Freely we have received, now freely give!

(Matthew 10:8) “Freely ye received, freely give.”

There is a vast difference to religion in a traditional form to Christianity in its actual form. One speaks about laws and regulations; it is all about the does and don’ts of life while the other produced a lifestyle outside of regulation, it is far more personal. It is a between an individual and their God. Prior to salvation, we never understood this verse; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

Christianity makes no provision for boasting as the sole dependency of the believer depends of the finished work of the cross. God started the salvage and it is God who shall complete the rescue, in and through His beloved Son the Lord Jesus. It has nothing to do with our abilities, we must understand this! Religion on the other hand is all about self; looking to be noticed by men and receive praise from them for our apparent good deeds. The one is a form of godliness, but it in fact denies the power of godliness; “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2Timothy 3:5-7) - While true Christianity has nothing to do with trumpet blowing. Paul does not address the other false faiths per say but rather the Christian faith and the weeds that are sown amongst the good seed. We are told to let then grow together, but that does not mean we should not recognise them as such, weeds they are!

We have been taught not to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing; this is in the context of good deeds. Religion looks to be praise by men but the true Christian holds it within his heart and it is between him and his God; "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-6) – Don’t you just love portions of scripture like this, directly from the mouth of the Lord Jesus? We know that it is the soundest of advice as it come directly from our God and King.

The writer of Hebrews refers to this as a dead work; “Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God." (Hebrews 6:1)    

What then is the lesson for the believer? Let us not get caught up with good deeds for the sake of patting ourselves on the back, if this is our common practise then we are no different to the weeds, we have not understood the work of the cross. However this does not mean that our lives should not be filled with good works as we know we have been called to walk in His statues; “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14) – We must always be on the lookout to be of help to those in need and especially those of the household of God. But let us remember when God places necessity upon us to help others that we keep it between Him and ourselves. If not then we are no different to the hypocrite! We must be generous and ready to share; “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1Timothy 6:18-19)

This world and all its trappings have taught us to look out for self, but this is just another lie, it is not the way of the true Christian, we have received clear instruction on this. May God give us a heart of generosity as we learn to give with cheerful hearts. Freely we have received now freely give! – “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” (Proverbs 11:24) 

Signing off

Tyrone