Well, last time, you may recall a few weeks ago, we were in this same text, Titus chapter three, verse eight. And last time we saw that this verse comes after a long statement, a long glorious statement expounding the gospel, the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared. And Christ saved us and sent His Spirit. And by the Spirit, He sanctifies us, renews us, saves us. And at the end of this long, glorious statement of the gospel message, we have a call, a very serious call. Paul tells Titus to affirm constantly that believers in Christ are to abound in good works. The phrasing here is, be careful to maintain good works. Well, this evening, I want to return to this verse primarily because this is a major theme in the book of Titus. And honestly, I wanna return to this because I myself have learned so much about this doctrine by studying this book and then studying our confession, the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith on this matter. I want to be very practical this evening and I want to just expound what I think are benefits, uses of this doctrine. For some of us, we may not have grown up with a robust confession of faith like we have, the Second London, but what we have in our confession, chapter 16, it gives us a long, detailed exposition a whole Bible understanding of what good works are and what they're meant to do. So I've been very much helped by studying this doctrine, the doctrine of good works. We're able to study it systematically. So I want to consider this evening the scriptures, but also what our confession has to say about these matters. So I'm gonna zoom out a bit and examine what else we can learn from the scriptures on this topic. And I want to just walk through reasons we should abound in good works. There's not one or two reasons to abound in good works. There are plenty. I have 10 listed. I'll go through them somewhat briskly, briefly. But there are 10, perhaps plenty more that we could add to this list. But as review, you'll see that we are to abound in good works because we have been saved. We do not abound in good works in order that we might become saved. The whole exposition in Titus leads us down a road where Christ himself has accomplished our salvation. We receive his good work. And after receiving his good work, we then work out of gratitude for his glory. The confession defines good works in this way. Good works are done in obedience to God's commandments. Good works are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith. Last time we discussed what good works look like. They could be something as small as getting a cup of cold water for someone, something as grand and wonderful as adopting an orphan. So this evening, let's consider why you should do good works. The first reason is this. Doing good works gives you joy. Doing good works gives you joy. You know this intuitively. I suspect. We learn early. Doing something good makes you feel good. I think children know this. Obeying your parents makes you feel good. The rest of us, if you resist temptation, you walk away from it, it feels good. Helping your grandparents in the yard, things they cannot do, it makes you feel good. It's built into us. Using our strength and our energy for the good of others, there's a natural consequence. Using our talents to glorify God, it makes you feel good. There's a supernatural joy that we can receive when we are doing works unto God's glory. Christians can receive a special sort of joy when we walk by the Spirit. It's one of the fruits of the Spirit, listed in Galatians 5. If you walk by the Spirit, you will produce joy. You'll exhibit joy. It's a supernatural gift. And it's something I think we should not shy away from. Why do good works? Because you will receive joy as you do good works. For it's the Spirit himself that will prompt you to do good works. And when you walk in step with the Holy Spirit of God, it feels right. Relatedly, if you disobey the Spirit, And if you refuse the Spirit, over time, you can quench the Spirit. You disobey God with selfish living, you reject the call to good works, you will not walk in joy, you will not be a happy person. So therefore, the implication, pursue good works for the sake of joy, your joy, others' joy also. Proverbs speaks to this, Proverbs 29 6, evildoers are snared by their own sin. That's the result of sinning. It's a general truth there. Evildoers, they become ensnared in sin. That's not fun. That's not joyful. It's miserable. But the righteous shout for joy and are glad. This is typically how things work out. Evildoers snared by their sin, the opposite is the case for the righteous. They shout for joy. If you think back to the garden, in the beginning, first man and woman, they were given work to do. Adam and Eve were told to take dominion over the land, use its resources, working it, making good use of it. They were to do the good work of raising children and filling the earth with image bearers. And this job was given to them for their joy. It's a pleasure to do this sort of work into God's glory. And this is God's very design. We work because we're made in his image. So if we forsake work, we are forsaking something that God has freely given to us. Christ himself did good works. Christ himself, you recall, it was for the joy that was set before him that he endured the shame going to the cross. It was joy that was part of his motivation, for he knew the reward that was to come. So why do good works? Because joy is found in good works. It's a normal way for you to increase your joy. If you find yourself in a season of sadness or some form of melancholy, consider. Consider whether you are living selfishly. How are you spending your time? Are you others-centered? Are you living in light of God's design? I'm not trying to suggest that doing good works is a cure for every form of anxiety or depression you may be under. It's not a magic pill. It automatically takes away every form of sadness. But I am saying that the scriptures tell us that doing good works typically leads to joy. That's the design. It's God's design to pursue good works, believer. This is the first reason, for your own joy. Second reason, good works are an opportunity to express your gratitude to God. Good works are an opportunity to express your gratitude. to God. Our confession on its chapter on good works states that it is by the doing of good works that believers manifest their thankfulness. They manifest their thankfulness, that is, believers make their gratitude known in the world by good works. So believers show their gratitude by good works. This opportunity is a gift. Thanking someone is not just encouraging them. Thanking someone is something much more than that. Thanking someone is the natural outworking of receiving something good. It's the natural response to thank someone who does good towards you. Imagine someone doing something wonderful for you and you are unable to thank them for it. You know, something would be lacking if you were unable to thank the one who did good towards you. Some of you may know the name Nicholas Winton. Nicholas Winton was an English stockbroker, and he was responsible for saving hundreds of Jewish children in the midst of the Holocaust. And in the 1980s, many who were saved by his efforts gathered together and they thanked him for saving their lives. Once they found out who he was, they gathered together to thank him. And all these now adults, some 40 years after the incident, are finally able to thank the individual who's responsible for saving their lives. Imagine being one of those children and being unable to attend this ceremony. The opportunity to thank someone is a gift. And God has given believers an opportunity to thank him. And that opportunity, one of the opportunities, is good works. So good works is a gift from God to you. God gifts it to you. Psalms are full of this. Psalm 116, which our confession cites and proof of this doctrine. The psalmist is exalting God for saving him. He says, you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from falling. So what does the psalmist do? He says, I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving. It's the natural overflow. It's an opportunity that God gives us. So let us take advantage of this opportunity. Third reason to do good works. Good works are God's means of meeting the needs of the church. Good works are God's means of meeting the needs of the church. It's how God meets the needs of the church. God saves, he gathers his people into local bodies, and it is the body of Christ as a whole, really, that serves its community. And we, as individuals, we serve one another, we rejoice for one another, we weep for one another. The whole body is honored when one of its members are honored. And we see in instruction, if you look just a few verses down, look at verse 14 in Titus 3. We'll see Paul's instruction to Titus. Let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs. One of the reasons you and I must abound in good works is because this is God's design too. God meets the needs of members of the church when its members are doing good works. Maintain good works, for it is in this way that the needs of the church are met. That's 3.14. We're to be ready to do good works, in season and out of season. If something were to happen tomorrow, drastic to one of our members, we should gather and be ready to do good towards that person, for that's God's design. We cannot wait on the world to meet the need. We ourselves are designed by God to meet the need. This is why he tells us to be careful, to maintain. This is why I've encouraged the children in here and the teenagers. Prepare yourself now to live in such a way that you are ready in the decades to come, that you might be ready to do many good works as an adult. Fourthly, doing good works edify the brethren. Doing good works edify the brethren. Now we speak a lot here about the ordinary means of grace, and that's exactly right. We should be promoting the ordinary means of grace. It is through the ordinary means of grace that God primarily edifies us, sanctifies us. You are edified also, however, When you imitate others who are doing good, this too is scriptural. When we watch others doing good in the community, we see that we ourselves should also do good. We see what Christian living looks like in real life when we see others doing it. This is why it's imperative to keep godly company. Do not surround yourselves with evildoers. You'll be amongst them, yes, but you need a refuge. You need this. A church body is a refuge from the world. Keep company with church people and let their good works rub off on you. There's strong scriptural support for this idea. Jesus tells his disciples not just to use their ears. Jesus says, You guys need to use your eyes. Jesus says, watch and learn from me. Jesus gathered together in the upper room with his disciples and he tells them, after he washes their feet, he says, you have seen me serve, though I am your Lord, now you go and do likewise. And what is he appealing to? You have seen this. You've seen this tonight, I have served you. But you've also seen this over the course of my ministry. You've seen how I've done good throughout the land of Israel. And he exhorts them, go and do likewise. Yes, we are primarily sanctified through the preaching of God's word. We're primarily sanctified through these ordinary means we talk about, Lord, supper, so on. But do not neglect doing good works, knowing that your good works are actually gonna edify other believers. Your good works are gonna rub off on the believers around you, on your children, your parents, brothers, and sisters. Paul makes a very similar appeal to the Ephesian elders. Paul appealing to them also appealed to their eyes, not just their ears. And Paul tells the Ephesians, you've seen me. You have seen how I work with my own hands. You have watched me as I have labored and suffered for the cause of Christ. And then he says, like Christ says, he says, follow my example. It's interesting too that earlier in this letter, Paul, in instructing Titus to gather men to be elders in the churches on the island, He says the elders must be busy doing good in order to qualify to be elders. If an elder wants to teach, his teaching needs to be backed up with a godly lifestyle. Proper teaching is accompanied by proper works. So by our good works, we are examples. By our good works, we are doing a form of teaching. So let us abound in good works because that actually edifies the brethren. Fifthly, good works adorn the church's message. This one's somewhat brief because it's been talked about throughout the book of Titus. Good works adorn the church's message. It's true Calvinist here. The success of evangelism is exclusively due to God's sovereign power over the hearts of unbelievers. But it is noteworthy that Christ tells us to do good deeds, that Paul tells us to do good deeds in order that others may see the beauty of the gospel message. Christ gives us a job. We are to behave in line with the gospel for the sake of evangelism. We are to do good works that others may see that what we believe is really true, really wonderful, that they might turn their heads and wonder what those Christians are up to. Titus 2.10, show all good fidelity Believers that you may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things That's the command The church can harm her witness through the neglect of doing good works if we didn't do anything it really would harm our Witness our testimony would ring hollow If we were busy doing nothing But I don't think it does not here. I am thankful for to say that we are a church with many members who are abounding in good works. We're a church who gives time and money to various ministries in our own community and in communities beyond our own borders. Think of the Peninsula Rescue Mission. We have people there serving. Metanoia Prison Ministry, Care Net. Think of the missionaries that we support who are able to do good where they are. If someone is in need, time and again, this church body, you've seen it, I've seen it. I was talking not long ago, I was concerned about a limb in my yard falling on my house. I'm wondering, like, how am I gonna handle that? And the pastor, Pastor Ryan, was like, brother, something happens. you're probably gonna have lots of brothers come over and help you out. And that gave me some resolve. It really did. And that, I think, adorns the message of Christ. We talk about it here. We also back it up, and I'm thankful for that. There's credibility to the preaching that goes on up here. because of the works that are going on. And this should continue. Our testimony of the goodness of God will indeed ring hollow if we neglect good works. And we should examine ourselves, corporately, but also individually. Examine yourselves. Consider even this week examining yourself. Are there any blind spots in my life? Am I adorning the gospel of Christ that I claim to believe? These are good questions for you to meditate upon. Commit to doing good works for the sake of the church's witness. Sixth reason to do good works, the doing of good works distinguishes believers from unbelievers. Good works distinguish light from darkness, wheat from the chaff, believer from unbeliever. Jesus said this, He said, a tree is known by its fruit. A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. The world and the church learn who is born of God based on good works. There are more people who claim to believe the gospel than there are people who act as if they believe the gospel. And James 2 bears this out. In James 2, we hear that faith without works is actually dead faith. It's not true faith. Real faith is backed up by works that testify to true faith. James says, what does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? If a brother or sister is naked or destitute of daily food and one of you says to them to depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Faith tells us who the true believers are. We read about this earlier in Titus. There were some in Crete who denied Christ, not so much by what they said, but by what they did. You can look back, chapter 1, verses 15 and 16. Their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God. That's their profession. Their confession, their proclamation is that they know God. But it was in their works that they denied Him. They did not necessarily deny Him. With their words, they denied him with their works. Paul says they're abominable, disobedient, and disqualified. Paul uses this to help Titus distinguish the good from the bad. Doing good works is also an answer to people who antagonize the church. There will be many. who will antagonize us for one reason or another, but many will just call the church a bunch of hypocrites. You've heard that, I've heard that. Oh, they're just a bunch of hypocrites. Really? I go to church. Yeah, we all have some blind spots. But the people with true faith, they're backing it up with good works. And Peter encourages us that our conduct should be so honorable among the Gentiles that when they speak against us as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God on the last day. So let's abound in good works that they may have no excuse as they antagonize us. Seventh, good works strengthen the assurance of believers. Good works strengthen the assurance of believers. Many presume they are Christians. This is true in our day, it's true in days before. But many do not bear the fruit that Christians ought to bear. And God gives us ways to grow more and more assured that we are indeed his, and we want this. I think all of us will go through a season where we think to ourselves, am I really in the faith? Thankfully, God is kind to us and he gives us these ways that we might grow in our assurance. And 1 John is a letter that's just full of ways that we might grow in our assurance. If you're struggling with assurance, even tonight, I encourage you, go home and read his first letter. But his encouragement is consistently upon the theme of loving your neighbor. For the one who's struggling in the faith, if you're wondering, am I really in Christ or am I not? You can read and you can consider. John says, if someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. How can he love God whom he has not seen? This command that we have from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also. He encourages us, love, doing good works for your neighbor. These will prove to the world, but also to you yourself, that you are indeed in the faith. Good trees produce good works. If you were in Christ, you were going to love your neighbor. And this, I think, especially in the whole book, perhaps this verse helps to clarify this issue perhaps the most. John says, my little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Sounds like good works, doesn't it? And by this we know we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. Do you want assurance? Well then do not just love in word and deed, in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. It's in this way that you assure your hearts before him. I like to think of it this way. Assurance of faith and good works are companions. You cannot find one without the other. Where assurance goes, good works goes, right there alongside him. So believer, the exhortation is this. For the sake of assurance, love your neighbor. For the sake of assurance, abound in good works. Eighth, by doing good works, we become more holy. When some teach about growing in holiness, they make it sound as if holiness is only separation from the world, maybe long prayer times, increase of personal purity. It's good and right to think of holiness in those ways. But it's not the only way to think about growth in holiness. There's more to it than that. To be holy is to conform increasingly to the image of Christ, and think about Christ for a moment. He abounded in good works. No one has lived a more holy life than Christ has. He lived a life completely consecrated to God. And yet, what was his ministry other than a series of good works and of teaching about God. So if you want to increase in holiness, if you want to become more like Christ, then you need to consider doing good works. This is the design. Doing good works will press you into holiness. Using your energy to serve others, Using your energy, your time, your resources, not for yourself, not for your hobbies so much, but for the good of others, doing good works in community, in your community, this is how you become more like Him. What else are you gonna do with your time? That's another good reason to pursue good works. I don't have that one. But doing good works, it keeps you from sin. Doing good works, it keeps you busy. It keeps you doing something other than sinning. At a crucial time in my life, I had someone approach me, it was a wrestling coach. I decided I was gonna quit the wrestling team. And the wrestling coach approached me and he said, you need to wrestle this year. I said, no, no, no, I don't want to. He goes, trust me. He goes, you don't need that much time on your hands. And he was exactly right. In a similar way, what are Christians to be bound up doing? We're to be doing good works. We don't have that, but that's another reason. It keeps you from doing bad things. Ninth, your good works are rewarded in heaven. Do good works because they're rewarded in heaven. Now it's true that we are rewarded for good works in heaven. And there's some debate over this. In some theological circles, and over the last several decades, some have actually pushed against this idea that we're rewarded in heaven for good works. I think that's off. A Reformed theologian named Derek Thomas, he actually says that if you ask any Christian prior to the 20th century, or certainly any Christian in the Reformed world, they would have said, absolutely, believers are rewarded for good works. He goes on and he says, it was certainly a Puritan or Reformer idea. Scripture clearly teaches that some are rewarded, not just for their justification, but for their progressive sanctification, for using the gifts that God has given them well. You remember the parable of the talents. A nobleman goes into a far country and he gives various gifts to different servants and some of the servants, one of the servants squandered and did nothing with what the Lord had given him. The one who was given five made five more The one who was given 10 made 10 more. And the result of them doing much with what the Lord had given them was that they were rewarded. This from the Gospel of Luke. The first came before the Lord, saying, Lord, Mina has made 10 Minas more. And he said to him, well done, good servant. Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over 10 cities. And the second came Lord saying, your Mina has produced five Minas. And he said to him, and you are to be over five cities. And then another comes and did nothing with it. And he was condemned. He did not have true faith. So Derek Thomas would say to us, that we are rewarded for our works. And you may wonder at this point, as some have, how could you be rewarded when there's so much sin still hanging on? How can I be rewarded for doing good when I know what's really in my heart? Yes, I did this good work. Yes, I did this thing, but you don't know, my motivations were mixed. Yes, I serve my neighbor, but honestly, I didn't really want to. I cut their grass. I didn't really want to. I'm not gonna be rewarded. The confession actually speaks to this, and this is one of the most wonderful parts of the chapter. It says this, our good works, since they are done by us, sinners, They are defined and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection that they cannot endure the severity of God's judgment. So that's speaking to total depravity. That even when we do good, this is on the chapter of good works, even when you do good works, there is a weakness and imperfection in them that they cannot actually endure. the severity of God's punishment. So they are never completely pure. But the confession goes on, and this is the beautiful part. Nevertheless, the confession says, believers are accepted through Christ, so their good works are accepted in him. So think about that for a moment, believer. When you do good and you are in Christ, God accepts them. The confession says this also. Good works are not accepted as completely blameless and irreproachable in God's sight, but rather, because God looks upon them in His Son, He is pleased to accept and reward good works that are sincere, even though they are accompanied by many weaknesses and imperfections. How wonderful is that? How gracious is that of our God? Not only does He give us the opportunity to do good works, He gives us the opportunity to have them received and rewarded by Him on the last day. And our imperfections, our weaknesses, what a light they shine upon Christ Himself. Consider the best thing you've ever done and how weak and imperfect it actually was. And now consider Christ never having a moment like that. Christ living all of his days completely, 100%, to the glory of the Father. Everything he did was righteous. Every good deed he did was completely good. And Christ, living a perfect life, himself went to the cross on your behalf, beloved. And it was this perfect man. Nothing was mixed with sin whatsoever. It was him who died for you. It was him that went to the cross and died bearing the punishment that you deserve on your behalf, and his righteousness is credited to you. What a glorious savior. So let us pursue good works because we're rewarded for them, but also, lastly, tenth, because good works glorify God. One reason it's true that good works glorify God is because you must depend upon God to do good works in the first place. our confession once again on this matter. The ability to do good works is not at all from themselves, but rather completely from the Spirit. Any good work that you do is completely owing to the Spirit. So if you abound in good works, God gets the glory. If you get rewarded in heaven, God gets the glory. Because true good works are done by the Spirit unto the glory of the Father. By their very nature, they're God-glorifying. We're commanded, whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we're to glorify God. This is our chief end. And part of our chief purpose in life, I would argue, based on Titus 3.8, is to maintain good works. This is one of the ways He has given us to glorify Him in this world. To conclude, I want to draw your attention once again to the example of Christ from John chapter 10. I'll leave you with this. It was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem. Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch, and the Jews surrounded him. You'll recall this story. And they said to him, how long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. The Jews take up stones to stone him. And Jesus poses a question. And he says, many good works I have shown you from my father. For which of these good works are you going to stone me? That's a good question for us to ponder. That if you do good works, when you do good works in the world, there will be persecution that follows. Christ himself was persecuted though he did good in the world. In fact, Christ was persecuted because he did good in the world. So what should we expect as his followers? As you, believer, live the Christian life, as you abound in good works, I am not trying to suggest that it will be easy to do good works. There will be persecution you experience for doing good. It will require sweat, perhaps tears, perhaps blood, but we are encouraged in the scriptures to abound. For Christ is worth it, and there is a reward on the last day. The encouragement the scripture gives us is that we are to pour ourselves out while there is still time. knowing that our good works will bring glory to the God who saves us. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this doctrine of good works. May we abound in good works to your glory. And we ask now for the power of the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts as we consider the text that we've covered. And I pray that the Spirit would prompt us as a church, but also as individuals, that we may know how we should be spending our time and our money and our resources. For we have a limited time on earth. May we spend our waking hours for your glory. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen.