Rushwavefrom The Judgment God Desires to Withhold
© 2022 Bert Davidson
Chapter 17: Why Good Works warrant God’s Judgment
The moral character of a deed is related to the one to whom the deed was performed.
People are certainly capable of acting in unselfish ways by helping the poor, forgiving petty offenses, and even sacrificing their own life for another. Since we consider such acts good and honorable, we may think such works also win favor with God. The opposite, however, is actually true. An illustration will make this clear.
A certain wife would often set the mood for a romantic evening with her husband. She would put on his favorite dress, set her hair, don perfume, and have his favorite meal prepared in an intimate setting. When he came home from work, those evenings were always very special for both of them …
One day the husband had to leave town for a few days. However midway through the week plans changed and he was able to return home, so he decided he would surprise his wife. He quietly entered the front door, and to his surprise he smelled that familiar perfume and saw his favorite meal prepared in that intimate setting. In the distance he also saw his wife in that stunning dress. He thought to himself “How did she know I was coming home?” But as he approached and was about to announce his entry, he was shocked to find another man. She actually was not expecting him, and was committing adultery.
How will the husband respond to his wife’s works? Does he take pleasure in her dressing up, setting her hair, donning perfume, or preparing the meal? Of course not. Why? Because she did those works for another man. Those works, when done in the context of an illicit relationship, are actually a source of offense and arouse great wrath.
God does not desire us simply to be unselfish, forgive, tell the truth, be kind, help the poor, and so on. He desires us to do these works as unto Him. It is possible for people to perform “good” deeds out of reverence to a false god, or with a view towards a humanistic ideal to make the world a better place, or even with a goal to honor their conscience and simply do what they think is the right thing. But since in all these cases the works were done with regard to something other than the true God, then from God’s perspective all such works are tantamount to spiritual adultery.
In prior chapters we noted if we are to rightly judge ourselves, we must not only consider outward actions but also our inner thoughts, attitudes, desires and conscience as well. But here we must go even further. Even if in a certain context we adopt an inner heart attitude to forgive, love, show patience, or be generous, those works in and of themselves are not meritorious. A vital component in discerning the true character of our works is considering on whose account our works were rendered.
The very first commandment of the Ten Commandments is to “have no other gods before Me.” But the world creates its own standards and disassociates this commandment from works, and thereby wrongly regards people as “good.” There are countless examples of this. A wife may earnestly seek to reconcile with her wayward husband. A wealthy person may have compassion and provide a large donation for some philanthropic cause. A thief may repent and resolve to provide restitution to his victims. A gambling, drunken father may resolve to forsake his ways and become responsible to his family. A conscientious person may engage in numerous acts of heroism to rescue others. To the world, these facts alone make such people “good.” But those are the world’s standards, not God’s. For God, the issue is on whose behalf those deeds were carried out.
You are certainly capable of performing unselfish, heroic deeds that from a human perspective are honorable. But those very deeds, when done with a view to please anyone else other than the true God, are actually a source of offense to Him. They constitute a violation of the commandment to “have no other gods,” and thereby only add to your judgment.
from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold
© 2022 Bert Davidson
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