The Lord’s Work – Part 37
Matthew 10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
You won’t be rewarded for giving your enemy the world’s water, carnal water. But if give them eternal living water, you will be a child of The Highest, and receive thanks from God.
How do you love your enemy?
Matthew 25:34-36 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Clothe the naked. But you won’t be thanked for clothing them with man’s clothing, but rather for clothing them with spiritual clothing.
Clothe them with righteousness.
Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Give them God’s judgment, so they can judge righteous judgment. This clothes them.
Clothe them with salvation.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Without Jesus Christ the world is NAKED.
The saved man needs to give his own clothing to his enemy.
The unsaved man needs to receive that clothing, and put on the clothing of his enemy.
Matthew 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me…
What does the Good Samaritan do?
Luke 10:33-34 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And who did this? The Samaritan. The enemy!
Visit and heal them that are sick. Give them oil and wine: the Holy Spirit and the blood of Christ.
How do you love your enemy? How do you heal the sick? Call him to repentance.
Mark 2:16-17 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
When we call sinners to repentance.. we are healing the sick!
Mark 2:9-12 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
How do you love your enemy?
Matthew 25:34-36 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
You take a stranger… an enemy, and you turn him into a friend. You make him your brother, you bring him into the inn. You take him in to dwell in the house of God. (Only if they bring the right doctrine!!)
Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Ephesians 2:18-19 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Those strangers-enemies, are those that are without Christ. Without of the promised of God to Israel.
The saved are no longer strangers. But they are now counted among the children of God by the blood of the covenant.
Isaiah 56:6-7 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: …
That is how to love your enemy. That is how to take in strangers.
How do you love your enemy?
Matthew 25:34-36 … I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
How do you love your enemy? You free the strangers from their bondage that they were born with.
Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
You give them the Spirit of liberty, and free them from the spirit of bondage.
You go to those in Satan’s prison and you open the prison doors.
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
How do you do that? Is it done carnally? Through Politics? Social Justice? Prison reform? Through force?
Spiritually, men are sitting in darkness, already in the fire of hell. You pull them out of the fire. Was not what Paul and Silas did a figure of what Jesus did. And of what soulwinners do spiritually?
Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
You free the prisoners with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of liberty.
You free the prisoners with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Zechariah 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
But if you take in the strangers, and free the prisoners of this world, carnally, you have no thanks of the Lord.
How do you love your enemy?
You give them meat (the body of Christ), drink (the gospel), clothing (the righteousness of God), oil (the Holy Spirit), and wine (the blood of Christ). You preach and sing praise which shakes the prison and breaks open the prison doors.
You give to your enemy something that they CANNOT give back.
Luke 14:13-14 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
If we give to them of whom we hope to receive (carnal things to carnal man), we have no reward of God.
But if we give to them of whom we cannot receive – the poor in spirit – them that cannot pay us back, we have an eternal reward.
If we give carnal things, they CAN be recompensed in this world. No matter what you give in this world, it CAN be recompensed. There always the possibility that they CAN be – the poor man could become rich. The empty could become full. The maimed the lame the blind COULD be healed, or COULD hit the lottery, and recompense you in the earth. The sick who you visit now, could be healthy later and could come to visit you while you are sick. The prisoner now, could end up visiting you later, when you are in prison. Its not impossible.
But if we give spiritual things, they CANNOT be recompensed in this life. The only way for us to be recompensed is by God, at our judgment.
Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great…
If you just “do good” once, give/lend just one TRUE good thing, which cannot be recompensed, the Lord owes you a recompense, a great reward. Give to the poor one time. One cup of cold water.
Now think about this… SHOULD we do this physically, carnally? Call the sick and maimed and lame and blind and feed them? Yes. We should. That is a “good work”. Charity is a good work. Feeding and clothing the poor is a good work.
But what if you held a big feast, and called all the homeless in your local city, and all the injured in the local hospital, and you fed all of them with bread and wine.
So you feed them for one day with carnal bread and carnal wine but you don’t give them the gospel. You just fill their bellies, and send them on their way.
Will they not be thirsty again tomorrow?
John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Will they not be hungry again tomorrow?
John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, …
Of course they will. Because you gave them THIS water. The meat which perisheth. Will they still not spiritually still be dead men?
So could that really be what Jesus is commanding us to do? What eternal profit is there to the Lord when we do this carnally? Do you think He will reward us for giving the bread and water that perisheth??
Rather, what you are to do is have a feast of the word of God (Jesus Christ the living bread), and call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, bring them into your house to eat of THAT feast.
Feeding the poor is indeed a good work. But don’t labour to do it carnally, to carnal men who can recompense you again in return. Do it to the souls of lost men, which cannot recompense you.
These all are “good works”. But don’t do the figure of the good work, do the true good work!!!
Galatians 6:8-10 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
How awesome is the placement of verse 10? Its not on accident.
You can “do good” to men in the flesh, or in the Spirit. One will reap death, and one life.
You can’t sow to the Spirit by serving men’s flesh. That is what many think: it’s the motivation, right? Wrong! Its not just the reason you are going it. It’s the WHERE. It’s the WHO you are doing good to. To men in the flesh, or to the house of God – the Lord’s children – in the Spirit.
We ought not attempt to do the good to the flesh of our enemies, but to the Spirit – to the spirits/souls of the enemies.
We ought to do good unto all men. We should. But the true good, the especially good, is done to the household of faith. The eternal rewards are given for doing good to the eternal body, the body of Christ, and not the body of flesh.
A man should “do good” in his life, but he can’t do good in truth (and in Spirit), without Christ. Here is how the wise King Solomon said it.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-12 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? … 12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
Solomon said, there is no good in man’s works (in truth), but he should “do good” anyways. Why? Because that is the best that he can do in his life (in shadow).
You SHOULD do good here on this earth. You should do good and right, and live an honest life. And this was the case in the OT too, because that is all that man could do: a shadow of true good, under the law.
The only good man can do in the Earth is in shadow, where man can see you, where man can recompense you.
Solomon’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes is about what is true under heaven. This is what is good “under the sun”. (29 times – all in Ecc.) You should “do good” under the sun. But… everything under the sun is VANITY.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
All the good that you can do under the sun, that you SHOULD do (Ecc 3:12)… its all vanity.
The OT saints could “do good”, but it was only a vain figure. Did they get to go to heaven? No. Were they counted righteous? No. Not by works. But they were counted righteous, justified, by faith.
This is the only time in the OT “good things” are found in a man: King Jehoshaphat.
2 Chronicles 19:3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.
King Jehoshaphat was not more righteous than every other man in the Bible. No, but he was the one man that God chose in whom to show the figure of the true “good things”.
The figure in the OT shows the pattern for the spiritual truth today.
If a man prepares his heart to seek the Lord, if he has faith/believes the Lord, the Lord will count him righteous. He will count his things “good things”.
The OT saints could “do good”, but it was not in truth:
Isaiah 48:1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
True good works must be done IN SPIRIT. We can’t do true good in the flesh. It is just not in our nature to be able to do it..
Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
You cannot “do good”. Its not who you are. Its not how you were made.
You can’t change your skin color. You can’t remove your sins.
The only thing you can do is (1) try to cover it up with clothing. Or, (2) you can cut it off. Cut off the flesh.
If you could completely change the nature of your body, then could you also “do good”.
If one were to take away all the sin of his flesh and give himself a perfect, spiritual nature… without spot wrinkle or blemish, then one can “do good”. Then God would say of you “he is righteous”.
Isaiah 41:23-24 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
I believe this is teaching that no work done in the flesh is either true good or true evil. And if so, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But I think we may need to swallow it. They are all shadows, of good or evil.
Who does true good and true evil then? The gods do. The angels do. The devils do.
True things are done spiritually.
Adam and Eve received the knowledge of good and evil. But does that mean they could DO them? I would guess not!
Jeremiah 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
What we do in the flesh is not true evil or good. If you will receive it, receive it.
The shadow, the figure, is not true good or true evil. TRUE evil or good is spiritual, and is defined by what spirit is working in it. For a man, true good and evil is defined by what is in, and what comes out of, the heart. What comes out of a saved man’s new heart (his water, his fruit) when he brings forth his things/treasures is good, and what comes out of an unsaved man’s heart (his water, his fruit) when he brings forth his treasures, is always evil.
Feb 6 2022
The Lord’s Work – Part 37
Downloadable Word document:
The Lord’s Work – Part 37
The Lord’s Work – Part 37
Matthew 10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
You won’t be rewarded for giving your enemy the world’s water, carnal water. But if give them eternal living water, you will be a child of The Highest, and receive thanks from God.
How do you love your enemy?
Matthew 25:34-36 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Clothe the naked. But you won’t be thanked for clothing them with man’s clothing, but rather for clothing them with spiritual clothing.
Clothe them with righteousness.
Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Give them God’s judgment, so they can judge righteous judgment. This clothes them.
Clothe them with salvation.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Without Jesus Christ the world is NAKED.
The saved man needs to give his own clothing to his enemy.
The unsaved man needs to receive that clothing, and put on the clothing of his enemy.
Matthew 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me…
What does the Good Samaritan do?
Luke 10:33-34 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And who did this? The Samaritan. The enemy!
Visit and heal them that are sick. Give them oil and wine: the Holy Spirit and the blood of Christ.
How do you love your enemy? How do you heal the sick? Call him to repentance.
Mark 2:16-17 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
When we call sinners to repentance.. we are healing the sick!
Mark 2:9-12 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
How do you love your enemy?
Matthew 25:34-36 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
You take a stranger… an enemy, and you turn him into a friend. You make him your brother, you bring him into the inn. You take him in to dwell in the house of God. (Only if they bring the right doctrine!!)
Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Ephesians 2:18-19 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Those strangers-enemies, are those that are without Christ. Without of the promised of God to Israel.
The saved are no longer strangers. But they are now counted among the children of God by the blood of the covenant.
Isaiah 56:6-7 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: …
That is how to love your enemy. That is how to take in strangers.
How do you love your enemy?
Matthew 25:34-36 … I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
How do you love your enemy? You free the strangers from their bondage that they were born with.
Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
You give them the Spirit of liberty, and free them from the spirit of bondage.
You go to those in Satan’s prison and you open the prison doors.
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
How do you do that? Is it done carnally? Through Politics? Social Justice? Prison reform? Through force?
Spiritually, men are sitting in darkness, already in the fire of hell. You pull them out of the fire. Was not what Paul and Silas did a figure of what Jesus did. And of what soulwinners do spiritually?
Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
You free the prisoners with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of liberty.
You free the prisoners with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Zechariah 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
But if you take in the strangers, and free the prisoners of this world, carnally, you have no thanks of the Lord.
How do you love your enemy?
You give them meat (the body of Christ), drink (the gospel), clothing (the righteousness of God), oil (the Holy Spirit), and wine (the blood of Christ). You preach and sing praise which shakes the prison and breaks open the prison doors.
You give to your enemy something that they CANNOT give back.
Luke 14:13-14 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
If we give to them of whom we hope to receive (carnal things to carnal man), we have no reward of God.
But if we give to them of whom we cannot receive – the poor in spirit – them that cannot pay us back, we have an eternal reward.
If we give carnal things, they CAN be recompensed in this world. No matter what you give in this world, it CAN be recompensed. There always the possibility that they CAN be – the poor man could become rich. The empty could become full. The maimed the lame the blind COULD be healed, or COULD hit the lottery, and recompense you in the earth. The sick who you visit now, could be healthy later and could come to visit you while you are sick. The prisoner now, could end up visiting you later, when you are in prison. Its not impossible.
But if we give spiritual things, they CANNOT be recompensed in this life. The only way for us to be recompensed is by God, at our judgment.
Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great…
If you just “do good” once, give/lend just one TRUE good thing, which cannot be recompensed, the Lord owes you a recompense, a great reward. Give to the poor one time. One cup of cold water.
Now think about this… SHOULD we do this physically, carnally? Call the sick and maimed and lame and blind and feed them? Yes. We should. That is a “good work”. Charity is a good work. Feeding and clothing the poor is a good work.
But what if you held a big feast, and called all the homeless in your local city, and all the injured in the local hospital, and you fed all of them with bread and wine.
So you feed them for one day with carnal bread and carnal wine but you don’t give them the gospel. You just fill their bellies, and send them on their way.
Will they not be thirsty again tomorrow?
John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Will they not be hungry again tomorrow?
John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, …
Of course they will. Because you gave them THIS water. The meat which perisheth. Will they still not spiritually still be dead men?
So could that really be what Jesus is commanding us to do? What eternal profit is there to the Lord when we do this carnally? Do you think He will reward us for giving the bread and water that perisheth??
Rather, what you are to do is have a feast of the word of God (Jesus Christ the living bread), and call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, bring them into your house to eat of THAT feast.
Feeding the poor is indeed a good work. But don’t labour to do it carnally, to carnal men who can recompense you again in return. Do it to the souls of lost men, which cannot recompense you.
These all are “good works”. But don’t do the figure of the good work, do the true good work!!!
Galatians 6:8-10 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
How awesome is the placement of verse 10? Its not on accident.
You can “do good” to men in the flesh, or in the Spirit. One will reap death, and one life.
You can’t sow to the Spirit by serving men’s flesh. That is what many think: it’s the motivation, right? Wrong! Its not just the reason you are going it. It’s the WHERE. It’s the WHO you are doing good to. To men in the flesh, or to the house of God – the Lord’s children – in the Spirit.
We ought not attempt to do the good to the flesh of our enemies, but to the Spirit – to the spirits/souls of the enemies.
We ought to do good unto all men. We should. But the true good, the especially good, is done to the household of faith. The eternal rewards are given for doing good to the eternal body, the body of Christ, and not the body of flesh.
A man should “do good” in his life, but he can’t do good in truth (and in Spirit), without Christ. Here is how the wise King Solomon said it.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-12 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? … 12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
Solomon said, there is no good in man’s works (in truth), but he should “do good” anyways. Why? Because that is the best that he can do in his life (in shadow).
You SHOULD do good here on this earth. You should do good and right, and live an honest life. And this was the case in the OT too, because that is all that man could do: a shadow of true good, under the law.
The only good man can do in the Earth is in shadow, where man can see you, where man can recompense you.
Solomon’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes is about what is true under heaven. This is what is good “under the sun”. (29 times – all in Ecc.) You should “do good” under the sun. But… everything under the sun is VANITY.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
All the good that you can do under the sun, that you SHOULD do (Ecc 3:12)… its all vanity.
The OT saints could “do good”, but it was only a vain figure. Did they get to go to heaven? No. Were they counted righteous? No. Not by works. But they were counted righteous, justified, by faith.
This is the only time in the OT “good things” are found in a man: King Jehoshaphat.
2 Chronicles 19:3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.
King Jehoshaphat was not more righteous than every other man in the Bible. No, but he was the one man that God chose in whom to show the figure of the true “good things”.
The figure in the OT shows the pattern for the spiritual truth today.
If a man prepares his heart to seek the Lord, if he has faith/believes the Lord, the Lord will count him righteous. He will count his things “good things”.
The OT saints could “do good”, but it was not in truth:
Isaiah 48:1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
True good works must be done IN SPIRIT. We can’t do true good in the flesh. It is just not in our nature to be able to do it..
Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
You cannot “do good”. Its not who you are. Its not how you were made.
You can’t change your skin color. You can’t remove your sins.
The only thing you can do is (1) try to cover it up with clothing. Or, (2) you can cut it off. Cut off the flesh.
If you could completely change the nature of your body, then could you also “do good”.
If one were to take away all the sin of his flesh and give himself a perfect, spiritual nature… without spot wrinkle or blemish, then one can “do good”. Then God would say of you “he is righteous”.
Isaiah 41:23-24 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
I believe this is teaching that no work done in the flesh is either true good or true evil. And if so, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But I think we may need to swallow it. They are all shadows, of good or evil.
Who does true good and true evil then? The gods do. The angels do. The devils do.
True things are done spiritually.
Adam and Eve received the knowledge of good and evil. But does that mean they could DO them? I would guess not!
Jeremiah 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
What we do in the flesh is not true evil or good. If you will receive it, receive it.
The shadow, the figure, is not true good or true evil. TRUE evil or good is spiritual, and is defined by what spirit is working in it. For a man, true good and evil is defined by what is in, and what comes out of, the heart. What comes out of a saved man’s new heart (his water, his fruit) when he brings forth his things/treasures is good, and what comes out of an unsaved man’s heart (his water, his fruit) when he brings forth his treasures, is always evil.
By Pastor • Christian Doctrine, Good Works, Soul Winning • 0