I came upon a brief and somewhat curious story today. It appeared in an email from the Hollywood Prayer Network. Because I am not really up on who’s who in Hollywood, I was not really aware of the person being discussed, but some of you might be. The story went like this:
JUSTIN BALDONI ACCUSED OF “TOXIC POSITIVITY”
Actor and director Justin Baldoni, known for integrating his Bahá’í Faith into his work, has been accused by a former employee of fostering a workplace environment of “toxic positivity.” The employee described instances where Baldoni’s charitable actions felt insincere and expressed discomfort with the prominent presence of his faith in the workplace. Let’s pray that Justin will encounter Jesus in his good deeds, and devote his life to developing true eternal fruit. We want his generosity to come from faith in the One True God, and to be investing in heaven and not just here on earth.
The story then linked to an article on a secular website that spoke more about this. Just one quote is worth offering here:
A few other ex-employees also claimed that Baldoni promoted his Bahai faith at work, making some of them uncomfortable. However, not all former staff members shared this sentiment. Melissa Ames, Baldoni’s ex-personal and executive assistant, defended him, stating, “He is highly creative and in tune with his spiritual side. He has a heart for helping others. Working at Wayfarer was one of the best times of my life.” https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/justin-baldoni-accused-toxic-positivity-095409159.html
For those of you who follow all the latest Hollywood goss, it seems he is involved in an ongoing lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds. My only interest in this story is two-fold: the Bahai faith, and the notion of doing good works.
As to the first item, suffice it to say that it originated in Iran in the nineteenth century, and it basically promotes the notion of the oneness of God, the oneness of humanity, and the essential oneness of all religions. Obviously the Christian must disagree. As Jesus put it, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). I will have to pen a fuller piece on this at some future date.
But it is the second item that is worth dwelling on here. The Christian has a distinct view on what being good is all about. When it comes to the question of whether we can be good without God, the short answer is that because of God’s common grace, all folks can do some good things.
A more important question however is this: “ARE we in fact really good without God?” Scripture is clear on the answer to this. As Psalm 53:2-3 puts it:
God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
And Paul picks this up in Romans 3:9-18:
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
What then are we to think about good deeds done by those who do not know Christ? One thinks of others who can also do various good things, such as those who are quite wealthy, and contribute to various charitable causes. Trump and Musk for example come to mind here. But a few things need to be said about this:
-A person does not get right with God by simply doing charitable things. The sin problem has to be dealt with, and that is what Christ and the cross was all about.
-We are saved by grace through faith, not by good works.
-However, a person who is genuinely saved will show his faith by good works.
-Whatever good things a Baldoni or a Trump or a Musk do can be very helpful things indeed, especially to those on the receiving end.
-We need to pray for these sorts of folks that they do become Christians if they are not already there.
Ephesians 2:1-10 nicely summarise all this:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sinsin which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them.
A Christian's Pocket Guide to Good Works and Rewards: In this Life and the Next (Pocket Guides)by Jones, Mark (Author)
But we can look a bit further at the issue of good works and rewards, since they are discussed so often in the Bible. And a short book by Mark Jones on these matters is worth featuring. In A Christian’s Pocket Guide toGood Works and Rewards (Christian Focus, 2017) he says this early on:
God is not just a good God; he is goodness. He is infinitely good. All that he does is good, lest his goodness be called into question. What we do reflects who we are (Matt. 12:35)….
We aim to do good because we are children of a good God. We must not ‘grow weary of doing good’ Gal. 6:9). Our Lord understood, as the son of God, that he had an obligation to imitate his heavenly Father. Thus Christ went about doing good (Acts 10:38), even in the greatest suffering (Luke 23:34), leaving us a pattern and example (1 Pet. 2:20-21). God’s children are to reflect him in all of his moral attributes (holiness, goodness, wisdom, justice, truth, etc.).
If we refuse to do good or claim we cannot, we fail to properly understand God’s goodness to us in Christ, which includes sending the Spirit into our hearts to make us good. Our Christian witness is built on both our message and our deeds. Paul implores Titus: ‘Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works’ (Titus 2:7). Our light must shine before men (Matt. 5:16). (pp. 5-6)
A bit later he notes how the glory of Christ is an integral part of the believer’s good works: “The good works that Christians perform are always in the name of Christ: ‘And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’ (Col. 3:17). Our good works relate to his glory.” (p. 17)
He goes on to discuss this matter further:
As the bride of Christ obtains the blessings of his work on their behalf, he thereby receives glory. He sees the fruit of his labor. The more blessings Christ pours out from heaven as the resurrected king of glory, the more he gets glory. In fact, the more love Christ shows to the church, the more he shows to himself. For, the man who loves his wife, loves himself (Eph. 5:28). Thus, in his bride, Christ is glorified: ‘As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ’ (2 Cor. 8:23). ‘All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them (John 17:10).
Since God’s great end concerns the glory of his Son (Col. 1:16), he must be glorified in those for whom he died. He makes the church pure, beautiful, and holy. Spouses all desire (at least they should) to improve their spouse. But most of the time we fail, because we lack the power to do so. But Christ is not in such a position. He not only has the power to make us beautiful, but he remains willing to do so.
Our good works are done only because Christ lived and died to make them possible. Peter declares, ‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed’ (1 Peter 2:24). In other words, Christ died so we could and would do good works. His death will not be in vain. For God to reward our good works, then, expresses his pleasure with the work of his Son.
If we think about God rewarding our good works in terms of his honoring his Son’s work, perhaps we will be less nervous about this topic. It is wonderful to think of God honouring and rewarding his Son by rewarding us for our good works done in Christ’s name. This keeps us from being too anthropocentric about rewards and places a more Christ-centered focus on our approach to this important doctrine. Perhaps those who have spoken about good works have missed this particular focus on God honoring his Son through us. Whatever the case, failure to mention this point botches the explanation of the glory of this doctrine. (pp. 19-20)
That is the right way to get a handle on all this. Yes, we believers are to do good works, but at the end of the day the Christian will have to say it is all because of Him. They will know that any crowns they receive from God come judgment day will best be cast back at the feet of Jesus. He alone is worthy of such honours and rewards. As we read in Revelation 4:9-11:
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
But we can still thank God that we are co-workers with Christ (1 Corinthains 3:9-11).
