Remember the the rich young ruler
asked what must I do to inherit? Eternal life. Well, there's the
answer right there Titus 3 7 grace we are made heirs of Eternal life by grace being justified
By grace And this is a faithful saying,
and these things I will that thou affirm constantly. Don't forget it. Don't cease
to learn it. Don't cease to confirm it in
your heart. That they which have believed
in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable
unto men. Let's ask the Lord to meet with
us. Father, thank you for your word
and the promise, Lord, and knowledge
that every time we look into your book, study whatever passage of scripture
you lead us to at any given time, We read of your grace and mercy
in Christ and how that he's worthy of all worship and adoration. Bless us tonight as we see this. Turn the light on in our hearts
to the honor and glory of our Savior. In his name we ask, amen. that being justified. And he
speaks, look back at verse five of our text so that we are well
established here in this thought. 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 Savior, that being justified by his grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
That's what the Lord said in his high priestly prayer. I want
him with me where I am. I want him to be where I am,
with me where I am. He did all of that to make us
heirs of eternal life, spend eternity with him. And then he says in verse A,
this is a faithful saying, these things I will that thou affirm
constantly, that they which have believed in God, who justified
us by his grace, who by his son has given us the inheritance
of eternal life, that you might be careful to maintain good works.
These things are good and profitable in the mid. Justified by his
grace is the premise here. Grace, grace and works, that's
the subject tonight. And this is something we should
look at ever so often in the scriptures, because it's so rich
and abundant of a theme in the word of God. There's no verse eight without
verse seven. There's nothing, to do for us to do for God until
He does something for us. That's just how it works. He's
got to do something for you if you're ever gonna do anything
for Him. And you doing something for Him is Him doing something
for you. The only thing we're gonna maintain
apart from the justification of His grace is our downward
spiral to hell and our doing that which is evil with both
hands earnestly, despising God and worshiping ourselves. All of our works will contribute
to our damnation apart from that justifying grace. Unless and
until God justifies us by his grace, Romans three, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Everything we call a good
work is anything but forget forget verse 8 Without verse 7 Notice now the words they which
have believed in verse 8 of our text those who have not believed
in the scriptures What are they told about good words? Well,
you don't have any Your righteousnesses are as filthy rags as They're
told to cease from their works, to stop. What is it, Isaiah chapter
one, where the Lord said, I see all of your religion, I see all
of your solemn meetings, I see your keeping of the feasts, I
see all of your religious efforts to come before me and to cozy
up to me and to find favor with me, and it all makes me sick. I will spew you out of my mouth.
It's all disgusting. That's us without the blood of
Christ, without justification by grace, which as we saw, is
shed upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior. They're not told that they can
do anything to be saved. What can I do to inherit eternal
life? Nothing. Who then can be saved? Nobody. Nobody. They're told it's impossible
for them to do anything. With men it's impossible. It's
only something God does. They're told that they're incapable
of coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't come to me unless my
father comes to you first. John chapter six. Good works are never encouraged
for the unbeliever, never. In fact, Paul says that part
of being a saved in our texts in Philippians 3, the part that
we've looked at over the last several weeks, being saved means
abandoning your works. Unbelievers are commanded to
repent, but are told in no uncertain terms that the ability for a
sinner to repent is God's gift, 2 Timothy 2.25. Sinners are commanded to believe,
but are told very plainly that faith is the gift of God, not
of works, lest any man should boast. Authored and finished
by Christ, Hebrews 12.2, the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians
5.22, and the result of being chosen from the beginning to
salvation by God, 2 Thessalonians 2.13. So our works are not only not
the cause of salvation, but they are set directly in opposition
to grace. They're not just excluded from
grace. They are the antithesis of grace
in the scriptures. They which have believed is who
he's talking to here. When considering those who have
not believed and when considering how those sinners are to be saved,
if they are to be saved, grace and works are opposites. Romans
11, five, even so then at this present time also, there is a
remnant, a seed, some elect according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no
more works. Otherwise grace is no more grace
But if it be of works and it's no more grace. Otherwise work
is no more work And even after we do believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ We are never and we never will if we believe on Christ.
We're looking to Christ. We're never gonna look to our
works We're never to consider our works good or otherwise to
be meritorious that is to gain any favor with God for one thing
those who are perfect and in Christ Jesus don't need any merit
before God. Christ is our merit before God.
Anything other than that is an affront to God, an insult to
his holiness. All even of what is called our
good works in scripture as believers are full of sin. Our faith is
full of unbelief. We have to say, Lord, I believe
you, help. Our love is fickle and weak at
best. Our service is unreliable and
the Lord calls us all unprofitable servants. We don't know anything
as we ought to know, according to the word of God. Our righteousness
is still as believers are as filthy rags. Turn with me to Galatians three,
let's look at that. Verse one. O foolish Galatians, and who
hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose
eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you?
If you see what the Lord accomplished on Calvary, then why? Why? Who bewitched you? This
only would I learn of you. Verse two, received you the spirit
by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you
so foolish having begun in the spirit? Are you now made perfect
by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things
in vain if it be yet in vain? He therefore that ministereth
to you the spirit and worketh miracles among you and doeth
he it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. Even
as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
That's what imputation is. We talked a little bit about
imputation this morning. It's to give the credit for.
It's accounted. Righteousness is accounted unto
you. Because and by the means of believing
on Christ, looking to Christ for that righteousness and not
the works of the law. Know ye therefore that they which
are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham in the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached
before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations
be blessed. So then they which be of faith
are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed is
everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. Not to put them on your
wall and think, oh, I haven't done that, to do them. Perfectly
in thought, word, and deed. But that no man is justified
by the law and the sight of God, it is evident. for the just shall
live before God by faith. And the law is not of faith,
but the man which doeth them shall live by them. Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. For it is written, cursed is
everyone that hangeth on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith. You see, grace, faith,
as opposed to works. So as essential and as precious
as the truth of justification by grace is, we know as sinners,
if we know God, we know that the only way that we can stand
in the presence of God accepted is in the beloved. It's only
grace, we're justified by grace through faith in the Son of God,
who is himself our justification. But in the same passage, in the
next verse, we're told here, those who have believed now,
those who know that, those to whom Grace and works are opposites. And we bow to Christ's righteousness,
Romans chapter 10. We submit to the righteousness
of God in Christ and not going about to establish our own righteousness. Those ones are to be careful
to maintain good works. A lot of people get confused
by that. But why? Why are we to be careful to maintain
good works if we're full of sin anyway? Our works, our good works
are full of sin. If God can't accept them, then
why do them? If Christ is our righteousness
and all of our righteousness and our only righteousness, then
why are we to be careful to maintain good works? And that's what I
want to talk about tonight. Let's just talk about several
reasons why. from the Word of God. You see
that we should. We've established that. We should,
we must maintain good works, to be careful about it, to be
conscious, conscientious about it. And you see in our text that
though grace and works are enemies when it comes to the saving of
a sinner, once that sinner is saved, grace and works are friends. in these two verses that we're
justified by grace and we are to be careful to maintain good
works. But why this care to maintain
that which is flawed and unreliable and unacceptable to God in and
of itself? Why? First thing, we love him. Our Lord said, if you love me,
what? What did he say? Do what I told you to do. Keep
my commandments. If you love me now, if you love
me. If you don't love him, then the
last thing you need to do is set about doing good works and
trusting him. And we don't trust in him if
we do love him because we know how we were saved by God, by
the blood of his son. Do we need a better reason to
be careful to maintain good works than love for the Savior? You know, I've never heard, and
I hate to harp on this all the time, but those who are sticklers
for doctrine, certain specific points of doctrine, especially
Calvinistic. You know, I've never ever heard
one of them explain the importance of maintaining good works. Have
you? I mean, I'm not talking about
the preachers that we love and that preach grace and that preach
Christ. I'm talking about the Orthodox
dotting the I's and crossing the T's Calvinist. And the world's
full of them now. There's a lot, not comparatively,
but there's a lot. You know, in all the books on
the five points, I don't see anything about, you know, a G
in there, tulip guy. But I'm telling you right now,
this book has a whole lot about it. Be careful to maintain good works. Be careful. If you love him, do what he says. Do what he says. We agree that by the grace of
God, we agree that they have nothing to do with salvation.
That's not why we do them. We agree that God can't accept
them for righteousness from us. And then why does Paul, after
three chapters in the book of Ephesians, hammering home the
truth that we're unworthy and can only be saved by grace, that
we're nothing but wretched, vile, totally depraved sinners, and
we're hopeless without God's free, sovereign, immaculate grace. Why then does he say in chapter
four, I beseech you that you walk worthy of that calling? Why are we careful to maintain
that which cannot please God, cannot save us or add one jot
to our salvation or our relationship with God? It's not gonna have
any effect on your relationship with God. Why is it so important
for people who are perfect and spotless and holy in Christ without
blemish before God in Christ. Why is it so important for us
to do things that are full of blemishes, that are full of neglect and
laziness and selfishness? If you love me, that's why. If you love me. Secondly, because he's worth
it He's worth it. He's worthy of all of my worship,
all of my service, all of my devotion, all of my attention,
all of my priority in this world. I know again, my worship's full
of sin. Why would I give him that? But I'll tell you this, if you
love him, if you are one of these in our text, if you have believed,
And he says, where two or three are gathered in my name, there
I am. Guess where I am? By his grace. He's worthy. And it's just a
spitting in his face, not to bother to show up where he says
I'll be. Our showing up is full of sin,
but not showing up. Not an option if you believe
on it. Thirdly, this is related to the
second one. We want to honor him. We want
to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said in Romans 7, the things
that I would do, I don't do them, but I want to. I want to. Wow, Paul, they're not
meritorious. He's so worthy. I've got to honor
him. I've got to honor him if I can.
And in Christ, our works are accepted, just like our persons
are accepted in the beloved. You know, we say, God forbid
that I should glory, saving the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And then we turn around and glory
in the flesh every day. But we still say it, don't we?
We still desire it. God forbid, don't let me go over
to eat anything else. As we see in the scripture, the
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and we're so full of experiences
of that. But the spirit also lusteth against
the flesh and insists that Christ be honored. as pitiful as we are. Fourthly, why would we be careful
to maintain good works in the sense of our text? Because we
know from scripture, maybe even from experience, that the Lord
is able to take that which is flawed, and ineffectual, and
unmeritorious, and full of sin, and do great things with it. Paul said we have this treasure
in earthen vessels, but somehow the treasure is still,
by the providence and grace of God, is still found. I'm glad of that. It pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save. Can God take foolishness
and save a sinner with it? And I'd say, let's be careful.
Let's be careful. I used to think that the word
foolishness there, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching. only referred to the fact that
the world considers it foolishness. It was saying it sarcastically,
and I believe that's true, but I think there might be a little
something there to do with who's preaching to. But let's look at the context
of those words, and we'll see how powerful this is. First Corinthians
1.21. 1 Corinthians 121, for after that
in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For
the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but
we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and
unto the Greeks foolishness but unto them which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of
God." He puts a fool up behind the pulpit. And just about everybody
in the world considers what he says nonsense.
And by those means, that's just the way God operates, isn't it?
By those pitiful means. He's gonna save the world. because
we know the world is his people to him. He so loved the world. And he gave his son, and we're
gonna talk about it. We're gonna talk about it because he's able to do it, isn't he?
He's able. Fifthly, God is glorified in what we do. And I know that's
amazing. Again, turn with me to Matthew
5, 13 through 16. Look at several scriptures, but
we're about through this is the final point and actually I want
to add one that up That's come to my mind while we've been talking
here God is glorified Matthew 5 13
through 16 You're the salt of the earth
Why should we be careful to maintain good works? I? Who's gonna honor
the Lord in this world if not those that he saved by his grace?
I know he, you know, the religion loves to say he has no hands
but your hands. I'm so thankful that's not true. That's nonsense. There's nothing to my hands.
But we have a savior. How is a doctor gonna know a
cure and not tell anybody? How's life gonna flow from the
very throne of heaven? And we're not gonna tell anybody.
You're the salt of the earth. But if the salt have lost his
savor, wherewith shall it be salted? There's no substitute
for it. People try to say salt is bad
for you, but here's something just as good. No, it's not. It's
not even close. It tastes horrible. Sugar's bad for you, here's something. No, it's not just as good. It's
nasty. If the salt is not gonna salt,
then what is gonna salt? this earth. It is thenceforth
good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under the
foot of men. You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men
light a camp." You see, every analogy in this, every picture,
every beautiful illustration here has one thing to say. Be careful to maintain good works. What for? It gives light to all
that are in the house. Let your light so shine before
men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
which is in heaven. God can take something so flawed
and so full of sin and so fickle and wretched and unreliable and get glory to his everlasting
name. Be careful. Be careful. John 15.5, one last
scripture. John 15.5. I am the vine. and you are the branches. He
that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he
is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them
and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide
in me and my words abide in you, which is confirmed in the phrase
in our text, you that have believed, you that have believed. You shall
ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my
Father. Why should we be careful to maintain
such a pitiful thing as our good works before God? Herein is my Father glorified. That you bear much fruit. So
shall you be, my disciple. So some good reasons, aren't
they? And one that I thought of here
just in preaching this, and I guess it goes along with his worthiness, but I believe we're to be careful
to maintain good works in gratitude. for what he's done for us. Be ye thankful. Be ye thankful. So grace and works are opposites,
but they also go together like pie and ice cream. It just depends on your perspective,
isn't it? We need to understand in what
sense they're enemies. And we need to understand in
what sense they're beautiful companions. May God give us grace and understanding
as we think on these things and the grace to act accordingly.
Amen.