Read the word of God this morning in Colossians chapter two. Colossians two, and we'll read the whole of that chapter. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, am I with you in the spirit? joying in beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of an holy day or of the new moon or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head from which all the body by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of this world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using, after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh? We read God's Word thus far and now turn to Lord's Day 32 of the Heidelberg Catechism, which is based on the passage that we read and many similar passages, especially verses 6 and 7 of that chapter. Let's read now Lord's Day 32. Notice the heading above that, Lord's Day, the third part of thankfulness. And we have two questions and answers here, 86 and 87. Since then we are delivered from our misery merely of grace through Christ without any merit of ours, why must we still do good works? Answer, because Christ, having redeemed and delivered us by his blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit after his own image, that so we may testify by the whole of our conduct our gratitude to God for his blessings, and that he may be praised by us. Also, that everyone may be assured in himself of his faith by the fruits thereof. and that by our godly conversation others may be gained to Christ. Cannot they then be saved who, continuing in their wicked and ungrateful lives, are not converted to God? Answer by no means, for the Holy Scripture declares that no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, covetous man, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or any such like, shall inherit the kingdom of God. If there is one truth, beloved, that the Hatterberg Catechism has made abundantly clear to us thus far, it is this, that we are saved by grace alone. And that leads to the question of this Lord's Day. What is it, and that's really the question here, what is it that follows from that truth in the life of someone who has been saved that way? How does the truth of salvation by grace alone, the truth that God does all the work of salvation in us and for us through Christ and by the Spirit, how does that truth affect the behavior of someone who is saved by the grace of God? What sort of life is in harmony with the blessed gospel of the sovereign grace of God? That question and those questions are answered in the third section of the Heidelberg Catechism beginning with Lord's Day 32. And the answer to those questions is basically this. What follows is a life of thankfulness, a life of thankfulness. And we're taught in this third section of the Ayatollahic Catechism that there are two ways in which the believer shows his gratitude, his thankfulness to God. The first is by obedience. A thankful Christian is an obedient Christian, and the catechism explains in that connection the Ten Commandments of God's law for us. But secondly, by prayer. A thankful Christian prays, and by praying, he shows that he is thankful, and through prayer he expresses his thanks. And so the catechism explains in this section the Lord's Prayer. Really, that's the summary of the Christian life. The Christian life in a nutshell is this. We are thankful, we are obedient, and we are prayerful, thankful, obedient, and prayerful. Lord's Day 32 introduces us to all of that, and that's summarized also in the passage that we read in verses six and seven. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, That's a summary of the second section of the Heidelberg Catechism, which we've just finished. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, now following from that, so walk ye in him. walk a life of obedience and a life of prayer, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. There's the motive, thanksgiving. So we begin this third section by considering together this morning the believer's life of good works. Well notice, first of all, the must of doing them, secondly, our sole purpose in doing them, and thirdly, with what motive we do them. The believer's life of good works, the must of doing them, our sole purpose, and with what motive. This first Lord's Day, beloved of the third section of the Heidelberg Catechism, asks a striking question. Why must we still do good works? And if you consider the whole question, which is this, since then we are delivered from our misery merely of grace through Christ without any merit of ours, why must we still do good works? You consider that whole question, then you realize that really the question is raising an objection that is sometimes heard about good works. The argument goes like this, the argument of those who object to doing good works. They say, well, we believe we're saved by grace alone. And we believe and confess that our salvation is 100% God's work in us through Christ. And that means that we're not saved by anything that we do. We're not saved because of anything that we have done. We are not saved because we somehow merit or earn something with God, and therefore God saves us. And with all that they've said thus far, we can fully agree. But then they go on to say that also means that what we do or don't do won't affect our salvation, won't change whether we're saved or not. And while that is true, where they're leading us with that is not correct, because then they will say, we're saved because God in love has chosen us, we're saved because God in his sovereign grace has saved us in Christ, which is also true, but then the conclusion they reach is, why bother doing good works? Why is it necessary to do them? If those good works are not going to affect our being saved, And even if bad works, sins, are not going to ruin our salvation because it's 100% the work of God, why do we need to do good works? And you recognize that that objection, and therefore this question of the Lord's Day, expresses and addresses the error of antinomianism. The antinomian is one who is literally against the law of God, opposed to the law of God. He doesn't want the law of God to be mentioned. He doesn't want the law of God to be preached. He doesn't want the commands and admonitions of Scripture to be preached. And he says, because we're saved by grace, we don't have to do good works because our works do not save us, nor do our works cause us to lose our salvation. We can live as we please. It's okay to sin because we will be saved regardless. And then in the extreme view of an antinomian, He says, let us sin so that grace abounds. The more you sin, the deeper and richer will be your experience of the grace of God. And so he encourages sin. With that error in view, The Harabic Catechism teaches us, first of all, in this Lord's Day, that good works are indeed required by God. The Christian must do that. Good works ought to characterize the life of a believer, and that's why God commands us to do that. He gives us the Ten Commandments of His law. He gives us many, many admonitions in Scripture. And the believer must not do a good work just now and then in his or her life, but a life that is filled with good works. As Colossians 2 verse 7 points out, we are abounding in this walk in Jesus Christ, abounding in this life of good works. And that's the language of Colossians 2 verse 6 too. Someone who has received Christ Jesus the Lord, received Christ by sovereign grace of God, not accepted Christ, the scripture doesn't use that language, but has received Christ because God has sovereignly given Christ and given into the child of God all of the blessings of salvation that are in Christ. as ye have therefore received him, so walk in him." The walk of the child of God by the strength of Christ whom we have received and by the strength of Christ who dwells within us is Christ-like. We love God. and we obey God as Christ loved God and obeyed God. It's not a walk that is driven by this, that one says it doesn't matter if I sin because I'm going to be saved anyway, but rather a godly walk. We abound therein, abounding in the good works that God calls us to do. that God has ordained for us to walk in. The believer is called by God to do good works. But you understand and must understand, beloved, that that's not the only and not even the main point in this Lord's Day when it speaks about the must of good works. As the answer shows, the Lord's Day is looking at the word must from a different viewpoint. If the must of good works is that we must do them because God commands us to do them, then that's what the catechism would have said, because God commands us. The catechism doesn't say that. The catechism says because Christ, having redeemed and delivered us by his blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit after his image. That's the must of doing good works, first of all. The catechism is setting forth a much more significant meaning of must. It is stating by its answer, the first part of answer 86, that good works are a must, not in the sense that we should, because we're commanded, but they are a must in this sense. that they will be present in the life of a child of God. They will happen in the life of a believer. Maybe we can be aided in our understanding of that if we think of how we use that word must in that sense in other ways. We must eat to stay alive. And while that means it's necessary to eat in order to stay alive, that must also indicates that we will actually eat. It's part of our makeup. It's something that we will naturally do. We get hungry and we eat. It's a must from the point of view that it's inevitable that we will eat. because God has made us that way. Or we could say we must breathe to stay alive. And we not only need to breathe to stay alive, but we also will. It's what we will naturally do, even subconsciously, without thinking about it. because that's how God has made us. And so likewise with good works, they are a must because they are inevitable. They are a must in the sense that they will happen, and good works will be done by one who has been saved by grace. not simply done by him or her because he has commanded to do them, but they are inevitable in one who has been saved by this grace of God because they are an essential part of who and what we now are as those who are saved. Just like breathing. And that because, as the catechism says, the Lord Jesus Christ not only justifies, but he also sanctifies us. He does not half-save and only half-save a person and say to him, well, I have justified you and now that sanctification part of your salvation is your work. He doesn't say that. He does a complete work. And so we even read of that in Colossians 2 verse 10. Ye are complete in Him. Complete in Christ because Christ has not only justified but also sanctifies us. Complete in Christ because Christ has not only redeemed and delivered us from our sins but also renews us by His Holy Spirit. And even verse 13 of Colossians 2, you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him. He has made you to be spiritually alive too. Good works are a part of what Christ does in us. And in His saving work in one of His children, and in every one of His children, He includes the work of producing good works in us. We know that God has eternally ordained good works, Ephesians 2.10. Good works that God has eternally planned for us. And now Christ by his work in us through his spirit makes what God has eternally planned for us to be a reality in our lives. And good works will therefore necessarily follow in one who has been saved. Someone who has been saved will do good work. They are a part of what we are as saved children of God. Just as we breathe to stay alive, so we breathe good works as part of the work of God and of Christ in us. That's why the catechism also points out in the second question and answer of this Lord's Day that a Christian who continues in a wicked life, someone who says he is a Christian and continues in a wicked life is a contradiction, an impossibility. That's not how Christ works in his people. Christians break from their sins and they walk a life of good works, not perfect works. No one is perfect, but good works. And question and answer 87 says, cannot they then be saved to continuing in their wicked and ungrateful lives and not converted to God? And the answer is by no means. And then the answer quotes pretty much from 1 Corinthians 6, 9, and 10, when it says, for the Holy Scripture declares that no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, covetous man, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or any such like shall inherit the kingdom of God. A Christian who lives and walks and continues in sin is a contradiction. And it's in the light, beloved, of what we have just said, namely as the catechism teaches that Christ not only justifies but also sanctifies us, that part of his saving work in us is also that he leads us to do good works, it's in that light that we are to understand and can understand properly what we have mentioned earlier and what we mentioned first concerning good works, that they are required, that God commands us to do that. The reason God commands us to do good works is because God has made us capable of doing them. He commands us to do something that we are able to do because He has worked in us. That's how we must understand all of God's commands and all of God's admonitions in scripture. And that's how we must understand and that must be our perspective too as we in the coming Lord's days consider the 10 commandments of God's law. God is commanding us something in every commandment that he has enabled us by his saving work to do. equipped us to do. God is not commanding his people to do what's impossible, but he is commanding us to do what we are able to do. What we are capable of doing because of his work in us. As Augustine said in his Confessions, Give what thou commandest, and command whatever thou willest. Give what thou commandest, as in give us the ability to do what thou commandest, and then command us to do whatever thou willest. Command us to do whatever is the will of God. in that order too. That's what God does. He gives us the ability to do what he commands, and then he commands us to do it. Because we are his workmanship, Ephesians 2.10. And we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Our being recreated in Christ Jesus comes first. and it's unto with a view to good works. The believer is able to do the good works that God commands us to do. What is the purpose, though, of our doing good works? Well, if you read the Lord's Day, the Lord's Day has a lot to say about doing good works. The Lord's Day says this. It says, first, we may testify by the whole of our conduct our gratitude to God for his blessings. That's one thing it mentions about good works. It also mentions this, that he may be praised by us. Thirdly, it says that everyone may be assured in himself of his faith by the fruits thereof. Fourthly, it says that by our godly conversation others may be gained to Christ. So four different things are mentioned there, but as you look at those four, then you realize that out of everything the catechism says there about our good works, only one thing stands out and one thing can serve as the purpose of our doing good works. And that is this, that God may be praised by us. That's the purpose. The purpose is not that others may be gained to Christ. The purpose is not that we may be assured of our salvation, but the purpose is simply this, for the glory of God. That's the single, the one and only purpose of all things, the glory of God. Everything that exists and everything that happens is for the glory of God. That's why God created the heavens and the earth and everything that they contain, the whole universe. That's why God upholds the creation. And so we live in a creation where, according to Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth forth his handiwork. It's for the glory of God that sin entered into this world. God glorified in punishing sin, And God glorified in the mercy He displays and the grace He displays in saving us from sin. It's for the glory of God that Christ came into this world and suffered and died on the cross so that God might be eternally glorified and praised by the church and the people that Christ saved. It's for the glory of God that the sun shines and that snowflakes fall. It's for the glory of God that there is war and that there is peace. It's for the glory of God that there is sickness and that there is health, that there is wealth and that there is poverty. It's for the glory of God that we exist. We're not here for ourselves, we're here so that God might be glorified, acknowledged, and praised by us. And that's also why we are made to suffer and to experience struggles and sorrow for the glory of God. It's true that God sends suffering and sorrow and struggles also for our profit. We sing of that in Psalm 119, affliction has been for my profit. God using it to purify us, God using it to strengthen us spiritually, God using it to draw us closer to him. and to acknowledge our need of him and our dependence on him. God using it to prepare us for heaven and our unique places in the glory of God's kingdom. And God using it also to strengthen our desire for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, God does use it for our prophet. But the main thing is always the glory of God. That's why God sends trouble and affliction. God glorified now as we experience those things because it becomes obvious that His grace alone upholds His people in their affliction. And God glorified eternally by a church and by believers that praise Him for His perfect preparation of them for their place in glory. God's glory, that's what we need to remember always. When we struggle with our afflictions, it can often be because we lose sight of the glory of God. By faith, when we acknowledge God's glory, then God equips us better to endure the afflictions He said. But coming back, beloved, to this Lord's Day, that's the purpose also of our good works, God, God's glory. The purpose of our good works is not ourselves, that we might be assured of our salvation, that's not the purpose. The purpose of our good works is not anyone else. that others might be gained to Christ. That's not the purpose. The purpose is God. God glorified and praised because we acknowledge and we manifest and we show by doing our good works that God has given us Jesus Christ. We have received Christ Jesus, Colossians 2 sects, and now we walk in him. We have received the Christ who has not only redeemed us, but who has also changed and sanctified us. That glorifies God. And God glorified and praised because we acknowledge that God is the one who gives us these good works to do. And God is the one by Christ and the Spirit who also enables and equips us to do these good works. And God glorified and praised therefore because it is obvious that God is at work in us. We could never do it on our own. On our own, we could only sin and commit more sin because there is none righteous, none, no, not one. There is none that seeketh after God. There is no one who loves God without God's love for him. There's no one who obeys God without God's love and grace. God glorified. Because men, according to Matthew 5.16, see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. The saved child of God does good works with that purpose. Whether we eat or drink, whether we work or play, Whether we show love to someone, or kindness to another, or help to this fellow saint, or encouragement to another child of God, whether we pray, confess sorrow for sin, repent of sin, or whatever we do, we do it to the glory of God. And that's part two. That's also part, I mean, of Christ's work in us. But what's our motive? What's your motive for doing good works? Why is it that you do not serve other gods? Why is it that you keep the Sabbath day holy? What motivates you to do that? Why is it, children, that you honor your father and your mother? What motivates you to do that? What is it that motivates us to read the word of God, to be loving and kind and forgiving to others? What motivates us to confess our sins and to repent of them? You might say, in answer to that question, what motivates you, you might say, because God commands me and my motive is not to displease Him. My motive is not to incur His anger upon me. And to that I say, no, that's not the motive of the child of God. You might say in answer to that question, because I desire assurance of salvation, and so my motive in doing good works is so that I might be more sure of the forgiveness of sins and of salvation in Christ. And to that I say, no, that's not the motive. And you might say, my motive is I desire the salvation of others. I desire that by my good works, others might be gained to Christ. And to that I say, no, that's not a motive. And let me add, beloved, when it comes to assurance, as that is mentioned in this Lord's Day, And when it also comes to desiring the salvation of others, as mentioned in this Lord's Day, they are not motives. They are not motives for doing good works, but they are rather fruits of doing good works, even as the catechism itself uses that word. They are the fruit of a life of good works before God, a fruit that God gives. A fruit that God produces, they are benefits that God gives. We cannot really go into that in detail today. More on that another time, Lord willing, but remember that assurance by means of good works and the salvation of others of both fruits. What is the motive, though, if it's not those things? The motive is, as you know, because we have so much to be thankful for. The motive is that the believer who is saved by the sovereign grace of God has a thankful heart. and is grateful because he realizes how much God has done for him and how much God has given to him. And so he does good works not because he's commanded, because he's compelled, because God expects him to do good works, but he does good works because he wants to do that. He wants to do that out of thankfulness. Again, Colossians 2.7, abounding therein with thanksgiving, that is abounding in the life of walking in Christ Jesus, the life that is a godly life, the life that is characterized by good works. And as Christ said concerning the woman who came and anointed his feet in Luke 7, and he was questioned concerning that, and she was criticized for doing that, and he was criticized for associating with her. Christ said, because her many sins have been forgiven, she loved much. That's what the child of God says. My sins, which are many, have been forgiven. Now I have comfort and joy and peace and hope and life eternal graciously given to me by God, worked in me by Christ and his Spirit. How can I not be thankful? How could I not love God much and love Christ much and show it in a life of good works? And the point of this Lord's Day and the point also of this third section of the Heidelberg Catechism is that the believer does not only say thanks to God, but the believer shows it. The believer demonstrates it. The believer is thankful in his and her life. The thankful believer is an obedient believer. That's true in our homes. I trust it is. that you who are thankful children in relation to your parents are obedient children. If your parents give you what you need, even just your daily food and clothing, a home to live in, and all of your earthly necessities, you have reason to be thankful. If your parents give you gifts beyond that, above what you need, you have even more reason to be thankful. And you have reason to be thankful because, children, you don't deserve any of it. And if you are a thankful child, then you don't rebel against your parents, you don't lip off to them, you don't, as soon as they turn their backs to you, disobey them, But if you're thankful, as you should be, then you obey your parents. The same is true in our relationship to God. Are we thankful? Then we will strive to obey Him. Are we thankful? Then we will strive every day to do good works. Not just say thanks to God, but show it. Show it by obeying His word, and show it by being prayerful to Him. And so if I may put the question of this Lord's Day just a little differently, namely this way, will a saved child of God do good work? Will a saved child of God do good works? And the answer is, indeed. Indeed, he will. And she will. It's inevitable. And it's inevitable because of who we are. It's inevitable because of what Christ has made us to be. It's inevitable because we are newborn creatures in Christ, and we have been regenerated in Him. We have been justified and sanctified by Him. We will do that. We'll do them with the purpose of glorifying God, and we'll do them with the motive of gratitude to God. Will we do them perfectly? Scripture never talks about the believer doing perfect works. It only ever mentions good works, because it recognizes that even our best works are imperfect and tainted with sin. But there is forgiveness in Christ, and there is strength through Him to strive all the more out of a greater sense of gratitude for that forgiveness to do the good works that God has ordained for us. And so may we be led by Christ in a life of thankfulness and obedience and prayer. Amen. Father in heaven, we pray the Lord, give us to understand thy word and apply it to our hearts and lives by thy spirit. And cause us to be indeed truly thankful to thee, thankful to thee for thy sovereign grace that has saved us, for thy sovereign work in our hearts and lives, even the work of leading us to do good works and to desire to do them in gratitude unto thee. Apply this word by thy spirit and through the work of Christ in our hearts. In his name, amen.