All right, let's look back at
that passage that Brother Joe just read in 2 Timothy chapter
3. Can y'all hear this okay, though?
I mean, seriously. I tease y'all about getting old
because I'm getting old. So don't get offended. Debbie
says I need a hearing aid sometimes. She just doesn't understand that
there's certain things I just don't want to hear. Selective hearing, that's what
they call it. All right, let's look at 2 Timothy 3. What I'm
going to do here today, and several messages coming, I'm going to
talk to you about the issue of good works. It's vital that we
who are truly Christians, believers, be skillful in the word of God
concerning this matter of good works. And the question, the
issue of good works, for example, salvation by grace or salvation
by works, that warfare has been going on since the fall of man.
We see it displayed in Adam's efforts to cover his own nakedness
with his fig leaves, which I believe are very symbolic of man trying
to hide his sin under his own works, which doesn't work. We
see it in Cain and Abel. Cain brought the works of his
hands to please God, to seek salvation and acceptance and
blessings from God. He was rejected because God had
already said that's not going to work. Abel brought the blood
of the Lamb. That's salvation by grace. I've
often said it this way and I'll be repeating this. I don't mind
doing that because it's not burdensome to me as Paul said to the Philippians
and it's good for you. Isaiah said, line upon line,
precept upon precept. And so these are things that
we need to understand. But I often say that salvation,
at no time, in no way, to any degree, at no stage, is by the
works or the will of man. It's by the works and the will
of God. Sovereign God. Salvation is grace reigning through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's not righteousness by our
works. It's not forgiveness by our works.
But you know, some people who claim to understand salvation
by grace even deny that good works exist. They say, well,
they just don't have any. And they'll say things like this,
well, we're sinners. And that's right, we are. We're
either sinners saved by grace or sinners still lost in our
sins. But they'll say something like this, well, we are sinners
and can do nothing good in God's sight. But they've got a problem. And the problem is a multitude
of scripture. I'm going to give you some of
them today. I can't give you all of them because we don't
have time. God's Word says good works do exist. You can't deny
that and read the Bible, just even a surface reading. And the
Bible says that good works play a necessary role in salvation
and in the lives of believers. Now, good works do not save us. They're not the cause of salvation.
They're not the ground of salvation. They don't make us righteous
before God. You know why? They're not good
enough. Even good works have to be washed in the blood of
Christ. I'll show you why in just a moment.
Good works do not earn God's blessings for us. But they are
necessary as the fruit and the evidence of salvation. So let's
let's talk about that. Now we're going to I'm going
to use Second Timothy chapter 3 here that especially verse
17 as a base text for for most of these messages. But I want
you to notice something here in the in the context of the
chapter chapter 3 verse 1 he says this know also that in the
last days perilous time dangerous times that's what that's talking
about shall come. Now the last days Paul when he's
writing this He's not writing about the future per se. He is including the future. But
he's also writing about his own time because he's living in the
last days. Paul is. He says that. John said
that. John said in 1 John 2, it's the
last time. It's the last days. The last
days refers to the time between Christ's first coming and his
second coming. It's the time of the New Testament
church, the gospel age. And what he's talking about for
the church, now he's talking about the church here. For the
church, in the last days, there's going to come dangerous times.
And there are dangerous times here. He'd been talking about
people infiltrating the church in 2 Timothy 1 and 2. He even
mentioned a couple by name. Look over at chapter 2, verse
17. He talked, well look at verse 15 first, chapter 2. He says,
study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Now what comes
to the forefront here is this, that by the grace and power of
God in Christ, the tool, the weapon, the shield that we use
to protect us as a church from these dangerous perilous times
is what? The Word of God. In other words,
you're to study, feed upon, become skillful in the Word of God.
You're to live by the Word of God. People will try to divert
your attention away from that. The Word of God. Preachers will
do it. And listen to what he says in
verse 16, But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will
increase unto more godliness, Back up in verse 14, I didn't
read, he talked about those who strive about words to no profit. Boy, we've seen that in our day,
haven't we? Striving about words to no profit. What does this
word mean? What does that word mean? You
know, I've got my definition, you've got your definition. Let's
lock her in and you come with me or else you go away. You see,
that's not what we do. That's not what we do. The word
of God is not that complicated. But look at verse 17, he says,
And their word will eat as doth a canker, like a gangrene, a
cancer, of whom Hymenaeus and Philetus. He mentions two men.
And I believe Timothy was at Ephesus at this time, so he was
kind of overseeing the church at Ephesus. And so these two
men had crept into the church, and it says, verse 18, Who concerning
the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past
already, and have overthrown, and overthrow the faith of some,
make shipwreck of the faith of some. In other words, some followed
them in their error to the point of denying the gospel. That's
what it is to make shipwreck of the... You believe the gospel.
You believe Christ. Don't let anybody make shipwreck
of your faith. And I know it's by the grace
and power of God that that won't happen, you see. But look at
verse 19, he says, Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and
let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Now he's talking about the church. And over here in chapter 3, when
he talks about dangerous times, now he mentions this. Look at
verse 2 of chapter 3. He said, Men shall be lovers
of their own selves. Well, let me ask you a question.
Now he says, In the last times, men shall be lovers of their
own selves. When has that not been the case? You say, well,
back in 1950, when we were watching Father's No Best, men weren't
lovers of themselves. And I say, bull. You know that's
not true. Men have all, since the fall,
men have been what? Lovers of themselves. Self-love
is the problem. Self-righteousness and self-love.
He goes on, he says, men shall be covetous. You know what covetous
means? It means wanting what you don't
have. Has there been a decade where that wasn't the case with
men? Well, no. These things have always been
around. He says, men will be boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. In other words, they
won't separate themselves. He says, without natural affection,
truce breaker, all these things you see. Now, most people will
look at a verse like that and they'll say, well, see, it's
just going to get much, much, much worse as we get on. I agree with
that, but that's not what this verse is teaching. I think things
are going to get worse in the sense that things are brought
out more in the open. And people more generally will
accept things. But you know what he's talking
about here? He's talking about these things creeping into the
church among professing believers. That's the danger that he's going
to talk about. That's the problem. And that's
why he says, verse 5, they have a form of godliness, but they
deny the power thereof. The power of the gospel, the
power of God's grace to bring a sinner to repentance of sin,
godly sorrow over sin, and the power of a changed life. That's
what he's talking about. And he says they'll creep in
the houses, they'll lead captive silly women, that's foolish women.
And I know ladies, I don't think Paul's meaning to insult you
here, but what he's basically talking about is those who live
their lives, not guided by the word of God, but guided by emotion. guided by feeling, guided by
sentimentality. That's the problem with the church
today. You think about it. Not the true church now. I'm
talking about in the last days. And he says they'll go into every
kind of idea, every kind of philosophy, And he says, those who stand
up against these things will be persecuted. Look at verse
12. Yea, and all that will live godly. That means godlike. That means following Christ,
trusting in Him for all salvation, standing firm by the grace of
God for His truth, will suffer persecution. They'll be persecuted. But he says in verse 13, but
evil men and seducers, He says, shall wax, grow worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived. But now here's the remedy now.
Now again, let me make sure we understand. Listen, if we're
saved, it's by the grace of God in Christ. Isn't that right?
If we continue in salvation, it's by the grace of God in Christ.
If we make it unto glory, it's by the grace of God in Christ. But God has given us tools and
means by which we fight this battle in this wilderness of
the earth. And this is what he says in verse
14, continue down the things which thou hast learned. We need
to be learners. You know, that's what disciple
means. It's not just a follower, it's a learner. We need to be
learning all the time, learning from God's word. And he said,
continuing the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured
of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. God is the teacher. He may use a man, teaching the
Word, witnessing the Word, but the Holy Spirit is the teacher
in it. And so he says in verse 15, and that from a child thou
hast known the Holy Scriptures, the written Word of God, what
you have in your hand there, from Genesis to Revelation. And
he says, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through
faith which is in Christ Jesus. These scriptures lead sinners
to Christ for salvation. That's what the written word
is about. If you read the word and you're not led to Christ
for all salvation and forgiveness and righteousness and eternal
life and glory, you've missed it. Isn't that right? And then
he says in verse 16, all scripture, all the written word, is given
by inspiration of God, most of you know in the original that
means God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, that's teaching,
for reproof, that shows us what's wrong, for correction, that shows
us what's right, for instruction in righteousness. What is righteousness? Where do we find righteousness?
How do we live under righteousness? How do we live? We follow Christ.
We submit to Him as the Lord our righteousness. I have no
righteousness but in Him. And I follow Him. And then he
says, in order that, verse 17, that the man of God, that's a
sinner saved by the grace of God, may be perfect. Now what's he talking about?
May be complete. We're already perfect in Christ.
We're not perfect in ourselves. One day we will be. But this
completeness has to do with growing in grace and knowledge. So that
the sinner say by the grace of God in Christ may be complete. And then he says throughly or
thoroughly furnished equipped under what? All good works. Furnished under all good works. Now that tells us that good works
do have a place in salvation. in the believer's life. Again,
not as a cause of salvation, not as a ground of salvation,
not as meritorious in any way, shape, form or fashion. You don't
earn anything from God by your good works. No, sir. There are
blessings connected with good works, but not by merit. You
can't earn it. But as the fruit and evidence
of God's grace, I'm going to read you some scripture and then
some of these I'm going to be referring to several times throughout
this series of messages so don't don't if you know if you can't
turn to them quick don't worry about it but let's listen to
this showing the necessity of good works it's not an option
for a believer good works are necessary in what way and what
are they well first of all listen this one Matthew 5 in verse 16
this is the first time that the term good works is used in the
New Testament where Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, he says,
let your light so shine before men that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Now the light
there is the gospel of Christ. The good works are not the light.
You know, I've heard people take a verse like this and they'll
develop their own philosophy and they'll say something like
this, it goes something like this, that you're the only sermon that
some people hear. Well, I'm going to tell you something.
If I'm the only sermon of my life, meaning my life, if that's
the only sermon you hear, you're in a lot of trouble and vice versa. It pleased the
Lord through the what? Preaching of the gospel to save
them that believe. Faith cometh by what? and hearing by the word of God.
You're not going to be saved by looking at me. And I'm not
going to be saved by looking at you. Now, when you look at
me, I hope and pray that my life glorifies and honors God. But my friend, the gospel is
the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe. Not
my godly life. Now, I don't want my godly life
to get in the way, my ungodly life to get in the way, you see. But that's not the power of God
in the salvation. The light here is the gospel
of Christ, how God saves sinners. The message, the message of truth
that shows the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man and
reveals the righteousness of God in Christ, salvation by grace. A free gift from God through
Christ who kept all the conditions, met all the requirements, fulfilled
all stipulations for the salvation of His people in His obedience
unto death. Who Christ is, He's the God-Man. God in human flesh. What He did,
He saved His people from their sins by the redemptive price
of His blood on the cross. Putting away our sin, He was
made sin. Christ who knew no sin, for us
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. And how God is
just to justify the ungodly through His righteousness imputed, charged,
accounted, and not by our works. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Let that light shine, the light
of the glory of God in Christ, that they may see your good works.
You see, it's the light shining that exposes or reveals the good
work. And do what? Draw attention to
yourself? No. Glorify your Father which
is in heaven. In the book of Acts chapter 9
and verse 36, there was at Joppa, it says, a certain disciple named
Tabitha, a woman, which by interpretation is called Dorcas. And here's
what God the Holy Spirit recorded about Tabitha. It says, this
woman was full of good works and alms deeds. That's charity.
That's giving, which she did. Now that seems pretty important,
doesn't it? I quoted Ephesians 2, 8,
and 9 a while ago. For by grace are you saved, through
faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works. lest any man should boast. What
does verse 10 say? Remember what verse 10 says?
For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. We're God's
workmanship. If we're saved, we're God's workmanship. We're
not self-made people. Salvation didn't come to us by
our works or our will. It came by God's works and God's
will. So we're His workmanship. Now
how did he create us? In Christ Jesus unto what? Good works. Unto, not because
of. Unto good works. Which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them. Listen. God has
foreordained good works for his people. He's predestinated good
works for his people. That's what that means. That
they should what? Walk by them? No. Walk in them. So it's a walk. Listen to 1 Timothy
chapter 2 and verse 9. He's talking about women and
what you wear in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 9. He's talking about
women that adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness. Now that doesn't mean that you
should be ashamed of what you wear. It means you should be
humble. That's what that means. And sobriety. not with broided
hair, gold or pearls, or costly array, but which becometh women
professing godliness, professing to be believers, with good works. That's what he said. Over in
1 Timothy chapter 5, verses 9 and 10, he talks about a widow. A
widow who's like 60 years old is what he says here. Having
been the wife of one man well reported of for good works. well-reported
of for good works. If she brought up children, if
she'd lodged strangers, if she'd washed the saints' feet, if she'd
relieved the afflicted, if she had diligently followed every
good work. There you go. Good work. Down
in 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 24, down the page a little bit
there. Here's what, listen to what he says here. He says, some
men's sins are open beforehand. There are some people's sins,
you can see they glare. I mean, they're just like an
advertisement before. Somebody who just openly, openly sins. Going before the judgment. And
then some men, they follow after. In other words, some men's sins
are hidden. You can't see their sins. The sins of the heart,
the sins of omission. But he says, likewise, also the
good works of some are manifest beforehand. And they are otherwise
cannot be hid. The good works of some are manifest
beforehand. 1 Timothy chapter 6. Like I said,
I know y'all have time to get to all these scriptures. I'm
going to come back to many of them. Alright? But what I'm just
trying to show you is how abundant this subject is in the scripture
of good works. But 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse
17 is talking about people who are rich in this world. And he
says, charge them that are rich in this world that they be not
high-minded, proud, nor trust in uncertain riches, here today,
gone tomorrow, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all
things to enjoy. In other words, he's not telling
a rich person to be ashamed of what they have. God's given that
to you to enjoy. But here's the charge, that they
do good and that they be rich in what? Good works. ready to
distribute, willing to communicate, that share, laying up in store
for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that
they may lay hold of eternal life. That's not talking about
buying their way into heaven. And that's not talking about
putting it up there so you'll have it when you get there. That's
talking about evidencing your state in Christ, who is your
foundation. I'll have you turn to this one,
Titus chapter 2. We read there a while ago. Look
at Titus chapter 2. Listen to what he says there
again. Talking about the grace of God. Verse 11. Well, look back over in verse
1 of Titus 2. But speak thou the things which
become sound doctrine. In other words, let your speech
be appropriate to the truth. And then he says down in verse
7, listen to this. In all things showing thyself
a pattern of good works. That's what we're to do as believers.
We're to be examples, patterns of good works. In doctrine showing
uncorruptedness, gravity and sincerity. Sound speech that
cannot be condemned and so on. And then verse 11 that I read
in the opening. For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men. That's the preaching of
the gospel all over the world. Teaching us that denying ungodliness,
worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, godly in
this present world. Looking for that blessed hope,
you see. What is that blessed hope? That's
the assurance of salvation by the grace of God in Christ. And
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus
Christ. Who gave himself for us. There's
the foundation. that he might redeem us from
all iniquity, again, there's the foundation, and purify himself
a peculiar, a purchased people, zealous of good works. There's
the fruit. Christ giving himself for us
to redeem us from our iniquity, there's the ground. People zealous
of good works, that means on fire for good works, there's
the fruit. You see the difference? And then
look down at chapter 3, look at verse 4. Titus chapter 3 verse
4, but after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we've done,
see good works are excluded there, but according to his mercy. His
unearned, undeserved favor saved us by the washing of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. There's the new birth,
which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
There's the ground. That being justified by what?
His grace, not by works. Justified by His grace, we should
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Now you
see all that? There it is. Christ, work on
the cross, there's the ground. The Holy Spirit in the new birth,
there's the fruit. And from that, look at verse
8. He says, 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. It's a maintenance. And these things are good and
profitable unto men. Well, we could go on and on with
scripture showing the necessity, and I'll show you some more.
But let's turn to James, James 2. That's probably the most sometimes
quoted and even misused passage concerning this issue of good
works. There are others that I could show you. And I'm going
to, I don't know if I'll get to this next week or the week
after, but I'm going to do an exposition, just preach verse
by verse through this passage here beginning at James 2 and
verse 14. Here's what James writes by inspiration
of the Spirit. He says, What doth it profit
my brethren, though a man say he hath faith that he believes
in Christ, that he rest in Christ, that he's a disciple of Christ,
and have not works? Now, can faith save him? Can
that kind of faith save him? And the answer is no. What kind
of works is he talking about here? Well, look at verse 15. If a brother or sister be naked
and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto him,
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding you
give them not these things which are needful to the body, what
doth it profit? Giving somebody some clothes
when they need them or some food when they're hungry. He says
in verse 17, even so faith, a claim of believing in Christ, if it
hath not worked, is dead, being alone. Now, a lot of people say,
well, James is contradicting Paul, because Paul said we're
justified by grace. Paul said we're justified based
on the righteousness of Christ, imputed, charged, accounted,
not our works. And here James is talking about
faith and works. He even talks about Abraham being
justified by works. But they're talking about two
different things. And when I get to this, I'll
show you some in detail about that. But here's what it is.
Paul in Romans is talking about justification of a sinner before
God. That's what he's talking about.
James is not talking about that. James is talking about the evidence
of faith before men. The vindication, justification
in that sense, vindication of our claim to be believers before
men. If you claim to be a believer,
but you don't live unto the Lord, what's James saying? Well, that
kind of faith is dead. Those people who say, well, because
I'm saved by the grace of God 100%, And because salvation at no time
to any degree at any stage is based on my works, then I can
just go and sin as much as I want to. What does James say about
that? That's a dead faith. That's a
sham religious profession and has no place in the kingdom of
God. Now, that's what James is talking about. All right. And
like I said, I'll get to that. But I want to I want to give
you these things right here. Now, listen to this. What is
a good work? Now a good work has to be defined
by God's word. That's what we're talking about.
The word of God, Paul wrote over here in 2 Timothy 3, the scripture
given by inspiration of God so that we who are saved by the
grace of God can be complete and thoroughly furnished, equipped
unto all good works. Well, the first thing I'm going
to have to know about that is what in the world is a good work? Now a man will tell you what
he thinks is a good work, but it's not necessarily true. What
does God say is a good work? Let me make one distinction here.
You know, we quote Romans 8.28 quite often. Remember what it
says, Romans 8.28? All things work together for
good to them that love God, who are the called according to His
purpose. Now let me tell you, that verse, it says all things
work together for good. That does not say all things
are good. It does not say all things are
good. It says all things work together for good. Now who's
doing the working there? You, me? No. God is. In other words, God in His sovereign
wisdom and knowledge and power, He's working all things, all
things good and bad. He's working all things after
the counsel of His own will, Ephesians 1. He's working all
things together for good. In other words, God's going to
turn it for His glory and the good of His people. I'll give
you two glaring examples of that, that you cannot deny. The first
one is the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about it. On man's part, it was a work
of murder and evil. Where do you get that at? Acts
2.23. Just listen to it. Here's what
Peter says about Jesus Christ being crucified. Acts 2.23. Him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Now how was Christ delivered to the cross? By the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. And then to the people of
Israel, Jerusalem, he says, you have taken and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain. Now what he's saying there is
the same thing that Joseph said back in Genesis chapter 50 and
verse 20 to his brethren. Remember when they sold him into
Egypt? And later on, when Joseph was
second in command in the land of Egypt, he confronted his brothers,
and his brothers were afraid. They knew they had done evil.
They knew they had treated him wrongly. They knew that they
had sinned against God and against their brother, and they knew
that he was going to come down on them with vengeance. That's
what they thought in their minds. And what did Joseph tell them?
In Genesis 15, verse 20, he says, But as for you, you thought evil
against me. It was evil. But God meant it
for good. Now, you don't have the power
to do that. I don't either. You know, somebody
says, well, if God's going to turn it to my evil or good, I'll
just do it. No, you don't have that kind
of knowledge. You see, when you do that, what you're actually
saying is I'm on the same equal plane with God. You don't have
that. I don't have that. Only God does.
Only God can take evil and mean it for good. And God's not the
author of evil. He said it. God meant it under
good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people
alive. Well, why did Christ go to the
cross? Under the evil hands of men to save much people alive,
his people from, to save his people from their sins. So you
see that? So don't get this issue of good.
Well, what is a good work then? Well, first of all, listen to
this. A good work is a work that God does in and through His people. He has chosen, He has justified,
He has redeemed, He has regenerated children. That's what a good
work is. It's one that God does through
His people. You see, it begins with the new
birth. And it issues forth from the
heart established with grace. That is all the working of God.
All who receive Christ, they're born of God. Good works cannot
come from an unjustified, unregenerate person. They cannot. Think about it. What does it
say in Romans 3 and verse 10? Listen to this. in Romans 3 and
verse 10. As it is written, there's none
righteous, no, not one. That's man by nature. In verse
11, there's none that understandeth, there's none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way, they are all together
become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. That's man by nature. That's
you by nature. That's me by nature. That's the
best of us by nature. That's the worst of us by nature.
Good according to God's standard. Remember when the rich young
man in Matthew 19 came to the Lord and he just thought of Jesus
of Nazareth as a good man, a good teacher. He said, good master,
what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? Remember
what Christ told him? He said, why callest thou me
good? There's none good but God. In other words, if you don't
believe I'm God, don't call me good. Good is measured by God's
standard. So don't call me good unless
you're saying I'm God. You see, among men born of Adam,
there's none good, no not one. None. Do you remember the false
preachers in Matthew 7? Verse 21 through 23, they said,
Lord, haven't we prophesied in your name? Preaching in your
name. You know, preaching in his name is a good work. He said, haven't we cast out
demons? The disciples did that. That's
a good work. Haven't we done many wonderful
works? What did he say to them? He said,
depart from me you that work iniquity. Now you know what most
preachers will tell you about that passage, don't you? They'll
say, well, they weren't sincere. How do you know that? I think
they were. In fact, I know they were. You don't plead stuff like that
at the judgment unless you're sincere. What's the problem? Why was their works iniquity
and not good works? I'll tell you why, because it
was aimed at earning God's favor. It was aimed at making themselves
righteous. They weren't pleading. What are
you going to plead at the judgment? When you stand before God at
judgment, what are you going to plead as the ground of your
hope? The fact that you preached in
His name? That won't get it, friend. That won't equal out
righteousness. The fact that you cast out demons,
the fact that you've done many wonderful works, that won't make
it. That won't measure up. That's why it's inequity. Iniquity. It won't measure up to righteousness.
What are you going to plead? I'll tell you what I'm going
to plead. I'm going to plead Christ and Him crucified and risen again. He's my hope and my study. Not
my preaching. Not my giving. Not my church
attendance. Not my praying. I'm not going
to plead any of that. Can all that be good works? Yes. But
my friend, if you plead that as your righteousness before
God, you know what it is? It's not good. It's iniquity.
That's what it is. Paul said, I was a Hebrew of
Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, touching the law blameless. But
he said, when I saw the glory of God in Christ and the salvation
that God has provided freely in Christ, I counted all but
dumb that I may win Him and be found in Him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ. A good work is the work of God. Look over at Galatians chapter
2. Listen to this. Galatians 2 and
verse 19. Paul writes, verse 19 of chapter
2, for I through the law am dead to the law. Now there's the ground
of salvation. How do you become dead to the
law? Paul wrote it in Romans chapter 6. He writes it right
here in just a moment. through the cross of Christ,
through the body of Christ. I'm dead to the law. In other
words, the law cannot condemn me because I have a righteousness
that equals the demands of the law. What is that righteousness?
It's the obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus Christ charged
to me, accounted to me. So I'm dead to the law. Now there's
the ground. That I might live unto God, there's
the fruit. All right? Verse 20, I'm crucified
with Christ. There's the ground. Nevertheless
I live, there's the fruit. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. Now what's he saying there? I'm
dead, I'm not, I'm here, I'm there. No, he's simply saying
the source of the life that I live is not me. The source of the
life and the power of the life that you live, living under God
as a born-again person, is not yourself. It's Christ living
in you by His Spirit and by His Word. And look at verse 20. He
says, In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself
for me. Do you know what good works are
also called in the Scripture? the fruit of the Spirit. Look across there in Galatians
chapter 5 verse 22. They're the fruit of the... You
see, they're not the cause of anything. They're not the ground
of anything. They're not meritorious at all. They're the evidence
of something. It's just like you're breathing
right now, aren't you? I think most of you are. You know what
that says? That says you're alive. with
physical life. It's what breathing does. Breathing
didn't cause you to live. In fact, you live before you
breathe in your mother's womb. But the first thing the doctor
wants to see or know when you come out of that womb is, are
you breathing? That's the evidence of life.
And that's what good works are. They're the evidence. They're
the fruit of something. He says in verse 22, but the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no... You
see there? That's the fruit of the Spirit. Look over at Philippians
chapter 1. Look at this one. I want to show you two verses
in Philippians here. Philippians 1 and verse 6. He talks about being confident
of this very thing, Philippians 1, 6, that he which hath begun
a good work in you. Now, who begun it? God did. You
didn't begin it. That's the way most preachers
present it today. Well, he's done everything he
can do for you. Now, you've got to put it into
action. You've got to make it effective.
No, no, no, no, no. If left to yourself, you won't
do that. That's what man's depraved nature is all about. He says,
He who has begun a good work in you will perform it, will
complete it, until the day of Jesus Christ. And then look over
at Philippians 2 and verse 12. Listen to this one. He says,
Wherefore, my beloved, as you've always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling, that's with worship, with worship and
with an understanding that without Christ you're a goner. Verse
13, look at it. For it is God which worketh in
you both the will and to do his good pleasure. You see it? It's
God who's working in you to do both his will and his good pleasure.
And then one more on that subject, Hebrews 13. I want you to see
this one. What is a good work? It's the
work of God in His people. It's not our works. It's His
work in us. You see? Look at Hebrews 13 and
verse 20. He says, 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,
there's the ground, Verse 21, make you perfect, complete 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
forever and ever. Amen. That's what a good work
is. Here's another thing, turn to
Romans 7. Romans 7, a good work is the fruit of our union with
Christ. is the fruit of our union with
Christ. Look at verse 4 of Romans 7. He says, Wherefore, my brethren,
you also are become dead to the law. Remember what that is. The
law cannot condemn us. We have a righteousness that
the law accepts, God accepts. How do we get that way? Look
at it, by the body of Christ. You see it? Not by your works. but by the suffering unto death
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and here's the fruit, in order that
you should be married to another, united to Christ, even to him
who's raised from the dead, that we should what? Bring forth fruit
unto God. Fruit unto God. You see, before
that, all we could do is bring forth fruit unto death. In John
15, Christ said this. He said, I'm the vine. You're
the what? The branches. Every branch in
me bears fruit. We'll look at that passage in
another message. But that's what a good work is.
A good work is one that's motivated by love and grace and gratitude,
not fear of punishment or mercenary promises of reward. Paul said
the love of Christ constrains us. Good works, the service of
good works is the difference between a legal slave who owes
a debt to God's justice and a willing, loving bond slave of Christ whose
debt's been paid by somebody else. A good work is one aimed
towards the glory of God in Christ. It's not aimed to bringing glory
and attention to ourselves. It's part of our witness to the
glory and the power and the grace of God as we seek to adorn the
doctrine of Christ. Paul wrote, whether you eat or
drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. A good
work is a work of truth and grace and love and kindness, compassion,
forgiveness, patience, faithfulness, in hopes that God will use them
to bring lost sinners under the preaching of the gospel. and
that he's pleased to save them. It's a testimony as viewed in
light of the gospel. A good work is one that's washed
clean by the blood of Christ to be accepted before God. Do
you know even our works have to be presented to God washed
in the blood of Christ? As God produces them by the operation
of the Spirit within us, they're perfect, but when they come through
us, they're contaminated with the flesh. And so that's a good
work. A good work is our entire walk
in grace and love and obedience to Christ. All right.