How often do you think someone is a better believer than you by how much they serve in the church?
The ones who always volunteer for Sunday school, the ones who sign up to bring a casserole for every meal train, the ones who attend every church event, the ones who are always first to raise their hand every time your small group needs volunteers…you feel inferior to them.
You see all the good work they do and you feel less than, you look at their actions and you wonder if your walk with Jesus is as good as because they “do all the things.”
Well friend, all of those things are awesome.
Seriously, GOOD for the people who do it all.
And if that person is you, awesome please keep at it.
But also know…
Not one of those volunteer events, not one of those casseroles, not one of those attendances will bring you any closer to salvation.
The ones doing it all, their gift of salvation it is not unique, their gift looks exactly like yours.
In Philippians chapter three Paul is reminding his readers that those who are seeking fulfillment through actions of the flesh will not be filled.
Friend, if you are seeking fulfillment in Christ through your actions you are doing it backward.
Instead we should take action because Christ fulfills us.
Read that again.
Your actions should not be done to fulfill your salvation, but your salvation should bring you to action.
We judge people by their actions far more than we judge people by their heart.
Often we place more esteem on those who show up and “do all the things.” We hold them in higher regard as if they are closer to God.
Through an incorrect lens we view a person’s relationship with Christ based upon actions of their flesh.
Why do we do that friends, why do we judge others by their actions instead of by their salvation?
Each of us has been offered the same invitation to salvation no matter what we do.
How much or how little someone serves does not make them a believer.
No good deed will bring your heart any closer to Christ.
Your salvation will bring a longing to your heart to do good works for Christ, but we should never place more value on our efforts than we do on our internal relationship with Christ.
Salvation comes only through a surrendering faith in Christ.
Friends never allow the enemy to make you feel less than because of the amount of serving you are able to do, don’t place value on others above yourself based on the work they do, remember all of us are offered the same invitation to heaven…
and the invitations are identical.
The invitations ask us to come to the foot of the cross through an unyielding faith in Christ.
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Chapter three had so much to unpack that I decided to do it two parts. I will continue later this week with more from Philippians chapter three.
