Words of Service
OK, you can’t know everything about a person’s intent for an event from what is reported in the paper but this set me off.
The article was about a local church taking some teenaged girls to clean and do other acts of service at a ministry center in a nearby city.
The article concentrated on what the girls were trying to do and serving seemed to be the theme. Cleaning and handing out water and cookies on the street. Though there were no quotes around the words, the reporter for the newspaper said that one of the leaders said, “Good works are the light of the world.”
My gut reaction was, “No, they are not. Jesus is.”
This objection is based on John 8:12 which says, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'”
According to Isaiah 64:6, “all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” If we rely on our good works to speak to people about Jesus without expressing our faith in His enabling to do the works, we have only shown those we are serving something about us, not the Lord.
There is a form of thinking that seems to believe that if I will just be nice and serve others, they will see Christ in me and I won’t have to say a word. It may come from the well-known quote by St. Francis Assissi, “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.”
The book of James is clear that faith without works is dead. But we must be clear that it is the faith that leads to work, not works that lead to faith. Only Christ can save. Without the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, we would do nothing righteous.
He deserves all the glory for any work we do.
Jesus does tell us in Matthew 5:14 that Christians are the light of the world and that we are not to hide that light under a bushel. I fear that if we see our works alone as “the light of the world,” we, in our pride, might forget what Christ has done for us in His death on the cross. Works without words, specifically the Gospel, which includes that all are sinners who must repent before God, is an incomplete picture of the True Light of the world.
There are many times in life when our job is to serve where there may be no opportunity to share the Gospel. We serve anyway, recognizing God’s prompting in ourselves, thanking Him for the opportunity. This does not mean that it is not the work of the Lord.
However, when we are given an opportunity to speak we need to be able to speak up for Christ. If we are going somewhere specifically to serve Christ, doing the work in His Name, then His Name should be spoken.
…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3:15
One of the students quoted in the news article demonstrated the best attitude of all: She said, “Jesus served, so we serve.” Let’s be conformed to His (serving) image. His light came from both His lips and His works.
Serving others blesses them and blesses us, too. 🙂
Yes Melissa, As does sharing the Gospel. Praise God He has given the ability to speak and serve.
Serving others is such an amazing thing for us to do!
Indeed it is Julie, when we do it for the glory of God!
So true, Beth. It sounds a lot like the quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that says “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” Problem is, he never said it.
And anyway, it contradicts Scripture. Paul wrote in I Corinthians15:1, 3-5ff (NASB) what the gospel is:
“Now I make known to you, brethren the gospel which I preached to you….For I delivered to you as of first importance…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”
Words are required to communicate the gospel of the Living Word! And THEN, our actions must be consistent with the words we speak!
Great article. I think sometimes people feel afraid to mention the name JESUS in public… they wrap all the good works they do in disguise almost without realizing it… and the sad thing is that somehow, saying “kindness matters” or “be kind” is more socially acceptable than saying “I do this in the name of Jesus.” I probably used to do this as a young woman, too, until I realized I needed to be proclaiming the name of my Lord everywhere instead of feeling shy about owning my identity as a Christian. Thank you so much for writing about this, Beth!
Serving others is such a great way to reflect God’s love in the world. Thanks for this reminder of service as a part of our ministry to others.
Amen, Ava! There are many things we consider as “Gospel truth” that are little more than legends if not all out false teaching! Satan must celebrate when we fall in to the traps set for us. Every sphere of our lives should reflect Christ and our lips should proclaim Him!
May God give us the courage this culture calls for!
Thanks Jessica, I do think that the boldness comes with greater knowledge and understanding for all of us. The “be kind” culture we’re living in is a way to help people “feel” good about themselves with no real change required. May God open the eyes of the blind to the grace and mercy in His Son!
Yes S.A., As long as the world knows we are serving in the Name of Christ and for His glory!
This is beautiful! I wholeheartedly agree with you! This part of what you wrote stood out to me, “If we rely on our good works to speak to people about Jesus without expressing our faith in His enabling to do the works, we have only shown those we are serving something about us, not the Lord.”
This tension is often missed by good meaning Christians and churches. To do good works is necessary, but our good works alone do not lead people to Jesus. The gospel does this and if we do not share the gospel with people, we only do them a good deed that benefits them this side of heaven. We must have an eternal mission in our service. Great great article!
As you said, there must be sharing and words together, but they don’t necessarily always come right on top of the other. Sometimes we must serve for a long time before we’ve earned the platform to speak. We must listen to the Holy Spirit and not rush to speak before our audience is ready to hear. A lot of that is reflected in that verse you shared from Matthew 5:14-16.
“14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Our works, done in the name of the Lord, must be given time to shine and for people to glorify our Father in heaven, having realized that this is a gift from God, an unexpected and undeserved kindness, AND THEN we have gained an audience that will hear.
Amen Sister great post! The World is definitely watching us and sadly due to some Christian behaviors people are on the defense at times but when we come in love and serve, sometimes they see a side of Followers that they have never seen before….Love… The door then opens and the sharing of the Good News begins…. Awesome message Sister God Bless You and Yours
Thanks so much, Stephen! May the Lord bless our works – and our words – for Him!
I believe you are right, Melinda. I also think that there are occasions when the Lord will have us speak truth to someone in a one time or short term, Divinely inspired, meeting. As you said, we need to be sensitive (and obedient) to the leading of the Spirit of God. Most people need to know we are faithful and trustworthy before we can be heard.
Good to “hear” from you again.
Thanks so much Marcie, I can’t help thinking that God says His Word “never returns void.” He never says that about our works!
The power of the gospel is so great!
Beth, I like the student’s quote, even Jesus stated He came to serve, not to be served. Serving is following His example. I agree, the good works aren’t the light…or else any moral or ethical good works would light up the world. It’s Jesus! Always has been and always will be!
Thanks Karen, Indeed, the Light is Jesus! Oh that we might be confirmed to His image.
I imagine some context didn’t land on the page of that article, but you are right. The lack of clarity in what we teach and what we intend, results in a lack of clarity in what we do and the message that goes along with it. I think we’ve lost that clarity in some ministries and even churches. Thank you for this necessary message. It challenges me as an individual to do and speak clearly in my conversations.
Yes Stephen and of course the media is going to cling the one thing said that promotes their “positive” agenda over our Christ-like agenda. I pray we will be speaking with biblical clarity all the time!