Well, it's a delight to be here
and see so many folks I haven't seen for a while. I pray the Lord will give us something
to say this morning. If you have your Bibles, turn
with me to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. I want to read one verse of Scripture. I'll actually take my text from
verse 10 of chapter 2. Let's read the first 10 verses. And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins. Now who's he talking about there?
He's talking about those whom he has chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Those whom he has predestinated
to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself. Those
whom he has accepted in the Beloved, all for the glory of His grace.
Those whom He has redeemed by His blood, forgiven all their
sins, abounded toward them in all wisdom and prudence, revealed
to them the mystery of His will, all according to good pleasure.
Those whom He has taught the gospel, has caused to hear the
gospel, after which, having heard the truth, they believed, and
he has sealed them with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of their inheritance. Now it is to those blessed, eternally
blessed people, he says, you were dead in trespasses and sins
when I quickened you together with the Lord Jesus Christ. wherein
in times past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature, we were not the children of but we were by
nature the very same as the children of wrath, even as others. But
God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, quickened us together with
Christ, by grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together,
and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Jesus Christ.
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Jesus Christ. For
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 on two good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. There is a general principle
or premise that is found throughout the writings of Paul, and it
is true of every true gospel preacher who stands to proclaim
the glories of God's grace. We find ourselves answering questions
before they even arise when we declare the glory of God's sovereign
successful effectual grace in Jesus Christ. We do so because
they most surely will arise, and the reason we know they will
arise is because the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to answer questions
before they came up when he preached the gospel of grace. The gospel
of grace, plainly declared, is the bane of the legalist, and
it is the narcotic of the antinomian. One believes that to preach salvation
by grace alone will open the floodgates of sin, while to the
other, such clear declaration is taken as a license to sin. By inspiration, our Lord included
the response of the naysayers in holy writ so that we can be
sure that when we preach the gospel, when we tell folks about
Jesus Christ, the response of the world will be patently obvious. Let me give you some examples.
When Paul declared the glories of imputation in that great chapter
in Romans chapter 5, when he declared that all men were either
in one man or another, that in Adam they all died, that in Christ
they all were made alive, that in Adam by his disobedience they
were all made sinners, that in Christ by his obedience they
all who were in him were made righteous. He ended that great
word by saying, moreover, the law entered that the offense
might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And
that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
And the world's response will always be, well, if that's the
case, let's sin. Let's sin. So the Holy Spirit
checks the response by causing Paul to write, what shall we
say then? Shall we continue in sin? that grace may abound. God forbid. God forbid. When
Paul addressed the law in Romans chapter 6, he says, For sin shall
not have dominion over you, because you are not under the law, but
under grace. The world's response will always
be the same. No law, let sin. No law, let sin. The Spirit checks the response
with, What then? What then? Shall we sin? Because we are not under the
law, but under grace, God forbid. When Paul spoke of election in
Romans chapter 9, for the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said
unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And the world's
response to that will always be, Well, that's just not fair. And the Holy Spirit checks that
response by inspiring Paul to write these words. What shall
we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. Now, our text in Ephesians chapter
2 and verse 10 is the answer to what religion hears in verses
8 and 9. For by grace, ye are saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast." And when the world hears that
particular reference, the natural response to salvation being by
grace through faith, and no part of it having to do with anybody's
works, then when works are mentioned in verse 10, the aha of religion
says, see, we are saved But we've got to have good works, too.
We've got to have good works, too. Good works, after all, people
believe, are the evidence of their salvation. That's how they
believe they know that they are saved. If you believe that, I
want you to stop it right now. Just quit. Because there ain't
but one evidence of salvation. Just one in Scripture. Faith. is the evidence of things hoped
for, the substance of things not seen. The Holy Spirit replies this
way, your good works are ordained by God and you will do them and you
will do them all by the same precious precise, exact grace
that saved you. Your works are a result of grace
alone, just as the rest of your salvation. Our Lord said it this
way in John 15, 16, I have chosen you, you've not chosen me, and
I've ordained you. You're going to bring forth fruit,
and your fruit's going to remain. You reckon there's any possibility
that won't happen? He said, you're going to do it. I've ordained
it, so that's how it's going to come to pass. Paul said in
Galatians chapter 3, having begun in the spirit, are you now made
perfect in the flesh? And he goes on to say, don't
you understand what I said to Abraham? Abraham believed God. And it was accounted to him for
righteousness. We are his workmanship. For we
are his workmanship. created in Christ Jesus unto
good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. Now this text is a place of comfort
for the believer if he is able to see the beauty therein. It is a comparative phrase or
a sentence that declares an opposite condition in a state than that
which was declared in verses 2 and 3. Verse 2 and 3 says,
wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the
power of the air. Don't think unbelief and rebellion
against God is some other philosophy. Unbelief and rebellion against
God is demon possession. That's what it is. If you don't
believe God, you're possessed of the devil. Read John chapter
8. Read the words of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Over and over again he said these things. Possessed
of the devil. You say, well, I thought these
people drew pentagrams on the side of buildings and things
and went out in the woods and wore hoods and had weird rites
and ceremonies. Demon possession is unbelief. It is insanity. That's what it
is to be demon possessed. You don't trust the grace of
God alone. You know why you don't? Because you're demon possessed.
And you know what's going to have to happen? A stronger than
Satan himself is going to have to come into your domain and
bind up Satan and spoil his house. That's what it's going to take
for your salvation. Well, if you're under the power of Satan,
what are you? You're demon possessed. You're
demon possessed. That's what it says here, you
are under the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversations in times past. the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires in the flesh of the mind, and were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others were. We were dead in trespasses
and sins, and when we were there, we walked under the rule of the
prince of the power of the air, governed by our own lust to fulfill
the desires of our minds. But that has changed. That has
changed. Verse 4 begins with the word,
but. But. There was an interpreter
in the U.N. And he was interpreting what
one country was saying, what one representative of a country
was saying, who was particularly the enemy of the man he was interpreting
for. But the man didn't want to listen
to all this spiel that this fellow was putting out. He says, so
here's what you do. He says, when that fellow says the word
but, you tell me what he said immediately before and immediately
after. Why? Because what immediately
is said before, when the word but, that great conjunction is
added, it means whatever is said afterward is the absolute opposite
of it. You walked under the prince of
the power of the air, but a total opposite has taken place. But
God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved
us, even when we were dead and trespassing in sin, has quickened
us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved. You who walked in trespasses
and sins, you who were governed by the Prince of the power of
the air, you've been saved by grace. You've been given wonderful
faith. You've been resurrected from
the dead with Jesus Christ in newness of life, and you're seated
with Christ in the heavenlies even as we speak. Paul said to
Timothy, God has saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Jesus Christ before the world
began. Whereas once you were driven
to fulfill our wickedness, we are now, listen, created and
ordained to fulfill the will of God. That's what you're created
for. We are His workmanship. A.D. Mews preached a message
on this many years ago and enlightened me to what that word workmanship
was. The word is poema. Poem. You are God's poem, in the sense
in which that word poem is used is in the sense of perfection,
of perfect work in rhythm and orderliness and beauty. His workmanship, what does that
embrace? According to this passage of
Scripture, His workmanship embraces the whole of His work in the
redemption of His elect, His elect from the beginning when
He chose us to the end when He predestinates Our works for us. All of it. All of it. It embraces
the complete salvation of our souls. The beauty of this is,
if we understand it, this goes on to encompass your life also. Your life also. This is God saying
to you who are created anew in Christ Jesus, let us make man
in our own image. The phrase, good works, does
not apply to specific acts of goodness, but rather to the entire
life of the believer. So our Lord talks about all that
He did for us, chose us, all Christ did for us in redemption,
all the Holy Spirit did for us. And He sums it up this way, all
of it, from back yonder to this life, all the way to the end
of it, I did it and you didn't. I did it and you didn't. The believer no longer walks
among whom all We all had our conversation in times past which
covered our entire existence. Now the believer walks not to
the crippled cadence of the lust of the mind, but to a higher
and a nobler existence because in Christ Jesus, He has created
four good works. Four good works. Somebody is
going to say, ah, so that means we have to do good works. No,
it means you are going to do good works. There's a whole different
ballgame here. It's a whole different ballgame.
It's not our doing. It's by grace. And that encompasses
our entire existence. Also, a second principle governs
your life here. Listen very carefully. We are
created for good works. And the good works that we are
created for are prepared by God for us to walk in. Did you hear
what I just said? We are created for good works. for good works, and the good
works that we are created for are prepared by God for us to
walk in. That's what this text says. That's
what this text says. That covers the entire spectrum
of life. Our life, our life, our new life
created in Christ Jesus is a continuous act of God's sovereign grace. right now as we live. Not only are we created for good
works, but the actual good works that we will walk in, that we
are ordained to walk in, are already prepared for us. They
are just waiting for us to catch up with them. All of the life of the redeemed
believing sinner is arranged for Him. It is arranged for Him
by the gracious hand of Almighty God. People call me sometimes
and they're stirred up about this and that. They say, what
do you think about that? I have a pat answer. Everything
is on schedule, folks. Everything is happening according
to plan. Well, I feel miserable. Live
with it. It's part of your life. This
is life. The steps of a good man, according
to Scripture, are ordered by the Lord. David on his deathbed
said, God has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in
all things, and absolutely sure. Absolutely sure. Simply stated. Now listen carefully. I'll tell
you, if you get this, it will float your boat. It'll trip your
trigger. It'll make you feel joyous in
Jesus Christ, if you get what I'm saying here. Simply stated,
the believer is fully equipped for all that lies in his path,
because all that lies in his path is prepared for the equipment
that he's been given. That's what this text says. We
are His workmanship. created in Christ Jesus unto
good works which God hath ordained that we should walk in. That's
what this text is saying. They're a perfect match. A perfect
match. For everything that comes our
way we are equipped because everything that comes our way is made for
our equipment. That's what this is saying. Think
about it. This is a true comfort as I face
the day in whatever it might bring. There are two principles
set in order here, two exacting, unchanging, never changing principles. First, God has prepared me in
Christ for whatever the day has in store. And second, though
what lies ahead for me is not known by me, it is known by God,
it is made for me, and to the precise measure to which God
has equipped me. That's what this is saying. Now,
ain't that something? Think about it. Well, what does
good works mean? If you ask ten people what good
works are, you'll probably get as many opinions as I expect. Good works are not defined in
the Word of God. I challenge you to show me where
they are. Show me a list. Tell me a list. You say, well,
what about the fruit of the Spirit? Fruit? Works? I think those are
two different things, aren't they? Fruit comes from a union with
Christ. It doesn't have anything to do
with labor, does it? Does an apple tree strain to
bear apples? Have you ever seen an apple with a kind of a hard
look on its face and say, I've got to make some apples? Apple trees
don't strain to bear apples, that's naïve. Does a rose strain
to be fragrant? We're talking about being connected
to a vine when you're talking about fruit. Our Lord is talking
about your life here. He's talking about life here,
not those fruits that are produced by relationship with Him. Love,
mercy, meekness, long-suffering, faith. All those things are produced
by Him for you. You don't produce them. You're
just a twig. You're a twig connected to the
divine, the Lord Jesus Christ, and out on the end of your little
old twig pops this fruit. What do you have to do with it?
Nothing. But here's the thing, how about
your works? You don't have anything to do with them either. God says,
I predestinated them, I ordained them, I equipped you to do them,
I've already set out what they're going to be, and you're going
to find them down the road. That's your life. That's your
life. Good works are not defined in
Scripture. The believer is admonished to maintain them. God has promised
not to forget them. The believer is encouraged not
to feign in them, and the Lord declares that he knows them.
But the one instance that a thing done that is named a good work
in Scripture, by that one instance we can be assured that good works
have a singular object. They have a singular object.
Look at Mark chapter 14 just for a moment. Let's begin reading with verse
3 and read through verse 8. And being at Bethany in the house
of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having
an alabaster box of ointment, a spikenard, very precious, and
she broke the box and poured it on his head. It is said in
another place that this was approximately 300 pence, which meant this was
a year's salary for this woman, a harlot. And there was some
that had indignation within themselves and said, Why was this waste
of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for
more than three hundred pence and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, Leave her alone. Why trouble you her? She hath
wrought The only instance in Scripture, a good work on me. Ye have the poor with you always,
and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good. But ye have not
me always. She hath done what she could.
She hath come aforehead to anoint my body for the burying. In that
whole outfit that day, there was only one person that believed
Christ. At that moment, every one of
them was full of unbelief except this one. And she knew that Jesus
Christ was going to die in her room instead. She understood
that by His death He was going to put away her sin. She knew
that He was going to be buried and resurrected and her only
singular desire was to honor Him. And so she took the 300
pennies worth of ointment that she had earned on the flat of
her back. and broke the thing and anointed
his head for the burial. Why? Because she loved Christ. Faith workers by love. It's the only good work in all
of Scripture. What's the object of it? Jesus Christ. What's the
object of every good work? Jesus Christ. That's why God
has ordained them and predestinated them and put them in your path
so you will run into them and equip you to do them because
they're going to honor and glorify His Son, Jesus Christ. All good
works are about and toward and for the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ. All of them. All of them. Or they ain't good works at all.
So we know they have an object. Christ honored this woman because
her interest was in Christ and the death that He would accomplish.
Now, the disciples weren't so happy with the whole deal. And
I'm sure the disciples, had they had this 300 pence, they might
have erected a rescue mission for the poor, or stood on a soup
line, or cast out devils, or done many wonderful works with
the purse. But this woman defined a good
work, because this is the only time a work is called a good
work in Scripture, save for the work of God in creation. That's
called a good work. It was about Christ and His death,
and so is every good work. And it is very important to notice
that this woman did nothing that would get her recognized by the
world. And according to our Lord's own
words, she did not go beyond her ability and scale the heights
of ethereal religious planes of industry. She did what she
could. is what she says, did what she
could. Though we may not be able to
look at anything we do as significant, we can do what we can. We can. And according to our text, we
do. Because God has ordained it and
predestinated it to be so. Now if your inclination is to
begin to examine your life to find something that smells of
good works, so you can cling to it this moment, I say to you,
quit it. Just quit it. Stop it right now,
this minute. Stop it. This woman did not do
a good work looking for a good work to do. She would not have
recognized it as a good work or called it such had the Lord
not made it so. She simply did what she did looking
in the face of her beloved Savior and believed. She believed Christ. How shall we work the works of
God? This is the work of God that
you believe on Him whom you see. To think that she was thinking
that this was a good work when she performed it was as foreign
to this woman as feathers are to snakes. She wasn't thinking
about a good work. And let me tell you something
about works. If you think about them, they're suspect. Aren't they? If you can recognize them, I'll
guarantee you they're suspect. I'll guarantee you. I know we try so hard, because
of what we are, to find some modicum of comfort and assurance
outside of Christ. We do. Even when we do things supposedly
anonymously. in the dark of night to help
out a friend or such. We wait with anticipation and
bated breath for the opportunity that we might somehow bring it
in to a conversation so somebody will say, that was a good work. We ought to just be shot. Put out of business altogether. If you're looking for a good
work, if you think anything you do is a good work, it's suspect. If you plan to do a good work,
it's suspect. We're not talking about anything
other than this. Living your life looking to Christ. You say, well, that just don't
seem like enough. You trusted Him to save your
eternal soul. You won't trust Him to save your
life? You won't trust Him to work out the rest of your existence?
You somehow... What's wrong with that thinking?
God says, I have fixed this from eternity past in election to
time, to time in your life. to eternity future and final
redemption. I fixed it all. I control it
all. I'm the God who predestinates
such stuff. Why will you worry? Well, I feel
like I've just got to come up with something I can lay my hands
on. You better not. Better quit it
right now. Our text does not even hint that
the believer knows His works. But it does guarantee that He
will walk in them because He, as well as the works, are created
in Jesus Christ. What does good works mean? It
means life, general and specific, the ups and the downs, the ins
and the outs, every crisis and every calm moment. Your life,
according to this text, is your good works. according to this day. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. You reckon that's going to happen? I reckon it is, don't you? What
a thing. Your life, you say, well I just
don't feel that way. Stop feeling and start believing. Your life is your good works. Living is good works. And work is nothing more than
being about the business of living. Good works are in specific relationship
to Jesus Christ and what He has done for His people. The grace
of God hath appeared unto all men, teaching us to deny ungodliness
and live soberly and presently, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Look over at Titus chapter 3
just for a moment. Titus chapter 3. In Titus chapter 3, I just quoted
a little bit from it. But I want you to read verse
14 of chapter 3 of Titus. Paul says, And let ours also
learn to maintain good works, for necessary uses, that they
be not unfruitful. Maintain good works. Now note
the marginal reading here is to profess honest trades. In this particular portion of
Scripture, good works are related to as honest trades, or doing
a day's work for a day's pay. That doesn't seem like much,
That's a good work in this sense, and good works are matters of
everyday life. This word good here has to do
with utility or usefulness. It's a different word than the
word used in our text. In our text, when our Lord says
good works, He means that these works are intrinsically good,
They are good in and of themselves. You say, wait a minute. Stop looking at yourself. Now
quit. I know what you're doing. You're thinking, wait a minute,
I can't, I can't. Stop. These are intrinsically good
in themselves because they don't come from you. They come from
the God who has ordained that you will walk in them and ordained
them for you to walk in. That being the case, these good
works flow from the only source of good, that is, God Himself,
for there is none good but God. And this is the blessed, sweet,
soul-sustaining truth and the singular source of great comfort
if we can but believe. God has ordained the works of
one that he is conforming to Christ. He has gone ahead of
his elect. preparing the place to which
the believer will arrive, so that when the believer arises
in the morning and gets about the business of the day, God
has arranged the universe so that the believer's works, the
works that God has ordained, will be in harmony with God's
character and God's will. You're talking about sovereign
majesty. My soul. Can we do anything else
but gladly bow to His wise design? Look over at Genesis chapter
45. Genesis chapter 45. Hear the
words of Joseph. In verse 8, Joseph says, So now
it was not you that sent me hither. Wait a minute. Don't you remember? We stripped that coat of many
colors off of you. We killed a beast and put some
blood on it and sent it to your daddy and told him he was dead.
We put you down in a pit. We sold you to a bunch of fellas
riding camels and sold you down into slavery and Egypt. Don't
you remember that? He said, Now it was not you that
sent me, but God. and hath made me a father
to Pharaoh, and a lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt." What was Joseph confessing? He was
confessing that the pit, the lies, Potiphar's wife's sexual
advances, the dungeon, the brutality, the exile, and the imprisonment
was life as he knew it. ordained of God. Look at Genesis 50. But as for me, verse 20, ye thought evil against
me, but God meant it for good to bring to pass as it is this
day to save much people alive. That was Joseph's life, wasn't
it? Potiphar's wife had to be in
there, didn't she? The prison, the dungeon, that
all had to be there. It was there by ordination. You
thought you did it, but God did it. But God did it. Look over
at Deuteronomy 8 just for a moment. I won't keep you much longer.
I'm sorry I've kept you so long. Deuteronomy chapter 8. I'm going to read a verse in chapter
8 and then go back to Deuteronomy chapter 1 and read a verse. Deuteronomy
chapter 8 and verse 15. Speaking of God who led thee
through that great and terrible wilderness wherein there were
fiery serpents and scorpions and droughts where there was
no water, who brought thee forth water out of the flint of the
rock." God did that. God did that. And look back at
chapter 1 of Deuteronomy, verse 33. God who went in the way before
you to search you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire
by night to show you by the way you should go, and in the cloud
by day." That's your life. And what were they doing? They
were living. What are you doing? You're living.
Don't plan to live. Live. Live. You say, well, if I believed
that preacher, I just wouldn't go to church. Well, if you believe
that and don't want to come to church, don't come to church. God's people ain't going to be
that way. They're going to want to be here. When the doors are
open, when the man stands to declare the glory, that's their
food, folks! That's their life! You ain't
got to twist no child of God's arm to make him come and hear
the gospel. That's just goofy. That just don't happen. We do not know what tomorrow
is bringing. But we know that God has prepared
tomorrow. Think about it. He's prepared
tomorrow. And that He has laid up resources
in Christ that are equal to whatever the day brings. He has created
us for good works and prepared the works for us to do with the
equipment that He has given us to do the work. I'll tell you what, that gives
me great comfort. You say, well, can we stray from
the path? Can we walk again in the desires of the mind? Can
we presume to know, as the disciples did, the best use for God things,
or what a good work might be? Yeah, we can and we will. What
are we to do? Just come back to where you left
and start again and you will find ultimately that where you
strayed was a way prepared that you might see the value of what
you had left. Isn't that true in your life?
Believe it. Believe it. I'll go no further
in the realm of His sovereignty lest I find myself to apply human
logic to divine truth. Here's what I'm saying, and this
is what this text is saying. This is your life. This is your
life. the good works that you were
created for and what is to come, be it pleasure or pain, joy or
sorrow, sickness or health, labor or rest, awake or asleep, it
is prepared for you precisely according to how God has equipped
you to do it. He has gone before you to make
the way and clear the place for you to pitch your tents. We are
His workmanship. created in Christ Jesus unto
good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in. God bless you. Thank you for
having me.