… What are we to do, that we may [habitually] be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?]
John 6:28
As long as we believe we must do something to be accepted by God, we will always wonder if we are doing enough. “What do I need to do?” seems to be one of our most frequent prayer concerns. It is the same question that the crowd asked Jesus, as recorded in the Scripture verse above.
A survey of our ministry employees revealed the same concern. The number one question that they said they would like to ask Jesus was, “How can I tell when I am doing enough?” I am not surprised by the survey because that was my biggest question for many long years. I may not have formed my fear into a question all the time, but the wondering rolled around and around in my thinking. Am I doing enough? Did I pray long enough? Am I doing enough good works to please God? Did I watch too much television yesterday, or should I have spent that time working? I wanted to know the same thing the crowd wanted to know, and the same thing that many of you want to know… “Is God pleased?” “Am I doing enough?” “Is God pleased with me or is He disappointed and perhaps even angry with me?”
This fear is perhaps one of the most tormenting that we experience because it never lets us rest or relax. We constantly feel we need to be doing something else and yet we often don’t know what to do. We are afraid that God is not pleased, and the fear is birthed in not truly knowing the character of God, or the plan of salvation carried out in Jesus Christ.
Let’s imagine that a man and woman have four children, and each morning the children run to their parents and say, “What can we do for you today in order to get you to accept us?” How would that make the parents feel? If I were that parent I would think, “What am I doing wrong that causes my children to believe they need to buy my love with good works?” If, on the other hand, they came to me and said, “Mom, we love you so much that we want to do something for you today; what can we do to bless you?” That would make me feel so good I would jump up and down and clap my hands! Wow! I would feel appreciated, valued, and honored, and so would any of you who are parents. I want my children to bless me because they love me, not because they are afraid of me.
The truth is that we can never do enough for God no matter how much we do! I know that sounds frustrating and defeating, but it is good news when we realize that Jesus has done all that needs to be done and nothing we can ever do will improve on the job He did. True rest comes when we can say, “I don’t have to do anything to get God to love and accept me.” No matter how good we are, we are never good enough to meet God’s standard without Jesus. We must present to God all that Jesus is and realize that we stand before God “in Christ,” and not in ourselves. We have access to the throne of God’s grace because of the blood of Christ, and not because of anything we can ever do.
Jesus has done all that needs to be done and nothing we can ever do will improve on the job He did.
In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).
Ephesians 3:12
Take a moment and grasp the beautiful meaning of this Scripture. We can come before God “boldly” and “without fear” because of our faith in Him, not because we have struggled and agonized long enough to be able to say, “I have finally done enough.”
When we pray in Jesus’ name, we are presenting to the Father all that Jesus is, not what we are. That is why we pray in His name, and not in our own.
And I will do [I myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I Am], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.
[Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I Am].
John 14:13–14
We have a desire to rest, not just physically but spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. We have a deep need and desire to enter what Scripture calls “the rest of God.” Jesus said that if we come to Him, He will give us rest for our souls (see Matthew 11:28). The apostle Paul teaches us that we can enter the rest of God if we believe (see Hebrews 4:3).
We want to rest from the agonizing fear that we have not done enough, which then leads to pushing ourselves to try to do more, and more, and more. Let us make a decision to believe God’s Word, and the moment we do, then and only then can we rest from the weariness of our own works.
Our approval has been purchased with the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We are bought and paid for and now belong to God! He is pleased if we simply believe in what Jesus did for us!
Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].
John 6:29
Jesus answered the crowd with the words recorded above and His answer still applies to us who have the same question they did. You can relax because the requirements of God have all been met in Jesus.
You can relax because the requirements of God have all been met in Jesus.
I know that it sounds too good to be true, and you may be afraid to believe that you no longer need to be afraid that you’re not doing enough, but I promise you that it is true!
There are things that God wants us to do. He has called us to bear good fruit, and the apostle John tells us that God is glorified when we bear much, abundant fruit (see John 15:8). But our motive for doing the work is what God is truly interested in. If our motive (the reason why we are doing the work) is not according to the will of God, then the work is rejected as a counterfeit and we lose all the reward connected to the deed (see 1 Corinthians 3:13–15).
Our works must be done out of faith and not out of fear. They must be done to give something to God, not to get something from Him. This would be an excellent time to stop and ask yourself why you are doing the various things you do. I love doing what I call “motive checks.” It is very easy for us to deceive ourselves about our motives, so it is good to take the time occasionally to ask God to show you anything that you might be doing for a wrong reason.
We should not do what we do in order to gain approval from God, but we should do these things because we love Him. We must not do good works to be seen of men, or to be applauded, admired, or well thought of. In order for a work to be pure it must meet the following qualifications.
1. Work done for God must be done purely because we love Him.
2. Work done for God must be done in obedience to Him and His Word.
3. Work done for God must be done by faith, leaning entirely on Him and trusting in Him for the success of the work.
4. Work done for God must be done to glorify Him.
5. Work done for God should not be done for acknowledgment, admiration, or applause by people.
God’s eyes roam around the earth searching for someone whose heart is pure before Him (see 2 Chronicles 16:9). A pure heart is much more important to the Lord than a perfect record of good works. Although it isn’t possible to have perfection in all of our behavior, it is totally possible to have a perfect heart toward God. A person with a perfect heart would be someone who deeply desires to please God in all things, and is always open to growth and change that is motivated and led by the Holy Spirit.
A pure heart is much more important to the Lord than a perfect record of good works.
In Matthew 5:48 we are admonished “be perfect,” but the meaning of the phrase is to grow into complete maturity in godliness in mind and character. Spiritually, I am growing all the time, but I have not arrived at perfection yet, and neither has any other human for that matter. The apostle Paul stated that he pressed toward the mark of perfection, but that he had not arrived (see Philippians 3:11–13).
Don’t live in the fear that you have not done enough and that God is angry with you, or that the door to His presence is closed to you. I can assure you that if you truly believe in Jesus and the work He did on your behalf, you are doing enough.
As mentioned previously, it is definitely God’s desire that we do good works. James said that faith without works is dead, and I totally agree, but works that are done without faith are also dead. Have true faith in God and His promises first and then the works will follow, but they will be pure works done from a pure heart. It is quite impossible to have a genuine relationship with God through Christ and not deeply desire to please God. Once we realize what Jesus has done for us, we will love Him so much that doing things for Him and His glory becomes our motivation for living.
Relax and look to the work Jesus did on your behalf, and always remember that the work you do does not buy your acceptance with God. Acceptance has already been purchased with the blood of Christ. The work we do is our way of saying “Thank You” to our amazing God, who loves us so much He sent His only Son to redeem us from our sin and has seated us in heavenly places with Christ.
For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 (KJV)