God helps those who help themselves

Sunday Teaching

Apr 13

The full video of this teaching is available at the bottom of this post and this link.

YOUR MOM

“On the day you were born, no one cared about you.” Ohhhhhh, burn! This sounds like the start of a conversation between high school boys in a competition of ‘Your mom’ jokes! The next line makes a perfect burn. Your mom didn’t want you so much that on the day you were born, “Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth.” Ohhhhhhhhh, slap!

Rubbed with salt? What? Well, these aren’t ‘Your mom’ jokes. This is God talking to the people of Jerusalem through the prophet Ezekiel; 2,600 years ago, when caring for a newborn would include rubbing them with salt to prevent the growth of bacteria and toughening the skin to fortify it against the harsh world outside the womb.

SPIRITUAL HELPLESSNESS

That was just Ezekiel 16:4. Listen to how he continues to describe the people's spiritual helplessness.

5 “No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.”

Dumped in a field and left to die? What on earth? How depraved had people become? Exactly! It was not uncommon for unwanted infants to be abandoned—to die from exposure to the elements or, potentially, be taken and raised by others, often as slaves or servants. This passage is just another way that God reminds the people of how spiritually helpless they were before God from day one!

6 “But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’ 7 And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became full, and your body hair grew, but you were still naked. 8 And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

9 “Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin. 10 I gave you expensive clothing of fine linen and silk, beautifully embroidered, and sandals made of fine goatskin leather. 11 I gave you lovely jewelry, bracelets, beautiful necklaces, 12 a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears, and a lovely crown for your head. 13 And so you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothes were made of fine linen and costly fabric and were beautifully embroidered. You ate the finest foods—choice flour, honey, and olive oil—and became more beautiful than ever. You looked like a queen, and so you were! 14 Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign Lord.”

Ezekiel paints the picture so well, describing how spiritually helpless we are. Then, in verse 15, he hits Jereselum with the whammy! “But you thought your fame and beauty were your own.”

JESUS NEVER SAID THAT

“God helps those who help themselves.” 82% of Americans believe this quote is from the Bible. 75% of American teenagers believe that is the central theme of the Bible (Barna Research Group). How shocked would they be to learn that we are spiritually helpless before God?

Humility doesn’t come easy for Boomers and Gen X. We often think we're all that and a bag of chips, making it tough to admit we need God or anybody else. The “I can handle it all by myself” vibe is typical Western movie hero stuff. As for Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha - feel entitled lately? Do you deserve the moon and the stars, and should God feel blessed to have the chance to partner with you? God would tell us all, “...you thought your fame and beauty were your own. (Ez 16:15)”

WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER

If most Americans think Jesus said, 'God helps those who help themselves,' maybe we should bite our tongue. After all, nobody likes their mistakes pointed out. However, there are so many damaging aspects to believing that this statement is something Jesus would have said. Here are just a few.

People will believe God's grace only shows up if we trigger it by our actions. This puts human effort at the center of being right with God.
It could be mistaken for a green light to prosperity theology, where blessings and bankrolls are seen as divine rewards for high spirits and high donations.
It undermines community by pushing for solo spiritual success stories, weakening participation in Christ's body.
Worst of all, it leaves people thinking they’re right with God because they try.
Finally, Jesus never said it; it is not in the Bible.

So, where should we turn people to counter this false aphorism? Start with Ezekiel 16. Gen Alpha will be blown away by the imagery there. Then, from a positive approach, turn them to the longest sentence in the Bible, Ephesians 1:3-14, which in the original Greek is one beautiful sentence.

Let’s focus on Ephesians 1:3-8, which is the flip side of Ezekiel 16.

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

FROM ABANDONED TO ADOPTED

We, too, are the unwanted baby of Ezekiel 16, umbilical cord uncut, unwashed, unclothed, and utterly unwanted, left to die in the chilly air of abandonment. This heart-wrenching scene from Ezekiel 16 paints a bleak picture and a poignant symbol of our spiritual destitution.

Picture now not the harsh abandonment of a cruel world but the tender, compassionate reach of Jesus Christ. Then, in this single Greek sentence in Ephesians 1:3-14, Jesus steps into the bleakness, bends down, and lifts the forsaken child from the dirt. He doesn’t merely save the child; He claims it—us—as His very own.

God’s redemption isn't a story of a begrudging rescue. Christ envelops us in the extravagance of His love, adopting us into His family—not as servants or slaves, but as beloved children, heirs of His kingdom. He wraps us in the fine linen of righteousness, clothes us in the garments of salvation, and adorns our heads with the crown of eternal acceptance. The transformation is staggering: from an abandoned infant to a cherished child, dignified with every spiritual blessing that only God himself can bestow.

As Paul exclaims, we were chosen by God before the world's creation, predestined for adoption through Jesus Christ. This divine choice was driven by love, executed through grace, and sealed by the pleasure it gave our Father. It's a narrative reversal that takes our breath away—where once there was no one to care, now there is Someone whose care knows no bounds.

Feel the weight of that change: once untouched by human hands, now held in the secure and loving grasp of the Savior. We were once exposed to the deadly elements, now shielded by the power of the Almighty. This is not just a rescue; it is a reclamation. God lifts us from the ground not only to survive but to thrive, to grow beyond the mere restoration of health into the fullness of spiritual vitality and purpose.

“God helps those who help themselves.” Wrong! Bleak! Terrible Theology! Embrace the excitement of being wanted, picked up, cherished, and eternally held. In Christ, we move from the peril of exposure to the promise of exaltation, from the brink of death to the breadth of His kingdom. This is our story, rewritten by the hand of God, marked by His fingerprints, and sealed with the kiss of His kindness. The reality is God helps the helpless.

Greg McNichols