There Is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Story

 

 

There is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Stoiy

Every day on her way to work, Edna passed the bakery where a man, whom she thought of as Mister Skin and Bones, sat on the ground near the door and breathed deeply each time the door opened, hoping that the delightful aroma would enter his lungs and provide some molecules of nutrition or if not, at least diminish his hunger pains.

She had wanted to help the starving man, but when she mentioned the need at her church, she was rebuffed with a sneer by the youth pastor, who said, “You should be ashamed even to think about such a so-called good deed. Giving that man something to eat would be a ‘good deed,’ which is prohibited by the church.”

“But why?" Edna asked plaintively. 

"Because helping him would contradict our theology that says people are saved by God's grace and not by any so-called good works." 

"But I’m afraid that man is going to die if I or someone doesn’t help him.”

“Are you trying to buy yourself into heaven my doing a bunch of ‘good works’?”

“No,” said the woman, her voice beginning to tremble. “I believe that God has saved me by his grace because I put my faith in Jesus.”

“Well, then, there you go,” said the youth pastor, brightening up and smiling with triumph. “Be careful not to slip into wanting to do a bunch of worthless good works.”

“But, what about—?”

“You don’t want to diminish the priceless, infinite sacrifice of Jesus, do you?”

“No, of course not. It’s just that there’s so much need.”

“Well, there are food pantries stocked by other churches where the indigent can go to get a warm cup of coffee and a bit of a sandwich. I myself donated an old blanket to one of those charities. And remember that Jesus told us that we would always have the poor with us, so don’t go out trying to cure them.”

After much soul searching and prayer, Edna decided to see if another church had a different view of giving help to the needy. She found a church whose statement of beliefs included, "We are saved by grace through faith and rewarded for the good deeds we do." 

Noticing that the new church supported its theology by quoting the Bible, Edna was impressed to begin a attending the services. She had finally found a place where Scripture made things clear. The passage that impressed  her most about this issue was in the book of Ephesians:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." --Ephesians 2:8-10

Knowing that we are saved by the gift of God and rewarded for--created for--doing good works made Edna's world make sense.

 "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."  --Matthew 10:42

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Questions

1. In your experience, do pastors and other teachers of the Word clearly distinguish between doing good works as a means of earning salvation and doing good works to help others?

2. Do you think that this distorted view of Scripture reduces the amount of good that the needy would otherwise receive?

3. Do you think that if you are good enough (or if your good deeds  outweigh your bad deeds) then you will be saved? If so, how did you conclude that?