Category: Blog

Mark 9:38-40
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.  For the one who is not against us is for us.

Prior to these verses, we saw the immaturity of the disciples in failing to cast out demons and arguing who was the greatest.  And now they possessed a sectarian spirit.

Today, there are some evangelicals who will go around discrediting all charismatics as though they belong to the devil. Some charismatics are merely doing great works in the mighty name of our Lord in casting out demons or prophesying for the good of Christendom. Yet they are discredited like as though they are preaching a false gospel or living in sin.

(Side note :  I say some charismatics and not all because I am also disgusted with pagan-like signs and wonders which may be demonic in nature. Such abuse should not be the reason to discredit all charismatics and all spiritual gifts.)

It seemed to me in the above Scriptural passage that the only qualm was those casting out demons were not a team with the apostles. That was all. Jesus our Lord had clearly said that these people who did mighty works in His name were not damaging His name and would surely not speak ill of Him.

(Side note :  Though I agree that the signs and wonders performed by the apostles were to substantiate their apostleship,  we saw from this Scriptural passage that others, not traveling with Jesus our Lord and the apostles, could also perform mighty works in His name which our Lord did not deny.)

On the contrary, I am wondering today if those, who harbor such critical sectarian spirit, are being influenced by the enemy instead to deprive God of the glory for such works. Matt 5:16.

We must have a good balanced stance. Like for the gift of prophecy, do not despise straightaway. Test all of them and hold fast what is good as exhorted by Scripture. 1 Thess 5:20-21.

Rom 4: 2-5
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

James 2: 21-23
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

On the cursory reading of these 2 passages, they seem to contradict each other. But if we delve further into the wider context of these 2 passages, we will soon realize that the Works mentioned are different. I will call the Works in Romans as Law-works while that in James as Faith-works.

In Romans, Paul was addressing the Jews who might still be trying to earn their salvation by law-works in keeping the Halakha, the Jewish Law, which includes 613 prohibitions so devised as to comply with the Mosaic Law, the Ten Commandments. But we read in Phil 3:4-6 that Paul could be blameless in keeping this Jewish Law like many Pharisees at that time and yet he persecuted the church. The Pharisees could keep the Jewish Law meticulously yet their hearts were not repentant – they were lovers of money, mean-spirited and self righteous. They could go through the physical circumcision meticulously but their hearts were not circumcised.

In James, James was not talking about keeping this Jewish Law but about Action or Faith-works which will prove that Faith is legitimate. He quoted 2 examples of legitimate faith in Abraham and Rahab. One was about to perform child sacrifice and the other committed treason – not good works exactly. But their action proved that they believed God and it was counted to them as righteousness.

Luke 21:1-4 NASB
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”

This passage clearly reminds us that our offering is only meaningful to God out of a genuine love for Him and not with any other selfish or covetous motive. In Matt 6:1-4, Jesus our Lord already told us that if our giving is to draw and gain recognition from others, our giving will not be acceptable to God. Jesus specifically said that the poor widow gave more than all of the rich that day. Obviously He was not referring literally to the physical absolute amount of money given. Jesus, in His omniscience, even knew the 2 copper coins were all she had to live on.

Jesus is watching intently on our motives for giving our offering today as well. Let’s be sure on this first fact that Jesus our Lord uses a different criterion to weigh our giving – on our hearts and on not our gifts – unlike the tangible criterion the world uses.

Similarly, Jesus weighs on our repentance and not on our works, or on the circumcision of our hearts and not physical circumcision pertaining to our response to the gospel.

What the poor widow put into the treasury was considered more than all the rich Jews put. So let’s be sure that it is not the physical amount Jesus weigh on but the right motive or attitude in giving. The poor widow gave out of poverty while the rich Jews gave out of surplus – contrasting extremes which our Lord always loved to use to illustrate His teachings. The only qualm I can see about the rich giving out of surplus in this incident is probably a nonchalant performance of duty and not an act of devotion, unlike the poor widow. Then consider this : how contemptible it will be if the rich actually give with a covetous heart that God will reward him or her with even more when he or she is already very well off !

Let’s look at the first fallacy.

Jesus would be wrong to commend that the poor widow gave more if this false teaching of the growth formula (growth of multiple fold to what one gives) is to be believed because the poor widow would gain the least among all who gave that day. The real motivation behind such call to sow miracle seed is to raise as much funds as possible for the church and this objective can only be achieved by stoking the greed in the members to give more in physical amount and be rewarded in kind by God. Pittance giving will be considered a nuisance to the fund raising exercise.

On the second fallacy, this false teaching promises deliverance from poverty for sacrificial giving to the church. If it is true, the poor widow should not remain poor all this while till Jesus saw her. If she was giving for the first time, it would be a first time jackpot hit and Jesus was not really omniscient to know. Definitely not the first time because she was a Jew and not young since she was a widow. And if she had been giving with such commendable attitude all this while, then why was she still poor ? Do you follow ?

When the rich gave, the gifts would not hurt them a bit for it would be a pittance of their surplus. But when the poor widow gave, she probably had to go hungry that day for that was all she had to live on. Hallelujah ! The poor widow was really wise to see that storing treasure in Heaven, and not on earth, would last. Her physical hunger was nothing compared to her hunger for God. That was an excellent act of devotion to God. Besides she had survived all this while on little showing she had no lack by the grace of God though she was poor.

Let’s emulate the poor widow in giving out of love for God instead of covetous motive.