John 13: 4-6 (NKJV)
“… rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded”.
This greatest example of Service in the Bible in John 13: 4-17 gives us the account of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, one by one, in the most awe-filled example of humility and service ever in History. In those days, the streets of Palestine were dirty and dusty therefore wives washed the feet of their husbands and children did the same for their parents. Most people washed their own feet, of course.

Jesus instructed them, in verses 14-17, to do likewise. He told them “no servant is greater than His Master” so they must “wash each other’s feet as He did for them, literally and symbolically. The Master said “if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (NKJV).

James, the half-brother of Jesus, who was later executed in Jerusalem, gave this warning in James 1:22-25 as he takes the instruction from our Lord into an even more practical application. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (vs. 23a, KJV). How does “doers of the word” relate to us in 21st century America? Is the majority the person in the mirror whom James takes about (vs. 23b) who comes to church on Sunday mornings, sings the loudest, shows off the biggest smile, then shakes hands and walks off until next Sunday? Jesus’ Disciple James described that person perfectly!!

Unfortunately, this also defines over 90% of evangelical churchgoers today! They sit next to you and me each week and warm the seats. Whenever there is a church function, they would be first in line for food and then even complain about the quality of “service”! They have never cleaned a church bathroom, vacuumed a floor, picked up the kitchen linen to launder or washed a dish. If they tithe even a fraction of 10% off gross income, the expectation is this entitles them to “maid service” and comfort – in A CHURCH!! Some of the same good folks, well meaning though they are, would donate money when asked to a homeless mission or home for women etc. However, they would never set foot in such a place to give breakfast to a street person, or lead a Bible study for the Lost.

The Bible warns us thus: FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD!! The Man in the Mirror (James 1:23b) is no longer there when the man moves from in front of the mirror! Is that the legacy the Evangelical Church wants to leave to our fellow man? Are we the Pharisee walking past the wounded Samaritan or hurting atheistic coworker who does not know Jesus, without a kind act or word? Does the World see Jesus in us, not only in talk, but in word and deed?

I have experienced both sides of this argument. As a former devout Catholic, before the Lord called me to His Truth, I thought going to mass and good works were the ticket to Heaven. In the 198o’s I heard about a Central American Catholic practice called “Liberation Theology”. Until the Pope and the governments stopped it, trained priests, who served Judas more than Jesus, thought it was okay to kill and steal from rich people to feed the poor! Then for a short period of my life I attended a Congregational Church in Hartford, Ct, which is part of the United Church of Christ. By the way, the “REV” Barry Lynn, a man dedicated to removing the Name of Jesus from everything American is listed as a minister of this denomination!

The cream of the society went to this country club Hartford, Ct. church and many like it. No Faith is proclaimed through the Preaching and Teaching of the Infallible Word of God, but only something called “Social Justice”. The only problem was this movement was and is more geared towards political activism than prayer, Repentance and Jesus!

Both extremes are wrong, wrong, wrong. Sitting in the best Bible teaching church on your hands and doing nothing to serve others and touch someone else for Christ is as unbiblical as the political doctrine of “social justice”.

Faith without Works? NOTHING!! Works without Faith? NOTHING!! So what is the right thing to do? Just follow the Scriptures! For a person’s work in the mission field to have an eternal impact, whether it is babysitting a needy single parent’s child or taking a meal to an old man down the street, it must be grounded in Christ alone! An unsaved person doing good works, or one who just thinks one is saved, is simply a volunteer. A Child of the Living God, who does the Will of the Father, is His servant! Are you a Child of God? Have you died to self, been born again, washed in the Blood of Christ, and made holy, sanctified, justified and rectified in His Sight? If the answer is NO, we have to talk!