Non Christian person doing nice things Vs. a Christian who does nice things?

[Kyle16]

What is the difference between a nice person who is not a christian who helps people out Vs. a Christian who helps people out. I struggle with this thinking. Can we (Christians) do nice things for people with out mentioning a single thing about Christ?

 

[Armoured]

What is the difference between a nice person who is not a christian who helps people out Vs. a Christian who helps people out. I struggle with this thinking. Can we (Christians) do nice things for people with out mentioning a single thing about Christ?

I think if you're only doing nice things for people so they feel compelled to listen to you while you talk about Christ, you're doing it wrong.

Also, there's plenty of people who already know about Christ, and are quite happy with their relationship with Him. They tend to resent being preached at. Are you going to avoid doing nice things for them?

 

[Kiterius]

Non-Christians can do great good, however they cannot do what is godly. They can do nice things on a horizontal plane, but are incapable of truly serving on a vertical one.

 

[dannheim]

The nicest thing we can do for unbelievers is share with them the love of Christ. The main difference between Believers and unbelievers doing nice things is that believers do it for the glory of God and unbelievers do for the glory of themselves

 

[South Bound]

Non-Christians can do great good, however they cannot do what is godly. They can do nice things on a horizontal plane, but are incapable of truly serving on a vertical one.

Another way to say it is that when the unregenerate do good works it's externally motivated. When Christians do good works it's internally motivated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the new nature one receives upon regeneration (Eph 2:10).

 

[Wolfe]

Non-Christians can do great good, however they cannot do what is godly. They can do nice things on a horizontal plane, but are incapable of truly serving on a vertical one.

Odd way to say it, but I think(?) I agree with the sentiment.

 

[Wolfe]

I think if you're only doing nice things for people so they feel compelled to listen to you while you talk about Christ, you're doing it wrong.

Also, there's plenty of people who already know about Christ, and are quite happy with their relationship with Him. They tend to resent being preached at. Are you going to avoid doing nice things for them?

You should never avoid doing nice things.

However, even if the person you're helping is a Christian or not (how could you know?), you should still respectfully ask if they want to have a talk about Christ. Keep tracts in your pocket or somewhere, they can do a great deal of good.

Colossians 3:15-17

 

[Wolfe]

We "can" do things without mentioning Christ, but you should.
Colossians 3:15-17

And the best deed you can do is to spread the love of Christ.

 

[zoidar]

What is the difference between a nice person who is not a christian who helps people out Vs. a Christian who helps people out. I struggle with this thinking. Can we (Christians) do nice things for people with out mentioning a single thing about Christ?

I believe that Christ shines through in a Christian, which means you don't always have to mention that you are a Christian. It's always good though, to bless and pray for people you help. People rarely say no if you ask if you can pray for them.

 

[scottyp588]

The nicest thing we can do for unbelievers is share with them the love of Christ. The main difference between Believers and unbelievers doing nice things is that believers do it for the glory of God and unbelievers do for the glory of themselves

There is no evidence to support that, unless you are a christian, all your actions are selfish.

 

[grasping the after wind]

What is the difference between a nice person who is not a christian who helps people out Vs. a Christian who helps people out. I struggle with this thinking. Can we (Christians) do nice things for people with out mentioning a single thing about Christ?

The difference is that one is a Christian and the other is not. Doing nice things has not been patented by Christianity, anyone can do them. The one nice thing a Christian can do that a non Christian probably would not be able to do well is tell people about Christ and the joy one can experience just by being a Christian. Other than that nice things can be done with no mention of Christ at any time and in any place. I never feel compelled to mention that I am a christian every time I do something nice for someone. I sometimes do nice things because I remember as a Christian I am indebted myself and have been helped without qualification and so I extend myself when I would otherwise not have bothered . I do not do nice things as a recruitment tool but because of my basic belief system, I often do them in spite of any inclination to avoid doing them. I only speak of my Christianity if the occasion warrants it and the subject flows from the nature of the conversation I have with someone. At other times I do nice things without thinking about anything other than I want to help someone. I can't speak for non Christians but I think their experience may be similar with their basic belief system often causing them to do nice things they would not do if they had no moral compass at all and also doing nice things just because they felt compassion for others.

 

[lazurm]

The nicest thing we can do for unbelievers is share with them the love of Christ. The main difference between Believers and unbelievers doing nice things is that believers do it for the glory of God and unbelievers do for the glory of themselves

I think that you forgot to mention that there are nonbelievers who do good things because of love and/or because they feel that good things makes the world better for all, etc. It's also possible that the believer is doing good things for their salvation, which may be another way of saying that they are doing good things for themselves.

 

[J. Bleize]

What is the difference between a nice person who is not a christian who helps people out Vs. a Christian who helps people out. I struggle with this thinking. Can we (Christians) do nice things for people with out mentioning a single thing about Christ?

The difference, as I see it, would be that out of an unbeliever's perspective, doing "good" things is entirely optional. There is no objective standard of morality that necessitates doing good towards others, only subjective human opinion. Whereas a Christian is compelled by the objective law of God to do good to ALL people - enemies included, whereas unbelievers for the most part would far rather have their enemies punished.
Out of a Christian perspective, we also have a far better idea of what "good" means, since the teachings of Christ reveal this to us.
Unbelievers can be likened to an uninformed person preparing a gigantic feast for someone who has not eaten in months. Through "good" intentions they can do great harm. They will focus more on the physical, temporal well-being of others, whereas Christians would be more geared towards eventually touching on the deeper issues i.e. purpose in life, finding forgiveness, love, fulfilment etc.
Unbelievers can do amazingly good deeds to help others out, however, it is debatable whether or not they would do so in the way that Christians do. Christians do their good deeds in secret, not wanting to receive special attention or recognition (Christ commanded this way of doing good) What motivation would unbelievers have to behave the same way?
Furthermore, Christians do good towards humans not because they think humanity deserves it - they know it doesn't. We do good towards others despite knowing that they do not deserve it.
Unbelievers think that humanity is good, therefore they treat it with compassion.
In this case, the Christian demonstrates unconditional love and the unbeliever conditional love.
The unbelievers' love is based on the perceived "goodness" of humanity. The Christian's love is present despite the belief of man's fallibility and inherent evil.
To touch on the final issue, yes, it is most certainly possible to do good towards others without mentioning Christ. Introducing people to Him would be the ideal thing to do, though.

 

[AlexDTX]

What is the difference between a nice person who is not a christian who helps people out Vs. a Christian who helps people out. I struggle with this thinking. Can we (Christians) do nice things for people with out mentioning a single thing about Christ?

Doing nice things is a poor definition of being a Christian. Many people do nice things that do not know Christ. In fact, I believe that there are more people who do nice things that are not Christians because they are still trying to prove to themselves and others that they are good. Real Christians know that only God is good and tend to relax in the knowledge that they rest in Christ's goodness.

 

[lazurm]

The difference, as I see it, would be that out of an unbeliever's perspective, doing "good" things is entirely optional. There is no objective standard of morality that necessitates doing good towards others, only subjective human opinion. Whereas a Christian is compelled by the objective law of God to do good to ALL people - enemies included, whereas unbelievers for the most part would far rather have their enemies punished.
Out of a Christian perspective, we also have a far better idea of what "good" means, since the teachings of Christ reveal this to us.
Unbelievers can be likened to an uninformed person preparing a gigantic feast for someone who has not eaten in months. Through "good" intentions they can do great harm. They will focus more on the physical, temporal well-being of others, whereas Christians would be more geared towards eventually touching on the deeper issues i.e. purpose in life, finding forgiveness, love, fulfilment etc.
Unbelievers can do amazingly good deeds to help others out, however, it is debatable whether or not they would do so in the way that Christians do. Christians do their good deeds in secret, not wanting to receive special attention or recognition (Christ commanded this way of doing good) What motivation would unbelievers have to behave the same way?
Furthermore, Christians do good towards humans not because they think humanity deserves it - they know it doesn't. We do good towards others despite knowing that they do not deserve it.
Unbelievers think that humanity is good, therefore they treat it with compassion.
In this case, the Christian demonstrates unconditional love and the unbeliever conditional love.
The unbelievers' love is based on the perceived "goodness" of humanity. The Christian's love is present despite the belief of man's fallibility and inherent evil.
To touch on the final issue, yes, it is most certainly possible to do good towards others without mentioning Christ. Introducing people to Him would be the ideal thing to do, though.

There are numerous examples of punishment meted out by believers and, in the Bible, by God. In fact, hell is a punishment and that merely for not believing and more. So I don't think your first paragraph has merit.

Unbelievers generally have a clear understanding of what they believe is good; it's just not uniform among them. Believers have a uniform standard but it's not always clear in every individual case. In fact, as an example, the expression of doing unto others, etc. is flawed in that others may have different preferences then you do so doing unto them as you would like them to do unto you may itself have limitations. That needs an explanation (so therefore it's not 100% clear, etc.).

It's absurd to think that unbelievers don't deal with purpose in life, finding forgiveness, love, fulfillment etc.

Unconditional love is found among believers as well as unbelievers. The opposite is also true.

Unbelievers are well aware of the goodness of humans, of course, and also well aware of the evil and fallibility that humans are capable of. It merely takes some experience in life to see both sides very clearly. And despite that admonition that believers love all, I don't think that, in practice, that is as common as you seem to think.

 

[scottyp588]

The difference, as I see it, would be that out of an unbeliever's perspective, doing "good" things is entirely optional. There is no objective standard of morality that necessitates doing good towards others, only subjective human opinion. Whereas a Christian is compelled by the objective law of God to do good to ALL people - enemies included, whereas unbelievers for the most part would far rather have their enemies punished.
Out of a Christian perspective, we also have a far better idea of what "good" means, since the teachings of Christ reveal this to us.
Unbelievers can be likened to an uninformed person preparing a gigantic feast for someone who has not eaten in months. Through "good" intentions they can do great harm. They will focus more on the physical, temporal well-being of others, whereas Christians would be more geared towards eventually touching on the deeper issues i.e. purpose in life, finding forgiveness, love, fulfilment etc.
Unbelievers can do amazingly good deeds to help others out, however, it is debatable whether or not they would do so in the way that Christians do. Christians do their good deeds in secret, not wanting to receive special attention or recognition (Christ commanded this way of doing good) What motivation would unbelievers have to behave the same way?
Furthermore, Christians do good towards humans not because they think humanity deserves it - they know it doesn't. We do good towards others despite knowing that they do not deserve it.
Unbelievers think that humanity is good, therefore they treat it with compassion.
In this case, the Christian demonstrates unconditional love and the unbeliever conditional love.
The unbelievers' love is based on the perceived "goodness" of humanity. The Christian's love is present despite the belief of man's fallibility and inherent evil.
To touch on the final issue, yes, it is most certainly possible to do good towards others without mentioning Christ. Introducing people to Him would be the ideal thing to do, though.

Just because you are considered a christian doesn't mean that every good action you do is because of your belief. It also doesn't mean that every other christian thinks and acts like you do. Not everyone does good in secret, christian or not.

Objective morality is exactly that...objective.

You say that Christians don't want their enemies punished and unbelievers do. There are tons of stories in the bible about punishing your enemies. God plans on doing it to his enemies.

I just can't sit back and let you say, that because you have a specific belief system , your actions are more justified and good than someone who doesn't share your beliefs. Even if it is the exact same action.

 

[marineimaging]

Belief and salvation and good deeds or works..., all different things. We can't be saved by our works, lest any man should boast. Only Christ can save us. As for doing good works, the difference is the reward. A Christian who does good works just to be seen or considered good is no more than liar. A Christian who does good works to manifest his/her belief in Jesus Christ will receive jewels in their crown which they will lay at the feet of Christ. A non-Christian who does good works may as well capture the reward of feeling good about themselves then because it will get them nothing in the end. The same as a non-Christian who does no works. A non-Christian who does good works in hopes of appeasing Christ, and then later becomes a Christian will receive no reward for what was done before believing in Christ for the belief in Christ is the salvation gift from God. From that moment on the new believer will be winning jewels in their crown for Christ and I can assure you, will not care that the old self did not win jewels. If he/she did care and in some manner demand a just reward, then the acceptance of Christ was false. When you accept and receive Christ, you will know what I mean.

 

[scottyp588]

Belief and salvation and good deeds or works..., all different things. We can't be saved by our works, lest any man should boast. Only Christ can save us. As for doing good works, the difference is the reward. A Christian who does good works just to be seen or considered good is no more than liar. A Christian who does good works to manifest his/her belief in Jesus Christ will receive jewels in their crown which they will lay at the feet of Christ. A non-Christian who does good works may as well capture the reward of feeling good about themselves then because it will get them nothing in the end. The same as a non-Christian who does no works. A non-Christian who does good works in hopes of appeasing Christ, and then later becomes a Christian will receive no reward for what was done before believing in Christ for the belief in Christ is the salvation gift from God. From that moment on the new believer will be winning jewels in their crown for Christ and I can assure you, will not care that the old self did not win jewels. If he/she did care and in some manner demand a just reward, then the acceptance of Christ was false. When you accept and receive Christ, you will know what I mean.

In other words... Do good works so you can have the shiniest crown instead of doing good works because you enjoy helping others.

There is no difference between a christian and a non-christian doing good works. The good work gets done either way. The difference comes in if and/or how you think you will be rewarded.

The actions of good works supersedes the reward for doing them.

 

[Mark Noo]

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
If it is not done of faith than it is sin, even if someone else does get helped.

Matthew 7:17
Romans 14:23

Your a Child of Darkness or a Child of Light, there is no gray.

 

[scottyp588]

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
If it is not done of faith than it is sin, even if someone else does get helped.

Matthew 7:17
Romans 14:23

Your a Child of Darkness or a Child of Light, there is no gray.

Too bad we didn't evolve into trees...
Not everything is a sin though. Doing good works without faith doesn't inherently make it evil.