Sermon
#1229
Title: “BE
CAREFUL TO MAINTAIN
GOOD
WORKS.”[1]
Text: Titus 3:8
Reading: Titus 3:1-15
Subject: The Place and Necessity of Good Works
Date: Sunday Morning & Evening - April 21, 1996
Tape # S-44 & S-45
Introduction:
I am often accused of being
an antinomian, one who is opposed to the law of God a promoter of
licentiousness, because I constantly preach salvation by grace alone, through
faith alone, in Christ alone. I do not hesitate to declare that sinners are
justified freely by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
without works. I am incessant in declaring that every believer is entirely free
from the law, as the scriptures plainly declare. And I never tire of telling
God’s elect that the Lord God has so freely and fully forgiven our sins that he
will never charge any of his people with any of their sins (past, present, or
future). He has found complete satisfaction for our sins in the blood atonement
of his own dear Son.
You are my witnesses to these things.
I place you under no form of legal bondage. I do not threaten you with
punishment, or entice you with rewards. I preach nothing that is even slightly
inconsistent with the message of free grace. Therefore, wherever I go, in this
country or abroad, this scandalous charge precedes me - “Fortner is an
antinomian.” I could produce a stack of letters two inches thick, either
warning me or accusing me, asserting that the doctrine I preach will cause
people to live carelessly and encourage disobedience.
I take the accusation as a badge of
honor. I hope that I am never guilty of antinomianism; but I do not mind being
accused of it. The fact that I am accused of it tells me that I am on the right
track. The Pharisees accused our Lord of antinomianism. The Judaizers accused
Paul of it. And every man who has ever faithfully preached what our Lord and
his apostles preached has had to endure the same scurrilous charge from men who
despise the message of free grace. I have said all that because I want you to
understand that accusations are
meaningless. It has been satan’s tactic throughout history to pin ugly
names upon the truths of Holy Scripture that simply cannot be denied. Do not be
shaken in your faith because some fiend of hell gives it a bad name.
However, in order to stop the mouths
of the gainsayers and, more importantly, in order to instruct, encourage, and
edify you in the faith of Christ, I intend today to plainly set before you the
place of good works in the lives of God’s elect. The title of this message is “Be
Careful to Maintain Good Works.” You will find my text in Titus 3:8 "This is a
faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they
which have believed in God might be
careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto
men."
Notice the opening words of our text. "This
is a faithful saying.” That phrase refers to what Paul has just stated
in verses 4-7. "After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward
man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
That faithful saying is the foundation and inspiration for
Paul’s exhortation “These things I will that thou affirm constantly.” What
things? The things he has just stated! This
is what he is saying, Let every preacher constantly affirm the gospel
doctrines of God’s free, sovereign, effectual, saving grace contained in this
faithful saying for this purpose - “That they which have believed in God might
be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto
men.”
Proposition: This is what
God the Holy Spirit is teaching us in this passage of Scripture: It is the preaching of the gospel of God’s
free and sovereign grace in Christ that inspires those who believe the gospel
to maintain good works. It is not the preaching of the law, but the
preaching of the gospel that inspires good works. It is not the preaching of
works, but the preaching of grace that inspires good works. It is not the
preaching of crowns in glory, but the preaching of Christ crucified that
inspires good works.
Divisions: I want to stay right with my text this
morning. I am going to show you three things in this passage of Scripture about
good works.
1. Good works have absolutely nothing to do with the
accomplishment, preservation, or consummation of our salvation.
2. All who believe the gospel ought to “be careful to maintain
good works.”
3. Good works are necessary as “things good and profitable unto
men.”
I. GOOD WORKS HAVE ABSOLUTELY
NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ACCOMPLISHMENT, PRESERVATION, OR CONSUMMATION OF OUR
SALVATION!
This is the
first thing Paul shows us in our text. In fact this is the very first thing he
asserts every time he deals with the matter of works. It cannot be stated too
often or too emphatically. Good works have nothing to do with the salvation of
God’s elect. Good works are important and good in their place. God’s servants
always promote good works. But good works have nothing to do with the
believer’s salvation and everlasting relationship with God. What do the scriptures say?
Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that
a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by
the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the
law shall no flesh be justified."
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not
of works, lest any man should boast."
2 Timothy 1:9 "Who hath
saved us, and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,"
One of the old writers made this
observation a long, long time ago; and it is still true. He wrote, “I believe that the root of almost every
schism and heresy from which the Christian church has suffered has been the
effort of men to earn, rather than to receive, their salvation” (Ruskin).
Every
sinner by nature thinks he can save himself, or at least contribute something
toward his salvation. If you are yet without Christ, if you are yet under
the wrath of God, if you are yet lost, I can tell you exactly why you have not
obtained God’s salvation. You are too good to be saved by grace alone, through
faith alone, without doing something for yourself. You are still lost because
you refuse to acknowledge and confess your utter sinfulness and inability
before God. You are not saved because
you will not receive salvation as a free grace gift through the merits of Christ.
As long as you try to do something to save yourself you simply cannot be saved.
“Nothing, either great or small,
Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus did it, did it all,
Long, long ago.
When He from His
lofty throne
Stooped to do and die,
Everything was fully done:
Hearken to His cry: -
‘It is
finished!’ Yes, indeed,
Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need,
Tell me, is it not?
Weary, working, plodding one,
Why toil you so?
Cease your doing: all was done
Long, long ago.
Till to Jesus’ work
you cling
By a simple faith,
Doing is a deadly thing,
Doing ends in death.
Cast your deadly doing down,
Down at Jesus’ feet,
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously complete!”
Multitudes
of zealous, devoted religious people have lived and died without God’s
salvation in Christ “Because they
sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they
stumbled at the stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a
stumblingstone and rock of offence:
and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Rom. 9:32-33).
Let me tell
you one more time, if you would be saved, you must be saved by free grace,
through the merits of Christ alone. You must trust Jesus Christ alone as your
Savior.
A. It is the universal testimony of Holy
scripture that salvation is, in its entirety, by grace alone, through faith
alone, in Christ alone.
Every aspect
of salvation, from the beginning to the end, is the work of God alone and
altogether the work of his free grace. The Word of God tells us constantly that
nothing is given as the result of man’s works but wrath, death, judgment, and
eternal ruin. “The wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
1.
God’s eternal choice
of his people was an election of
grace, without any consideration of works, good or bad (Rom. 9:11; II Thess.
2:13).
2.
Our redemption by the blood of Christ was a
free grace ransom and purchase of our souls out from under the curse and
penalty of God’s holy law (Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:6-7; I Pet. 1:18-20).
3.
All who believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ have been born again (regenerated) and called to life and faith in Christ by grace alone
(John 1:11-13; Tit. 3:5; Eph. 2:1-5).
4.
We are justified freely by the grace of God
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:20-28).
5.
Sanctification,
like election, redemption, and regeneration, is the work of God’s free grace in
Christ, and the work of God’s free grace alone (I Cor. 1:30; 6:11; Heb. 10:10,
14; Jude 1).
6.
God’s saints are all preserved and kept by grace alone; and
our preservation by God’s grace does not in any way depend upon us or our works
(Jer. 32:38-40; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:28-39; Phil. 1:6; I Pet. 1:5; Jude
24-25).
7.
And our eternal reward in heaven is the reward not of
our works, but of Christ’s works as our Substitute. It is given to us as the
free gift of the grace of God toward us in Christ (Matt. 25:34; Eph. 1:3, 11,
14; Rom. 8:17).
·
Psalm 115:1
This is the
doctrine that I have preached to you since the first day that I came among you.
This is the doctrine I have preached wherever God has given me the opportunity
to preach for the last twenty-eight years. And, God helping me, this will be my
doctrine when I utter my last word in this world. This is the armor in which I
do battle. And I do not intend to take my armor off until the warfare is over.
Let men reproach me as they please. I am willing to have my name and reputation
scandalized. If need be, I am prepared to lose friends, be vilified by family,
and face implacable enemies. I am perfectly willing and content to be scorned
throughout the world as a vile antinomian. But I am determined, by the grace of God, not to drop or conceal one iota
of gospel truth, particularly as it relates to Christ’s glorious, effectual
redemption and God’s efficacious, irresistible, saving grace. I am happy to
stand in the company of others. I thank God for you who stand with me and
support me in the work of the gospel. But I am willing to stand alone. And I
make this solemn pledge to you - I will
not alter or even slightly modify my message, not for you, not for me, not for
anybody! I declare to you that salvation is by free grace alone and that
works have absolutely nothing to do with it.
Romans 11:6 "And if by
grace, then is it no more of works:
otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it
be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more
work."
B. Common sense, as well as the Word of
God, teaches us that salvation cannot be by our works because the best works of
the best of men performed in the best manner possible are altogether without
merit before God.
·
All the works of
unregenerate men and women, their best deeds of charity, benevolence, and
religious duty are utterly abhorrent to God (Isa. 1:10-15; Luke 16:15).
·
Even the best works
of the most earnest, sincere believers in this world are filthy rags,
altogether without merit before God, and totally unacceptable to him apart from
the blood and righteousness of Christ (Isa. 64:6; Eccles. 7:20).
1.
In order for our works to be meritorious with God, they must be profitable and beneficial to him; but they are not.
Job 22:2 "Can a man be
profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?"
Job 35:7 "If thou be
righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?"
Psalms 16:2 "O my soul, thou hast said unto the
LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;"
2. Our works can never earn anything from God because perfect obedience is due to him already.
We cannot expect reward for doing imperfectly that which we are duty bound to
do perfectly (Luke 17:10).
3. Our works cannot be meritorious with the Lord because it is God himself who gives us the grace
and strength to perform what we do for him (John 15:5).
4. And our works cannot be meritorious with God because there is no proportion between the works we
perform and the bounteous salvation which God bestows.
Can
sin be washed away by austerity? Can heaven be purchased by tithe money? Can
eternal life be earned by dead ritualism? Can mercy be won by mortification?
Can salvation be gained by separation? Can heavenly rewards be merited by
earthly labor? Perish the thought!
See that you
clearly and fully understand this first point of my message. This is the
doctrine of Holy Scripture. Good works have absolutely nothing to do with
salvation. If you would be saved you must be saved by Christ alone.
“Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, I come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, else I die!”
---------------------------------------------------
“No more, my God, I
boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I had before,
To trust the merits of Thy Son.
The best obedience of
my hands
Dares not appear before Thy throne;
But faith can answer Thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord has done.”
Salvation is
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, without any works
performed by us. I hope you all see that clearly. But I want you to see this
second point as well...
II. ALL WHO
BELIEVE THE GOSPEL SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO MAINTAIN GOOD WORKS.
Paul might
have told Titus to faithfully preach the gospel of God’s free and sovereign
grace in Christ with this assurance - All who believe on him will maintain good
works. The fact is all believers do, in the tenor of their lives, maintain good
works. Their is no such thing as a believer, or a Christian, who does not seek
to honor his Lord and Savior by works of love, faith, and obedience to him. All
who live in contempt of God’s law and the honor of his name are lost,
unregenerate souls.
Romans 6:18 "Being then
made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."
Galatians 5:24 "And they that
are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
God has
ordained that his people walk in good works (Eph. 2:10); and what God has
ordained God will bring to pass. Christ redeemed us that he might “purify unto
himself a people zealous of good works.” And in the general tenor of their
lives God’s saints live in godliness, true holiness, and good works. They do
not talk about it. They just do it.
James 2:17-20 "Even so
faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me
thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one
God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is
dead?"
Yet, in our
text, Paul tells Titus to faithfully preach the gospel of salvation by grace
alone for this specific purpose - “That they which have believed might be
careful to maintain good works.” He is dealing with the matter of our
responsibility. It is our
responsibility, as the saints of God
in this world, to carefully maintain good works. We must be careful to
maintain good works because good works, truly good works, are contrary to the
flesh, opposed by satan, and disadvantageous in the world.
Let me answer
three questions which will be helpful in understanding the teaching of
Scripture and our responsibility in this matter of good works.
A. Who can and will perform good works?
A natural,
unregenerate man cannot do anything good in the sight of God. There is in every
human being both an inability and an aversion to the performance of good works.
We have no knowledge of that which is good or desire to do it; and if we knew
what to do and had the desire to do it, we have no ability to do it (Rom. 3:12).
1. Only a good man can do good.
Matthew
12:35 "A
good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and
an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things."
But
there is no such thing as a good man, unless he has been made good by the grace
of God. A good work of grace must be performed in you, or nothing good can come
out of you (Phil. 2:12-13). You must be made a new creature in Christ, or you
cannot do good for Christ (II Cor. 5:17).
2. Before we can do good we must be
purified and sanctified by the blood of Christ and the grace of God (Tit.
2:14).
Until our
hands are cleansed all that we touch is defiled. Until our hearts are purified
and sanctified all that we do is vile. We must be sanctified by the Spirit of
God in regeneration if we would be “meet for the Master’s use and prepared unto
every good work” (II Tim. 2:21).
3. Only those who have the Spirit of
Christ can do good works for Christ.
If we would
do good we must be strengthened by the Spirit with all might in the inner man.
It is for this purpose that the Holy Spirit is given to men.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 "Then will I
sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness,
and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give
you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will
put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep
my judgments, and do them."
4. Only those who have faith in Christ
can do that which is good and pleasing in the sight of God (Heb. 11:6).
The Lord
Jesus Christ is the only one of whom God the Father ever said, “This is my
beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5). He is well pleased with us
only as we are in his Son. God accepts our works only because of the merit of
Christ’s blood.
a.
Even those who are
redeemed by the blood of Christ, justified and sanctified by his grace, can
never perform any works that are absolutely good and righteous. (Rom. 7:14-23).
b.
Our very best deeds
can only be accepted by God by the merit of Christ (I Pet. 2:5).
c.
But our God and
Savior does accept and delight in the poor works of his feeble children,
performed by faith with a sincere heart, for Christ’s sake.
Illustrations:
Faith’s First Steps - “Come to daddy.”
The Woman who did What She Could (Mark
14:6-8)
The long and
short of it is this - Good works are
always the fruit of faith, never the root of faith. God will never accept
your good works as a basis of salvation. But if you are accepted in the
Beloved, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then God is pleased with and
accepts your works because he accepts you in Christ. Indeed, he could never
even accept our faith apart from the blood and righteousness of Christ because
our very faith is full of sinful unbelief.
This is Paul’s admonition to you who
believe God. “Be careful to maintain good works...And let ours also learn to
maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful" (Tit.
3:8, 14).
B. What are those good works which
believers must be careful to maintain?
Many
people think that they are doing good works for God by living austere lives of
strict separation from the world. They strictly obey certain, self-imposed
rules, or the rules of religious custom and tradition, and think they are doing
good works. Most people think that outward deeds of morality are works of
righteousness and holiness. They imagine that the outward performance of
religious duties are good works acceptable and pleasing to God; but it is not
so. God requires inward, heart
obedience. Do not misunderstand me. We
must seek to live morally upright lives. That distinguishes men from
animals. But morality is not righteousness. We ought to be meticulous and faithful in all the outward duties of
worship and obedience. A person is a fool who despises God’s appointed
means of grace. But the performance of outward duties is not holiness. “The Lord looketh on the heart!” God
requires heart obedience.
Joel 2:13 "And
rend your heart, and not your garments, and
turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the
evil."
Romans 14:17 "For the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in
the Holy Ghost."
Here are five
things required to make any work a good work. If that which I do (preaching,
praying, reading, giving, witnessing, etc.) is not characterized by these five
things, it cannot be considered a good work.
1. It
must be according to the command and will of God.
That alone is
good which is done in obedience to the Word of God and the direction of the
Holy Spirit. If I do something with great diligence, self-denial, and
self-sacrifice, but do that which God has not required or is contrary to what
God requires, then that which I do is not a good work, but an abomination (Luke
16:15).
·
All Human Traditions
·
All Religious Customs
·
All Legal
Requirements
2. It must be done in faith.
“Whatsoever
is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). “Without faith it is impossible to please
God.” The great difference between Cain’s worship and Abel’s worship was just
this - Abel worship God in faith while Cain attempted to worship God without
faith. Because Abel believed God he brought a sacrifice of blood. Because Cain
did not believe God he brought a sacrifice of his own choosing and his own
production.
3. It must be done for the glory of God.
“Whatsoever
ye do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31). The Pharisees prayed,
fasted, paid tithes, and gave alms, all to be seen of men, to get praise from
men; but all that they did was an abomination to God (Luke 16:15). All good
works are the fruits of righteousness done “by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and
praise of God” (Phil. 1:11).
4. All good works spring from and are motivated by love for Christ.
Love
for Christ is the essence of obedience and the motive for all good works.
Almost all modern religion is nothing more or less than the promotion of
self-love. People are urged to believe God, serve God, and give to God, being
motivated by what they may get in return from God. In the Bible things are
exactly the opposite. Here we are motivated by love for God and the desire for
his glory.
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
1 Corinthians
10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
2 Corinthians
5:14 "For the love of Christ constraineth
us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:"
1 Timothy 1:5 "Now the end
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith
unfeigned:"
·
That which is done to
be seen of men is evil.
·
That which is done
for fear of punishment is evil.
·
That which is done
with the desire for gain is evil.
·
Only that which is
done for the glory of God out of love for Christ is good.
5.
And all good works must be performed
with a willing heart.
2 Corinthians 8:12 "For if there
be first a willing mind, it is accepted
according to that a man hath, and not
according to that he hath not."
If that which I do for Christ does not
arise from a willing heart, it is an abomination to God. If that which I do for
my brethren, for my family, for the church of God, and for the furtherance of
the gospel does not arise from a willing heart, it is altogether evil, no
matter how good it may appear to men to be, no matter how much it may be
praised by them.
C. What is the source and cause of good
works in the people of God?
1. It is God who
works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
We have the will and ability to do the
will of God only because God, working in us by the grace and power of his
Spirit, gives us the heart and strength to do so. The beginning, the progress,
and the perfection of every good work in is of God.
Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now the God
of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work
to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory
for ever and ever. Amen."
a.
The grace of God, as
a principle of life, causes believers to perform good works (I Cor. 15:10; II
Cor. 1:12; Gal. 5:22-23).
b.
The grace of God, as
a gospel doctrine, teaches us to walk in good works (Tit. 2:11-12).
2. Good works are the result of the believer’s
saving union with Christ.
Our
Savior says, “From me is thy fruit found” (Hos. 14:8). “We are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph. 2:10). Being grafted into Christ
as branches in the vine, we draw the sap of life from him, and every branch
that has life bears fruit (John 15:4).
3. Faith in Christ causes all who believe to
do those things that are described as good works.
James 2:17-20 "Even so
faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me
thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one
God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is
dead?"
James 1:25-27 "But whoso
looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work,
this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but
deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion
and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world."
The
believer’s heart is purified by faith in the blood of Christ. His blood purges
our consciences from dead works and prepares us to perform good works for the
glory of God. As John Gill puts it,
“Faith without works is dead; and works without faith are dead.”
4. The Word of God, particularly the gospel of
the grace of God revealed in the Word, causes those who believe God to do good.
The gospel is
like good seed sown in good ground It brings forth fruit (Luke 8:15; II Tim.
3:16-17). As faith comes by hearing, so obedience in faith comes by the Word of
God written and read, preached and heard. If you would be careful to maintain
good works, you must not neglect the Word of God.
III. GOOD
WORKS ARE NECESSARY AS THINGS THAT ARE “GOOD AND PROFITABLE UNTO MEN.”
Be sure you
understand what Paul means here. Good works cannot procure salvation, in whole
or in part. Good works cannot atone for sin, make peace with God, justify our
souls, produce righteousness, sanctify us, or preserve us in life. Christ alone
is our Savior; and grace alone is the source and cause of our salvation (Eph.
2:8-9; II Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:5).
Understand
this as well. Though it is contrary to popular opinion in this perverted
religious world, good works do not go
before us into heaven to prepare for our eternal happiness and reward there.
Our works follow us into heaven. They do not go before us (Rev. 14:13). They
follow us, not as the basis of our reward and acceptance with God, but as an
everlasting tribute to the grace of God and for the glory of his grace.
You may be thinking to yourself - “If
good works do not contribute anything to our salvation and do not win any
reward for us in heaven, how can they be necessary? And what motive is there
for believers to maintain good works?” Such questions reveal a mercenary
spirit, but I want to answer them.
A. Good works are necessary because
they are ordained of God as a means whereby we may honor him in this world (Eph. 2:10).
God’s elect
live in this world with an eye to the glory of God. We want to live in a manner
that demonstrates our deep gratitude to him for his great love, mercy, and
grace toward us in Christ. We desire to so live that we may both honor him
before men and promote his honor among men (John 15:8; Matt. 5:16; I Pet.
2:12).
B. We must be careful to maintain good
works because it is good for us personally to do so.
By living in
a godly manner, maintaining good works we...
·
Adorn the doctrine of
God our Savior (Tit. 2:10).
·
Adorn our profession
of faith (I Tim. 2:9-10).
·
And make our calling
and election sure (II Pet. 1:10).
Good works are not the basis of assurance.
Peter had confident assurance of his election and salvation when he had nothing
but cowardice and the denial of Christ with an oath for his works (John 17:21).
The basis of our assurance is faith in Christ, only faith in Christ (II Tim.
1:12).
Our good works make our faith sure to
others. As fruits of grace good works demonstrate to our brethren that our
faith is not a sham, but real. Moreover, our good works are the only evidence
we can give to the world of our faith and the only evidence the world is
capable of understanding. The only way
one man can show another man his faith is by his works (James 2:18).
C. And we must be careful to maintain good
works for the good of others.
1. Good works performed by us benefit
others.
As you read
the Word of God, you cannot help noticing that whenever good works are spoken
of they always have reference to our attitude toward and treatment of others.
·
Matthew 25:31-40
·
Philippians 2:4-5
2. Good works performed by God’s
saints are sometimes a means of winning others to Christ (I Pet. 3:1-3).
Some of you
who now love the gospel of God’s grace first came to hear the gospel simply
because you beheld in a wife, a friend, or a relative an example of what Christ
does for those who know him.
Illustrations: Bobbie
and Judy
Herbert Wilson Shaving an Old Man
3. And good works are profitable to
others as an example for them to follow (I Tim. 4:12).
Illustration: The Importance of our Example - Faith Following
Me Through Town
Let each of
us take care that we set a good example before those who are under our
influence.
·
Unbelievers
·
Our Children
·
Weak Believers
·
Young Believers
Application: I am calling for you and for
myself to be careful to maintain good works. Let me be specific in applying the
message.
1. What good works should we be careful to maintain?
·
Works of love, joy,
and peace toward God. - Devotion! Contentment! Faith!
·
Works of
longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness toward one another. - Patience!
Forbearance! Thoughtfulness! Forgiveness!
·
Works of faith
(faithfulness), meekness, and temperance as our way of life.
2. I am calling for us to give ourselves to Christ and to
one another (Rom. 12:1-2).
3. I set before you only one motive for all that I am trying
to promote. - You are redeemed by blood, saved by grace, and kept in love.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 19-20 "Know ye not
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And
such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."...19 What? know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
[1] This message was preached in two parts. The morning message (S-44) was titled “Not By Works” (Tit. 35). The evening message (S-45) was titled “Be Careful to Maintain Good Works” (Tit. 3:8).