Spare Change - August 2023
The Mark of a True Believer
What is the mark of a true believer? One of the marks is our eagerness to serve those in need. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 25 that He is very concerned about the outworking of our faith, especially in how we serve others. Jesus takes time in Matthew 24 and 25 to speak prophetically about the future. He gives straightforward teaching about the end times punctuated by parables. As He wraps up this speech, Jesus speaks about the final judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).
In this judgment, all people will be separated as one divides sheep and goats. The sheep in this section refer to believers, and the goats to unbelievers. The primary difference between these groups is whether they ministered to the Lord by serving others. Each group seems surprised that this is the criteria the Lord is using to separate His followers. They do not seem to understand at first that by helping others they were actually serving the Lord.
At first glance, one might think that Jesus is speaking about a works-based salvation, but as we consider the whole of scripture, we understand that salvation comes only by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10). Jesus is speaking about works in the same way that James does in James 2:18. Our works display our faith; they are products of true gospel transformation. In other words, a true follower of Jesus will desire to serve others because they are saved. They don’t desire to do it for an earthly or heavenly reward. The true believer’s heart is transformed, and the outworking is to look for opportunities to help others in hard circumstances. The pure motive of a believer does not desire a reward for good works; however, as Jesus says, they will receive a great reward -- the kingdom of God.
The goats seem equally surprised when they are told to depart and go forever into the eternal fires of hell. They are wondering, when did they see the Lord in these desperate circumstances? It is implied that they surely would have helped had they known. I am sure they were confused when it is clarified that by serving others, they would have been serving the Lord; however, they chose to ignore their fellow man. Their selfishness proved that they had no gospel transformation. They would have only done good deeds to receive the reward and not be punished. The goats were not repentant of their sin and most certainly were not redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
What both groups seemed to miss is that by serving others they are serving the Lord. It did not matter for the sheep because the gospel had changed the priority of their hearts to that of Jesus. What is Jesus's priority? He told us plainly in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and save the lost. Jesus's priority was people! It is so plain that He loved mankind, His whole mission revolved around helping others. He helped with their physical needs, all the while driving at their greatest need: salvation for their eternal souls. The same love was transferred to His followers through the gospel. True believers should have the same desire to help others. That is why Jesus can identify His followers very easily. The criteria is simple: Jesus’s followers show their love for Him by how they love others through service.
A believer should be a willing, zealous servant. They see the plight of others and seek to ease their suffering. If you notice, these acts of love in Matthew 25 are not extravagant; it is things like offering a drink, welcoming a stranger, visiting a sick person, clothing someone, etc. These are simple acts that don’t cost a lot of money; however, they do cost something that many of us deem more valuable than money – TIME! To accomplish these simple acts of service you must take the time to notice others, then take the time to serve them. In our modern, fast-paced, self-focused life, are we willing to give up our most precious commodity?
From this passage, a mark of a true believer is someone that serves others simply because they love Jesus. Is this you? Do you serve others? Do you take the time to notice others around you that are hurting? If not, and you call yourself a believer, you need to repent and ask God to help you have a love for Him that is displayed in serving others. Then, just look around! There are hurting people all around us. Let's commit to do the simple acts of service which show that we belong to Jesus.