2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
In the New Testament, we don’t attempt to do good in order to win the promises of God. Instead, we do good because we already have God’s promises!
God’s promises are unconditional by the truth that while we were still sinners, Christ already laid Himself on the cross for us (Romans 5:8). These are promises of health, happiness, wholeness, prosperity, love, forgiveness, and salvation! Because of Jesus Christ, WE ALREADY HAVE ALL THESE PROMISES AND MORE. Jesus Christ, through the cross, fulfilled all the requirements of these promises and handed it freely to us in order to empower us to do the good deeds for His Kingdom; and not the other way around. People nowadays believe that we have to do good for His Kingdom first in order for the promises to come true in our lives. Let me ask you something, how do you think a company will make money if the company has invested nothing on its operations? For a company to make money, it should have tremendous capital to begin with. The same goes in the life of the people of God. In order for us to do the works of Christ, we need Jesus Christ in us! How can we do good if Jesus Christ is not in us?
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:33
This is the reason why God gave us our identities in Christ first; because without Him, we cannot do anything (John 15:5). How can empty people get Jesus Christ if they have to do good first before getting Him? It’s like telling people that they need to feed other people first before they will be given food. In order for us to do good, we need Jesus Christ first. Once we have Jesus Christ, all His promises are in effect; it is then we are empowered to do good.
* Image taken from Deviantart