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Motivation For Doing Good Works for Which We Will be Judged

By Dave Cruver on June 10, 2011 11:17 AM |

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Why do I focus on the Gospel so much when Scripture tells us, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10)?

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Where does this verse fall in this epistle? Paul writes this statement after he explains and expresses the Gospel. We could say 2 Corinthians is a follow-up of 1 Corinthians, and in both epistles, Paul continually points us to the Gospel. And only after pointing us to the Gospel does Paul give us commands, things we ought to do.

But as Dave Gill explains, "If someone says "God commanded it, so we must be able to do it," RUN. God's commands force reliance on Him, not tell what is possible."

As I have stressed before, many times before, all of our good works are perfected by and through Christ's finished work on the cross and the good works we do are the fruit of the Spirit's Gospel-Applying work in our lives. In fact, our good works are fruit and the power to defend ourselves is fruit, as well. Scotty Smith hits the point with, "Don't focus on the 'how to's' of the Christian life as much as the 'Who did'".

So how do we reconcile this fruit of the Spirit's Gospel-Applying work in our lives? Simply put, and I hope this is not oversimplifying the issue, we are free to do all that we can for God's glory.

We don't have to worry about what others think because the only Person who loves us and fully and completely accepts us is pleased with us because He sees us as "in Christ" and we have Christ's righteousness.

We are not trying to gain God's favor. Christ has already gained it for us and in our place. That work is finished.

The power of our idols and sin is broken. 1 Corinthians 15:50ff. We are free. We are free to love God and love others.

Because of this freedom in Christ, we can do all we can for God's glory in Christ. And it is the good works in this freedom for which we will be judged. There is now no excuse to exhort each other to love and good works. "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

"16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. [2] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling [3] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

And this is good news! This motivates us to share the Good News of the Gospel because we are motivated by the Gospel to do these things. And this is why I focus on the Gospel so much - it is the motivation for us to do the good works for which we will be judged. And we definitely need motivation. There is only one sustaining motivation for the Christian. It is the Gospel.

Position

But as Dave Gill explains, "If someone says "God commanded it, so we must be able to do it," RUN. God's commands force reliance on Him, not tell what is possible."

So how do we reconcile this fruit of the Spirit's Gospel-Applying work in our lives? Simply put, and I hope this is not oversimplifying the issue, we are free to do all that we can for God's glory.

We are not trying to gain God's favor. Christ has already gained it for us and in our place. That work is finished.

The power of our idols and sin is broken. 1 Corinthians 15:50ff. We are free. We are free to love God and love others.

" >Motivation For Doing Good Works for Which We Will be Judged

Really? And we know this for sure?

What drives me nuts about statements such as this is they are commands. If love is simply a decision, then I can love anybody at any time. Right? Right?

But can I truly love on demand? You are certainly a better person than I if you can love on demand. I can't do it.

And this is where the Gospel steps in. John tells us "We love because he [God] first loved us." And John couples this great truth with "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannott love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother."

And this is good news. I can only love when I see that I am as unloving as they come, yet God in Christ first loved me! And this is my motivation to love others. When I see that God has loved me and demonstrated this great love for me in Jesus on the cross, I can love others because the Spirit of love indwells me and loving others becomes a fruit of the Spirits Gospel-applying work in my life. (See Galatians 5).

And then I can love God and love others upon which all the commands hang.

" >Loving God and Loving Others

This kind of thinking is no gospel. Where is the good news?

This writer says, "If your love is distracted by someone else then you are not worthy. If your love is not given completely, then you are not worthy."

But isn't that the point? None, may I repeat this, none of us is worthy (Isaiah 64:6).

Scripture tells us we love God because He first loved us. We are not worthy of God's love but that's Who God is (God is love just don't confuse with love is God...). God loves us and demonstrated His love for us by sending Jesus to die for our sins and even our bad motives for good things we do.

Even our very effort to be worthy falls completely short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). Even if I can love God completely, I am still a fallen creature in need of saving.

I can't pick myself up by my own bootstraps and "be worthy". It's impossible.

This is why we need grace. We're not worthy of anything God gives us except His wrath, and Jesus is our propitiation (He satisfied God's wrath for us and in our place). Without Christ, we are children of wrath but with Christ we are children of grace.

I am not worthy of God's love but He certainly is worthy of my love and devotion. Thankfully I rest in Christ's work on my behalf and not on my own effort or merit.

I am not worthy but Christ is worthy for me and in my place. That's good news.

" >We Are Not Worthy - That's Why There is Grace

read this article for example). The Gospel changes our hearts. Our hearts change our wills. Our wills change our actions. But none of this can happen without the Gospel doing its work in us and through us. And we fail if we don't share the Gospel in our doing. Living the Gospel in Word AND Deed.

This is why the Gospel is vital. Otherwise, everything is just social but no Gospel. This is a new Social-Gospel. The right kind.

" >A New Social Gospel

will come a time I will fail at loving God and others.

This is why the Gospel is central to our theology. Is there much more to Christianity than the gospel? Yes. However, all of the law and prophets, loving God and loving others must flow from and out of the Gospel. We love because God first loved us. Our love becomes fruit of the Spirit's work in our lives (See Galatians 5).

Let's think of this in other ways.

Questions to ask:

How do we become godly?

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence" (1 Peter 1:3).

Jesus is our godliness.

How do we become holy?

"And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Jesus is our holiness. Jesus is our righteousness. Jesus is our sanctification. Jesus is our redemption.

How do we gain wisdom?

Jesus is our wisdom.

Do you see a pattern here?

More Patterns

Romans

Paul expounds on the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

1 Corinthians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

2 Corinthians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

Galatians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

Ephesians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

Philippians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

Colossians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

1 Thessalonians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

2 Thessalonians

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

1 Timothy

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

2 Timothy

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

Titus

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

Philemon

Paul explains the Gospel and then tells us what we need to do. The Gospel is the motivation for our doing.

Look at the letters. See what Paul does. He shares the Gospel and then explains what needs to be done. In Paul's mind, the Gospel is the motivation for our doing. Without exception.

If we are to mimic Paul's pattern, we must preach the Gospel and use it as the motivation for doing the law.

Why use the Gospel as motivation?

Firstly, Romans 5:20 explains, "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more," This means, if we use the law alone to motivate people, we will increase the trespass. That's it purpose!

But the Gospel is life.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,t as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17).

What is the power of God for salvation? The Gospel!! The word salvation is far more than just the entrance into the Christian life. It is a far more pregnant word than that!

Now go back to all of the letters of Paul (including Romans!). What is a common thread with all of them? All are written to believers. That's right, believers!

What does this tell us? The Gospel is not just for the unsaved. It is for believers, too !!

To relegate the Gospel to just the entrance of the Christian faith is to exchange Good News for a law we cannot fulfill. The Gospel produces fruit in our lives; yes, the fruit of Christ's Spirit.

Further, the other doctrines of the Christian life also flow from and out of the Gospel. You cannot separate other doctrines from the Gospel. If you view the Gospel as only the entrance to the Christian life, you've robbed yourself of the freeing, joyful, motivation of doing what God commands us to do - namely - love God and love others upon which all the law hangs.

Do you think the Gospel is only the door to the Christian life? You've not meditated on the Gospel; that is, the Person and Work of Jesus - His personhood, birth, life, death, and resurrection.

When the Gospel is our motivation to our doing, our burden is light! And our doing becomes fruit of God's work in and through the Gospel in and us.

" >The Gospel is the Center of Christianity

see here pdf). What this means, at least in part, is we will either show all of the Fruits of the Spirit in a strong way or all in a weak way. This also means if I am demonstrating a couple of the "fruits" I am most likely picking myself up by my bootstraps and trying to demonstrate them in my own strength; hence, I'm not demonstrating all of them.

This is why the Gospel is so vital. We need to reflect on Jesus, His birth, life, death, and resurrection, by all of which He fulfilled everything God required of us but couldn't or didn't want to fulfill. Jesus was patient, kind, full of peace, love, joy, and the rest.

Jesus was patient even until the cross. He was patient towards everyone. He was patient for us and in our place.

What Jesus did frees us to be patient. We can't do it, but Jesus did and His finished work becomes the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives as we continually trust Him and the Good News that He is and has done.

Don't fret. Trust Jesus. He's done it all. You reap the fruit.

" >The Gospel Produces Patience

grace untouchable; they keep grace as a theological expression rather than connecting the rubber with the road, as it were.

In essence, the grace of God guides, directs, draws, conforms, transforms, and renews its recipients in, through, and toward the Gospel. The Gospel itself is grace to its hearers, and the Gospel is a new kind of law; not that we must take hold of the law but that the law may take hold of us. The Gospel establishes a new kind of law within our hearts, and its fruit flourishes within and out of us (Romans 8:2, 1 Corinthians 9:21, Galatians 5).

Law and grace are not the same but two sides of the same coin. The relationship is reciprocal- one always leading to the other. Without both, you move into error (Romans 5-6). On the one hand, law is a task master without grace. It says, do this and live! But law is weak to save because of sin (Romans 8:3).

This is why the law leads us to grace and grace leads us to a new law- a law which was fulfilled by Christ and those who are Christ's reap righteousness. And this leads us to the means of grace.
" title="Describing grace can be a daunting task. Descriptions like, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense," or "getting what we don't deserve" are true but not so helpful. Other descriptions may be good yet they leave grace untouchable; they keep grace as...">The Law as a Means of Grace
The law is a means of grace- leading us to Christ Who has fulfilled the law's demands Who then establishes that those who are Christ's are humble, are inheriting the earth, are peace makers, etc.... a new kind of a law.

So what are the means of grace in our lives? What are the means by which God uses in our lives to point us to Jesus? to live righteously in Jesus? to renew our minds in Jesus?

Scripture
. . . is God's Word which possesses and dispenses life by the reading and preaching of it (Hebrews 4:12, Romans 1:16-17).

Prayer
. . . is a means by which the will of God is established on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6).

the Church
. . . provides needed accountability, fellowship, discipleship, mission, exhortation, and encouragement (1 Corinthians 1:2, Matthew 18, Psalm 16:1-3).

Conscience
. . . bears witness to the law, in that, if the conscience is not defiled, testifies that what we contemplate doing is wrong; thereby, sinning against the conscience is sinning against Christ (Romans 2:15, 1 Corinthians 8:12).

Spouse
. . . . See Song of Solomon

What else?

must be more Grace-Filled discussion. Each position of eschatology is not denying the Second Advent of our Lord but merely has varying details of His return. Further, proponents of each position are striving to be biblically based and trying to allow Scripture speak for itself rather than adding concepts that are not there. But not all positions can be correct at the same time, right? One Pre-Mil proponent was surprisingly refreshing when his whole argument was based on what the A-Mil position truly believes and addressed the argument itself without bashing those who hold to the A-Mil position. This was most pleasing in that he demonstrated Gospel-Grace in the heat of arguing for his position. One drum that was continually beat by the Pre-Mil proponents was that the A-Mil position did not believe in a literal 1000 year reign of Christ. From my reading, this is a straw man argument. The A-Mil position does in fact believe in a 1000 year reign of Christ. However, through a lengthy and highly nuanced study, they believe the 1000 years is symbolic, or better stated, more representative of "fullness of time" or the "complete time God intends". They further believe the millennial reign is concurrent with the Church Age, inaugurated by Christ's First Advent and will be consummated at His Second Coming- the "here and not yet". Conversely, the Pre-Mil position claims there will indeed be a 1000 year earthly reign of Christ. They base this position, in part, on the fact that 1000 is mentioned six times in six verses (Revelation 20:1-6). This leads us to the point that based on your view of Revelation 20:1-6 determines into which eschatological camp you fall. But more importantly, your lack of truly understanding the other positions determines the degree to which you will use straw man arguments which are no arguments at all. And this is where the defense of the Gospel takes precedence. The Gospel demands that we esteem others better than ourselves. The Gospel demands we speak (write) with words that are seasoned with salt, meaning we use the choicest of words in order to preserve biblical and Gospel unity rather than demeaning our brothers because they differ in a secondary (read: the details of the Second Coming) issues. Let me clarify by saying, the Second Coming is a Primary issue, but the details are secondary, and I will leave it at that. This should remind us that our unity is around the Gospel; not the details of our understanding of Eschatology. Let it be known that Christ's Second Coming is imminent. He will return just as He was received up into the clouds before His disciples. He will come to judge the righteous and wicked. Death will be defeated and all of His enemies will be under His feet. This is our hope! This is our joy! This is the Gospel!" >The Gospel and Eschatology

here. He begins, "If we try to obey God and be like Jesus without the....." You'll have to read the two short paragraphs to find out what he says." >Gospel-Centered Obedience

Scriptural things?" Another way to ask this question is, "Do I think of the Gospel in any way when I am looking at the commands of God?" Yet another way to think of this question is, "Am I striving to do the commands of God merely because they are commanded?" I would go so far as to say that if we have not thought of the Gospel in relation to our doing of God's commands, we are practicing religion rather than Christianity. Johnny and Kate Brooks, over at Pure Christianity, explain it well,

Jesus came to fulfill religion and so after his mission, there is no longer a need for religion. I do not know about you, but that frees me to be who God created me to be. ... It really does not make any sense to live in bondage when freedom is walking and breathing amongst us (HT: Mark Hadfield of Made to Praise Him).

(Part One)" >Gospel Passion: The Gospel Has Not Served Its Purpose

Christian Worldview

Position

But as Dave Gill explains, "If someone says "God commanded it, so we must be able to do it," RUN. God's commands force reliance on Him, not tell what is possible."

So how do we reconcile this fruit of the Spirit's Gospel-Applying work in our lives? Simply put, and I hope this is not oversimplifying the issue, we are free to do all that we can for God's glory.

We are not trying to gain God's favor. Christ has already gained it for us and in our place. That work is finished.

The power of our idols and sin is broken. 1 Corinthians 15:50ff. We are free. We are free to love God and love others.

" >Motivation For Doing Good Works for Which We Will be Judged

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