God’s Word for You
Galatians 6:9-10 Do good to all people
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, August 19, 2024
9 Let us not become weary of doing good, for we will reap a harvest at just the right time if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
We should not read these verses without remembering or re-reading the verse before. That verse (6:8) says: “If someone sows for his own sinful flesh, he will reap ruin from that flesh. But if he sows for the Spirit, he will reap eternal life from that Spirit.” To be clear, and to distance himself from those who think that “sinful flesh” will only be a description of sexual sins, Paul says “Let’s not become weary of doing good.” His comparison with sowing and reaping is about the whole life of a human being. “Sowing for the Spirit” is about doing good works of every kind, and “sowing for his own sinful flesh” is about doing evil things of every kind. Who is it who will be saved? The one who started well, with faith in Christ and lots of good works, but who then lost his faith and died in unbelief? Not at all. The Scriptures have tragic examples of men like King Saul, Judas Iscariot, and perhaps even Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-24) who began well but ended badly. Instead, we see men like Saul of Tarsus, and Matthew the tax collector, who began badly, even in unbelief, but became great apostles and who remained faithful to the end. Jesus said: “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22).
The trouble for the Christian is that, according to the sinful nature, everyone “is shrewd at doing evil, but they do not know how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22). Or as Jerome said in the early centuries of the church, “While sinners daily increase in evil works, we grow weary in a good work.” This is why we continually need the law and the gospel. The law is a mirror to my sinful life, and the gospel consoles me with the forgiveness of Jesus for my sins. The law then becomes a guide for my Christian living to remind me of God’s holy will, to answer the question: How can I live to please God? The gospel spurs me forward as I am grateful for God’s grace, and the guidebook of the law is a road map for where I am headed.
The emphasis that the Lutheran church places on justification by faith alone sometimes confuses people of other denominations and their emphasis on good works. They are often tempted to claim that Lutherans reject good works, which is not at all true. “Outside the case of justification, no one can commend highly enough the good works God has commanded. For who can declare enough the usefulness and fruit of even one good work which a Christian does because of and in faith? For it is more pious than heaven and earth. So the whole world cannot in this life repay a worthy reward for even one such work, and the world does not have the grace to magnify the good works of the godly, much less repay them” (Luther).
By emphasizing justification by faith, we simply lift high the cross of Christ and give him his rightful place as the sole cause of our justification and forgiveness. But that does not mean that we set aside good works. Acknowledging, as the Bible does, that salvation is apart from our good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), we recognize that all credit for our salvation belongs to Christ. But our good works are the way and the means by which we thank God. Look into my heart if you can and see the good works that are there. Look into the heart of some elderly widow who prays and prays for the people of her family and of her church, and question whether there are any good works there to see. Does the Evangelical Christian have such good works as those? But we don’t judge our good works against one another. Good works are something we hold up to be judged only by Christ. We do them for free, for thanks, and for the joy of serving God, and (as Paul says) especially the family of believers.
Our holy God gives us good works to do. He lays them out before us and causes us to be rich in them, to be dear to God, and to be useful to our neighbor. Our God is the one upon whom even our ability to do good works depends. This is why an unbeliever can do nothing good; nothing that pleases God at all. “Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21). But “to fear the Lord is to hate evil, to hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech” (Proverbs 8:13).
The phrase “as we have opportunity” raises a question about purgatory, and I have spoken out against the very thought of purgatory several times in my devotions and preaching. The passage before us contends against that doctrine, since “as we have opportunity” falls in line with Jesus’ words, “Work while it is day; night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). For if there was anything to the teaching of purgatory, which seems to be about making satisfaction for whatever Christ did not atone for, then what would theoretically be done in purgatory would be a good work (making payment for sin), which can only be done in this life. Neither the Bible, which is the whole Word of God, nor the apocrypha, which is revered as pious and useful by many, say anything about purgatory at all.
To do good for the family of believers is to do anything for them that they might need. Encouragement, prayer, service, help. Jude summarizes many such things when he says so simply: “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire (of unbelief and sin) and save them; to others show mercy mixed with fear, hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh” (Jude 1:22-23). His warning is not to get caught up in the sins of others, but to help them out whenever possible. Be good to those who love their Savior; they are all our brothers and sisters, even if we can’t always recognize them in this life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.