Good deeds vs Sinning

[renniks]

So I'm trying to understand how doing good and sinning balance out in a believers life.

I'm a simple man, so let me keep it simple.

Let's say I do a good deed this week: I know an acquaintance has medical bills to pay so I go to a GoFundMe account and contribute $25.

The same week, however, I also fall for temptation and spend 25 minutes watching inappropriate content on the internet.

Which option applies to my situation:

A. The sinning cancels out my giving, so God still holds my sin against me. So I'm in negative territory in my good versus bad account.

B. The $25 given cancels out the 25 minutes of sinning, so I'm in the positive on my good versus bad account.

C. They cancel each other out, so I don't have any good deed merit but on the other hand, I don't have the sin on my account either.

D. Other ( Please explain.)

 

[Albion]

D. Other. Neither one cancels out the other.

Our salvation is a function of our Faith in Christ and in his sacrifice for sin. It is not negated every time we succumb to temptation and sin (as in the example you gave us).

As for the good that we do in life, our good deeds will be rewarded in heaven if we get there. Exactly what the rewards will be is not revealed at this time.

 

[Jesus is my Superhero]

This reminds me of the Pharisees and Jesus talking.

 

[renniks]

This reminds me of the Pharisees and Jesus talking.

But didn't Jesus tell them they should do good deeds?

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

 

[Lukaris]

The Lord tells us to do good & pray in Matthew 6:1-15. He knows we will sin & calls us to ask for forgiveness in His prayer. We work out our salvation with fear & trembling ( Philippians 2:12); we do this soberly & rationally.

 

[After God's Heart]

So I'm trying to understand how doing good and sinning balance out in a believers life.

I'm a simple man, so let me keep it simple.

Let's say I do a good deed this week: I know an acquaintance has medical bills to pay so I go to a GoFundMe account and contribute $25.

The same week, however, I also fall for temptation and spend 25 minutes watching inappropriate content on the internet.

Which option applies to my situation:

A. The sinning cancels out my giving, so God still holds my sin against me. So I'm in negative territory in my good versus bad account.

B. The $25 given cancels out the 25 minutes of sinning, so I'm in the positive on my good versus bad account.

C. They cancel each other out, so I don't have any good deed merit but on the other hand, I don't have the sin on my account either.

D. Other ( Please explain.)

D. You were condemned from the start, and none of your works will ever add up to anything that will settle your 'good vs bad' account. BUT, the good news is Christ justifies those of faith with HIS imputed righteousness to settle our score before God.


Romans 3:21-31
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.


James 2:14-26
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 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. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

 

[HTacianas]

So I'm trying to understand how doing good and sinning balance out in a believers life.

I'm a simple man, so let me keep it simple.

Let's say I do a good deed this week: I know an acquaintance has medical bills to pay so I go to a GoFundMe account and contribute $25.

The same week, however, I also fall for temptation and spend 25 minutes watching inappropriate content on the internet.

Which option applies to my situation:

A. The sinning cancels out my giving, so God still holds my sin against me. So I'm in negative territory in my good versus bad account.

B. The $25 given cancels out the 25 minutes of sinning, so I'm in the positive on my good versus bad account.

C. They cancel each other out, so I don't have any good deed merit but on the other hand, I don't have the sin on my account either.

D. Other ( Please explain.)

It's the other way around actually. Look at James:

Jas 2:18 ...Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

If you have a friend who needs help, you help them regardless, because it is your duty. And that is apart from anything you may have done. And it doesn't count for anything:

Luk 17:10 “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' ”

But if you do some thing you are not suppose to do, you turn from it. As the Church Fathers say, "with tears of repentance". And then, and only then, you actively look for something to do, not as repayment for what you did, but as a sign of your faith, i.e., demonstrate your faith by your works.

 

[prophecy_uk]

"Let's say I do a good deed this week: I know an acquaintance has medical bills to pay so I go to a GoFundMe account and contribute $25."


Answering before your question even goes on, to have treasure in Heaven took a lot more than your 25 dollar example, and the word is, to sell what you have and give it.


Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Luke 12:33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.


If you want reference, it is Mark 10:18-30, Luke 14:16-33, Acts 4:32-35, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 21:26, Hebrews 10:34, Philippians 3:8.



As for those confused what sinning is, and the purpose of the new covenant, it is the law written in the heart to keep them by the Holy Spirit, and sin is/was the transgression of the law..


1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (Read from 1 John 3:3-10.)

Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

 

[Blade]

The key is Yeshua/Jesus Christ and what He did. See we need Him 100% of the time. We can not do any good with out Him. The sin is never counted against you.. He ready died for the sin of the world. That sin can take us out of fellowship but it is not counted against you. Every lets say good thing you do for Him by Him through Him.. never ever gets taken away. We don't do good works to get some reward do we

That sin will always be a problem as long as we are still in the flesh. Bring this to Him.. He will say "thats why I died". We man always thinks we don't need anyone.. we can do it. Didn't work for the Jewish people huh Like I say.. anything with out Christ in it will always fail.

 

[prophecy_uk]

"That sin will always be a problem as long as we are still in the flesh"

Romans 8:9 BUT YE ARE NOT IN THE FLESH, BUT IN THE SPIRIT, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, THE BODY IS DEAD BECAUSE OF SIN; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but IF THROUGH THE SPIRIT DO MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY, YE SHALL LIVE.

Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

 

[renniks]

The key is Yeshua/Jesus Christ and what He did. See we need Him 100% of the time. We can not do any good with out Him. The sin is never counted against you.. He ready died for the sin of the world. That sin can take us out of fellowship but it is not counted against you. Every lets say good thing you do for Him by Him through Him.. never ever gets taken away. We don't do good works to get some reward do we

That sin will always be a problem as long as we are still in the flesh. Bring this to Him.. He will say "thats why I died". We man always thinks we don't need anyone.. we can do it. Didn't work for the Jewish people huh Like I say.. anything with out Christ in it will always fail.

Of course I know all this in my mind. But my heart doesn't seem to agree.
What I find is that no matter how much I tell myself it's all by grace and not work, I still don't feel that's true. I still feel better about myself if I do some good, no matter how small, and hate myself when I say something I should not or whatever sin it happens to be.
I seem to have an inbuilt score keeper who can not agree that God's grace is enough for such as me.

 

[prophecy_uk]

"when I say something I should not or whatever sin it happens to be."



Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That EVERY IDLE WORD THAT MEN SHALL SPEAK, THEY SHALL GIVE ACCOUNT THEREOF in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and BY THY WORDS THOU SHALT BE CONDEMNED.

James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, SLOW TO SPEAK, SLOW TO WRATH:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore LAY APART ALL FILTHINESS and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and BRIDLETH NOT HIS TONGUE, but DECEIVETH HIS OWN HEART, THUS MAN'S RELIGION IS VAIN.

James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. IF ANY MAN OFFEND NOT IN WORD, the same is a perfect man, and ABLE ALSO TO BRIDLE THE WHOLE BODY.

1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

 

[St_Worm2]

B. The $25 given cancels out the 25 minutes of sinning, so I'm in the positive on my good versus bad account.

Hello Renniks, Christianity never speaks of a need for us to work towards a "Yin/Yang" balance between good and evil to make ourselves right with God. In fact, if that's how things really worked, then the Incarnation and the Cross would never have happened .. but they did, because they are both necessary for us to be justified and saved by God

Also, salvation has nothing to do with "Karma". In fact, Christian salvation is the very antithesis of Karma's, "you reap what you sow", because God, by His mercy, doesn't give us (His children by adoption) what we have truly earned/what we deserve for our sins (which is death .. Romans 6:23). Rather, He (by His grace), gives us what we do NOT deserve/what we have NOT earned, eternal life .. e.g. John 5:24; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5.

"Grace" is God's UN-merited favor towards us, but that description of His saving grace is a bit of a misnomer, because the atonement for/forgiveness of our sins was paid for/merited for us by Another, by His death on the Cross/by His shed blood. This is the only "Yang" that is sufficient (good enough) to pay God back and atone for our "Yin" (the evil/sin that we do).

As the Bible tells us,

Romans 5
8 God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Hebrews 9
22 All things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
​

Salvation is ALL about Christ, IOW, it's all about what 'He' did for us, by living a perfectly righteous life before His Father on our behalf (the life that we needed to live before God, but did not), and then by dying on the Cross in our stead to pay the price for our sins. Salvation has nothing to do with us, IOW, with what 'we' do. Even the saving faith that we exercise to believe is, in fact, a gift from God .. Ephesians 2:8.

We know that we need to be both perfectly innocent and perfectly righteous to live in God's presence in the age to come, but none of us are (innocent or righteous).

Innocent means NEVER doing anything wrong (never sinning, from birth to death).
Righteous means ALWAYS doing what is right (always doing God's will, from birth to death).
​

Therefore, the Lord Jesus is our ONLY innocence (the ONLY atonement and satisfaction for our sins) and our ONLY righteousness. As the Bible also tells us,

2 Corinthians 5
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
​

God bless you!

--David

 

[renniks]

"when I say something I should not or whatever sin it happens to be."



Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That EVERY IDLE WORD THAT MEN SHALL SPEAK, THEY SHALL GIVE ACCOUNT THEREOF in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and BY THY WORDS THOU SHALT BE CONDEMNED.

James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, SLOW TO SPEAK, SLOW TO WRATH:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore LAY APART ALL FILTHINESS and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and BRIDLETH NOT HIS TONGUE, but DECEIVETH HIS OWN HEART, THUS MAN'S RELIGION IS VAIN.

James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. IF ANY MAN OFFEND NOT IN WORD, the same is a perfect man, and ABLE ALSO TO BRIDLE THE WHOLE BODY.

1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

So, are you saying theses verses mean we will be damned because of our sins even if we have been redeemed?

 

[anna ~ grace]

So… our good deeds in Christ should be done out of love, for Him, and for others. We should, out of love for Him, avoid sin and near occasions of sin; but when we do stumble and do evil, we should repent, express our sorrow to God, and firmly resolve to try not to sin again. We will stumble, but we must get up, too, and He will help us up when we ask Him.

 

[zoidar]

So I'm trying to understand how doing good and sinning balance out in a believers life.

I'm a simple man, so let me keep it simple.

Let's say I do a good deed this week: I know an acquaintance has medical bills to pay so I go to a GoFundMe account and contribute $25.

The same week, however, I also fall for temptation and spend 25 minutes watching inappropriate content on the internet.

Which option applies to my situation:

A. The sinning cancels out my giving, so God still holds my sin against me. So I'm in negative territory in my good versus bad account.

B. The $25 given cancels out the 25 minutes of sinning, so I'm in the positive on my good versus bad account.

C. They cancel each other out, so I don't have any good deed merit but on the other hand, I don't have the sin on my account either.

D. Other ( Please explain.)

You can't cancel out sin with good deeds. Sin is canceled out by forgiveness through the cross. We are supposed to do good deeds as Christians, that's the part of being servants of Christ, but not to earn forgiveness, but maybe that's not what you meant?

“Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
— Luke 17:7-10

 

[renniks]

You can't cancel out sin with good deeds. Sin is canceled out by forgiveness through the cross

So I can sin all I want to?

 

[Clare73]

D. Other. Neither one cancels out the other.

Our salvation is a function of our Faith in Christ and in his sacrifice for sin. It is not negated every time we succumb to temptation and sin (as in the example you gave us).

As for the good that we do in life, our good deeds will be rewarded in heaven if we get there. Exactly what the rewards will be is not revealed at this time.

D. Nothing you do will cancel your sin against God, nothing you do will earn merit with God.

You are condemned without faith in and trust on the person and atoning death (blood--Romans 3:25) of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sin and right standing with God's justice; i.e. "not guilty," righteous.

Good topic.

 

[Clare73]

Of course I know all this in my mind. But my heart doesn't seem to agree.
What I find is that no matter how much I tell myself it's all by grace and not work, I still don't feel that's true. I still feel better about myself if I do some good, no matter how small, and hate myself when I say something I should not or whatever sin it happens to be.
I seem to have an inbuilt score keeper who can not agree that God's grace is enough for such as me.

Because it's not "all not by works."
Salvation (from the wrath of God, Romans 5:9) and justification (righteous standing with God) are not by works, but growth in holiness through obedience in the Holy Spirit is by works of faithfulness to God.
And there is reward for the redeemed's work depending on its quality passing the test.

 

[Guojing]

So I'm trying to understand how doing good and sinning balance out in a believers life.

I'm a simple man, so let me keep it simple.

Let's say I do a good deed this week: I know an acquaintance has medical bills to pay so I go to a GoFundMe account and contribute $25.

The same week, however, I also fall for temptation and spend 25 minutes watching inappropriate content on the internet.

Which option applies to my situation:

A. The sinning cancels out my giving, so God still holds my sin against me. So I'm in negative territory in my good versus bad account.

B. The $25 given cancels out the 25 minutes of sinning, so I'm in the positive on my good versus bad account.

C. They cancel each other out, so I don't have any good deed merit but on the other hand, I don't have the sin on my account either.

D. Other ( Please explain.)

Under gospel of grace, God no longer deals with us according to the Law (Romans 6:14, 1 Timothy 1:9-10)