Majoring on a Biblical Mandate
To Do Good to Everyone
The 4,000-voice ATI student choir, Knoxville, Tennessee
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).
This was the theme of the 2002 ATI
Training Conference, and it must continue to be a priority for each of
us personally and for this ministry.
It is through good works that we demonstrate the love of Christ to a world that expects to see the reality of what we teach. Thus, Jesus “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a…[unique] people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).
When good works are carried out in a spirit of genuine love, they cause those who receive them and those who observe them to glorify God. Therefore Jesus taught, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
It is through good works that we most effectively answer those who question God and His ways. “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation” (I Peter 2:12).
Often, those who are antagonistic toward the Gospel are those who have had urgent needs in the past or are aware of others’ needs that were not met by those who claimed to be Christians and could have helped them. Because these people could not see any demonstration of Christ’s love from those who claim to be His followers, they rejected His whole message.
At 6:30 Tuesday evening, June 4, 2002, the lights dimmed in Thompson-Boling Arena. Spotlights focused on national flags being carried in by ALERT men amidst the stirring strains of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Then all the spotlights turned to a large Christian flag to which all the other flags were lowered. Eleven thousand ATI parents, students, pastors, and staff members then sang a triumphant hymn.
With this awesome presentation, the nineteenth annual International Training Conference began. More than fifty speakers gave powerful messages and practical training. Many again exclaimed, “This was the best conference so far.”
It is therefore understandable why John wrote so forcefully on this point. “Whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (I John 3:17–18).
The opportunities to do good works do not just “happen” nor are they interruptions to our schedule—they are preordained opportunities to discover and experience the will of God in our lives. This is the message of Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
All around us there are people who have serious and desperate needs. God gives each one enough grace to call upon Him in the time of his need and then receive more grace for the trials that he is experiencing. Often, however, people in trouble do not respond to the grace God gives them. The result is a root of bitterness. God instructs us to diligently watch “lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15).
Diligence in watching for needs and meeting them with the resources that God has entrusted to us is illustrated in God’s analogy of the Body of Christ. “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16). This interaction of the members of the Body is God’s message to the world by which they will say, “Behold, how they love one another!”
The Swarr family has been in ATI for 14 years. Carl is a pastor and was eagerly looking forward to the ATI Conference and Pastors’ Seminar. On the way to Knoxville, a truck passed them on the road, creating a suction that caused their camper and van to turn over and be totally destroyed. They retrieved their belongings and continued to Knoxville. During the conference, an offering was taken that provided a van valued at $16,000 for the family. They were overwhelmed with this unexpected expression of God’s love. Let us continue this kind of expression of God’s love.
June 2002
