"What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6).
Recently, I've noticed a growing shift in emphasis among Christians. There is beginning to be a reawakening to the social aspect of Christ's teachings; i.e., caring for the poor, the needy, the homeless, etc.. Personally, this appeals to me and I'm glad to see this taking on renewed importance. Leaders have arisen in the ranks (Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo) whom I think are doing a good job of living this out and teaching others to do the same. There are others who have come up from the ranks that I'm not real sure of. God is their judge, not I. But, their presence on the scene has reminded me of an important truth, which is this: The nature of an activity does not determine whether it's holy or not; the holiness (or godliness, meaning "god-like-ness") of any activity is determined by the source of the activity. Is it produced and performed by the Holy Spirit through me? Or is it produced and performed by my flesh (my own independent will, abilities, and resources)?
Any activity done in the name of Christ - preaching, caring for the poor, serving, teaching, whatever - that has as its source my own strength and resources- in other words, anything done independently of Christ's own initiative and sustaining power- is worthless. Only those actions and deeds that have their origin in Christ and are performed and sustained by Christ's activity in and through me have any eternal value. Therefore, if my Christianity is lived in my strength, my wisdom, my resources, my abilities and my talents, who should get the credit? Myself! But if my Christianity is Christ living His life through me by His power, His abilities, His gifts, His resources, then who gets the credit? Christ Himself! Who, then, is glorified? Christ Himself!
Anything done in the name of Christ, that's done independently from Christ, no matter how "good" it may seem, is merely a monument to myself. Only Jesus can produce and perform anything that's worthy of His name. Only Jesus.
"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever" (Romans 11:36).
Do you find yourself operating in the flesh or the Spirit? What is your struggle in this area? How do you feel about this new social justice movement?
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Comments (20)
..anything done independently of Christ's own initiative and sustaining power- is worthless.
In Matthew 12:30, Mark 9:40, and Luke 9:49-50 Jesus says different.
Good works are of supreme benefit whether they are done by Christians, Hindus, Muslims or anyone.
In short, any act of charity is the will of God. Jesus said so.
Anything done in the name of Christ, that's done independently from Christ, no matter how "good" it may seem, is merely a monument to myself.
This statement is incoherent. For good works done in the name of Christ are not done independently of Christ. And as Jesus taught, any good works done by anyone are works that Christ embraces.
This post is just another essay by a religious fanatic trying to use the Gospel to invalidate the good works of good people who may not be tuned into Christ.
NEWS FLASH!!
Good works by good people are pleasing not only to the human beneficiaries of those good works but to God also.
This is because God is the author of all that is good. Anything good, therefore, comes from God.
END OF NEWS FLASH
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between operating in the flesh vs. the Spirit. Especially because feelings have nothing to do with faith.
Therefore, if my Christianity is lived in my strength, my wisdom, my resources, my abilities and my talents, who should get the credit? Myself! But if my Christianity is Christ living His life through me by His power, His abilities, His gifts, His resources, then who gets the credit? Christ Himself! Who, then, is glorified? Christ Himself!
Anything done in the name of Christ, that's done independently from Christ, no matter how "good" it may seem, is merely a monument to myself. Only Jesus can produce and perform anything that's worthy of His name. Only Jesus.
Amen. Only Jesus!
Without Jesus we can do nothing. Without Jesus the glory goes to us. Glory to God alone! I Corinthians 1:31.
@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace@xanga - OK I think what the writer meant when they wrote "Anything done in the name of Christ, that's done independently from Christ, no matter how "good" it may seem, is merely a monument to myself. " meant that people can claim that they are followers of Christ and to try things in their own self...maybe something God didnt ask them or call them to do. It may be a good thing but if it's not built in Christ it will eventually fail and it will be empty. For example being a youth pastor is a wonderful thing...pouring yourself into teens and helping them learn more about Christ BUT if you just decide on a whim to do it and have never felt God calling you to the job it will be empty. Or if you are saved and serve Jesus Christ and decide to be a youth pastor but do it all in your own power and dont trust the Lord to do HIS work through you, there will still be soem good things that come out of it because God works no matter what we do but the work we do without HIM will eventually fail. (Look up the story of the person who built their house on the sand versus on the rock)
Good people can do good things and that is wonderful and Jesus can use it wether they have faith in him or not BUT people who claim to be doing it in Jesus's name and then dont do it in his name it will fall apart. I know there was a time where I personally was living to please myself yet I tried to "live the life" in Jesus's name. People saw right through it...any attempts I made did not refect back to the Lord. It was all in vain. I think this is what the author was talking about....motives not works.
Jesus specificially speaks of things not working if it's not in the Lord in John 15:1-7.
This is just vs 5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
All spirit right here!
Hey, friends!
Most of you have noticed that I didn't communicate clearly at all what I was trying to say. And unfortunately, at the moment, I don't have time to correct and clarify. The majority of you did manage to get what I was trying to say - for that I'm very thankful. Thankful because my poor explanation required you to show great mercy, give me the benefit of the doubt, and to figure it out yourself. Shortly after I posted this article on some other sites, I received bad feedback and immediately removed it. Unfortunately, I forgot I had posted it here. I sincerely apologize. I will soon write a better article that explains it more clearly.
Rachelz, Naphtali, - you got what I was saying.
Lobornlytes - I hope you will accept this apology for a poorly presented idea. And I hope that you'll stay tuned for further discussion. Thanks for your straightforward and honest reply.
Grace to all!
@sacredfly@xanga - The post is quite clear when you see that our salvation from beginning to end (including the good works we are ordained to walk in), is all from, through and to God and therefore to His glory alone. Philippians 2:12-13, Romans 11:36.
Grace & peace,
Karen
Thanks, Karen and momz!
Karen, I think I "friended" you and subscribed to your blog. However, I'm rather clumsy about this kind of thing, so if I haven't forgive me and send me simple, first-grade level instructions and I'll fix it. :)
I just finished posting a much more thorough explanation on the above. I'm rather longwinded so it may become a "series" of posts. LOL!
Thanks for your friendship and support, Karen and momz!
Grace upon grace to you and yours this new year1
@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace@xanga - I just submitted a further explanation of my earlier post about "Flesh or Spirit". I would love to hear your thoughts. Perhaps this will explain my beliefs better. However, it's just a beginning and I tend to be longwinded. Anyway, thought you might care to know. Blessings to you and yours!
@sacredfly@xanga - Thanks. I get it now. Writing is truly a difficult endeavor.
@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace@xanga - Yes, it is; which is why I apologized. I wrote in haste on a topic that required careful consideration. I was guilty of writing irresponsibly. Thanks, again.
AMEN BROSEFFF :)
Good works themselves are not "bad." God can totally use them for His glory. It's only as Christians as we learn to engage in a deeper relationship with God do we need to realize that we get all of our strength from Jesus. That without Him we are utterly helpless. Having that humbling realization is more than enough to keep Jesus revered and active in our lives :)
Your post is clear, and I do understand what you are saying. Gary, we need to be filled with the spirit to understand the word.
I like to see when you post your other post.
Thank you for sharing..
@sacredfly@xanga - Actually I believe you did a wonderful job-- remember, just as your post said, it is not your work that produces fruit in your writings but it is the Spirit of Christ.
The Spirit is of the Spirit and the Flesh is of the Flesh; anytime you write something from the Spirit, someone that is of the Flesh may not understand-- this is only natural.
I encourage you to be happy in knowing that this was settled well in my soul and was something that I needed to hear. Thank you.
@deepestrecesses - Thank you, deepest. I did post a better and deeper explanation that did clear it up. But thanks for your encouragement.
@Mal_P@xanga - Thanks, Mal_P! I submitted it late last night, so I don't know when it will appear in RevelIfe. I'm new to all this, so I don't know real well how it works. Thanks for your encouragement!
I have to say that while this may be true, personally I'm not too concerned with the personal motives that people have for doing charitable works. That is their business and that is something they will have to one day answer God about, if He so chooses to make an issue of it during their Judgment. That's entirely up to Him. :p
However, as long as the charity is beneficial to those that it is intended to benefit, I really don't care. :/ If someone is working in a soup kitchen to feed the homeless, saying it is because they are a Christian and it is the right thing to do, even though they are truthfully just wanting to look good in the eyes of others (whoever those "others" might be), that is hypocritical. But, the homeless still get fed. And that IS a good thing. And I'm sure that at least in that God will be happy, even if He is displeased with the motives of the original person.
But, I would just like to say that what you have touched on is something that I know a lot of non-Christian friends are often quite irritated with when it comes to the Christians they often see each day. During the course of their jobs, they often meet new people in the form of customers. Many of these customers are Christian. And they often hear these people talking about having plans to do some charitable work somewhere, but also the way that they speak sounds an awful lot like they're just doing it to elevate themselves in the eyes of their peers. Which is seen by many of my non-Christian friends as very hypocritical and it is one of the things that keeps them turned away from Christianity. They feel the majority of Christians are really just hypocrites.
And I think that this is sad. So, really, nobody who looks upon good works as a means to elevate themselves in the eyes of others is doing themselves, or Christ Himself, any favors. And in the end just seems to be a little bit transparent to non-Christians, working to keep many of them turned away from Christianity. :(
i think doing good in the spirit is God's ideal but doing good in the flesh is not worthless, just not quite as good as it can be when we do it with the Lord and probably much harder to sustain, we can certainly try to render everything we do to the Lord though. paul says even if the gospel is preached in malice it is preferable to it not being preached at all, so God has grace even for those who do good to be seen! but eventually He will call them up on it
It will be great to watch We Will Rock You, i have bought tickets from
http://ticketfront.com/event/We_Will_Rock_You-tickets looking forward to it.