What Have You Done for God?

Bill Brinkworth

God never gives up on us. He gives us second, third, tenth, fiftieth chances, and more. He still forgives and forgets what we have done. He is so wonderful; so what are you doing for Him?

Many say that their prayers are for God. Much of our praying is for us, and not for God, nor for others. “Lord, gimme this”, or “gimme that,” is usually a prayer for only ourselves.

Some think their Bible-reading is for God. Reading can guide us in the direction He wants, but most of our reading is for us, and not for His plans. Too many are not reading it to “hear” from God, and allow His Spirit to sway and direct their hearts. For many, it is a drudgerous work and is not done for God.

Attending church, also, is usually for us. In too many cases, the reason for attendance is for fellowship, food, or for attaining interesting facts. Attendance should be to hear what God has laid on the pastor’s heart to speak to ours, or to learn how we can be of further use to Him.

Unfortunately, too many think the above deeds are “for God”. If the intent for doing them is not for the right reasons, they usually are not for God. So, what are you really doing for Him? (When I taught this to my class, at this point I sat down and said nothing for about 30-60 seconds. Everybody looked at each other, and I could hear them whisper to each other. Hopefully, they were evaluating if they were actually doing something for God. Then, I stood and continued.)

First of all, why do you want to do something for Him? Is it because you are trying to earn your way to heaven, and to “trick” Him into letting you in. There is no way anyone can earn their way to heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9). If that is your reason for doing something for God, then it is the wrong reason. If you are trying to serve him because you did something bad, and you are hoping that a good deed will cover up the sin and He will forget it, that also is the wrong reason. To many people, good deeds are done for the wrong reasons.

If you have been saved by trusting in what Jesus has done for you when He gave His life for your sins on the cross and just want to serve and please Him because He has done so much for you, then that is the right reason. Gratitude and love should be the motivation; not guilt or a “peace offering”. If you are not saved, or wanting to serve God for the wrong reasons, then you are wasting your time.

No one can do anything for God but the following three things:

The first thing we can do for God is to trust God by faith. Sounds simple, and it is, but too many add all kinds of baggage to their “faith”. Pure faith is what a little child follows when he obeys his parents. He believes it is cold outside, because mommy said so. He believes that eating broccoli is good for him, because mommy says so; even though he does not like it. If mommy says the sky is green, he will believe it because “Mommy said so.” That is the kind of faith our heavenly Father wants from us most of all.

I love to be around young Christians who have the attitude, “If you show me in the Bible what God wants me to do, I’ll do it!” That is the unwavering faith God wants us to have. “You show me or tell me, and I will do it for the rest of my life.”

For many, their faith starts out like the child I mentioned earlier. Soon, however, they think they are much smarter now. “Aw, mom, it’s not really that cold outside.” “There’s no way I’m eating that broccoli,” and “Are you nuts, mom? That’s not green. There’s something wrong with your eyes.” Their faith changed. It is the same mother, but some “educated” excuses have entered into the picture.

These same excuses enter into too many people’s faith. We hear them all the time: “I don’t see God, so I can’t believe in him,” although they did when they were younger. “I can’t believe that old book, it was written by some old men a long time ago.” “God can’t still preserve His Word for me today.” “Those rules were for then, this is now.” “I can’t believe that God can send anyone to hell.” On and on the educated excuses fly, and not one of those people will ever please God with their lack of faith.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him .” Hebrews 11:6

Obedience is the other thing we can do for God. All He wants is for us to obey what He tells us to do. That is what the scriptures are for; to show us what we are to do. When we read that lying is wrong, stop lying. When the preaching from the Word of God reminds us of our adultery, filthy language, or other sins, stop them.

“Well,” you defend, “that’s too simple.”

“It’s not too simple, if you’re not doing it.”

And do not let the “educated” excuses dirty up your obedience. “Tithe? Not me, I can’t afford it,” or “That’s not for today.” “Church? I have got to work on Sunday!” “Witness to others? That’s not my ‘gift’.” “Stop cussing? Well, all the men at work do it.” “Stop shacking up with this woman? I don’t believe in marriage.” On and on, those excuses can go. The truth of the matter is, not doing what the scriptures say to do is pure disobedience, and that person will not do what he is supposed to for God.

However, there are many through the ages that have done what God has told them. It was hard for them to tithe, go soul winning, attend church although they had a work schedule, and all the other things that so many excuse their way out of. The difference between them and the excuse-makers is that obedience to God was important to them, and they did obey what they were shown or told. When one is obedient, all the things that God wants them to do are done. Then they will give, teach, help others, pray, read their Bible, attend church, serve in a ministry and other things God wants them to do.
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20
“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19

The third thing we can do for God is to be loyal and faithful to Him. Denying our faith when in the world is not being loyal. Nor is it being loyal when we do not say something when God is mocked in our presence, or His principles are scoffed at. He is a faithful friend to us. We need to remain true and loyal to Him.

The “remaining true” to the Lord includes not letting other things separate us from Him. How do we feel when a person, whom we regard as a friend, turns on us when we are not around? It breaks our heart when we hear they are gossiping or ridiculing us when we are not around. God is always around, and He knows if we are being loyal.

What we can do for God is have 100% faith in Him, obey all He shows and tells us to do, and be a faithful, loyal friend to Him. He has done so much for us, how can we do anything less for Him!

Let me, again, ask you what are you doing for God? If you have to say, “Nothing!” or “What I thought I was doing for Him was for the wrong reasons,” hopefully, you desire to change that. If you are a child of God, then you should want to do something for your heavenly Father — for the right reasons!

“ The church is a workshop, not a dormitory; and every Christian man and woman is bound to help in the common cause. ” — MacLaren

This article was featured in The Bible View #249.