Commentary: A cup of cold water

Stop worrying about being good. Just believe in Christ sincerely and do the best you can to follow the leadership of God’s Holy Spirit.”

In Mark 9:41, Jesus said, “For whoever gives you a cup of cold water in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

We are to do good deeds as Christians. We should do them out of gratitude for all God has done for us. You may think that giving someone a mere cup of water is not serving the Lord very well, and it would not be except for adding “in the Lord’s name.” That is the important part and what makes this simple act a service to the Lord. This statement of Christ illustrates the importance of proclaiming His name. Otherwise, giving someone water would not be witnessing for and serving the Lord.

However, we need to realize that though we are to do good deeds in service to Christ, they have nothing to do with being saved or even being a Christian. We are clearly told by Christ Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

In other words, as good as it is to do good deeds, they will never get anyone into heaven. The Bible is clear on this, yet so many people are convinced that they must be “good” to see heaven when they die. This is obvious fallacy, because we know that there is not one “good” person on earth. Jesus made this clear in Mark 10:18. Christ was the only good person who has ever lived on the earth.

We have to wonder why this belief about being good is so prevalent in our society. Obviously Satan is behind it, and he has used ignorant preachers to teach it to many poor souls. That makes a good case for Seminary or at least for a good knowledge of Scripture. One of the best preachers I ever heard was a friend of mine who may not have even graduated high school. But he knew the Bible and loved God and people. That is what really counts.

The idea of having to be good is so prevalent that you even hear it in songs and everyday conversations with educated people. But it is one of Satan’s many lies and deceptions. With that said, let me emphasize again that God does expect the best behavior we can achieve. Poor behavior really hurts a Christian’s witness for Christ; whereas good deeds, in His name, not only display our faith and obedience, they bring glory to God. And that is the reason God created us, to give Him glory. Every Christian should strive to bring God glory through obedience to His Word.

So my advice to everyone is to first do the single most important thing that you can do on earth. And that is to repent and call on Christ for salvation. Then do all you can to grow spiritually in order to bring glory to God. Stop worrying about being good. Just believe in Christ sincerely and do the best you can to follow the leadership of God’s Holy Spirit.

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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.