The Do-Do Christianity - Part I

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. – James 1:22

We have interpreted this scripture as “be ye doers of the law”. And in an effort to “please God” and/or be justified by God, we zealously jump on the treadmill of law keeping; either Mosaic, traditional, cultural or a mixture of everything and hope that God would be pleased with our tenacity and sincerity.

Just a minor problem though – we cannot pick and choose from the Mosaic Law (the 10 commandments and the 613 laws). We have to keep all the laws; if not, we break all the laws; there is no middle ground. And the laws by the traditions vary from culture to culture. So then, which law must we adhere to?

The bigger question is, will we be justified by our attempts at keeping the law? The Scripture is crystal clear on this topic. We are not justified by the works of the law (Gal 3:11; 2:16). When people asked what they should “do” to do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29 ESV). Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and through the crucifixion, He redeemed us from the curses of not keeping the law. Therefore, the assumption that we can be justified with our futile attempts in keeping the Law, stems from ignorance. The Galatians thought they could mix the law with the grace of God. Listen to how Paul responded, “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you,…  Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Gal 3:1-3 ESV). It is foolishness because we voluntarily invite the curse to our lives when we trust in the law, because it is impossible for us to keep all the laws. We fall from grace [the very gift that saves us from the curse of not keeping the law], when we have the audacity to think that we can be justified by our own works.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give the revelation knowledge of who we already are in Christ Jesus. Let us believe that we have been made righteous (right standing with God) apart from our works.

Just like we were made sinners without our effort, we have been made righteous by Jesus, without our effort (see Rom 5:19).

Read the previous paragraph, again and again and allow the truth to sink in to your soul. Let us believe that we are financially prosperous, not because we sow or tithe, but because Jesus became poor for us. Let us believe that we are healthy, not because we pray, fast, work out and eat organic food, but by His stripes only. Our new-creation reality is based on Jesus' finished work on the cross; not the current circumstances, which we perceive by carnal senses. We access this grace through faith. By faith we receive what is freely available to us through Christ Jesus. Faith is not something we manufacture. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. It's about simply believing what the Cross accomplished. Let us rightly divide the scriptures and meditate on the scriptures which reveals what Jesus Christ has already done for us and who we already are in Him; and get ready to be exploded with the revelation that we do not have to (we can't, even if we tried to) earn our blessings. The Blessing (JESUS) in all His glory is in the believer and the believer in Him, right now.

Does this mean we are to stay idle? Paul says he labored more abundantly than everyone else, but the credit was given to the grace of God that was with him. We cannot bear his fruit without His life flowing in and through us. God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to His power that is in us – if we let Him. All that we need to be is an yielded vessel who is sensitive to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us be free from the Do-Do mindset and allow God to do his perfect will in and through us.

Read Part II of this series.

Blessed In Jesus

“... whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” - 2 Corinthians 6:9 ESV

MOTIVATION

Let us for instance assume that the scripture above was not in the Bible. If that truly were the case, would we still give? If ‘getting back’ is the sole driving force behind our giving, we are then using God as a vending machine. “God, here is my money, now give me my stuff”. Christ did not go through the religious criticism (which I believe is far worse than the physical torture He endured) torture and crucifixion to be our delivery boy. We are not giving due credit for His love (which we cannot even comprehend with our natural minds) towards us when the motive is just about “meeting my needs” - be it spiritual, health-related or financial.

UNEARNED GIFT

In Romans 8:32 ESV, Paul says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Financial abundance is not the product of our giving, just like salvation and healing are not products of our good works. Salvation is a gift from Christ Jesus. We are healed because Jesus bore our sicknesses. Our financial prosperity does not start with our giving. 2 Corinthians 8:9 is the foundation of our financial abundance. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Some might think that this verse is just about "spiritual" riches. But if we study 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, we can see that the subject is about money.

Financial abundance starts when we believe that ‘Christ became poor so that we might be rich’. Believing what Christ did for us in each area of our life (health, wealth, peace etc) is the key that will let us see the blessings in manifestation. 

But the belief is always accompanied by a corresponding action. James confirms it in James 2:26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Giving will be the fruit that naturally follows. But often times, we focus on the action part. We think our action is what initiates everything. Once we get a real revelation of his unconditional love for us, no one will have to force, encourage or entice us, to give. We will no longer debate if we should give 10% gross or net, or 90%. The debate goes out of the window and then the heart starts making the decisions. God loves a cheerful giver who gives from the heart.

We are not forcing God to bless us when we give, for we already are blessed in Christ Jesus. It is only by grace that we have access to the blessing of God, which includes salvation, healing and financial abundance. And gifts are not earned; we simply receive it. 

So I would have to be ignorant of the Gospel if I say, “I am giving to be blessed”. That will put the onus on my action, which stems from the Old Covenant mindset.

BIRDS

In Matthew 6:25-26 ESV, Jesus says, “... do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

If the birds do not have to sow or reap, why then we - the beloved children of the most High God, carriers of Jesus Christ, carriers of his power that is embedded within us, carriers of The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead - must sow to meet our personal needs? Our Heavenly Father knows our needs even before we open our mouths to pray. The only requirement to meet our personal needs is in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

This is where the intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit becomes vital. Until it finally hits us that the King of the universes calls us friend, it would be hard with our natural minds to accept the truth that we do not have to even think about meeting our daily needs.

HAWAII? 

This does not, however, mean we should quit our jobs, or close our businesses and move to a beach resort in Hawaii and expect angels to feed us every day. We should be diligently working in whatever occupation we are involved with. God is our source of income, not the job or business. Our occupation is just a channel through which the fund flows to us. When, or if we lose our employment, we have nothing to worry about. That job wasn’t our source of income in the first place. First of all, we have to renew our mind to the truth that the One who created this universe lives within us. Secondly, losing a job simply means that the channel is changing, perhaps to a better one. When drought hit the land, God directed Elijah to move to a new place where he was supernaturally supplied. The Source was the same; it was only the channel that was different. God supplies our needs, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus; not according to a fluctuating economy.

BREAKFAST 

To the parents who are reading this, would you demand a portion of your child’s breakfast to feed them lunch, or dinner, or to enjoy all the provisions of your household? I would assume that you would not even give a consideration to that thought. Children are the heirs to everything that the parents own. So if we do not withhold good things from our children, why would we think that our Heavenly Father, who is Love, would do that? Are we presuming that we have more love than Love himself?

Malachi 3:10-11 happened under the old covenant. And yes, there is the account of Abraham tithing, once, before the Law. If we are using Abraham's tithing as the foundation for the modern day tithe teaching, let's not forget that Abraham went through circumcision before the Law as well. Why isn't the tithe teaching churches emphasizing circumcision?

My point is, why must we limit our giving with a fixed and a small percentage? Is not that too impersonal and formulaic. When we buy a gift for a close friend or family, don't we buy from our heart?

SOWING AND REAPING

So what about 'Sowing and Reaping'? With the solid foundation of 2 Corinthians 8:9; when we believe 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 and cheerfully (not reluctantly or under compulsion or manipulation) give as decide in our heart, God is able to make all grace abound towards us, so that we always will have all sufficiency in all things, we will have an abundance for every good work and we will be enriched in all things so that we can be generous, which in turn results in an heart-felt thanksgiving to God.

The Holy Spirit, Who inspired Paul to write that passage does not lie. But this giving must purely be directed by the guidance of the Holy Spirit who lives in our heart and not by the flesh or on the basis of a subtle or an overt legalistic requirement of a church organization. This act of faith is for Jesus' sake and for the sake of the gospel, that sets people free from every bondage.

Please do not give because I said so or a televangelist thinks it is a working principle. Instead of being led by preconceived notions or what some book/preacher says about this topic, allow the Holy Spirit, The Teacher, to make this truth alive in your heart. Giving is one of the most purest things that a person does from the heart. Love gives. It is tragic that teachings have made this into impersonal formulas and principles. But also on the other side of the spectrum, it is equally tragic to throw the baby along with the bathwater, because some have manipulated this freeing message. 

BUT WHY?
The end goal is not to hoard, but to BE a blessing. Money is merely a tool that will help many people from their bondage. Contrary to popular knowledge, money does not corrupt anyone. Robert Kiyosaki says it the best on this matter, "Money does not corrupt you. Money only reveals to you who you really are. If you are greedy at the core, more money will make you greedier. If you are cheap, more money will only make you cheaper. If you are a crook, more money will only make you more of a crook. If you are generous, more money will only make you more generous."

When we renew our mind with the truth that we are grafted in Jesus, we bear fruit as a result of His life flowing through us. The branch does not strive to bear fruit. When we are grafted in Him, we will no longer need a scripture to "encourage" us to give. Giving comes out as a fruit, because it is no longer we who live, but Him. And giving is God’s nature, for God gave us His best, His Son Jesus.

IN CONCLUSION

As you may have noticed, this is not an article on “15 Steps to become a billionaire”. At the same time, this is not an "anti-wealth" message either. Jesus came so that we may have his life more abundantly. Poverty is one of the curses that Christ has redeemed us from. The scripture is not against prosperity in every area of one's life. In Jesus' words, this is the will of God - "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is no poverty in Heaven.

Authentic prosperity is the Life of Christ Jesus in us. And lack (in every area of one's life) must not be accepted where the King of kings resides. But the fruits of his abundant life in us will manifest only to the point we believe Jesus' finished work on the cross. This is about a complete surrender to Jesus - literally making Him the Lord over each and every area of our lives. It is about resting in Him, instead of trusting in our works, regardless of our sincerity.