deeds are as filthy rages when it comes to getting in to heaven, because we are not saved by works, but by faith. Yes, James says show me your faith, I will show you my works, as faith without works is dead. Faith without seeking Jesus is dead. Many believe say they believe in God, which is faith, for to believe in someone you cannot see is faith. But believing in God is not enough. Jesus said that we have to be born again, that unless we are born again, we will not see the kingdom of God. Faith alone does get it, we need to seek Jesus, and we need to be born again of the Spirit. That is the works.  Now, going forth as James points out, loving our neighbor follows. Perhaps the truest form of love would be to make sure they do not receive wrath or eternal death. Would not true love want to show them a way they can escape death? Yes, they have rejected the truth, and are self-seeking and following evil, but shouldn’t we try to show them the love of Jesus anyway? We can still pray with them, showing them we care. We can still help them, showing we care, we love them. It’s great to do things for those in ministries that serve the needs of people. But are we activity engaged with sinners showing them the love of Jesus? Are we God’s people, his representative, and his ambassador in a foreign land? Let us be busy about the work of his kingdom, the work of love. Then we would be doing good.