I had the distinct pleasure of having a recent email conversation with Daphne - a promising younger sister in the Faith. She had asked a number of good questions on serving and doing God's work with the right motives. It gave me loads to think about, reflect and gave me the impetus to put it into words. I've re-posted the email with permission as follows:
Daphne (Daph) > Hi Ollie, I've been thinking about this for quite some time: being flawed people, our sacrifices (e.g.: service and striving to be holy) to God are never perfect, but because we have been atoned and justified for at the Cross, Christ's blood makes our sacrifices pleasing to Him. All this assumes that the Christian consciously submits and dedicates his life and actions to God.
Oliver (Ollie) >> Good question. Let's first look at this from the bible:
Romans 5:8-9
- Christ death on our behalf justified us, removed the penalty of sin and saved us from God's wrath.
Romans 5:19
- Christ obedience made us righteous.
Romans 8:1-11
- The flesh (or old non-believing self) cannot please God. Christ death removed our sins; His righteousness is credited to us. God's Spirit dwells in us and we can now please God.
Ollie >> Once we believe into Jesus as our Saviour and surrender to His Lordship, we are made righteous - i.e. we are justified by Faith. What this means is that all our work or sacrifices do not count for our justification, but rather our Faith in Jesus that made us righteous before God. Jesus lived and died for us. By his death he took on our sins and paid the penalty on our behalf, thereby averting God's wrath and paying the prize for our sins. Also what happens is that we also take on the life Christ lived - that is Christ righteousness from his living a sinless God-pleasing life is credited to us. This is what happened at the cross and this is substitutionary atonement - Our sins removed, and Christ righteousness credited to us. This means the act and event of salvation is all of grace through Faith because of what Christ has done not anything from us. I believe you already know all this; this leads on to the next idea which is the continual process of sanctification which I usually find most of us evangelicals are a little less clear on. ((Actually if you look in the bible, it speaks of us saved (justification); being saved (sanctification) and will be saved (future glorification) )).
What happens after justification and us being made righteous before God is that God's Spirit indwells us and now we are no longer enslaved to sin - meaning we can now have the right motivation and heart to do what is pleasing to God. This process of sanctification is usually a progress of growing more Christ-like and this occurs, quoting Jerry Bridges, when we respond in dependence to God's Spirit. This means that after we believe into Jesus, we can want to please God and do things to please Him.
Daph > What about people who try to live the Christian life with the wrong motives? A person comes to church/fellowship/serves/practices spiritual disciplines for other people or for mere obligation and subsequently through the work of the Holy Spirit, comes for the "right" motive. I'm very sure all Christians experiences this in different aspects of our life (especially worship) since our motives conform more to what God desires as we grow more and more.
At a young adults camp meeting just now, someone shared that God accepts the sacrifice of a Christian, whether his motive was right or wrong. I think this is really quite fallacious because if it is so, God would have accepted Saul's sacrifice instead of deposing Him, Psalm 51:16-17 says
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
Also, our desire to joyfully live as God's living sacrifices would be something extra we do for God since wrong motives can also be accepted - the idea of claiming some merit for the Holy Spirit's work.
Ollie >> Ok. I am assuming we are talking about Christians serving God with wrong motives and the wrong heart, for as said above non-Christians though they may "do" good (afterall they are still made in God's image), they are operating in the flesh and enslaved to sin and cannot please God.
Besides Psalm 51:16-17 which said that God does not delight in sacrifice or offerings of service rendered for that matter, but rather the right heart, there are other verses in the OT and NT.
Isaiah 29:13
- God looks beyond the exterior - what is said - to the heart (or motives)
Luke 16:15
- What is deemed right before men but done with the wrong heart is detestable to God.
Acts 5:1-11
- What seemed a generous act by Ananias and Sapphira done with the wrong motives is deplorable to God, and God judged them.
Ollie >> When it comes to pleasing God, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. As God's people we may do "good" or "religious" things, but what please God is the right heart and motives. In fact, the Pharisees were the most "religious" of the Israelites during Christ time, but their religiosity fed their pride, they wanted to look good in front of others - i.e. wrong heart and motives and Jesus reserved the most scathing remarks for them. The heart matters more than the act of service or sacrifice.
Daph > My alternative, however, is that God, in His forbearance, uses the sacrifice to change the person's motive, and that's His mercy. I don't think I can decide whether God will accept his sacrifice at this moment when the motive is wrong and the believer is not keen to change (thus "right" motive) but God definitely will if the believer's heart dedicates it to God.
So the crux is the believer's dedication to God.
Am I biblical in my explanation? My friend still didn't seem to agree.
Ollie >> Let's pull everything together and look and reflect through this.
All being said, this side of heaven, we are never perfect hence the ongoing process of sanctification and we cannot judge accurately the heart if the person who is serving or making the sacrifice (though I would think that over a period of time, you can probably discern the fruits that come after). However, like you, when someone says "God accepts the sacrifice of a Christian, whether his motive was right or wrong", I am uncomfortable. As we can see from the bible, the heart or motives matter most to God; God detest sacrifices made with the wrong heart. Although I would readily admit that most times when I do things, due to my sinful nature, it would be with mixed motives - I can hardly say that everything I do is out of pure motives and with the right heart. That is why I practice the discipline of self-examination. During these times, I thank God for the things I done with the right heart and I repent for those done with the wrong motives. I remember the Gospel and continue to do what I can in gratitude of what has already been done.
What I see is that while God is not pleased with what was done with the wrong motives or heart, God is Sovereign and Good, what was done wrongly can be turned to good by God (Genesis 50:20). That is usually what I pray after repenting; that what was done with mixed motives can be turned to His Glory. The crux of the matter is God's mercy and that He is Sovereign and Good.
Lastly, I'm concerned that what your friend said, if accurately reflects his/her beliefs, is tinged with works-righteousness (I am not saying he/she does not believe in justification by Faith, but rather his/her view on living the Christian life that pleases God seems to be driven by works rather than grace). When someone says my heart and motives doesn't matter; but rather what I do, it seems to me that he/she expect his/her works to please God and gain approval of others. Kingdom living as shared by Jesus in the Beatitudes is from inside out - from the heart. This "works-righteousness" belief could stunt growth as growth in Christ-likeness or sanctification is also by Grace - God's Spirit who indwells us initiate and sustain us in our living the Christian life and doing good. When we know this, we can readily respond in gratitude due to what God has already done, with the right heart and motives, please God and glorify Him. This is as you said in your blog, quoting form Jerry Bridges, preaching the Gospel to yourself daily.
Ollie >> Just my thoughts and reflections on what you said. Please feel free to engage me on this. :)
P.S. I hope if you want to talk to your friend, it will be with wisdom and discernment. Find ways to engage and communicate rightly. Remember love in truth and truth in love. :)
--
Grace and Peace
Ollie
Nov 2008
Daphne (Daph) > Hi Ollie, I've been thinking about this for quite some time: being flawed people, our sacrifices (e.g.: service and striving to be holy) to God are never perfect, but because we have been atoned and justified for at the Cross, Christ's blood makes our sacrifices pleasing to Him. All this assumes that the Christian consciously submits and dedicates his life and actions to God.
Oliver (Ollie) >> Good question. Let's first look at this from the bible:
Romans 5:8-9
- Christ death on our behalf justified us, removed the penalty of sin and saved us from God's wrath.
Romans 5:19
- Christ obedience made us righteous.
Romans 8:1-11
- The flesh (or old non-believing self) cannot please God. Christ death removed our sins; His righteousness is credited to us. God's Spirit dwells in us and we can now please God.
Ollie >> Once we believe into Jesus as our Saviour and surrender to His Lordship, we are made righteous - i.e. we are justified by Faith. What this means is that all our work or sacrifices do not count for our justification, but rather our Faith in Jesus that made us righteous before God. Jesus lived and died for us. By his death he took on our sins and paid the penalty on our behalf, thereby averting God's wrath and paying the prize for our sins. Also what happens is that we also take on the life Christ lived - that is Christ righteousness from his living a sinless God-pleasing life is credited to us. This is what happened at the cross and this is substitutionary atonement - Our sins removed, and Christ righteousness credited to us. This means the act and event of salvation is all of grace through Faith because of what Christ has done not anything from us. I believe you already know all this; this leads on to the next idea which is the continual process of sanctification which I usually find most of us evangelicals are a little less clear on. ((Actually if you look in the bible, it speaks of us saved (justification); being saved (sanctification) and will be saved (future glorification) )).
What happens after justification and us being made righteous before God is that God's Spirit indwells us and now we are no longer enslaved to sin - meaning we can now have the right motivation and heart to do what is pleasing to God. This process of sanctification is usually a progress of growing more Christ-like and this occurs, quoting Jerry Bridges, when we respond in dependence to God's Spirit. This means that after we believe into Jesus, we can want to please God and do things to please Him.
Daph > What about people who try to live the Christian life with the wrong motives? A person comes to church/fellowship/serves/practices spiritual disciplines for other people or for mere obligation and subsequently through the work of the Holy Spirit, comes for the "right" motive. I'm very sure all Christians experiences this in different aspects of our life (especially worship) since our motives conform more to what God desires as we grow more and more.
At a young adults camp meeting just now, someone shared that God accepts the sacrifice of a Christian, whether his motive was right or wrong. I think this is really quite fallacious because if it is so, God would have accepted Saul's sacrifice instead of deposing Him, Psalm 51:16-17 says
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
Also, our desire to joyfully live as God's living sacrifices would be something extra we do for God since wrong motives can also be accepted - the idea of claiming some merit for the Holy Spirit's work.
Ollie >> Ok. I am assuming we are talking about Christians serving God with wrong motives and the wrong heart, for as said above non-Christians though they may "do" good (afterall they are still made in God's image), they are operating in the flesh and enslaved to sin and cannot please God.
Besides Psalm 51:16-17 which said that God does not delight in sacrifice or offerings of service rendered for that matter, but rather the right heart, there are other verses in the OT and NT.
Isaiah 29:13
- God looks beyond the exterior - what is said - to the heart (or motives)
Luke 16:15
- What is deemed right before men but done with the wrong heart is detestable to God.
Acts 5:1-11
- What seemed a generous act by Ananias and Sapphira done with the wrong motives is deplorable to God, and God judged them.
Ollie >> When it comes to pleasing God, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. As God's people we may do "good" or "religious" things, but what please God is the right heart and motives. In fact, the Pharisees were the most "religious" of the Israelites during Christ time, but their religiosity fed their pride, they wanted to look good in front of others - i.e. wrong heart and motives and Jesus reserved the most scathing remarks for them. The heart matters more than the act of service or sacrifice.
Daph > My alternative, however, is that God, in His forbearance, uses the sacrifice to change the person's motive, and that's His mercy. I don't think I can decide whether God will accept his sacrifice at this moment when the motive is wrong and the believer is not keen to change (thus "right" motive) but God definitely will if the believer's heart dedicates it to God.
So the crux is the believer's dedication to God.
Am I biblical in my explanation? My friend still didn't seem to agree.
Ollie >> Let's pull everything together and look and reflect through this.
All being said, this side of heaven, we are never perfect hence the ongoing process of sanctification and we cannot judge accurately the heart if the person who is serving or making the sacrifice (though I would think that over a period of time, you can probably discern the fruits that come after). However, like you, when someone says "God accepts the sacrifice of a Christian, whether his motive was right or wrong", I am uncomfortable. As we can see from the bible, the heart or motives matter most to God; God detest sacrifices made with the wrong heart. Although I would readily admit that most times when I do things, due to my sinful nature, it would be with mixed motives - I can hardly say that everything I do is out of pure motives and with the right heart. That is why I practice the discipline of self-examination. During these times, I thank God for the things I done with the right heart and I repent for those done with the wrong motives. I remember the Gospel and continue to do what I can in gratitude of what has already been done.
What I see is that while God is not pleased with what was done with the wrong motives or heart, God is Sovereign and Good, what was done wrongly can be turned to good by God (Genesis 50:20). That is usually what I pray after repenting; that what was done with mixed motives can be turned to His Glory. The crux of the matter is God's mercy and that He is Sovereign and Good.
Lastly, I'm concerned that what your friend said, if accurately reflects his/her beliefs, is tinged with works-righteousness (I am not saying he/she does not believe in justification by Faith, but rather his/her view on living the Christian life that pleases God seems to be driven by works rather than grace). When someone says my heart and motives doesn't matter; but rather what I do, it seems to me that he/she expect his/her works to please God and gain approval of others. Kingdom living as shared by Jesus in the Beatitudes is from inside out - from the heart. This "works-righteousness" belief could stunt growth as growth in Christ-likeness or sanctification is also by Grace - God's Spirit who indwells us initiate and sustain us in our living the Christian life and doing good. When we know this, we can readily respond in gratitude due to what God has already done, with the right heart and motives, please God and glorify Him. This is as you said in your blog, quoting form Jerry Bridges, preaching the Gospel to yourself daily.
Ollie >> Just my thoughts and reflections on what you said. Please feel free to engage me on this. :)
P.S. I hope if you want to talk to your friend, it will be with wisdom and discernment. Find ways to engage and communicate rightly. Remember love in truth and truth in love. :)
--
Grace and Peace
Ollie
Nov 2008
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