“Did Mother Teresa seek to save souls or just provide a social service?”

QUESTION: Was Mother Teresa saved? Did she seek to save souls or was she just providing a social service?

ANSWER: We really do not know who is saved and who is not, except by their fruits (Mt. 7:16,20). And if we see nothing that we could call fruits, we must then rely on the Scripture which says, “The Lord knoweth them that are His” (2 Tim. 2:19 KJV). Mother Teresa undoubtedly felt that her works were what Scripture commands when it says, “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17), and “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord” (Col. 3:23). “Whatsoever” certainly includes what Mother Teresa did, and what you refer to as “a social service.”

Our Lord Jesus was primarily concerned about men’s souls, but He also “went about doing good” (Acts 11:38). We are to offer the sacrifices of “praise to God” and “to do good” and to “communicate” (of our substance) to those in need “for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb. 13:15-16).

You are right that some churches emphasize “doing good” instead of preaching the need for repentance. But it is also true that others emphasize “how to keep from going to hell,” rather than the importance of “doing good.” The life of the Lord Jesus provides the perfect example of keeping both in balance.

Rather than judge others, we should concern ourselves especially about our own service to the Lord. Scripture says to us, “Who art thou that judges another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth ... We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:4,10). Let us then let Him be the judge.

By Alan Crosby