Good Deeds - Good Will - Good News

In Zechariah 7 and 8 God says two separate, but very similar statements to the people:

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." (Zechariah 7: 9-10)

"These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD." (Zechariah 8: 16-17)

God's call to his people is to be true, render justice, caring for those in need, looking out for the welfare of one another. When these things are perverted, God hates it.
And this has become a major focus of much of the church today. It’s a great thing, but there is a danger to it. The church was never meant to be a humanitarian institution alone. Caring for the sick and releasing people from poverty is a critical part of the task, but humanitarian work can easily be done without God in the picture. These things can be done in the name of God, but the end result may not always be to lead people to Christ. A church soup kitchen can serve good food, but may never serve the good news, and yet they could feel like they are doing the Lord’s work because they are caring for the poor.

I know this is kind of touchy. Pastor Wayne Cordeiro says it this way: good deeds promote good will that open people up to receive the good news. Good deeds as an end is not enough. We can feed the homeless all the meals they’ll ever need but they will still find themselves in hell if they have never made any eternal decisions. Good deeds is not an end, it’s a means for people to receive the gospel.

Jesus speaks to the importance of this in Luke 13, after someone asks him if only a few people will be saved. Jesus talks about striving to enter through the “narrow door” (verses 23-24). But this narrow door isn’t a test of some sort. There isn’t some kind of way to work your way into this narrow door, it’s all about knowing Jesus in a personal way. Jesus tells a parable of people coming up to the door, knocking, and begging to be let in, but Jesus’ response is, “I don’t know you.” The people go on to say, “But we ate and drank in your presence, and we saw you teach in our streets, we listened to you and liked what you taught.” Still, his response is, “I don’t know you.”

The importance is on knowing who Jesus is in a personal way. It’s not enough to know what Jesus taught. It’s not enough to have gone to church a few times. It’s not enough to know about God from what your parents taught you. Jesus puts a huge stress on knowing him yourself. People need to know what Jesus taught, and then do those things. They need to believe that his death on the cross was payment for their sin. They need to speak and pray and relate to him daily.
The church hasn’t completed their task if all they’ve done is serve food or held a church service. There needs to be eternal impact. People need to meet Christ and walk daily with him.

As we press forward into the future, I believe the church will continue to fight poverty and right the social wrongs of the world. And I’m all for it. I want to be a part of that. I believe the the next generation will focus on a global, church-wide effort to transform communities and nations for God’s glory. We just need to never forget that the good news of Christ’s kingdom is our goal, not just the good deeds of the kingdom.