Why Do Christians Do Good?

            The fact that a Christian should be full of good works can hardly be denied. In Titus 2:11-14 Paul told Titus,

For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works.

In Ephesians 2:10 the Bible says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” Galatians 6:10, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” What about Jesus? We are told in Acts 10:38 that he was someone who “went about doing good.” So, the question I really want to try and nail down an answer for this evening is not, “should a Christian be zealous for good works?” That’s pretty plainly said in the verses just mentioned. But, rather, why; what is the Christian’s motivation for being “zealous of good works?”

            There are three things that generally motivate the Christian to be “zealous of good works”: faith, hope, and love. I have heard many people say that love is the motivation for doing good. That that is the only true motivation that a Christian should have. Well, I agree that love is important, but it is not exclusive of everything else. I think to put love over here by itself to the exclusion of everything else as the motivation for doing good is to go a little bit beyond what the Scriptures teach us. Where would love be without faith? “And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him” (Heb. 11:6). Or, where would faith be without our hope of salvation through the resurrected Christ? “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain” (1 Cor. 15:13-14). Faith, hope, and love are all necessary, and I think we will see that all three motivate us to be zealous of good works.

Faith Without Works is Dead

            We cannot have a biblical and saving faith absent of good works. If we do not have good works to go along with our faith, then our faith is dead and not able to save us!

Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? (Jas. 2:17-20)

            When a person has the kind of faith that God requires of us, that faith tells us that because He is God, period, we better listen, we better believe what He says, and we better do what He has said “do.” Jesus once asked, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Lk. 6:46). Because Jesus is our Lord, that fact should motivate us to do what He says.

            Over in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 and verse 1, it says, “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” Everything that we do and say as a Christian comes back to whether or not we have faith in God and the things revealed unto us by Him. Without faith, we may as well hang it up and go home, because it’s all over. Faith is our assurance, faith is our conviction of those things that we cannot see. The King James tells us that faith is the “substance” of things hoped for… “Sub” means under, like in the word sub-marine. In this case it means our faith stands under those things we long and hope for in Christ. Everything we believe and labor for in the church rests upon that foundation of faith, but not just any faith, but our faith in Christ. Jesus said, “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18). What rock was that? Peter? No! The confession of Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16). Even love must rest upon that foundation of faith.

            First, consider Noah. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house…” (Heb. 11:7). In Genesis 6 we read about the instructions that God gave Noah. The Bible says, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Gen. 6:22).

Second, consider Abraham. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…” (Heb. 11:17). When we turn to Genesis 22, we learn that Abraham took his son, traveled three days to Mount Moriah, built and alter, laid the wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Abraham stretched forth his hand to slay his son, but an angel of God said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad” (Gen. 22:12).

We see that Noah’s faith and Abraham’s faith led them to obey God. A faith that does not lead a person to obey God is a dead faith and cannot save.

An active faith is more than a mental accent to truth. An active faith is more than just some emotional feeling. An active faith takes God at his word and obeys him. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (Jas. 2:17).

Why, that 11^th chapter of Hebrews is full of those who “by faith” did the things commanded of God.

What happens when our faith is too weak to assure and convict us so that we will take God at His word when the going gets rough? We will come up short of the requirements of God! We will lack the conviction to do what is required of us. “Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God” (Jn. 12:42-43).

Our Hope in Heaven Motives Us to Good Works

            In John 3:16 I find that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might have eternal life.” And, as the song says that we have song so many times in worship, “My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ Blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. When he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.”

The Lord has gone to prepare a place for us and He has promised us, “if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).

Paul tells us of His coming again in First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

To be with Him and have eternal life in heaven is the great hope of every Christian; to be in that place where “death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more” (Rev. 21:4).

God has made that possible through His Son, and without out Christ there would be no hope. We cannot work our way into heaven, eternal life is the gift of God. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Ro. 6:23). But, whether or not we are allowed to enter or not, is depends upon what we have done here upon the earth. We will be judged by our works.

Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. (Jn. 5:28-29)

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Rev. 20:12-13)

            If my goal is to have eternal life and to live in heaven with Him, and I know that the difference between going there and not going there is going to be whether I have done rite or wrong according to God’s word, then I am going to make sure I am obedient to His commands.

So, what motivates a Christian to be “zealous for good works”? We are partly motivated by faith; that is my assurance and conviction in spiritual matters. I am obedient to God and do the things He commands, partly because of my hope in heaven, and finally, because of my love for God and for my fellow man.

Love is the Great Motivator of Good Works

Love is the greatest and highest quality of the Christian. That is our goal and aim—to love even our enemies, so that we will always seek what is right and good for others and to please God in all things through our live for Him. We don’t start out with it as a babe in Christ, we have not spiritually matured enough at that point. What do we have then? The new Christian as a somewhat limited faith that has been based upon what he has heard of the things of the gospel. Our faith comes by the hearing of the word of God (Ro. 10:17). The more we learn of God’s word, the broader our faith will be. But, based upon that faith, one develops a desire to be saved and a conviction of sin that will prevent him from being saved. That motivates him to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of those sins so that he can be saved. But, it is only after some time of living and striving as a Christian and spiritual development that he goes on to maturity and learns to love God with all his “heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind….And his neighbor as himself.” Once we have progressed to that level of maturity, then that becomes the greatest motivator for us to do good.

If I love my fellow man, I’m not going to steal from him, cheat him, lie to him, or do him wrong in any way if I can at all help it. You don’t wrong those you love or have any ill will toward him. If I love my fellow man, I am going to seek what is in his best interest, even if he does not love me.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Ro. 13:9-10)

            I no longer need a command to tell me not to kill someone, my love for my fellow man would not permit me to do that anyway! “And above all these things,” said Paul, “put on love, which is the bond of perfectness” (Col. 3:14).

            Is love a motivation for doing good? Oh, yes! Is it important? Sure, it’s the second greatest commandment (Mt. 22:39)! But, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that love is our only motivation for doing good, I think that may be going too far. In First Corinthians chapter 12 the apostle had been writing about miraculous gifts of the Spirit. The last verse of that chapter says, “But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And moreover a most excellent way show I unto you” (v. 31). That most excellent way is love and he goes into that there in the 13^th chapter. In verse 8 he says, “Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.” Those miraculous gifts were going to last only so long, and then they were going to cease, but love would continue on. “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away” (13:9-10). These and the next couple of verses cannot be talking about the future still, in heaven, because it says that when the perfect is come, there will be no more miracles. Are there miracles today? No. Then that which is perfect has come and is here now. If we were to keep on with that study, we would see that it is talking about the completely revealed word of God—the New Testament. But, that is not what I am trying to get at here, particularly.

I think that many times we read through this chapter and we see love, but we fail to notice that Paul does not say that love is the only thing that will not fail. He actually tells us that there are three things. In the last verse he says, “but now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” Which is the most important? Love, it’s the greatest and second greatest commandment, but there is also faith and hope. How does that apply to our lesson this evening? We are motivated by love to be zealous of good works, but love is not exclusive of faith and hope. Why do we do good? We do good because of our faith in God and in Jesus Christ. Faith without works is dead. We do good because of our hope of eternal life. I know that one of these days I am going to be judged according to the things that I have done in this life. We do good because of our love for God and love for our fellow man. “These three; and the greatest of these is love.” First Thessalonians 1:2-3, “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father”: “Work of faith”; “labor of love”; “patience of hope” (cf. 5:8; Col. 1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:21-22).

            Alright, so what are not acceptable reasons for doing good?

We Do Not Use Good Works To Bribe People

            If you have ever gone down to a central or South American country and gotten away from the tourist areas and have actually seen the poverty in some of those places, you know that it is something you will likely never forget. I helped build some houses down in Honduras one summer and many of the houses down there are not as good as the buildings that many of us here put our lawn equipment in. Where ever we went through these poor neighborhoods, there were kids coming from everywhere with there hands held out asking for food, money, or whatever you might give them; they would take just about anything. Young and old alike, would also do just about anything you told them to if it meant that they would get some food, clothes, or a new house built for them.  In a situation like that, there is a fine line between bribery, and true and honest conversions.

            We can fall in to the same trap here in America though if we’re not careful. If we do something good for someone, we shouldn’t expect them to do something for us, like have a Bible study or come to church with us. If they do that’s great! But they don’t owe us, we should be doing good because we love them and because it is the right thing to do, not because we want them to do something for us in return.  If we only do good because of something that we are looking to get out of it, that is the wrong motivation. If we bribe someone into becoming a Christian, we haven’t really helped them; they still have not been converted. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, in Luke 10, the Samaritan didn’t stop and help the man that was beaten and robbed and left half dead because he was looking to get something out of it, but Jesus said that it was because “he was moved with compassion” (vs. 33).

We Do Not Do Good Works for The Praises of Man

“When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.” (Mt. 6:2).

 “And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward” (Mt. 6:5).

 “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward” (Mt. 6:16).

As Paul once said, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10).

Conclusion

            So why do we do good, and why are we a people zealous of good works? We don’t do them to bribe people. We don’t do them for the praises of men. We do them because we know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and we are to be faithfully serving Him. Because, we are assured and convicted by our faith in Christ, according to God’s word, we will take Him at His word an do the things that He has commanded. We do them because we have a hope of eternal life like an anchor set within the veil, as the Hebrew writer teaches us in Hebrew 6:13ff, and we know that we will not be disappointed because God has promised it to us and confirmed it with and oath, if we will only do His will. And, we do good works because we love God with all of our hearts, souls, strength, and minds, and our neighbors as ourselves. By doing these good works we are letting our light shine like a city set on a hill that cannot be hid, that others will inevitably see, all to the glory of our heavenly Father! As Jesus said,

Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Mt. 5:14-16