Should or should we not let our good works be seen?

Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12 and Matthew 6:1-4; Matthew 23:3,5

Show good works:

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

"Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12).

Don't show good works:

"Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say to you, They have their reward. But when you do alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does: That your alms may be in secret: and your Father which sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly" (Matthew 6:1-4).

"All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not after their works: for they say, and do not do. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments" (Matthew 23:3,5).

the second part of
"DONT SHOW GOOD WORKS"
Refers to Hypocrisy.
The scriptures you quoted already explains itself,i dont know why you cant see it.

sportsmaster:


the second part of
"DONT SHOW GOOD WORKS"
Refers to Hypocrisy.
The scriptures you quoted already explains itself,i dont know why you cant see it.

So are you saying we should or should not show our good works?

OLAADEGBU:

So are you saying we should or should not show our good works?

the answer is within the scriptures you quoted. The christian should let his light shine before all men. Matt5:16.
Dont be an Hypocrite

show your good works, just do not do it for fame, or or to gain wordly praise or for entry into peoples pockets, but do it to let God's name be exalted.

Don't show your good works, they will always show themselves.

The point here is not literarily showing or not showing. It boils down to purpose. Why are you doing the works? To please God or men?
Eventually even hidden work gets revealed no matter how hard you try to hide it, however, avoid "showing off" to get praise from men.

Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: - Ephesians 6:6-7

NumberOne3:
The point here is not literarily showing or not showing. It boils down to purpose. Why are you doing the works? To please God or men?
Eventually even hidden work gets revealed no matter how hard you try to hide it, however, avoid "showing off" to get praise from men.

Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: - Ephesians 6:6-7

You be CORRECT GUY

sportsmaster:


the answer is within the scriptures you quoted.
The christian should let his light shine before all men.
Matt5:16.

Dont be an Hypocrite

I quoted scriptures both for or against. Be specific about your answer.

Heavenly102:


show your good works, just do not do it for fame, or or to gain wordly praise or for entry into peoples pockets, but do it to let God's name be exalted.

How do you do that?

5solas:


Don't show your good works, they will always show themselves.

Brilliant answer! Way to go!

NumberOne3:


The point here is not literarily showing or not showing. It boils down to purpose. Why are you doing the works? To please God or men?
Eventually even hidden work gets revealed no matter how hard you try to hide it, however, avoid "showing off" to get praise from men.

Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: - Ephesians 6:6-7

Well said.

OLAADEGBU:

I quoted scriptures both for or against. Be specific about your answer.

Numberone3 already answered the question.

sportsmaster:


Numberone3 already answered the question.

And you seconded it, yes?

nothing wrong with letting our good works be seen
as it is written
" let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
if you take this literary, you see there is a distinction between the works and the light
in order words, it can be interpreted as saying
draw attention to your good works so that folks will see it and bless God

But then what about the other verse that seems to suggest we hide our good works
Well, there are a number of explanations I can give, but I'll give only this one.
an excerpt from the verse shows this:
"......that they may have glory of men."

So we see that this is an admonition to those who are yet to emerge from self
those who are yet to understand their oneness with God, those who are separate from God

Remember what was said about Christ
that he went about doing good.
he sure wasn't trying too hard to hide it.

esere826:


nothing wrong with letting our good works be seen
as it is written
" let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
if you take this literary, you see there is a distinction between the works and the light
in order words, it can be interpreted as saying
draw attention to your good works so that folks will see it and bless God

But then what about the other verse that seems to suggest we hide our good works
Well, there are a number of explanations I can give, but I'll give only this one.
an excerpt from the verse shows this:
"......that they may have glory of men."

So we see that this is an admonition to those who are yet to emerge from self
those who are yet to understand their oneness with God, those who are separate from God

Remember what was said about Christ
that he went about doing good.
he sure wasn't trying too hard to hide it.

So, what you are saying is that we should show our good works, right?

this is a command to every child of God ,so if you love God keep His commandment

OLAADEGBU:


So, what you are saying is that we should show our good works, right?

Strategy wise ...yes
humility or discretion wise -no

It depends on which is the overriding factor at that point

for example, if i pick up a man on the streets and help him to his feet economically
,....it makes no sense for me to announce it. What gain do I have for this even from men?
however, if i want to encourage others to do the same, i definitely will use that experience as an example
also, if like Rochas Okoracha, I want to run for presidency, I would be happy to draw peoples attention to my act of kindness so that they vote for me.

I guess at the end of the day, the question would be if I would help that man if I have nothing temporal to gain from it
if the answer is yes,
then it doesn't really matter whether I do my good deed in secret (without gain) or in the open (for additional strategic gains)
in essence, the overiding purpose was not that I have the glory of men, and probably neither that of God

We could change the topic to trying to identify the blessings from both types of acts
and then ask if God would go ahead and bless me after doing this act from the mindset i have espoused
and I would probably answer that
"your Father which sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly"
he has seen your secret mindset and has rewarded you openly.
Hence your ability, determination and capability to even lift that guy up economically in the first place

churchkilo:


this is a command to every child of God ,so if you love God keep His commandment

What is the commandment, to show our good works or not?

Work is Action, you cannot hide it. Showing kindness by almsgiving is interaction, you cannot be provocative about it. All these are rules to make us sane.

esere826:


Strategy wise ...yes
humility or discretion wise -no

It depends on which is the overriding factor at that point

for example, if i pick up a man on the streets and help him to his feet economically
,....it makes no sense for me to announce it. What gain do I have for this even from men?
however, if i want to encourage others to do the same, i definitely will use that experience as an example
also, if like Rochas Okoracha, I want to run for presidency, I would be happy to draw peoples attention to my act of kindness so that they vote for me.

You have answered well. Those who show their good works in this case have received their rewards, temporarily.

esere826:


I guess at the end of the day, the question would be if I would help that man if I have nothing temporal to gain from it
if the answer is yes,
then it doesn't really matter whether I do my good deed in secret (without gain) or in the open (for additional strategic gains)
in essence, the overiding purpose was not that I have the glory of men, and probably neither that of God

I believe we should seek to be rewarded by God which has a lasting result.

esere826:


We could change the topic to trying to identify the blessings from both types of acts
and then ask if God would go ahead and bless me after doing this act from the mindset i have espoused
and I would probably answer that
"your Father which sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly"
he has seen your secret mindset and has rewarded you openly.
Hence your ability, determination and capability to even lift that guy up economically in the first place

There are two types of rewards, from men and from God. Which one do you think we should be aiming for?

OLAADEGBU:

There are two types of rewards, from men and from God. Which one do you think we should be aiming for?

I think we should first try to be nice. reward or no reward
for example get up for that old lady to sit even if God no bless you

I then think that the next step is to look out for the rewards for our niceness.
Its like a girl marrying a guy because she loves him. But the extra is that the guy dey spend sha

I think that if you have waited too long for God's reward for your niceness and u neva get am, then try mans own
afterall, Jesus did not condemn it.

I think that you can further jig it to have 50/50 potential reward distribution from God and man.
Any one that comes first would be gratefully received.

esere826:


I think we should first try to be nice. reward or no reward
for example get up for that old lady to sit even if God no bless you

In other words, it is good to be good.

esere826:


I then think that the next step is to look out for the rewards for our niceness.
Its like a girl marrying a guy because she loves him. But the extra is that the guy dey spend sha

If the guy no spend would love still kontiniu?

esere826:


I think that if you have waited too long for God's reward for your niceness and u neva get am, then try mans own
afterall, Jesus did not condemn it.

Are you sure Jesus in Matthew 6:1-4 did not condemn it?

esere826:


I think that you can further jig it to have 50/50 potential reward distribution from God and man.
Any one that comes first would be gratefully received.

Remember the double minded man that James spoke about.

OLAADEGBU:


If the guy no spend would love still kontiniu?

As long as the money was only an extra, and not the main thing the love was built on. yep she'll still love him

Are you sure Jesus in Matthew 6:1-4 did not condemn it? :-

Nope, he didn't. He only said "Beware". Just like saying "beware of dog". This is not condemning the dog or the person that might be bitten by the dog

Remember the double minded man that James spoke about.

Nope, he's not double minded.
He's like Abraham the father of faith who believed God for a heir, but still had a son from his maid
lest the story have been told that Abraham been try, then he doubted God at the last minute and ended up with no children at all
..it is said to be innocent as doves and shrewd as serpents

esere826:


As long as the money was only an extra, and not the main thing the love was built on. yep she'll still love him

So the money was only perquisites? That must be the love of God.

esere826:


Nope, he didn't. He only said "Beware". Just like saying "beware of dog". This is not condemning the dog or the person that might be bitten by the dog

Can I still play with the dog, who can play with fire and not be burnt?

esere826:


Nope, he's not double minded.
He's like Abraham the father of faith who believed God for a heir, but still had a son from his maid
lest the story have been told that Abraham been try, then he doubted God at the last minute and ended up with no children at all
..it is said to be innocent as doves and shrewd as serpents

Have you forgotten that the world is still suffering from Abraham's decision to go into his maid today?

In conformance to the tradition set by the woman who insisted that dogs eat crumbs from the master's table after Jesus tried to pull a fast one on her by throwing an anecdote of dogs and children at her
..i'll go on

OLAADEGBU:

Can I still play with the dog, who can play with fire and not be burnt?

U sure can play with the dog especially if you're a dog trainer
you can also play with fire and not get burnt if you a weary and play safely

Have you forgotten that the world is still suffering from Abraham's decision to go into his maid today?

that's the point of view of us christians, ..I doubt if the Jews even think that way
the other side (non-christians) don't percieve it that way either
And guess what, the last time I heard about father Abraham,
he was chilling in a cool place visible from hades after what he caused on earth, he was even giving a topographic lecture to the rich man -talk about reward
can we then surmise by saying that those who try hard to keep to the letter do a lot of moaning, while those who don't bother seem to be having their cake and eating it

esere826:


In conformance to the tradition set by the woman who insisted that dogs eat crumbs from the master's table after Jesus tried to pull a fast one on her by throwing an anecdote of dogs and children at her
..i'll go on

U sure can play with the dog especially if you're a dog trainer
you can also play with fire and not get burnt if you a weary and play safely

You are playing with fire my friend!

"Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned"? (Proverbs 6:28).

esere826:


that's the point of view of us christians, ..I doubt if the Jews even think that way
the other side (non-christians) don't percieve it that way either
And guess what, the last time I heard about father Abraham,
he was chilling in a cool place visible from hades after what he caused on earth, he was even giving a topographic lecture to the rich man -talk about reward
can we then surmise by saying that those who try hard to keep to the letter do a lot of moaning, while those who don't bother seem to be having their cake and eating it

Remember that father Abraham repented and made his way right before the God. (Genesis 17:1).

OLAADEGBU:


You are playing with fire my friend!

"Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned"? (Proverbs 6:28).

A question was asked. And the answer is simple. yep, you can..if you put on protective shoes.
ask anyone who is not familiar with the bible. you'll hear their reply

Have you noticed some interesting aspects of the bible about counter arguments,
for example,....
-Jesus countering Satan with same Bible that Satan quoted
-Jesus countering those who squeezed their faces when he was about to heal the paralytic
-the Caananite woman countering Jesus submissions about her legitimacy to partake of healing
-Jesus countering those that reasoned that a man was born blind because of sin. Jesus simply twisted the argument in order to bring about results

this is what I believe >>
that the letter follows the Spirit, and not the other way round
If I'm lead to think or act in a certain way, I can always find scriptural and logical arguments to push my case
However, if someone first seeks the letter to support his pursuit
he would be like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed about
Especially when we've got a bible that we've got thousands of people interpreting differently

Remember that father Abraham repented and made his way right before the God. (Genesis 17:1).

Repent koh, repent ni. that's what they thought me in sunday school. (I suspect say u be my sunday school teacher sef)
no ways,... he was still arguing with God in that verse and even helping God with suggestions for his successor
that was father Abraham for you

esere826:


A question was asked. And the answer is simple. yep, you can..if you put on protective shoes.
ask anyone who is not familiar with the bible. you'll hear their reply

Have you noticed some interesting aspects of the bible about counter arguments,
for example,....
-Jesus countering Satan with same Bible that Satan quoted
-Jesus countering those who squeezed their faces when he was about to heal the paralytic
-the Caananite woman countering Jesus submissions about her legitimacy to partake of healing
-Jesus countering those that reasoned that a man was born blind because of sin. Jesus simply twisted the argument in order to bring about results

this is what I believe >>
that the letter follows the Spirit, and not the other way round
If I'm lead to think or act in a certain way, I can always find scriptural and logical arguments to push my case
However, if someone first seeks the letter to support his pursuit
he would be like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed about
Especially when we've got a bible that we've got thousands of people interpreting differently

We don't need to complicate things for ourselves. The scripture specifically said 'feet' we do not need to add protective shoes to it. When we stick to God's word without adding to it the way Eve added to it when she said God said they should not touch the forbidden fruit, we would not fall into Satan's trap.

esere826:


Repent koh, repent ni. that's what they thought me in sunday school. (I suspect say u be my sunday school teacher sef)
no ways,... he was still arguing with God in that verse and even helping God with suggestions for his successor
that was father Abraham for you

When did Genesis 17:1 happen, was it before or after Abraham 'helped' himself?