What’s a Body Good For?
Various Scriptures
(May 27, 2001)
Introduction
We’ve all heard the phrase, “good for nothing.” Some of us have been called that.
It is never a compliment, is it? It hurts to be called that, especially by those we care about.
Too often the church, the Body of Christ, is thought of like that. Good for nothing.
When was the last time you heard anyone on the streets mentioning such and such church as having a positive influence in their life, if they weren’t a regular attender?
I don’t think it happens very often.
It used to be that the church was considered a God-send to a community, helping to bring a positive moral influence.
Nowadays it seems that the church is as much of a nuisance as anything else.
This breaks my heart. Because it is not how it should be. It certainly is not how Christ views us.
I want to spend some time this morning continuing in our theme of the Body of Christ, and I want to focus on how the church can impact an area or society.
Time won’t permit going into all the ways it is possible, and multitudes of books have been written and continue to be written about it.
However, I want to illustrate three ways in particular that the church can influence our friends, neighbors, and family for Christ.
And as we do that, I would invite you to let your mind brainstorm a bit about how this church can implement these principles.
My purpose this morning is to show us that not only are we not “good for nothing,” but we are “good for a lot.”
First, I want to show us that the body of Christ is good for…
I. Good Works.
Ephesians 2:10 says this:
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The church does not exist for the sole purpose of having a place to worship, or even to lead people to Christ.
Coming from an evangelist, that may seem hard to swallow. Believe me, it’s hard for an evangelist to say. But it’s true.
It is certainly one of the church’s primary missions. But there’s more to it than that.
We are to do good works. Good works that God Himself has prepared for us to do.
And they are numerous. But I think they can be summarized by looking at the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 – listen as I read them. They are familiar to you.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Meeting the needs of people is crucial. Jesus also said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.
When a religious leader sought to justify himself by asking Jesus who his neighbor was, Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan.
The Samaritan had to overcome not only the inconvenience of stopping to help a hurt man, he had to overcome something even bigger – his prejudice.
Samaritans and Jews hated each other with a passion. Yet this Samaritan saw the need of the man as being a bigger issue.
Where are your prejudices? We all have them, and we are the worse for them.
May God have mercy on us for acting on them rather than on the life-giving Word of God.
The Body of Christ is good for Good Works. And good works have at least two results: first, they…
A. Bring Glory to God. (Mt. 5:16)
Matthew 5:16 says this:
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
When people see the people of God doing something in the name of God, they take notice. The sad part of that is that they take notice so much because it doesn’t happen as much as it should.
Up until our recent history, it has been the church that has been taking care of the needy.
We have abdicated that responsibility to our governments, and we need to gradually take it back, so people can see the love of Christ than cannot be seen in a welfare check.
Good works done by the people of God in the name of God cause people to praise God.
Try it and see what happens. I have just finished reading a book called, 101 Ways to Reach Your Community, and it describes a ton of projects a group or church can do to make a small difference.
The author’s experiences and those of others who have tried many of these ideas testify to the fact that people want to know more about a God who prompts His people to reach out beyond the walls of a church.
Secondly,…
B. Good works validate our faith to the world. (Jms. 2:14-18)
Please listen as I read from James 2 –
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
Our good deeds are outward manifestations of our changed hearts.
Scripture says we are to show the fruits of our repentance. Part of that is that we are no longer self-centered, but others-centered, in Christ.
The focus is not on me, it is on you. It is not on me, it is on him out there.
And good deeds done in the name of Christ prove to the world that our faith is genuine.
It doesn’t prove it to God; He already knows it. But the world needs to see our faith in action. Then they will take our words seriously, which leads us to our next point, that the Body is good for a…
II. Good Reputation.
Proverbs says that a good name is more desirable than great riches. And if that’s true for the individual, it is even more so for the Church of God.
Follow along with me as I read 1 Peter 2:12 from the New American Standard Bible.
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
We should exhibit excellent behavior that can be observed. We could spend hours just talking about the need for a good reputation, but I want to focus on just two.
First, a good reputation is…
A. Required for Leadership in the church. (1 Tim. 3:7)
To be an officer in the Wesleyan Church, you must be a covenant, or full member.
When you become a member, you commit yourself to certain lifestyle guidelines, not out of a spirit of legalism, but rather out of a spirit of holiness.
If you are no different in lifestyle to those who don’t love Christ, what impact can you have?
When you become an officer, the leash gets a little shorter, if you will.
You commit to conduct yourself in a way that brings honor to Christ and does not harm the reputation of the Wesleyan Church.
Why is that important? Let me read 1 Timothy 3:7 –
He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
If you have a reputation as a conniver, or as a schemer, or a cheat, or whatever, that brings disgrace on you and the church.
And who will listen to you about eternal truths of heaven if you live only for your personal gain? Nobody.
Second, a good reputation is…
B. Required for impacting society.
Let me ask you a question: when the scandals involving Jim Bakker’s sexual escapade and financial dealings, who did everyone look at when trying to find an example of someone who lived above all that?
Billy Graham. He is continually seen as one of the most trusted people in the world.
Why is that? Why is it that Billy Graham is universally admired even by people who don’t like Christianity or other Southern Baptists?
One word: integrity.
That’s why Billy Graham still gets prime time network coverage for his crusades. That’s why he is a friend and confidant of world leaders.
That’s why people listen. To the gospel.
Put Jimmy Swaggert on TV and see what reaction you will get. This is not meant to be a Swaggert-bashing. You get the point. The two are on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as their reputations are concerned, and you see who has the greater impact.
I fervently believe that if more men and women of God acted out of a desire to bring honor to God rather than pleasure to themselves, the gospel would have a much greater impact on a society that is increasingly turning its back on God.
If we hope to impact this area for Christ, we need to cultivate a good reputation as people who show the love of Christ in meaningful ways.
The Body of Christ is good for a good reputation. And finally, the Body of Christ is good for the…
III. Good News.
As I have mentioned before, it is the job of the Body of Christ to take the gospel to the world. There is no plan B. It’s up to us.
We need to tell people that God has provided a way out of the penalty we deserve for our waywardness by sending His Son to die for us.
But I think they need to hear a couple other things as well, and the first is that…
A. The life-changing message of Christ really is life-changing.
And they can only “hear” this by seeing it in you and me. If our lives have not been changed by the gospel of Christ, than we have nothing to offer somebody other than heavenly fire insurance.
I don’t know about you, but Christ has changed my life! He has changed countless lives! He wants to change countless more! And He wants to use us in the effort!
And the best thing we can do is exhibit a changed life.
Not everyone is an evangelist. I know that. But everyone is a witness. Everyone has a testimony of what God has done in their heart and life.
And everyone can testify to the presence of a new life in Him, that impacts everything else we do.
To God be the glory.
God heals the wounded spirit, binds the broken hearts, cleanses the foulest sinner.
Let them see what He has done for you. Please.
The second thing people need to hear is that…
B. The hope we have for the future impacts our lives today.
When we came to Christ as our Savior, we inherited eternal life. That life began the moment to gave your life to Christ, and will continue through eternity.
It gives an eternal perspective. Rather than having the mind-set that says, “life is hard and then you die,” we have a mind-set that says, “this world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through.”
And in the meantime, we seek to make this world a better place by showering the love of Christ wherever we can.
I work at my jobs with a different attitude than I did before I met Christ. Christ helps me remember that even at my job I can have an eternal perspective, because how I do my job impacts other people.
It gives them something to look at and think about when the opportunity comes to tell them of the love of God in Christ.
My love for Christ and my anticipation of a home in heaven impacts my present.
May it be the same for you, as well.
Conclusion
So, what’s a body good for? It’s not good for nothing, that’s for sure.
The Body of Christ is good for good works, a good reputation in the community, and the good news.
And I pray that this Body of believers will be a beacon, shining its light before men, so that men will see our good deeds, not to glorify us, but to glorify our Father in heaven.
Won’t you join me in that prayer? And we will watch how God answers, and we will be amazed at what God uses to bring us not only a good reputation in our area, but more importantly, souls into the kingdom of God, and the opportunity to impact this area with His love.
Shall we pray.
