Sound Doctrine and Good Works

Q: What does the Bible say about sound doctrine?

The Bible emphasizes that sound doctrine must be upheld by good works, as seen in Titus 2:1. In Titus 2:1, the Apostle Paul instructs Titus to teach those things which are in accordance with sound doctrine. This means that doctrine should not only be a matter of correct belief but must also translate into conduct and behavior that reflect those beliefs. The relationship between sound doctrine and good works is intrinsic; a person who holds sound beliefs will manifest those beliefs through their actions. Thus, sound doctrine acts as the foundation of a believer's life, reflecting the character of Christ in their conduct.

Q: Why is sound doctrine important for Christians?

Sound doctrine is essential for Christians as it leads to godly living and glorifies God. Sound doctrine is crucial because it is the basis upon which a believer's life is built. In Titus 2:7, Paul emphasizes that one must show themselves a pattern of good works in all aspects of life, which stems from adherence to sound doctrine. Without such a foundation, believers risk living out a doctrine that contradicts their proclaimed beliefs, which can lead to a poor witness of Christ. Sound doctrine provides clarity and assurance, allowing Christians to live in a way that honors God and reflects His character, definitely demonstrating the transformative power of the gospel.

Q: How do works relate to faith according to the Bible?

Works are the evidence of true faith, as a living faith will naturally produce good works. The Bible teaches that faith and works are inseparable. In James 2:17, it is stated that faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. This illustrates that genuine faith must produce good works as a natural outcome. A believer's transformation through Christ ensures that their faith is not merely intellectual assent but is instead a living faith that results in righteous behavior, love for others, and obedience to God's commands. Paul reinforces this in Titus 2:14, which declares that Christ redeemed us to purify us and make us zealous for good works. Thus, true faith will always be accompanied by a tangible expression of that faith through good works.

All right, let's turn to Titus
chapter 2. Now we're going to look at this
chapter tonight, a chapter of 15 verses. And the title of the message
is Sound Doctrine. and good works. Now this epistle,
there are only three chapters, you can read it fairly quickly,
but it was written to a man called Titus, who was a Greek, and he
was converted under the ministry of the Apostle Paul. He was greatly
loved by James says it's dead. It's dead
faith. We can claim what we want to,
profess what we want to, but if we don't have works and conduct
which justifies that faith, it makes it dead faith. One cannot
separate faith and obedience. Christ said that. He said, you
are my friends. You are my friends. If you do
what I command you, If you don't do what I command you, then you
can't call yourself my friend. You can't separate faith and
obedience. It's impossible. And you cannot
separate love for Christ and love for God's people. You can't
separate those two things. He said if you say you love God
and hate your brother, you're a liar. It just can't be. How can a man love God whom he
has not seen and hate his brother whom he has seen? That's an impossibility. You can't separate he that loveth
him that begat will also love him that's begotten of him. One can't be without the other. You cannot separate regeneration
and sanctification. I never have understood this
whatever argument people have going today, but if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature. There's no argument there. You
can't separate regeneration and sanctification. You can't separate
justification and sanctification. Those who are justified are sanctified. Those who are sanctified are
justified and will be glorified. That's just so. Let's look at
three verses that I want to look at first of all. These three
verses give us, like I said, the key to understanding this
chapter and the whole epistle. Verse 1 of chapter 2. Verse 1,
chapter 2. Here are those two words. Speak thou the things that become
sound doctrine. What Paul is saying here, speak
and teach, talking to young Titus, speak and teach the things of
conduct, of attitude, of behavior, which are becoming, which are
agreeable to what we believe. Sound doctrine, true doctrine,
will lead to good works. Become sound doctrine. Speak
these things that are becoming to and agreeable with sound doctrine. Now look at verse 7. He says,
in all things, in all things, in the office, in the home, in
the church, on the street, in business, in all things, showing
yourself. a pattern, an example of good
works. And in doctrine, showing uncorruptness
and gravity and sincerity. Those are the two things that
we are to show in all things, in all places, showing ourselves
to be an example of good works and of good doctrine. not purloining, that word is
stealing, you can write that in your margin, not stealing,
but showing all good honesty and fidelity and good faith that
we may adorn. What does that word adorn mean?
It means to give credit to. It means to make beautiful. It
means to decorate, to make it appear to be beautiful and make
it appear beautiful to others, whether they will like it or
want it. Not prolonging, but showing good
honesty, fidelity, faithfulness, that you may do credit to the
doctrine of God our Savior. There is a doctrine of God our
Savior, without doubt, and there is a life that gives credit to
that doctrine. And there's also a light that
makes us an enemy of that doctrine. Let your light so shine before
men that they may see your good works and glorify or give credit
to your God. Glorify your Father which is
in heaven. So this goes all the way through
chapter 2. Good doctrine, sound doctrine,
and good works. And good works which are the
results of sound doctrine and sound doctrine which leads to
good works. You can't have one without the
other. Let me give you an illustration. You cannot have one without the
other. You cannot have faith without works. You cannot have
belief without obedience. You see, doctrine, and I hear
people say, well, don't preach doctrine, preach Jesus. Well,
if you preach Christ, you can't separate him from his teachings.
If you preach Christ Jesus, you preach what our Lord taught.
You can't separate the teachings of Christ from our Lord Jesus,
from the teacher. So you see, doctrine, what a
man believes, what a man or woman believes in his heart, that doctrine
is to his experience and his lifestyle what a foundation is
to a building. In other words, here's the doctrine. The doctrine is the foundation.
It's the foundation. And the experience and the behavior
and the conduct is the result of the foundation, just like
a building sits on a foundation. And what this building is, is
determined largely by that foundation. My, what I am, is determined
by what I believe. That's the reason Paul said,
I believe, therefore I've spoken. David said, I believe, therefore
I've spoken. Now, what is a foundation to
a building? Well, first of all, the foundation
supports the building. Without the foundation, there'd
be no building. The foundation is first laid. That's what you lay first of
all. You lay the foundation, and then the whole building is
supported by that foundation. What I am, how I act, what I
do, is the result for what I believe. What this building is here is
the result of that foundation. That foundation supports the
building. I remember years ago I was on the radio down here
at WCMI, down in the Galloway building on 12th Street, and
Brother Ed Stevens, a member of this church even back then,
And he told me that he was going to build a building right next
door to the Galloway building. He was going to build it 13 stories
high. That's that big white building
down there. And so I watched them build it. I went down to
the radio station every morning at 8 o'clock for my radio program
for years and years and years. I went down to the radio station.
I'd go a little early and stand out there and watch them build
that building. Well, do you know they spent over two months on
the foundation? That was going to be a 13-story
building. And the earth there was sandy. They didn't know this when they
started. Ed can tell you all about it. But they didn't know
when they started the building that there was nothing but sand
there. And they had to literally, in building that foundation,
they had to go down 65 feet, drilling great big holes, 3 feet
in diameter, some 5 feet in diameter. They drilled down 65 feet and
found a rock and even sent a man down into those holes to test
that rock. And then they poured concrete
into those holes, 3 and 5 feet in diameter, all around there.
They poured concrete into those holes and made a foundation to
sit that building on. Now you stand here and see that
building down there. But I'm telling you this, I saw
what they put it on. And I saw that they went down
and found the rock 65 feet deep and poured concrete and made
pillars to stand that building on. And what that building is,
is determined by that foundation underneath it. That's what supports
it, is the foundation. And somebody said this, the higher
you plan to build, the higher you plan to build, The deeper
you better go and lay that foundation. That's where even when our Lord
gave the illustration of the man that built the house, he
said he did what? One man laid his foundation on the sand. The
other fellow did what? Digged deep. Digged deep. And he spent two months down
there just on that foundation. And they digged deep and they
found the rock. But I'll tell you this, it's
standing. And it's standing because it's
got a foundation. And I'm saying this just like
Paul said, if you want to, turn with me and let me show you a
scripture in 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 3. I want you to
look at this right here. Watch this right here. Paul called
himself a builder, a master builder. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9. Watch this. For we are laborers
together with God. You are God's husbandry, you
are God's building. According to the grace of God
which was given to me as a wise master builder, I laid the foundation,
and another built their own. But let every man take heed how
he builds their own, for other foundation can no man lay than
that which is laid, Christ Jesus." Who is your foundation? Christ. The rock, the rock of ages, we
dig deep. found that rock. My hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. And that's
what supports the building. Now, watch this. I'm saying,
what a man's built, take heed how you build. The foundation
is there. You've just got to find him. Take heed how you build. But a man's building, his appearance,
his life, his everything, depends on the foundation. You'll stand
by. But the second thing about a
foundation is this. The foundation literally shapes
the building. You say, what shape is that building
going to be? Square? Round? Rectangular? Triangle? What shape is it going
to be? It's going to be the shape of the foundation. That's what
shape it's going to be. It won't stick out where there's
no foundation. It won't be in where there's
no foundation. It's going to stand on the foundation, and
the shape of the foundation is going to give you the appearance
and the style and the shape of that building. It'll be the same
as the foundation. And I'm saying, what kind of
person will a man be? It depends on his foundation. It depends on his... What kind
of person is he? What kind of person is she? It
depends on the foundation, for example. People who believe in
God's sovereignty, people whose foundation is the doctrine of
God's sovereignty, that will beget in them a humility and
a patience and a submission and a worship. Yet if their foundation
of doctrine is God's sovereignty, they know something about authority.
They know something about worship. They know something about submission.
Say a man believes in the sovereign grace of God. Who makes us any
different? What do you have you didn't receive?
I believe everything I am and have is by the grace of God.
You know what that'll beget? Gratitude, thanksgiving, faithfulness,
love for Christ. A person whose foundation is
this, he knows his own sinfulness and his own inability and his
own wretchedness. What does that kind of building
does that build? Well, it builds a building of
repentance and of meekness. And a praise to whom much is
forgiven, you love much. It all depends on your foundation.
And then belief in Christ's effectual atonement. A man believes Christ
really did save us, that his blood is sufficient, his righteousness,
like Gary said, much more. What will that beget? What kind
of building will that build? Does Bill want a faith and confidence
in Christ, and assurance and rest in Christ? and hope in Christ,
a good hope and a peace of heart. It will. If a man's foundation
is the effectual, sufficient atonement of Christ, his building
is going to be one of assurance, confidence in Christ, hope, good
hope. What about a man who believes
in forgiveness and mercy, that his foundation is laid in that
God forgave him and God showed mercy to him? Then he's going
to forgive. He's going to show mercy, and he's going to show
gentleness, and he's going to show kindness. As a man thinketh
in his heart, so is he. As his foundation, so is he.
Well, a foundation supports the building. A foundation shapes
the building. What else does a foundation do?
It continually, through the years, sustains that building. How long
will that building stand? As long as that foundation stands.
That's how long that building stands, as long as that foundation.
When that foundation goes, that building goes. But as long as
that foundation is there, that building stands. And the rains,
our Lord said to the man that built his house on a rock, the
rains fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and literally
beat on it, and beat on it, and beat on it, but it stood. Why did it stand? Because it
was founded on the rock. Turn with me to Isaiah 28. That's just so. The foundation
supports the building, my building, my hope. The foundation shapes
the building, and the foundation will, by God's grace, sustain
it. In Isaiah 28, listen to this,
verse 16, "...therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I
lay in Zion," Zion is a church or a foundation. Here is your
foundation, a stone, a rock, an immovable rock, an unchangeable
rock, a tried stone. Christ has been tried, he is
sufficient. cornerstone, precious because
he is the only one, a sure foundation. And he that believeth shall not
make haste, he shall never be put to shame. People who are unsettled and
uncertain and uncommitted reveal one thing to me, there
is no solid foundation. That's just what it reveals.
Things that are shaky, things that are uncertain, things that
are uncommitted, and things that gear up with the wind, it reveals
that they're not on it too good a footing. When you're on a solid
foundation, you stand. Seeing that, now, Paul exhorts
Timothy to speak openly and boldly. about the kind of building that's
built on this foundation, this behavior that becomes sound doctrine. Let's start with verse 1 and
just go down through here. But you speak those things which
become sound doctrine. Now, jump to verse 15 a moment,
and he says, These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all
authority, and don't let anybody hate you for what you say. Don't
let anybody despise you. Go ahead and say them. Don't
let anybody despise you. Don't let a man despise you because
you didn't say them. Don't let a man despise you because
you did say them. But don't let a man despise you
because you said them unkindly. Just say them. What are you going
to say? Let's go back to verse 2. The
things that become, the things that are becoming to sound doctrine. Verse 2. that the aged men, he
starts with us, older men, these are the things that become sound
doctrine, that these older men be sober. This word, sober, is
used three or four times in this chapter. I'm going to show you,
and this is why we have a posture to study and to teach us. The
word sober here is the word vigilant. Let you older Be vigilant, watchful,
especially watchful over yourselves in your conduct, in your conversation,
in your faithfulness, but also watchfulness over the Church.
You're the elders, you're the older men. And you have to be
especially watchful, faithful, a leader, a father, an example
to the young. Be watchful and vigilant. It's
under your care, and you want to be alert. That's what he's
saying, you older men. And then be grave. What's the
word grave there? That is serious, serious about
spiritual matters, always ready with a word of encouragement
and a word of exhortation. Oh, I know that we have different
subjects we like to talk about, and let's not put on a false
superficial religious piety are holier than thou. But you older
men, always be ready with a word of exhortation, a word of encouragement
for younger people. Be grave, serious, dedicated
to this gospel of Christ. And be temperate, temperate in
things pertaining to the flesh. And then be sound in faith, unshaken,
unbending, unyielding. I've heard people say, when you
leave 13th Street, when God takes you, you die or move somewhere
else, do you really think that church will go on with the gospel?
I've had people ask me, do you really think that that church
will go on with the gospel? Well, my first answer is, that's
in God's hands. But my second answer is this.
That's in the hands of you older men here. That's exactly right. You fellows with snow on the
roof, it's your place to be sound in the faith and watchful and
dedicated and defend the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's right.
And stand and not ever be moved. That's right. It's in God's hands,
I know that. But God uses means. God uses
people. Isn't that right? And you older
fellows, you be sound in the faith, and don't you move. That's right, that's right, see,
sound in the faith. And be sound in charity, in love. Love for Christ, love for his
people, grow in love. You know, there's nothing, well
somebody wrote one time and said, a bitter old man or old woman
is the crowning work of the devil. I don't know who said that, I'm
sure some of you men have read a lot, have read that. A bitter
old man or old woman's a crowning work for the devil. I'd like
to see us grow sweeter in Christ, and kinder, and more gentle,
and lovable and loving. Be sound in love. And be sound
in patience. I tell you, if anybody ought
to learn to wait on God, it's us older people. If anybody ought
not to be impulsive, if anybody ought to act slowly and deliberately
and carefully with long-suffering and patience in regard to anything,
it ought to be us. I know that impulsiveness usually
goes with youth. I've been the most impulsive
person that ever lived. But as we get older, it ought to be sound and patient.
But wait on God. Just don't be in a hurry. Wait
on God. He'll do what he'll do when he'll
do it. And we can learn to hold this
thing steady and not be in a hurry. Then he goes in verse 3 to the
older women. And he said, Exhort the older
women. that they be in behavior, the
same thing he said about the men, the same thing repeated
the older women, what he says about the older men he says about
the older women, that they be in behavior as becometh holy
women, in a way that becometh righteousness, becometh our profession,
not false accusers, not given to much wine, and teachers of
good things, that they may teach the younger You say you believe
women are supposed to teach? Oh, I definitely do. I definitely
do. I don't believe they are supposed
to be up there in the pulpit teaching the preaching. I don't believe
the scripture teaches that they are to be on television preaching
the gospel. I don't believe the scripture
teaches that there ought to be sent single women as missionaries
to the fire and if you don't let them preach here, don't send
them over there to preach. They'd be nurses and things like
that and go with their husbands to the mission field, but God
never called a woman to preach the gospel. He said, let the
women keep silence in the church. But the older women are to teach.
Yes, they are. They're to teach by word, they're
to teach by example, they're to teach in the homes. They're
to teach whom? Teach the younger women. By example
and by word. Teach them to be sober. There's
that word again. Well, that word here, if you
will take the time to look it up, that word here is the word
wise. Teach them to be wise and prudent.
You know, wisdom can be taught. I know wisdom is a gift, but
wisdom can be taught. It can be learned. It can be
an example. You can learn wisdom. People
watch us and learn from us. Teach the younger women to be
wise and prudent. Teach them to love their husbands.
Teach them to love their children. Teach them to be discreet. Teach
them to be chaste. Keepers at home, good housekeepers,
good homemakers, good mothers, good wives, good, obedient to
their husbands. Teach them to be obedient and
submissive to their husbands. You know, that's a thing that
can spread too. It can be taught. Now that the
man is the head of the house, those things. And teach these
things that the word of God be not blasphemed. Teach these young
things. Set an example. The older women,
they have a job to do and an effort to put forth. And then
he goes to the young men in verse 6. He says, Young men, you young men likewise. exhort
the young men to be sober-minded." Now, what is that word there?
Well, the word there is, and Jim gave it, serious-minded. Now, back here in verse 2 it
said, "...the aged men to be sober, to be vigilant and watchful
and serious, and the young women to be wise and prudent, to be
taught that, and the young men to be serious." And the word
put on there minded, serious minded, sober minded. In other words, taken life seriously,
as opposed to frivolity and foolishness. Now, I know this, having been
both a young man and an old man, I can say some things that are
so. It's normal for young men to
be A little more jolly, a little more taken up with activities
and fishing and hunting and all these different things and going
out and playing ball with the children and playing games and
throwing horseshoes and liking good humor and reading papers
and magazines. That's a young man. You're not
going to change that. Young men are going to be young men. Don't
make young men into sour pussies. You're not going to do it. A
young man's a young man. He's going to be a young man.
You understand what I'm saying? A young man's not an old man. He's a
young man. He's vivacious and he's energetic
and he's going to lift weights and he's going to keep his health
good. He's going to do these things. So do it. Be a young
man. But be serious minded. You can
still be a young man with a young man's drive and a young man's
zeal and a young man's energy and a young man's business interest,
and we can't mold people. In other words, I'm getting where
I like to sit with my feet up in a cup of coffee and do nothing. But these young men, that's not
what they want to do. And so be a young man. Be a companion
and a young man and do these things, but here's the place
to work. Be serious minded. See what I'm saying? Be serious,
my dear. You can do both. You can be a
person of zeal and health and interest. You can take interest
in all the things, government, politics, whatever. You can take
interest in these things, be a young man and have a young
man's energy. And yet, when it comes to the
things of God, be serious. Okay? And that's what he said.
That's the reason he changed it. You old men be sober and
serious and grave and dedicated and watchful. You young men,
we know you're going to be young. But while you're being young,
put the reins on it and be serious minded. Serious minded in the
things of God. And watch this. In verse 7, "...in
all things shewing yourself a pattern of good works." Set an example
of good works. Start early in life. Start early
in life and be an example, caring about others and caring for others
and doing the good works. Let me tell you a story. Like
I said, I know a lot of stories and had a lot of experiences,
and I'm grateful to God for all of you all, and I can tell something
good and precious on everybody here, but I'm going to wait till
you die and then tell them, you know. Bill Borders, such a great
man. But I was out in Texas one time
in a meeting. This poor Bill died. I was out
in Texas in a meeting. And there was a young man there
whom I hadn't seen for 20 years. Married, worked out in Texas,
came to him to preach. And he used to come up here when
he was a little boy, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old. He came 13th Street
Baptist Church to the Bible Company. And he came and heard me preach
out there in Houston, and after the service one night, we were
standing talking, and he looked at me and he said, right out
of the clear blue sky, how's Bill Borders? I said, what on
earth ever made you think of Bill Borders? There's 250 people
up there, 300 people in the U.S. How long has it been since you've
seen Bill Borders? He said, oh, 25 years. I said,
what made you think of him? Now listen, he said, when I used
to come up there as a little boy, Bill was nice to me. He always had time for me and
listened to me. And he said, I'll never forget
him. And when I went in the service, he wrote me a letter. Now that's
what I'm talking about. This young man, Bill was just
in his 30s then. But he had time for a little
10-year-old boy. and had time to write him a letter
when he went off to the army. That's what he did. In all things showing yourself
a pattern of good works. I said an example earlier. And
what's this? And in doctrine, you don't have
to be white-headed to believe something. In doctrine showing
uncorruptness. I shall not be moved, like a
tree planted by the waters, I shall not be moved. Establish it early.
Find out what you believe, whom you believe. And don't be moved. Don't be moved. Showing doctrine, gravity, sobriety,
sincerity. And verse 8, sound speech. Sound
speech. Let your words be wholesome.
Let them be seasoned with grace. Words that cannot be condemned.
That fellow you work with, He that is of the contrary part,
see verse 8, he that doesn't believe the gospel may be ashamed,
having no evil thing to say of you. Serious minded, caring, example of good works, sound doctrine established on
the rock Christ Jesus, and speech that cannot be condealed. All
right, then in verse 9 he turns to servants, that's employees,
and nearly everybody here is an employee. And he gives five
things for employees, people who work for others. He said,
verse 9, exhort servants, now here are five things he says,
you can mark them and number them. Number one, to be obedient
unto their own masters. That is to be submissive to your
employer, the person who has employed you. You see, you have
contracted out your services, and this man is paying you for
your services. Then obey them who have hired
you. Obey them that are your employers. Be obedient to them. Be submissive
to them. All right? The second thing is
please them. and please them well in all things."
In other words, seek to please your employer and give him satisfaction,
give him a full day's work. Give him a full day, give him
all of your, just like the business belonged to you. Give it all
you have, give it a full day's work. And then he said, not answering
again, in other words, not talking back and contradicting Somebody
said, the boss may not always be right, but he is the boss.
I was somewhere not long ago, and I saw two signs on the wall
that had two rules. Rule number one, rule number
two. Rule number one, I read, said this. This was in the bedroom
where I was staying. I looked over. Rule number one,
rule number one, the boss is always the boss. The boss may not be right, but
he's always the boss. That's rule number one. The boss
may not always be right, but he's the boss. Rule one. Rule
two says, what if the boss is wrong? Underneath it says, consult
rule number one. Oh, that's good. You boys and
girls, daddy may not always be right. Still daddy. Mama may not always be right.
Consult rule number one. What if mama's wrong? Consult
rule number one. That'd be good. So you kids around
the house, if something goes wrong, you can say, consult rule
number one. And that's true out there where we work. Don't answer
back again. No sass. All right? Number 10,
verse 10, rule number four. Not purlarning. That word is
stealing. Don't steal from your employee.
Don't steal. Somebody said even small things.
Here's the rule. Do not convert to your own use
that which belongs to the company. Don't convert to your own use
that which belongs to the company. And then rule number five, but
showing all good fidelity. That's honesty and loyalty. Be a faithful, reliable, honest
employee. And in doing this, what do you
do? All right, look, you've been talking about doctrine and works.
In doing this, you adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. That's what it says. Well, you
say, has it got anything in there about the boss? Oh, yeah. Let's
go back to Ephesians 6. It has some things to say about
us who work people, us who are employers, us who have the And
I consider that I fall into this category here because I'm the
boss here. Ask Ronnie. And he's not always right, is
he, Ronnie? All right. In Ephesians 6, let's
start with verse 5. Servants, here we start with
the employee always, the lesser to the greater. Servants, be
obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh.
with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ. Not
with eye service, as men pleasers," and we used to call in the Navy,
apple polishing, brown nose, and we had a lot of different
names for it. Not with eye service as men pleasers, but servants
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good
will, doing service as to the Lord, and not just to men, knowing
that whatsoever good thing Any man doeth the same shall he receive
of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And you masters, oh,
and you masters, do the same thing unto them. You want a good
employee? Be a good master. Be a good master. You do the same thing, the same
thing that I've written about the servant is true of the boss. Forbearing threatening. In other
words, moderating. Moderating. Treat them. Don't
speak ornery and harshly. You don't accomplish anything
by that. Speak kindly, moderately. Don't threaten people. Don't
hold a threat over a man's head all the time, knowing that your
master also is in heaven. You've got a master too, and
he's in heaven. And there's no respecter of persons
with him. You masters, be a good master,
be a good boss, be a good employer. Oh, turn to Colossians. He has
some more to say about this very same thing. Colossians chapter
3, start with verse 22. Colossians 3, start with verse
22. All right. Servants, obey in all things
your masters according to the flesh, not with our service as
men pleases, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever
you do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing
that of the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.
You serve the Lord Christ. We don't expect a reward from
men anyway, we expect it from Him. We serve Him, we're His
servants, we don't. But he that doeth wrong shall
receive for the wrong which he hath done. There's no respect
to a person. Now masters, now here we come. for us who are employers, us
who are the bosses. Give unto your servants that
which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a master in
heaven. As you would that men should
do to you, you do it to them. Oh, to adorn the doctrine. You
know, that leaves one, and then when we tell somebody, that we
believe on Christ, it comes over a little better. See what I'm
saying? If you're a good worker, if you
have good language, if you have good works, if people respect
you, then when you talk about Christ and the gospel, they kind
of listen a little better. They kind of listen a little
better. You see, your works and your
life and your conduct adorn your doctrine. And if you don't have
that conduct and that love and that charity and that goodness,
they're not going to listen to your doctrine. They're not going
to listen to it. And you really can't blame them,
can you? If it's going to make me like you, I just don't want
to take that pill. All right, let's go to verse
11 now. And then in these closing verses, he wraps all this up. He's talked to the older men
and the younger men and the older women and the younger women.
He's talked to the employees. He's talked to the employers.
And now he comes down to this. In these last four verses, the
Apostle gives us three arguments for this conduct that becomes
sound doctrine. Three arguments. Verse 11, he
says, here's the reason, for the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to us. And what does this grace of God
teach us? It teaches us that denying ungodliness
and denying worldly lust, we should live soberly, vigilantly,
watchful, wisely. serious-minded, soberly, righteously,
godly in this present world. Why? Because of the grace of
God. We've been taught this. All right, secondly, looking
for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ. You know, over in the book of
Hebrews, Paul tells us, as believers, to obey them that have the rule
over you in the church. Listen to the pastor. Listen
to the preacher. Listen to the evangelist missionary. Listen to him, because he watches
for your soul as one that what? Must give an account. You say,
Preacher, you're going to give an account for what you preach.
Right. You're going to give an account
for what you hear. Same thing, isn't it? Because
we're looking for the appearance of our Lord. It's true and I'll
buy that and I'll take all, I'll give an account for what I preach.
I'll give an account for every word of advice or exhortation
that I've given from this pulpit when he comes. But what about
when I give it and men won't hear it? Then they're going to
give an account. You know, when he warned Ezekiel,
he said, I've made you a watchman, I'll require their blood at your
hands. But he said, if you warned them, you've delivered your soul,
then who's accountable? Well, the man whom you warned.
So we're looking for Christ to come back. I tell you, my friends,
the end is in sight. If I intend to preach anything,
I'd better start preaching it. If I intend to do anything, I'd
better start doing it. If I intend to glorify God, let's
start glorifying him, because he's coming. And here's
the third argument, reason. Why should I? Well, we don't
ask that, you don't. But here's the reason why we
do what we do, because he gave himself for us. That's why. He gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar
people. a peculiar people, a people zealous
of good works, a people not only that do them because they're
commanded, but they're really zealous for it. They don't do these things simply
because they're commanded to do them or some preacher told
them they ought to do them. They're really zealous. They're
people who are looking for something to do to glorify God, looking
for some person to help or hand to hold out or render. Let these things speak, and exhort,
and rebuke with all authority, and let no man despise them.

Sound Doctrine and Good Works

What does the Bible say about sound doctrine?

Why is sound doctrine important for Christians?

How do works relate to faith according to the Bible?

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About Henry Mahan

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Sound Doctrine and Good Works

What does the Bible say about sound doctrine?

Why is sound doctrine important for Christians?

How do works relate to faith according to the Bible?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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