The Good Works of God

I am reading still in John 10. Jesus had just finished teaching on the subject of false teachers who have infiltrated the gatherings of the church who had entered those gatherings by another way other than through genuine faith in Jesus Christ. So he described them as thieves and robbers and as strangers. And then Jesus stated that those who were his true sheep will not follow strangers because they do not know (intimately) the voice of strangers.

Jesus also said that he was the door into the sheep fold, into the gatherings of his true sheep. And he described himself also as the good shepherd who watches out for and who cares for the sheep, his true followers. And then he told of how he lays his life down for the sheep, which he did when he was crucified on that cross in order to put our sins to death with him so that by faith in him we will die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

And then he faced opposition from the Jews who were opposed to him, who said of him, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” And since they doubted him, they asked him if he was the Christ, to which he then responded that he had already told them, but that they did not believe because they were not his true sheep. And that is when he said that his sheep listen to him, he knows them, and they follow (obey) him.

Now the Jews in general did not like Jesus nor the things that he taught so…

“The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.’” (John 10:31-33 ESV)

Jesus said, “’If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’ Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.” (John 10:37-39 ESV)

The Scriptures do teach that Jesus Christ was not only the only begotten Son of God, but that he is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the same God that the Israelites of old worshipped, if they did worship God. But many rejected Jesus as the Christ (the Messiah), and so they, thus, did not believe in the God of Abraham, but in a false god of their own making.

And so they wanted to stone Jesus for what they regarded as blasphemy because he made himself out to be God, which is who he was/is. But Jesus challenged them to see that the works that he was doing were not the works of man nor of the flesh of man, but that they were the works of God, and so that they would see that God the Father was in him and that he was in the Father. But their response was to seek for his arrest.

Now Jesus Christ, when he lived on this earth, told us that if we follow him with our lives, which we must do if we are true believers in him, that we will be hated and mistreated and persecuted in like manner as he was treated when he lived on this earth. And it is because we are doing the works of God, if we are, and not the works of the flesh. For we are teaching what Jesus taught and not what so many humans are teaching falsely today.

For when we teach that those of genuine faith in Jesus Christ are those who are listening to (adhering) the Lord and who are following him in obedience, we are going to be opposed by many who are teaching the opposite of that, who are teaching that we don’t have to forsake our sins, and we don’t have to obey the Lord, and that no works are required of us, and that we don’t have to do anything to please the Lord for he is already pleased with us.

And so we might be called crazy or insane or of the devil or against God because we teach what Jesus taught, and because we teach what his NT apostles taught, especially if we are teaching on the subject of Israel or on the subject of what constitutes genuine believing faith and the true hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For both of these are “hot button” issues (highly charged emotionally and/or politically).

But we are not to fear what other humans are going to do to us or say about us or to us. And I am not saying that we won’t be hurt and that we won’t cry or be sad when we are treated that way, for we are humans, and we bleed, and we feel pain. And if we love God and love the people of this world, we are going to be tenderhearted enough that what they do and say to us is going to hurt. But then we need to forgive and surrender our hurt to God.

And then we need to move forward in continuing to do what God has called us to do in ministering to the legitimate needs of others and in encouraging the body of Christ in our walks of faith and obedience, and in sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ with all who will listen, and in rebuking the lies of the enemy and in calling out false teaching and false gospels so that others will not be led astray by the lies and not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

‘Til The Storm Passes By

By Thomas Mosie Lister

In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face

While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place

'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry

Keep me safe till the storm passes by

Many times Satan whispered

There is no use to try

For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by

But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise

Where the storms never darken the skies

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more

Till the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe till the storm passes by

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_obOSQoOpQ