God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

Introduction

Whenever Lindsey and I were young and children at FBC Ozark, we used to go to Windermere each summer for children’s camp. Some of my best memories of those years are from that camp and various activities that we did there. From taking shelter from a tornado inside the windermere cave to playing Romans and Christians late at night to having great food and fun games, these days stick with me years later. One of the most fun things about Windermere is that it is located right on Lake of the Ozarks and there are several different water activities available to campers. One afternoon each year at camp we’d have several hours to go out and play on the inflatables they have in the cove of the lake. These inflatables were lots of fun as you could bounce on a trampoline and jump into the lake, run from one platform to another across a small walkway, climb a huge inflatable iceberg, and slide down some tall slides. One of the hardest things about being in a lake, as a kid, with a life jacket on was getting up onto the inflatable itself. There were some kids who simply couldn’t do this on their own and they required help from others. After 30-40 minutes, though, it became a little frustrating to always have to help the same kids out in getting on the inflatables. What began to happen? These kids stopped receiving a lot of help. “Do it yourself” several kids shouted. Eventually some kids would be able to to figure it out, but still others were in a heap of trouble. Try as they might, they couldn’t get to the top.

We’ve all been in this type of situation a time or two before. We know where we need to go, but for some reason we’re just having trouble getting there and we need some help. Thankfully, there were some nice kids who’d wait for the weaker kids to get semi up the inflatable and then they’d offer some assistance. Like, if they’d put in 50% of the effort, then they’d receive some help. Work really hard and try your best, and then get where you need to go and get the help from another person.

Did you know that there are people in the Bible who felt a similar way regarding salvation? We read of these people occasionally as they are called the Judaizers. Paul addresses them in Galatians and they believed that true Christianity is made up of grace plus works - grace plus keeping the dietary and ceremonial law. This was the temptation facing many Christians in the book of Hebrews as well! Sure, these people would say, we need grace and we receive grace thanks to what Jesus did on the cross - but grace isn’t enough. We have to do all of these works too in order to gain the approval of God and check every possible box we can. How does Paul address this practice in Galatians? We read this

Galatians 3:10–11 CSB

10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed. 11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.

All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse… One is justified before God not through the law, but through faith. It’s all through grace - not through works. Not through grace + works either. Yet, there are some who are tempted to believe like the Judaizers in Paul’s day and like the older brother in Jesus’ parable in Luke 15. There are some who think that their works help them earn God’s favor and, perhaps, even earn their own salvation. Satan loves this idea and he crafts a very appealing lie to help humans love the idea too. The lie is simple: God helps those who help themselves. Did you know that, per Barna research, 82% of Americans think that this lie is actually a Bible verse? Sure, this statistic includes non-Christians who post this lie on their social media pages, but there are many, many, many Christians who feel as though this lie is actually true.

Where does this statement go wrong? What is so bad about this statement? How can we offer a more Biblical statement in return? These are the questions that we will dig into tonight as we study our 8th and final false fruit from the evil one.

Before we answer these questions, let’s look briefly at Galatians 1:6-12

Galatians 1:6–12 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him! 10 For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

In these verses, Paul shares clearly that there is only 1 Gospel message of Jesus Christ. There are not multiple messages and we have to be sure that we are following, preaching, and obeying the right one and that Gospel message is as clear as day in 1 Cor 15:3-4

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 CSB

3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

This is the Gospel. How does it impact our lives? Christ died for our sins. We were powerless as sinners, yet Jesus died in our place and rose from the dead. This is the good news - this news changes lives.

The Danger Behind God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

As humans beings it is natural to love receiving credit for things. We like getting the pat on the back and it often provides a warm, fuzzy feeling in our hearts whenever we can say that we deserve ______ based on our hard work. This is what our world says often: Treat yourself! You’ve earned this because you’ve done such a great job and you’re such a great person! You’re so special. Good for you.

In this world, it makes sense to focus a whole lot on our works and on all the cool things we’ve done. Sadly, that mentality can carry over into Christianity too. Think about the danger of bragging about our works as a Christian. Who does that sound an awfully lot like? The Pharisees in Jesus’ day. We sound like the older brother in Luke 15. We sound like someone who has earned our way based on all the good stuff that we’ve done and that, because of our hard work, we deserve God’s blessing and credit. I’ve done my part! Come on God, do yours!

Think about these Judaizers for a moment. What was their problem? Did they reject Jesus? No. Did they reject the grace that He gives? Not entirely, they know that grace plays a part. What was their problem? Pride. They want some credit too. To quote Jared Wilson, “Legalism pets our pride so smoothly.” It scratches our itch to be rewarded and to have that pat on the back. Yet, for these people, they didn’t really understand the impact of God’s grace. They thought they still had to work for their salvation even after Jesus died for their sins. This borders on insanity - but if we’re being honest, we’ve all done the same thing. We enjoy thinking that we deserve something from God. Like we bring something to the table. That we’ve contributed something amazing like our world says that we do.

As Jonathan Edwards put it several hundred years ago, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Wait, so it’s not half me and half God? It’s not I climb up the ladder 4 steps and then God pulls me the rest of the way? It’s not works based? Not at all. In fact, our works made it necessary for Christ’s singular work on the cross. That’s what our works made necessary.

Still, there are Christians who think that if they work hard enough, God owes them what they want. If I work in my field hard enough, God helps those who help themselves and He will provide exactly what I need. Can God provide like that? Absolutely - He’s God! But He’s not obligated to do what we say. God doesn’t have to answer our requests as we’d like. He is the sovereign King and He knows best. We don’t save ourselves - He saves us.

The danger in thinking that contribute something to our salvation or that we take a couple steps and then God does the rest are profound! It is a different Gospel altogether because the Gospel of Christ is that He did what we couldn’t do! 2 Cor 5:21

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This means that there is no room to boast in our works. Paul speaks to this in Romans 3 as he shares this

Romans 3:27 CSB

27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith.

So we can’t boast in our works of righteousness because we are saved by faith in Christ and the only righteousness we have is from Him! It’s not ourselves. We have no room to boast - yet there is a prideful temptation to do so.

Think of the best person that you know. That person is a sinner. That person’s sin separates them from God and there is nothing they can do to save themselves. They can’t work hard enough to get to the point that God will just “do the rest.” Either He does it all, or we’re dead in sins!

Still some fight this. Muslims fight this. Christians fight this. The Jews fight this. Mormons fight this. Have you ever had a conversation with a Mormon? They are genuinely solid people. They do lots of nice things and it’s virtually impossible to find dirt on them because they work really hard at being good. Do you know why? Because their religion demands it.

We talked about the Mormon “gospel” last week in Luke 15 as the Book of Mormon says this, “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” The Book of Mormon also says this, “Love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you.” Do you see the problem with Mormon theology? It is 100% man-centered. It’s all about you doing your good works first, and if you do enough good things, then His grace kicks in and picks up the rest. Friends, that’s not how it works according to the Bible! The solution isn’t to do good things because if we have to earn our way, we have to be perfect. Ask a Mormon if they’ve done enough good works and there is no way of knowing the answer to that question. How are you good enough? You’re either dressed in your righteousness or His and only one of those options is “good enough” and it’s not ours.

This idea of our works saving us or at least playing a role in that process is extremely popular because it plays on our pride and makes us feel good about ourselves. Yet, it leaves us lost, bankrupt, and confused. What statement is Biblical and true?

The Truth: God Helps Those Who Cannot Help Themselves

Throughout the Bible we are reminded that we cannot save ourselves and it is only whenever we come to understand that reality that we are then ready for saving. If you think that you can save yourself or that you take the first 3-4 steps, then you’re really not understanding the cross and the gift of salvation. Whenever we focus on Christ and the cross, as we studied last week, we are reminded of the grace that we’ve received and how undeserving of that grace we are.

Let’s look at an example of one such person who couldn’t help themselves: The thief on the cross. Based on the idea that our works save us, this man is between a rock and a hard place. He is running out of time and he knows this. Yet, he is clearly saved by Christ as Jesus says that He will be with Him in paradise. How does this happen? Because this thief humbled himself - he said that he deserved what he was receiving and that Jesus didn’t! He recognized that he was helpless and simply asks Jesus to remember him.

Satan wants us to think that we can save ourselves and that we in fact do save ourselves. If we believe this, we reveal that we are actually lost after all! The only way that we will rejoice at our hopelessness is to understand that our hopelessness is what makes us savable. If you are perfect and if your works save yourself, you don’t need Christ. Sure, you might say that you do, but if it requires your works to save yourself, you just need to work hard. Again, to quote Jared Wilson, “Literally anyone can qualify, provided they will get low enough. Provided we despair of ourselves, we will find His grace instantly for the having.”

So, do you despair of yourself? Are you looking completely to the cross for the basis of your salvation or are you looking to the cross + your past achievements and works? The Judaizers did this. The Mormons do this. Sadly, there are millions of Christians who do the same thing. This is a lie.

How can we fight against this lie? How can we avoid being drawn away by a catchy saying that makes our ears tickle? We obey the preacher of Hebrews and Heb 4:16

Hebrews 4:16 CSB

16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

Approach the throne of grace - not clenching our works of righteousness, but let us come with empty hands and let’s give thanks to what Christ has done. Remember the truth of 1 Corinthians 10:13

1 Corinthians 10:13 CSB

13 No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.

What is our way out? The cross. The finished work of Jesus. The understanding that we are not good enough and that our works will never justify ourselves. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work and represent Christ to others, we are commanded to do this and as a new creation, we should desire to do good works. But we have to get that our works don’t save us and they don’t make us deserving of God’s help. We don’t climb half way. We do nothing - He saves those who cannot save themselves.

We were walking in darkness as children of wrath… But God. Praise the Lord for those 2 beautiful words. Don’t give Satan an inch - don’t buy into Satanic doctrine as it will leave you high and dry on judgment day. Dive into God’s Word and don’t accept these false fruit. Further, don’t let people you love eat these sinful apples either - as Ephesians 4:25 shares

Ephesians 4:25 CSB

25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

You’ll never regret speaking the truth in love. We have to be saturated in God’s Word to do this, though because the only way to stand firm against the devil’s schemes is to put on the full armor of God. To know what the Bible teaches. To know Scripture. To know correct doctrine. To stand up and to stand strong. To remember that we not good enough but that we know the One who is and He credits our accounts with His righteousness.