“I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Luke 19:8,9.
When we as Christians think of salvation and what it means we immediately refer to the book of Romans 10: 9-13 that says “Believe with your heart and confess with your mouth…” And yet Jesus response to Zacchaeus did not mention anything about a confession only an acknowledging of Zacchaeus change in heart. In this passage Zacchaesus did have a “confession” it was his declaration to Jesus that he would help the poor and give back what did not belong to him. Zacchaeus promise that day was the “fruit” of his faith in Jesus, the Son of God. I am not making light of the verse in Romans when referring to salvation, I am merely stating that the scriptures teach there is MORE to being a true follower of Jesus than just a confession.
We all know that our salvation comes from Grace alone. But what many of God’s leaders have failed to acknowledge and teach is the rest of that passage found in Ephesians, let’s take a close look: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (read Mathew 25, James 2, 1 John 3), which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. We’ve emphasized the “grace” part of that verse, but we’ve not included the “go do” part. We’ve failed to rightly divide the word of truth in this particular verse. In a more simpler form, these verses are saying, “Doing good and helping others is our RESPONSE to the free gift of God’s Grace”.
Jesus gave us a commandment to love one another. The book of James chapter 2 teaches that our love for our neighbor is not just words, but an act of compassion toward others. Let’s look at Jesus teaching in Luke 10:25-37:
The Most Important Commandment – The Good Samaritan
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy. Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
The most compelling and sobering teaching of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is found in Mathew 25 –
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Jesus himself sat my husband down in our living room 13 years ago while living in Michigan and said, “This is not a parable, this is not a story, this will happen one day” and from then on we have been teaching and demonstrating these truths. If you’re already a Christian, you’ve believed on Jesus, then “go and do” what he says, “why do you call me Lord and not do the things I say” Luke 6:46.
We’re not trying to obtain God’s grace by doing good for others, Grace is a gift because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross: Loving our neighbor and helping others is our “Response” to God’s Grace.
