Ephesians chapter 2 and verse
8 and 9 and verse 10. Ephesians chapter 2 and begin
reading in verse 8. 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. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained,
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." That we
should walk in them. I want to say something tonight
from this passage about good works. And Charles Spurgeon said
something to the effect that he was sure if you and I had
the ability and could see what good works actually were, that
we'd probably walk many a mile in this world before we found
any. Because works that God will recognize as works, as good works,
are very, very rare things. And I say that because verse
10 tells us here that the only people that can possibly do good
works is a regenerated person. He says you very plainly that
we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. The only person that can possibly
do anything that's good is the person that has been created
anew in Jesus Christ. So if we say that, doesn't that
eliminate a lot of people and the most of what the world calls
good? is not good at all because it's
done by those who have been unregenerate and are unregenerated and have
not been created anew in Christ Jesus. Now somebody say, well
I know that man and I know his wife and we know of them and
they have given a large fortune to promote our society's education
and health and Are you telling us that that's not good? Well,
it's good in our eyes, and we commend them for it, but we're
not talking about what you and I recognize as good works. But we're talking about good
in the eyes of God. What does God constitute a good
work? What does He recognize as good? What will He someday say to a
person, well done? That's what we're looking at
this evening. And there's such a thing as a
person giving their body to be burned. And there's such a thing
as bestowing all our goods to feed the poor. And there's such
a thing as glory in good works. But after all, they're works
of iniquity. We're told, the wise men tell
us, of a man going out to plow his field. And he gets up in
the morning and he fires up the old tractor. He greases it up.
He looks on to his plow and he goes out to plow his field. That's
a good thing if we look at it from the natural standpoint because
he's supporting his family. He's supporting society. What
would we do without farmers? But yet the prophet said, the
wise man said, the plowing of the wicked is sin. It's sin. So it's not what you and I would
call good works, but what does God call good? That's what we
want to look at this evening. And there's three or four simple
points I'm trying to learn. And God, I think, has taught
me a little something. Hopefully. I see myself sliding
back into it. But trying to quit telling everybody
everything at one time. And my wife has been a great
help to me in this. And Brother Baker has been a
great help to me in this because when I see him just load me down
and say, Holy Brother Baker, I can't hold all this. My bucket
ain't that big. So I ain't going into great details
tonight in depth trying to tell you everything. I'm just going
to stay in this passage here and see what little we can learn
about what is a good work. And my first point here is found
in verse 10. The source of good works. I think
we need to know that. Don't you? What is the source
of good works? Verse 10 tells us that. We are
His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. There has never been a good work
by us except its first work in us. God is the source of every
good work that any man ever did. It's God's hand first working
in the heart and then the heart doing the work. It's God which
worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Now,
all of us know, brothers and sisters, that God will not accept
any work that's done against our will. If we don't have a
willing mind, it will not be accepted. Therefore, Paul said,
if there be first a willing mind, it's accepted. Well, where does
the mind get its will? From God. It's God that worketh
in us to will and to do. If we give without being willing
to give, it's not good because it's not done willingly. God
loves a cheerful, Giver. But how can we give cheerfully
if we don't give willingly? Where do we get the will? We
get it from Him. When we show mercy, the Bible
tells us to do it with cheerfulness. Did you ever show anybody mercy,
but you did it because you felt like you just had to? And if
you hadn't been shut up to have to, you'd have never done it.
Will we to show mercy willingly, and when we do it willingly,
we do it cheerfully. Cheerfully. For a heart to do
good and do good works that is acceptable to God, it must be
prepared. And how is the heart prepared?
The preparations in the heart of man is of the Lord. Proverbs chapter 16 and verse
1. So we've reached this conclusion,
haven't we? No unregenerated man can do good
works because the source of that good works is not in his heart.
Every virtue we possess, Spurgeon said, and every victory won and
every thought of holiness is His and His alone. He is indeed
the author of good works. And secondly is this, and we
can see this, to be of good work it must be what God has ordained. That's what he tells us in verse
2. Ordained beforehand. This word means prepared beforehand. What has God prepared beforehand
for us to do? If we don't do what He's ordained
to be done, then it can't be a good work. What has He ordained
that we do? Can we know what God has ordained
for us to do? What is a good work? Well, this
is the way we know. He tells us in His Word. The Word of God is our source. It's our rule of faith, and it's
our rule of practice. How do we know what God commands
us to do? You know if we don't do what
God commands us to do, how can it be good? We have to know that
God commanded it. Let me ask you this question.
What are you and I doing here this afternoon? Why are we gathered
here as we are? Worship Him, but why are we here
to worship Him? He commands it. He tells us in
His Word, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. There
are times, brothers and sisters, where I wouldn't be at the worship
service unless I believed He commanded it. But since He's
commanded it, here we are. forsaken up the sin on you of
yourself. But not just come here at His command, but what do we
do here? What have we done here this morning?
What have we done this afternoon? We've done nothing but what He's
commanded us to do. I have searched the epistles
different times to find out the order of our worship service.
And you know what they did? They read the Scriptures. They
did that. They prayed. They did that. They sang Psalms. They preached
and taught His Word. That's what we've done here this
afternoon, isn't it? We've done this because this
is what He commands. I'll tell you some things we
haven't done. We haven't built us a little booth and put a priest
on it with his collar turned backwards and get in there and
confess to Him and be absolved of our sins. Why don't we do
that? He hasn't commanded it. Why do
we come here and refuse to baptize our little babies? We've had
several infants. We've not baptized a single one
of them, have we? Why don't we baptize them? Because
God hasn't commanded us to baptize our infants. Why don't we run
around? Why don't we jump up and run
across seats and hoop and holler and scream and roll on the floor?
Why don't we do that? Would that be lawful for us to
do? Why do we come here and sit still and listen? Because He
said, Be ye still and know that I am God. When you come to the
house of the Lord, keep your feet. Don't be up running. Keep your lips. Don't be speaking. Don't be so anxious to say something.
Because God hears everything. God is in heaven. He knows all.
So what do we do? We worship according to the rules
of His Word. The Pharisee said, I fast twice
in a week. I wonder where he got that command.
I've never found that in the Bible. Have you? They paid tithes
of their men and coming and annas? Where did they get such a rule
as that? We can know this, brothers and sisters, if God has not commanded
it, not only is it not a good work to do it, but it's sin to
do it. It's idolatry to serve God and
worship God contrary to what He has plainly commanded in His
Word. This is why we don't like Catholicism. We think Catholicism is full
of idolatry, lighting of candles and altars, and confessions and
absolution and all that silly stuff. Dear old Martin Luther
said they had twelve heads of John the Baptist. That's a bunch
of heads, ain't it? And they worshipped all of them.
And you had to pay to see all of them. Superstitious, but it's
idolatry. We worship according to the rule
of God's Word. We serve Him and we do because
He's commanded it in His Word. That's a good work. That's a
good work. To the law and to the testimony. That's it, isn't it? Thirdly,
this. To be a good work, it must be
done for God's glory. Somebody said that's the first
cause of doing work. That's the only cause. That's
the only cause. There is no other motive. but
for the glory of God. There is no mixture of motives
but the glory of God. If we have any part in the glory
of doing anything, then we take glory from Him. It must be done
wholly for the glory of God. Listen to 1 Corinthians 10 verse
3. Whether you eat, or whether you
drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. That's the only acceptable motive. And if it's not done wholly to
His glory, then it's not a good work. It's not a good work. It's not only what God commands
there for, but it's the motive which He requires for His glory. You know, sometimes I wonder
if I've ever done a good work. I mean, when I examine myself,
and sometimes I see my real motives, I see so much of self in it.
I wonder how many messages that I've prepared, and I know some
I can put my finger on. There's no doubt in my mind about
it. There's messages that I've preached, self-promotion, to
get somebody to say something good about me. to pat me on the
back, to tell me how much they think I know. Is that accepted? Was it done exclusively for the
glory of God alone? Or did it have something of self
in it? If it has self in it, it won't
be accepted. It's not a good work. Whatsoever
you do, whatever you eat, wherever you go, do all for the glory
of God. See how rare good works are?
They're a rare thing, aren't they? They're a rare thing. I tell you, they're a dangerous
thing, too. Works are a dangerous thing. They're so deceiving. What we think is good and what
others call good can be nothing but works of iniquity. Listen
to Matthew chapter 7. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? Have we not cast
out devils in Your name? Have we not done many wonderful
works in Your name? Now look at these two things.
They addressed Him as Lord. Is He the Lord? Sure He is. They did everything they did
in His name. And yet, the Lord Jesus said,
it's works of iniquity. And you know why it was works
of iniquity? It wasn't done for God's glory. Boy, works are deceitful. I mean, when you can do it in
His name, and when you can do it under recognition that He's
the Lord, and it's still works of iniquity. These things are
so united together, not only because He commands it, doing
it in the name of Christ, but it must be from this motive of
giving God the glory. What was their motive? They were
doing it to be saved. They were doing it to be accepted
in the kingdom of heaven. You know how we know that? That's
where they ran to. When they stood before the Lord,
they had nothing else to run to. And they realized it. So
where did they go? To the works. Lord, Lord, let
us in. Open the door and let us in. On what grounds? Look what we've
done. We've cast out devils. We've
preached in your name. Look at us. Consider what we've
done. You mean that's your hope of
being saved? That's your hope of acceptance?
That's works of iniquity. But they did it in His name.
And while they called Him Lord, Lord. Did you ever examine yourself
and wonder? Have you noticed this? Whatever
men talk about is what they truly glory in. And you talk to them about Christ
and about your acceptance with God, and they can't stop there. They want to get on by that.
Let's hurry and get on to something important, our works. Our works. Where Joe and I used to go years
and years ago, I'd get in a conversation with some of those dear people,
and you could not beat them off of their works. You talk to them
about how God justifies a sinner, and yeah, but works, now wait,
you're just trying to deny works? They were always running to works.
You know why? That's what they were glorying
in. That's what they were dependent
upon. That's what makes it works of iniquity. If it's done to
be saved, if it's done to be accepted of God, if it's done
with self in view, to promote and exalt self, it cannot be
a good work. Whatsoever you do, do all for
the glory of God. And fourthly, think of this about
what a good work is. And I'm convinced of this, brothers
and sisters, in the light of what I've already said. For a
work to be good, it must be washed in Jesus' blood. For a work to
be good, it must be washed in Jesus' blood. Even when God works
it in us, simply because it comes from us, it's tainted with sin. And therefore, it has to be washed. Paul said, when I would do good,
when I have a will to do good, when I have a desire to do good,
when I have a desire to glorify God, And when I do it by faith,
and I do it because He commands it, when I would do good, evil
is present with me. We can't give, can we? But evil
is present. We can't serve, but evil is present. At our best state, David said,
in my best prayers that I pray, I'm vanity. In my best service,
when I sing the songs in my heart to the Lord, Vanity is there,
and because it's tainted with sin, it has to be washed in the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a marvelous scripture
in 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7. Brother Glenn mentioned it
when he was studying there with us. If we walk in the light as
He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood
of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all sin. Now listen to
this. Here John says we're walking
in the light as He is in the light. Then what need do we have
of being cleansed from sin? What sin could we have if we're
walking with Him in the light? We have fellowship one with another. What are we talking about being
washed from sin if we have fellowship? Brothers and sisters, in our
walk with God, in our fellowship with God and His Son, we are
not free from sin. Even in our walk, we have sin. So there is a need to be washed
as we walk with Him. As we fellowship, there is a
need to be washed. They had a sacrifice under the
Jewish law. And the priests themselves had
to offer a sacrifice, and it was concerning the iniquity of
the holy things. Even in the service of the Lord,
they had to bring a sacrifice because they said we sinned even
in our worship. And brothers and sisters, we
sin in our good works. Sin. What we are taints everything
we do. Even those that God works in
us as we do it. Oh, when it comes from His hand,
it's holy. Yes, it is. It's right. It's good. The problem is when
it leaves our hearts and comes out. That's why it has to be
washed. It has to be washed in the Savior's
blood. God is so determined. to beat
His little children off from trusting in their works, that
He tells them the only way their works can be accepted is for
them to be washed, purged. Our repentance needs to be repented
of. Our giving, our worship, our
prayers need to be repented of. Oh, brothers and sisters, there's
enough sin in my preaching to damn my poor soul. You don't
know at the times your poor pastor has to go get off by himself
and say, Lord, forgive me for this Lord's day. Forgive me for
the sin that I've committed. I see self in it. Lord, wash
it. Wash it in Jesus' precious blood. Cleanse it from the stain that
comes from my hand. It's not a good work if it ain't
washed. Lastly is this, here in verse
10 it tells us something else about good works. It's not so
much we think of this particular deed or that particular deed,
but it's a way of life. It's a way of life. Good works
of the believer, the child of God, is a way of life. Did you notice how the apostle
said that? There in verse 10. Let me read it to you again.
We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before prepared, that we should walk in them. It's not just doing this. It's
not just doing that. It's not building a cathedral.
It's not making one giant contribution of your abundance of wealth.
It's not writing a big check. It's not doing some great thing
the world recognizes. What is good works that God creates
us into? It's a walk. It's a way we walk
in our lifetime. That's what it is. It's a way
of living daily by faith. We walk by faith, not by sight. Listen to what Paul said. The
life which I now live, I live. I live. And this is the way I
live. By faith in the Son of God. Brethren, that's a good work.
Because that's a good walk. I eat my meals. By faith. I work my job. By faith. I support my family. By faith. I teach my children. By faith.
I regard my spouse. By faith. I obey the authority
of the land by faith. I let no corrupt communication
proceed out of my mouth, but that which is good. I put away
lying. I speak truth to my neighbor.
I don't steal, but I work with my hands the things that's good
to give to them that don't have. I live my life by faith." That's
good, isn't it? Whatsoever is not of faith is
sin. You know, the world won't put
any value to what I'm talking about here. You've got to do
some big thing. Have we not done wondrous works? How about loving your spouse?
How about being patient at home? How about loving your neighbor?
How about day after day after day after day? It's a way of
life that God creates us into. You remember those dear old patriarchs
of old, those dear saints that are in Hebrews 11. We're told
that some of them were ran out of their homes, and all their
goods were confiscated. They lived in caves and dens
of the earth. They wore goat skins and sheep
skins. Some of them was killed, had
their heads cut off, decapitated. Had trials of cruel malkins and
scourgings. But you know what the Bible says
about this. I can't find where they did any big feats that the
world said, man, look what good works they did. But here's what
the Bible says about them. These all haven't obtained a
good report through faith. They just believe the gospel.
They look forward to the coming of Christ. They just live their
lives by faith. And as they did that, God accepted
them. He accepted their work. Oh, the
world didn't recognize it, but the Lord said, that's good. That's
good. They're walking by faith. Walking
by faith. And how about this? If we talk
about walk, He tells us here in the fifth chapter of Ephesians,
in verse 1, Be ye followers of God as dear children, and walk
in love. Walk by faith and walk in love. And when you walk in love, you
know something? That's when you do good works. You can't improve. I know some say this ain't so,
but brothers and sisters, you cannot improve on love as a rule
of life. There are some things you just
will not do if the love of God is shed abroad in your heart.
Oh, we ought to teach people not to steal. People already
know better than that. Don't they know better? You know
better than to steal. Before the Lord ever saved you, you knew
better than to steal. Teach people they shouldn't be
out here committing adultery. They already know it. They already
know it. Teach people they shouldn't bear
false witness. They already know it. But when you love somebody,
you won't commit adultery against them. You won't steal from them. You won't bear false witness.
Ain't that what Paul tells us in Romans 13? Love is the fulfilling
of the law. Owe no man anything but to love
one another. For he that loveth another, for
this, you will not commit adultery, you will not steal, you will
not kill, you will not bear false witness. And if there be any
other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this, you shall
love your neighbor as yourself. And where do we get this love?
It is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Walk in love,
and I tell you what you'll find. You'll find good works. You just
follow that man, you follow that woman who's walking with hearts
full of love for God and love for His Son and love for His
gospel, love for His people, and He'll not be doing anybody
wrong. And if He does, you'll find Him going back, hugging
their necks and saying, please forgive me. Please forgive me. I'll tell you what love will
do, too. Not only what it won't do, but what it will do. John
said this, if we see our brother have need and shut up his vows
of compassion. You know what a Christian has?
He has vows of compassion. He loves. And because he loves,
John said, you can't see your brother have need. Oh, here's
a dear brother and he needs my fellowship. You know what you're
going to do? If you've got these vows of compassion,
you go fellowship with Him. If He has need of finances, He
has need of comfort, He has need of anything, and you see it,
you can't shut up your vows of compassion. You know what a good
work is? When those vows of compassion
are just opened up. And you make that phone call,
or you make that visit, or you go to the hospital. And it's
so spontaneous. It's not something you set in
plan. How can I please God today? What can I do today to win some
points? It's not that way. It's walking
by faith. It's living by love. And you do that, brothers and
sisters. Works come naturally. They come spontaneously. And
you know the best motive for good works? Preaching the gospel. Do you know why I don't dwell
on what I dwelt on this afternoon? I don't have to. You can't beat
people over the head to get them to do good works. It don't happen
that way. You can't threaten them and hang them over hell
to do good works. It don't happen that way. It's what God begins
in the heart. It's this living by faith in
the Son of God, living upon the Son of God. And it's this heart
full of love for God Love for Christ and love for His gospel.
Love for His people. That's the way good works come.
You visited me. Lord, when did we visit you?
We don't even remember that. When did we feed you? When did
we come to you when you were sick? We don't remember planning
any of that. We just live in our lives. Yes,
that's the way good works come. Just living your life. Walking
with God as dear children. That's it, isn't it?