Jesus commanded His disciples, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Good works can’t save, but they are fruit of our salvation and a witness to the world. That said, there may be even a better description than doing good. Christians should be doing truth.

I do not mean that believers should do the truth in contrast to those who merely hear or know the truth, though that is true. I mean that they should do truth rather than do evil.

The apostle John contrasts evil-doers with truth-doers in John 3:19-21. Those who do evil hate the light and don’t come to the light in order to keep their evil covered. Those who come to the light, however, aren’t branded as those who do what is good, but those who do what is true. Why? The express reason is so that they don’t take credit for the good works. That’s how a person can both do good and give God the glory. It is also true, and this is why I bring it up now, that those who do truth have their not good deeds exposed, and they don’t mind. They don’t want to hide anything because sin messes up the fellowship in light.

Christians aren’t perfect, just unafraid of the light. Believers have nothing to cover up; they love the light. The light shows everything, good and bad. There is freedom, not just in forgiveness, but freedom in open fellowship with our Father. Failure to confess presses us toward darkness and fear and isolation, and hides our light under a bushel.