Are Your Good Works Actually Working Against God’s Plan?

From Emperors to Popes and Friday Wrap Up 8-23-2024

Aug 23, 2024

But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”(Matthew 16:23).

Source- Dreamstime

From yesterday - “…unbeknownst to many church people, church leaders are helping to storyboard a future that will usher in this new cry for world domination all in the name of saving the earth.”

Doing Good Might Be Bad

In the world of “climate justice,” the Pope is leading the religious charge to save “brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth.” He has been calling for the billions of Catholics around the world to join with all people “of faith” to save the planet. This sounds like a pretty good goal. After all, we live on this planet.

In 2015 the Pope wrote that “…with God the Creator, with our brothers and sisters as members of a common family, and with all of God’s creatures within our common home. “Everything is related, and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth” Given in Rome at Saint Peter’s on 24 May, the Solemnity of Pentecost, in the year 2015, the third of my Pontificate.(source)

As we have been studying the history of the church and how denominations have developed, we took this week to clarify what our identity is in Christ, and what our purpose is in life so that we can keep on the right path. We know that at the foundation of God’s will for us is simply to “do good” in all we do and act as God’s ambassadors.

But sometimes we can have “good” sounding goals, when in reality we aren’t doing God’s will. In fact, we are actually working against Him.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples if they knew who he was? To this Peter replied, you are the Christ. Jesus commended Peter for recognizing who He was. And He told Peter that this was “the rock” - the foundation of truth - that the Church would be built on and the gates of hell wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

And then one paragraph later, we see Peter rebuking Jesus.

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord. This shall never happen to you (Matthew 16:21-22).

I will never let it be so

Jesus laid out the future plan to His disciples so that they would know what was going to happen ahead of time. They needed to work together for God’s goal of salvation But here we see Peter responding to Jesus that he wasn’t going to let that happen (as if Peter had that power).

I can imagine in Peter’s mind, he probably thought he was defending Jesus. “Don’t worry Jesus, I will save you!” We saw this same heroic reaction from Peter when Jesus was being arrested and Peter tried to stop that too.

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)(John 18:10).

Poor Peter, he just didn’t understand the spiritual significance of what was taking place. He only saw events through human eyes. In human terms, that would be the natural reaction if we were told that our beloved teacher was going to go into a town and they were going to try and kill him. Peter wasn’t going to just sit by and let that happen.

But what was Jesus response?

But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”(Matthew 16:23).

Instead of commending Peter, Jesus accused him of being his adversary and working against him. Peter couldn’t see how the death of Jesus was God’s will. How can Jesus’ death be good?

When we think about our planet and how we can “do good,” are we focused on the right goal? Are we seeing this world through human eyes like Peter? Or are we seeing it from God’s perspective?

Does God expect Christians to save the planet?

Have you ever read a book and found yourself binge reading so that you could get to the last page just to see how it ends? OK, who am I kidding. Maybe not a book; but a movie. After all, when was the last time you read a book, right?

In a gripping, action packed movie we sit spellbound as in scene after scene the plot becomes more and more hopeless. And just when everything seems absolutely impossible, the hero miraculously swoops in and saves the day; or in the boy-meets-girl story, it ends in a blissful future of happily ever after. Either way, the ending is good.

Innately, each of us seems wired to desire joyful outcomes. We crave happy endings. Somehow they give us hope…even when they’re fictional.

But not every story is that neat and tidy. And sometimes seemingly “bad” things take place for reasons we just can’t understand. In the story of our planet, like the gripping action movie, we already know the end.

Utterly empty and utterly plundered

“Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.”(Isaiah 24:1-23).

If we read and understand Scripture, we know that the end of the story for our earth isn’t in line with the Pope’s call to “save our mother earth.”

Just as Jesus told His disciples two thousand years ago what was about to take place so they could be ready for it, He has told us what is going to happen to earth for the same reason. He wants us to be prepared and live accordingly.

Most Churches today shy away from talking about the Wrath of God that is coming on earth. They don’t want to talk about the end of the world as we know it; it’s not a very “positive” message to most. And why would it be? When Jesus said the way to truth is narrow and few will find it, that means the majority of people won’t find it and the message isn’t a happy ending.

The popular path is the one that leads to destruction.

Perhaps that’s why the Pope thinks he is on the right path. After all, saving the planet doesn’t sound like the destructive road; it sounds like the road to salvation for humanity.

Is the Pope doing good and working with God’s plan? Or is he acting just as Peter did? As an adversary of God? We know that it is God’s plan that a day will come that the earth will face God’s wrath against sin. He has told us ahead of time. Are we reading the story wrong? Are we misunderstanding the signs?

“And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”(Matthew 16:1-3)

To be continued…

Today’s Question

Verses to Explore

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.(Philippians 3:18).
And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.(John 14:29).

Today’s Prayer

Father sometimes it’s confusing to know what is good. So many times I have tried to “help” in a situation and have only made it worse. In my heart, I only want to do good. But I know Lord that often times I forget to ask you what would be good in a situation; I just charge ahead and do what I think is best. I see myself in Peter a lot. I think that’s why I sympathize with him. Because I am him in that way. And so many of us are. We think we know what is best, when in truth, we have no clue.
And I also know Lord that sometimes people go through times of hardship when you are trying to get their attention, and we step in to “rescue” them because we don’t want to see people we love, suffer. But the suffering we may be stopping would have been the one thing that could have saved their soul or prevented some future problem - had we not stepped in.
As we humble ourselves today and contemplate how to take care of our world and do good Lord, I pray that you give us the wisdom and knowledge to do it in a way that works with your plan; not against it. Give us discernment. And then help us to listen to your instruction. Thank you Father that we can turn to you. You are always there. You always have our best interest at heart. We love you with all our hearts. All glory and honor are yours. Amen.❤️

(Source)