Many Christians seem to be living the 'good life' in Christ, with many riches and all they desire. Some are living a modest life and yet are happy and content as well. Others sincerely ask 'How do I know if I am living the Christian life as God wants me to?” I know we are to do good works, but how do I know if I am doing good things and following my Lord's instructions to honor and glorify God? These are great questions that can sift out the 'tares' in your life and lead you to the answers that are vital to the life in Christ you desire! You can know the joy of the Lord and have the security in Christ you seek. God has given us all we need to know so we can live a life that will glorify and honor Him in His Word. He also tells us how not to live.
In Acts chapter 19 we find a great example of good works and the consequence of doing them for personal gain. It all begins with the description of a group of people Paul describes as vagabonds. A vagabond signifies a wanderer, a person with no permanent home or job. Vagabonds in the days of the early church, as in today, go about getting their food and other necessities in any way they can. Usually they provide for themselves by working a temporary job or providing a service; whether by honest means or by conning another into thinking they need something done. A beggar, on the other hand, survives on handouts. In this chapter, these particular Jews patterned their current efforts after Paul's in Acts 19:12 “ ...and the evil spirits went out of them,” deciding they too could “call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.” (Acts 19:13), and in doing so make some good money as there were plenty of evil spirits to cast out. They said the right things, and seemed to have a great deal of confidence which one usually experiences with authenticity, but reading on we find that they were definitely not members of God's family!
The seven sons of Sceva, who was a chief of priests, decided they could be copy-cat Christians with all the power given to Paul by God's holy spirit, too. After all, they were (vs.14) the sons on a chief priest, right? I don't know if they were wanting to make a few extra bucks in true vagabond spirit or if they were simply out for the gain of notoriety as pious and powerful sons of the chief priest, but they definitely did not have the holy spirit within them. The evil spirit knew the truth, as Satan does, and gave all seven brothers such a beating that they ran for their lives, naked! Satan did not want to give them the laud and honor they sought as they were sons of the chief priest who was appointed by God.
Pretending to be an authentic follower of Christ will never have a good outcome. Through prayer, fasting, and study, God will lead you into the way He wants you to live as a child of His! But, those copy-cats who are just in it for themselves, pretending to have such an admiral relationship with Him but only desire their own praise, well being, and easy living will have a devastating surprise. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:22 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in they name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?” He makes it clear in vs. 24 what He will say to them. “And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” What a terrifying thing to hear from the Lord of creation! The iniquity here is using the name of the Lord for personal gain, to receive personal honor among men, riches, etc. and not for the glory and honor of God. Jesus tells us clearly in Matthew 5:16 that when we do good works we should do it in such a way that other people will glorify our Father which is in heaven, not our own self.
Paul stresses that whatever we do, to do it to the glory of God, 1 Corinthians 10:32. Again, not to receive the praise and honor ourselves. Only then can the work of the Lord, our job as Christians, grow mightily. Acts 19:20 “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
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