“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ...for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” -from Galatians 2:16.
With the technology that exists today, it's become very easy for people to be constantly busy in efforts to give meaning to their lives, and these attitudes have largely infected the professing Christian church, as well. But is this really what God wants for us? To answer this, we must consult the Word of God, and bring our works before the light to be sure they are done according to His will (John 3:21).
Just to “keep busy” should never be an objective by itself, yet that is what many people do-even believers. We have been taught to do this, and blindly follow the world's example.
Service for the Lord Jesus is a natural desire for the sincerely born again Christian; yet we must seek God diligently in prayer, and wait for His leading IF it is to be of any eternal spiritual value at all. Not only is this aspect important, but there is a risk of our backsliding into a works-based salvation like the Galatians were in danger of in the early church. Look again at our opening verse!
The danger with busyness is that it is a pride-based emphasis on our own works; not a humble obedience that trusts in God the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will. Salvation is from God alone, and apart from Him we can do nothing; not even PRAY! Just let the following verses sink in;
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not...I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” -Romans 7:18,21.
These verses testify to our sinful natures, and struggles with the flesh; even after salvation.
“When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” -Matthew 19:25,26.
Here we see that salvation is truly a work of God alone, and not of any good works that we do.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” -John 15:4,5.
Our dependence rests in Jesus; all good things come from God (James 1:17).
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” -Romans 8:26,27.
We are blessed to have the Holy Spirit as our helper, for we cannot even pray well without Him.
“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.” -Ephesians 2:8,9.
This is our core scripture which tells us salvation is an unearned GIFT from God we receive by faith.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” -Galatians 2:20,21.
These verses tell us that if we could earn salvation by our good works, Jesus need not have died!
“For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” Galatians 2:18.
We can take this verse as a sobering warning, can't we? The Galatians were beginning to add religious works to their worship, and turning away from their faith as a gift of God's grace; backsliding into sin.
But the Bible is much more direct than this when it speaks against busyness in our Christian lives, and those examples will follow. Yet one problem we may have is when the service we've been called to makes it outwardly appear as if we're doing nothing. This example is taken from Acts 6:2-4;
“Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables...But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Bold type has been added to emphasize.
It's no wonder that Jesus told us not to judge only by appearance! To study the Word, pray, and wait for God's direction is CRUCIAL to any service the Lord may have for us, but to others it might seem as if we're doing nothing-it may even feel that way to us, as we wait for Holy Spirit guidance. God alone will be glorified when we allow Him to work in His way, not presuming to work for Him. In this passage there was a real issue to deal with, but it wasn't the Apostles' service to physically do.
Please consider this list of scriptures as God's direction to rely on Him, and not just keep busy;
“What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.” -Psalm 116:12,13.
How can we repay God for all His goodness toward us? We can't. We take the salvation He provides, and cast all our cares upon Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6,7; 1 Peter 5:7).
“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” -Psalm 127:1.
All of our efforts will fail apart from God.
“He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” -Psalm 147:10,11.
God isn't impressed by our strength or abilities, because He gave them to us! We need to trust in Him.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.” -Proverbs 15:8.
It can never be about what we give to God, but about our dependence on Him.
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?...But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” -Matthew 6:25,26,33.
Bold type is added here to emphasize, and these same thoughts expressed in Luke 12:29-32. Don't these scriptures discourage obsession with physical work? God wants to be first in our lives.
But a single great example of our topic can be taken from Luke 10:38-42, printed out here;
“...a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” The bold type was added to emphasize.
No one can really fault Martha, for she was also serving the Lord; but something else was more important than waiting on houseguests. And this is exactly how many professing Christians handle their service for the Lord; they become encumbered by doing things they've assumed God wants them to do, but haven't taken time to be actually taught by Him; they just run ahead and work. Remember that we can do nothing of our own power, so let us seek God and wait for His anointing as the early church did.
“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” -John 6:27.
Once again, here Jesus is de-emphasizing working for material wealth, and focusing on eternal life, instead. When the people wanted to know what work they could do that was God's work, Jesus told them to simply believe on Him, the one God had sent. We don't need to be very busy to do that work, do we? Anything we might give to God, He has FIRST provided for us (1 Corinthians 4:7).
“For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” -Romans 9:15,16.
It's all about God's grace and mercy, not our efforts.
Brethren, we must slow down. How much time are you taking in prayer, Bible study, and waiting to be sure you're walking in God's will? And it wouldn't be necessarily a judgement on whether or not a work in itself is good, but...1) Does God want you to do it? 2) How does He want it done? 3) When should it be done? 4) Does this leading come from God, or is it of self, and others?
19th century saint George Mueller was known for the orphan work God led him to do. But when he was being moved toward building houses 2&3, he sought the Lord deeply for seven months before announcing this objective-he told no one during that time, not even his wife!
Let us follow this example, and seek God privately in our “closets” as described in Matthew 6:6 and bringing our works into the light (John 3:21) to be sure they are God's will. As we have already seen, there is really nothing we can give to God outside of obedience and dependence upon Him. Wait for the Lord and seek Him, laying aside those busy lives which only hinder.
“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” -1 Samuel 15:22.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” -Matthew 7:7,8.
Here is a link to the YouTube video short that I did on this subject https://youtube.com/shorts/OCkjFN1ZGsw?feature=share.
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