Catechism--Seventh Commandment--You shall not steal. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.
Hebrews 13:16--Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Devotion--One common refrain that is often found in the Christian church is that we are saved by God's grace, not through the things we do. This is the truth, especially as we find it in God's Word. We cannot do enough good to ever be right with God. Our being made right with God falls fully upon His doing, which He has done through Jesus and the cross and the resurrection.
However, far too often, this line of thinking is taken to a false extreme. That extreme says that, since we aren't saved by the good we do, we cannot be compelled to do good. There is a mindset out there that almost says that it's bad to do good, since that might give a false emphasis on "earning" our way to be right with God rather than fully trusting that Jesus has done it all for us.
And yet, we find the exhortation to do good throughout the Bible. We don't do good in order to be right with God, but we do it for the good of one another. That's what the verse above is encouraging us to do. Do good, because that is in line with the will of God. God's will is not merely to save us so that we can continue to do the same things, or to live an unchanged life. God's will is to save us so that we can be a blessing and do good for one another.
Helping our neighbor improve and protect his possessions and income is one way that we do that kind of good for one another. This kind of doing good is fully in line with God's will. Attempting to do good in order to win favor with God, or to consider ourselves more "right" with God, is not the kind of good that is in line with God's will. Rather, it is the good that comes from a caring, compassionate heart for one's neighbor.
What good is there that you can do on behalf of your neighbor today? How will you go about taking up that opportunity?
Hebrews 13:16--Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Devotion--One common refrain that is often found in the Christian church is that we are saved by God's grace, not through the things we do. This is the truth, especially as we find it in God's Word. We cannot do enough good to ever be right with God. Our being made right with God falls fully upon His doing, which He has done through Jesus and the cross and the resurrection.
However, far too often, this line of thinking is taken to a false extreme. That extreme says that, since we aren't saved by the good we do, we cannot be compelled to do good. There is a mindset out there that almost says that it's bad to do good, since that might give a false emphasis on "earning" our way to be right with God rather than fully trusting that Jesus has done it all for us.
And yet, we find the exhortation to do good throughout the Bible. We don't do good in order to be right with God, but we do it for the good of one another. That's what the verse above is encouraging us to do. Do good, because that is in line with the will of God. God's will is not merely to save us so that we can continue to do the same things, or to live an unchanged life. God's will is to save us so that we can be a blessing and do good for one another.
Helping our neighbor improve and protect his possessions and income is one way that we do that kind of good for one another. This kind of doing good is fully in line with God's will. Attempting to do good in order to win favor with God, or to consider ourselves more "right" with God, is not the kind of good that is in line with God's will. Rather, it is the good that comes from a caring, compassionate heart for one's neighbor.
What good is there that you can do on behalf of your neighbor today? How will you go about taking up that opportunity?
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