Let us turn once again to God's
Word. I want to direct you this evening
to a verse in the book of Proverbs, in Proverbs chapter 14 and verse
23. Proverbs 14, 23. In all labor there is profit. but the talk of the lips tendeth
only to penury in all labour there is profit but the talk
of the lips tendeth only to penury and in particular the opening
clause of this verse probably of course part of the
wisdom literature of the Old Testament the writings of King
Solomon, who was the wisest of men, the wisest of kings, he
made that good choice when God asked what he would receive as
his blessing, and he wanted to be made a wise man, that he might
govern God's ancient people aright. And so we have these books here
in the Old Testament that were written by King Solomon under
of course the gracious inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not so much
the words then of King Solomon but it's all the word of God. And now time and again here we
see the wise man speaks against the folly of idleness, the foolishness
of sloth, and I suppose we have quite a A striking passage there
in chapter 6, verse 6 following, go to the ant. Thou sluggard,
consider her wise, and be wise, which having no guide, overseer,
or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth
her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a
little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall
thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an
armed man. And there are so many other portions
and verses that we could read in the book. You can read through
the book of Proverbs and see how the wise man speaks in against
the idler. And I suppose it's a truth that
this nation was once a nation of the book. God's words had
a very prominent place in the affairs of the people and we
were known in many ways for what they call the protestant work
ethic in a better day and we prospered as the word of God
held that pre-eminent and prominent position in the affairs not just
of those in authority but the common people the protestant
work ethic but what's become of that the last with a people
who have turned their back upon god and rejected the word of
god and the ways of wisdom but as we come to this particular
verse tonight. I want to try to say something
with regards to the gospel significance of the words. We're told, aren't
we, whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope. Well, what is the Apostle speaking
of when he writes those words there in Romans 15, the things
written aforetime? He's obviously referring to the
Scriptures of the Old Testament. They're written for our learning
under the Gospel. And so, as we come to the words
of the text, I want to try to say something with regards to
profitable labour under the Gospel. profitable labor or spiritual
labor under the gospel in this day of grace and to try to say
something with regards to that spiritual labor under four headings
first of all It's there when God begins with us and brings
us to the place of the conviction of sin. There's a certain labouring
in those who are brought to that spot, that sense of their sinnership
and their guilt in the eyes of one who is holy and righteous
and just and good. Remember the curse that is pronounced
upon the man because of his disobedience there in the garden of Eden. And the curse is associated with
the man's livers. You know the passage there in
the third chapter of the book of Genesis. Genesis 3, 17. Unto Adam God says, Because thou
hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of
the tree of the which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not
eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow shalt
thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of
the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. till
thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken,
for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. That awful
curse that God pronounces to Adam, that God pronounces upon
Adam and all his descendants, and the curse is in the ground
where man is to labour, And so, we're to recognize here,
surely, that whilst work is good and honorable, yet there is a
curse associated with it. When God makes man, God makes
him in his own image, after his own likeness. And the first thing
we see with regards to God, the first thing revealed to us concerning
God is that He is a God who works. In the beginning we're told God's
created the heavens and the earth. That's the opening statement
that we find here in Holy Scripture. We learn that God is a working
God. And then God later having accomplished
his work of creation over a period of some six days. When he comes
to the sixth day, God consults with himself, and God makes man
out of the dust of the earth, breathes into his nostrils the
breath of life. He's a living soul, but he's
made in the image of God. He's created after God's likeness. And so the man is made to work
and he sets the man there in the Garden of Eden to attend
to the God. He's a working man as God works
himself in his creation. So man is to work but there's
no a terrible curse that comes upon the earth because of man's
disobedience. And when it comes to God working
in the soul of the sinner, the great work of salvation, do not
the elect experience spiritual labors when they come under the
conviction of sin? That law that brings the conviction
of sin is really a revelation of God himself. In the Law, God
declares who He is, His holiness, His purity, His justice, His
righteousness. In the opening words of Exodus
20, God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God. And what is God doing in the
following 10 Commandments? He is not just giving laws to
man, but He is declaring something concerning himself. Now that's
made quite clear when we come to the second account of the
Ten Commandments. Remember how the Ten Commandments
are repeated later in Deuteronomy 5 after the 40 years of wilderness
wanderings when the children of Israel are now on the borders
of the promised land and about to enter into the possession
of that land of Canaan, there's a recounting of the Ten Commandments
in Deuteronomy 5. And there Moses says, Behold,
the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness,
and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. Oh,
what did God do in the law? He showed them His greatness. He showed them His glory. He
declared something of Himself. That law, it's holy. That commandment,
it's holy. It's righteous. It's just. It's
good. It's a spiritual law. We know
that the law is spiritual, says Paul, but I am carnal. sought
under sin and when the sinner's eyes are opened in that sense
and that's what happened to that man the Apostle Paul he had been
sought, the Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee schooled at the
feet of Gamaliel, one of the great Jewish rabbis, great Jewish
teachers and touching the righteousness of the Lord he considered himself
to be blameless but he knew nothing at all really of that law and
the spirituality of it he didn't really understand that
it was such a revelation of the character of God and the holiness
of God and how can the sinner measure up to such a God as that? what does the law do? it brings
the conviction of sin and there's labour in that there's a labour
in that but here we're told in all labour there is profit it's
not unprofitable to be under that tutorship of God God's dealing
with us bringing us to that place of conviction we know that what
things however the law saith it saith to them who are under
the law that every mouth may be stopped
as all the world is brought in guilty in the sight of God. By the Lord is the knowledge
of sin. Oh, that's the ministry of the
Lord. It's that ministry of condemnation. It's that ministry of death.
And how Paul was made to understand that, to feel that. And he tells
us, doesn't he, quite plainly when he writes there in that
remarkable seventh chapter in the epistle to the Romans. He says in verse 7, I have not known
sin but by the law for I have not known lust except the Lord
had said thou shalt not covet. He quotes the Tenth Commandment.
That was the commandment that found him out. I had not known
lust or as Imogen said, concupiscence, evil desires, sinful desires
Lost things. I have not known lost except
the Lord had said they shall not covet but sin taking occasion
by the commandment wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.
All manner of lusting. It's the same word. For without
the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law
once but when the commandment came sin revived and I died. always brought to that place
of the conviction of his seeing his maids to to feel it to grieve
over it and as we read here you see in all labour there is profit
but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury or what now of
the talk of that man's lips when he was so full of himself He could talk, you see, he could
talk the talk, saw the Pharisee. Oh, he knew so much. It was all
centered in himself. But the talk of the lips tended
only to penury. One thinks of the lines of the
hymn, no big words, of ready talkers, no didoctrine will suffice,
broken hearts. and humble walk as these are
dear in Jesus eyes. How we have to be brought to
that. It's a laboring to be brought
to that spot. That sense of our sinnership
and our guilt before a holy God. There's conviction of sin, but
really we have to recognize that this laboring goes on right the
way through the work that God does when he converts the sinner
to himself it all begins of course with
the new birth and when we think of the new birth what is the
new birth? well we relate it to the to the
first birth the natural birth and our natural birth involves
labour How the mother must pass through all those pangs as the
child is brought forth out of the womb. Those deep pains in
order to the birth of a baby. Well, with regards to the spiritual
birth, are there not also spiritual pains, labour pains? It's no easy believism to come
to saving faith. There's going to be some labor
in these things when the Lord takes us in hand, when the Lord
begins to deal with us. Oh yes, there's a certain simplicity
with regard to salvation, we know that. Christ says, Verily,
except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven. We have to be like little
children there. What is the Lord saying there?
He's simply teaching us that we need a faith that is childlike. There's something so simple that's
very different to any notion of easy believism. We read those words, didn't we,
in Matthew 11? The kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence. And the violent take it by force. strive to enter
in at the straight gate says Christ how many shall seek to
enter in there at and shall not be able you see there's there's
a working in the right sense here there's a laboring and in
all this labor there is profit ultimately We need to be clear,
of course, what this labouring is. It's not any labour that
contributes to salvation. We were reminded of it, weren't
we, in singing our opening praise, that well-known hymn of Toplady. Not the labor, he says, not the
labor of my hands can fulfill thy laws demands. Could my zeal,
no, respite, no, could my tears forever flow. All for sin could
not atone. Thou must save and thou alone. There's no work, there's no labor
that we have to perform in order to salvation. The work is Christ's. And Christ has accomplished all
that work that is necessary. He has come, made of a woman,
made under the Lord. He has come to stand in that
Lord's place for His people. And for them He has honoured
and magnified the Lord by the obedience of a sinless life and
by that great oblation, that sin-atoning death that He died. He has honoured the Lord in terms
of its penalties, yes, but also in terms of its precepts. There
is the righteousness of saints. There is no work to be performed.
And yet, in all labour there is profit when the Lord God begins
to show us these things. We have that word, don't we,
in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 11. Let us labour therefore to
enter into that rest. Oh, if we would enter into that
rest which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He himself says we're
to labor not for the meats that perisheth, but for that that
endureth to everlasting life. That's gospel of the grace of
God that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. In all this labor
there is profit then. First of all there's that profitable
labor that is involved when the sinner is brought to the place
of his conviction. but then secondly we see that
the whole process of conversion involves so much labour and what
is it? in a sense we might say it's
waiting on the Lord and you say to me but that's a contradiction
surely if you're labouring you're not just standing about waiting
Well, maybe it's a paradox of the life of the Christian.
How many times does the psalmist exhort that we wait on the Lord?
In Psalm 27 and verse 14, for example, wait on the Lord, be
of good courage, he says, and ye shall strengthen thy heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord. There's even a repetition there.
He begins by exhorting us that we wait, And he concludes by
repeating the exhortation, Wait, I say, on the Lord. What is this
waiting? Well, it's not idle waiting. It's not really doing nothing
at all, it's waiting in hope, waiting in anticipation, waiting
in expectation. It's that looking, that yearning,
for the appearing of the Lord. It's that sort of waiting. It
has been well observed that waiting spiritually is a very active
principle. Waiting spiritually is a very
active principle. And in that labour there is profit.
Because none can seek the Lord in vain, none can wait upon Him
in vain. or be you steadfast, unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you
know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. When the Lord begins with us
then, when there's awakening in the soul, there will be a
labour, even in looking to the Lord and waiting upon the Lord,
an earnestness, a hungering, a thirsting, all of these things.
And then, when the sinner is brought to that
assurance of salvation, when the sinner has managed to enter
through that straight gate and is in the narrow way, what of
the narrow way? What of the believer's life?
Well, it's a life of conflict, is it not? It's a life of conflict. Yes, he's resting in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and in the Lord Jesus Christ he has all his salvation. He's a sinner, but he's a justified
sinner. All being justified, Paul says,
by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We read that 11th chapter, didn't we, in the the gospel according
to Saint Matthew in those closing words a gracious gospel word
of the Lord Jesus come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy
laid and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you learn of
me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest
unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light that's
the word of the Lord to to those who know what it is to labor
in all their laboring there is profit when they come to that
place of resting in the Lord Jesus Christ and so those words
in Romans 5 and I I like to move the comma there you'll see that
the comma occurs after after believing doesn't
it? being justified by faith and
then the comma comes in association with the believing being justified
by believing but I like to move the comma because the punctuation
isn't part of the of the inspired Word of God the English punctuation
is that that was put in by the translators So I move the comma
after the word justified. I read it like this, being justified. There's an eternal justification
in the Lord Jesus Christ. From eternity they are those
who are in Christ. They're chosen in Him. And they're
justified in Him. Being justified, comma, by faith. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. We come to that experience of
our justification when we come to faith, when we're trusting
in the Lord Jesus Christ, when we're resting in Him. Well, this is the believer now,
you see, he's been brought to that great point where he knows
salvation and he's accounted righteous and he knows it in
his own soul righteous before God because he's clothed in the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ he's at rest but it's
interesting isn't it how Paul then continues later in that
same chapter he says not only so but we glory in tribulation
also we glory in tribulation also
knowing this that tribulation worketh patience and patience
experience and experience hope and don't make us not ashamed
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost and so we have that that passage where he speaks you see
of tribulation and patience or endurance and experience and
hope this chain of experiences that are the lot of the people
of God. They're always laboring, really.
Although they're at rest in Christ, yet their life is one of conflicts. His pardon is signed, His peace
is procured, yes, but now the conflict begins. Now the troubles,
now the trials, now the difficulties, the tribulations. the endurings. And why is it like this? Because
when God saves his people, he doesn't take them immediately
to himself, he doesn't take them immediately to that eternal rest
that's laid up for them in heaven, he leaves them in this world.
And this world lies in wickedness, says John, it lies in wickedness,
it's a fallen world. And all that is in the world Remember the words of the Apostle
John there in that second chapter of his first epistle. Love not the world, he says,
neither the things that are in the world, all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, are not of the Father but are of the world.
And the world is passing away and the lust thereof, but the
believer is in this world. And this world has its allurements
to him. He has an all nature. Paul is
in conflict with the world. But then he is also in conflict
with him who is the prince of the power of the air, the devil
himself, Satan. Paul says we wrestle not against
flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world. against spiritual wickedness
in high places and Paul isn't just multiplying words to no
purpose he is telling believers that they are involved in a conflict the believers conflict is a tremendous
labor as he's wrestling with the devil and he's surrounded
by foes on every hand in a fallen world and then of course there's
not on the world and Satan there's the flesh there's himself there's
the all nature the flesh lost it against the spirit and the
spirit against the flesh and these are contrary one to the
other Paul says and ye cannot do the thing that ye would oh
and how Paul was made to feel that the good that I would I
do not he cries the evil that I would not, that I do. Oh, wretched
man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?" And yet you see, this is all part and
parcel of the believer's life. It's the believer's conflict.
It's the good fight of faith. Fight the good fight of faith,
he says. lay hold of eternal life. It's the conflict, it's the labour.
In all this labour there is profit. All there is profit ultimately
for the child of God. The believer's conflict there.
We thought of the believer's experience of the conviction
of sin at the beginning and what labour it is when he
learns the awful truth of the curse that's on life, but he
feels it. He feels it in his own soul.
But all of his conversion, all of his conversion, all that the
Lord is doing with him, it involves labouring when he's brought to
that point of the new birth. And then when he He is altogether
a converted man. There's the conflict of the life
of faith. But then also there's the matter
of the believer's conduct. The way in which he lives his
life in this world. He walks by faith. That's how
we are to live our lives. Paul says we walk by faith, not
by sight. That's the life that we have
to live. We walk as those whose eye is upon him who is invisible.
That was the life that Moses lived as we're told there in
Hebrews 11 where we have that record concerning the faith of
Moses. He endured seeing him who is
invisible. And that's to be true of all
those who know that life of faith. But what of that walk by faith?
What does it entail? What does it mean to walk by
faith? To endure seeing the God who is the invisible God? Well,
we have an interesting statement in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1
and the beginning of verse 3 where it speaks of the work of faith
and the labor of love and the patience of hope. the work of
faith the labor of love and the patience or better still the
endurance that's the force of the word patience really the
endurance of hope and it's been said that that is a short summary
of what spiritual labor is this is that labor in which there
is profit in all labor there is profit but the talk of the
lips tendeth only to penurance we're not just to talk the talk
we're to walk the walk we're to walk the walk of faith and
therefore we will know something of the work of faith we'll know
something of the labor of love and something of the patience,
the endurance of hope but let us as we conclude just look at
these three aspects then to the believers conduct first of all
the work of faith. Again Paul writes into the Galatians
and of course in the Galatian epistle he is making quite clear the
great truth the great doctrine of justification by faith by
faith alone in Christ alone but he does in Galatians 5 6 speak
of faith which worketh by love faith works by love to the Ephesians
he says by grace are you saved through faith and that not of
yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man
should boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto
good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them All faith is the gift of God,
saving faith. But Paul says something more
there, doesn't he? We're his workmanship. And we're
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them. And of course, James,
as I'm sure you're aware, has a great deal to say with regards
to works. There have been those
who said, well, doesn't James contradict Paul Paul speaks of
justification by faith but doesn't James suggest that works has
some part to play in our justification you know the various passages
that we have there in that epistle of James in the second chapter
James chapter 2 James chapter 2 at verse 17 he
says, Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 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. Verse 20, Wilt thou know, O vain
man, that faith without works is dead? Was not our Abraham
our father justified by works when he had of Isaac his son
upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought
with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And so
it goes on. Now is he really contradicting
what Paul has said? Of course that's that cannot
be because God's Word does not contradict itself it's not James
against Paul, or Paul against James, each of them are speaking
the words of God. It's the word of God, and God
doesn't contradict himself. Now, what James is saying there
is that it's not that works bring justification before God, but
works, in a sense, justify our faith. works prove the reality
of our faith. Saving faith is faith that works
by love. By their fruit ye shall know
them. The Lord himself says every branch
that beareth fruit, what does the Father do? He purges it that
it may bring forth more fruit. Faith is a working grace. That's
what we have to remember. The evidence of saving faith
is those works that follow. It's not that we do works first
and by our works obtain our salvation and our justification, but our
salvation is altogether in Christ and experienced by faith in Christ.
But where that faith is genuine, True faith, it will be evidenced
by works, faith that worketh by love. It lives, it labours,
on the load. Though damped it never dies.
We just sang of it, didn't we, in that hymn 236. That's saving faith. He's drawing
a contrast there between that faith that is the false image
of faith and that faith that is true and genuine and genuine
faith lives and labours it's faith that works and works
by by love really and so he goes on doesn't he the work of faith,
the labour of love all the labour of love and do you remember Oh,
is it not John who in his first epistle has so much to say with
regards to the labour of love? We show our love to God by the
love that we manifest towards our brethren. There at the end
of that fourth chapter in that epistle, John says, If a man
say, I love God, and hate of his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth
God love his brother also. But what is it? What is it to
love his brother? Well, previously it says, verse
17 in chapter 3, Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his
brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from
him how dwelleth the love of God in him my little children
let us not love in word neither in tongue but in deeds and in
truth and thereby we know that we are of the truth and shall
assure our heart before him oh if we have that faith that is
true saving faith it will be a working faith and it will be
evidenced in the love that we have to the brethren and that
love will be a labouring love the readiness to work for them
to seek to do them good not just to speak comfortable words to
them and in all this labour there is profit says the wise man but then those words from 1st
Thessalonians 1.3 the work of faith, the labour of love the
patience, the patience of hope. Now, think of Abraham. Now, Abraham, of course, is the
father of all them that believe. In the Scripture, he is the great
exemplar of the man of faith, Abraham. And we read of his faith
there in Romans chapter 4. It's a great chapter, Romans
4. and God had given promise to Abram that Sarah was going
to bear the son the true seed and the wonderful type of him
who is the real seed of Abram the Lord Jesus Christ the son
of promise but how Abram had to wait and
wait and wait all the patience the endurance of his hope. And
we read there, don't we, in Romans 4.18 of Abraham, who against
hope believed in hope. Against hope he believed in hope. What a labouring hope was that. Oh, we glory in tribulations
also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience and experience hope
and hope make us not ashamed because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost that is given unto us.
Oh is there not some spiritual lesson then for us even here
in the book of Proverbs and in the text this spiritual labor,
this profitable labor in the gospel sense The talk of the
lips tendeth only to penury, or no big words of ready talkers. No, we want something real, something
wrought in us, something evidenced by the life of faith and the work of faith and the
labour of love. and the patience of hope. In
all labour there is profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth
only to penury. Well, the Lord teach us the truth
of it. Amen.