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[0:00] D.W. Pink is not impressed with how many memory verses we've memorized.! He's really not impressed how many chapters of the Bible we read every day, says about prayer.

[0:32] That's how we can tell if we're profiting from the Word. And this week, He measures our profiting from the Word in the area of good works. Good works.

[0:42] Now, the truth of God is like a highway, but it's not a six-lane highway. It's rather like fur road, just a narrow road, and there's not a broad berm on either side.

[0:56] There is a ditch on either side. And you know that when you get a wheel off of the road, your immediate tendency is to jerk hard the other way. And indeed, it's the same thing in regard to the truth of God, that once there is an error to one side, there is often the knee-jerk reaction to leap to the other side.

[1:17] And so we find the church, and indeed you can see it in church history, going from ditch to ditch, when the truth of God is a very narrow road that we must stay on.

[1:30] That's true with regard to the biblical teaching of good works, the topic of this chapter. Some have taught that you can be saved by your good works.

[1:41] That's obviously a ditch, isn't it, on the one hand of the road, that by doing enough good things and obeying God enough of the time that he can actually look on favor upon us and say, oh, that one is now fit for heaven.

[2:01] But many in reacting to that error, and error it is, it's another gospel, it's a heresy, as Paul calls it, another gospel, not the saving gospel.

[2:12] Many have overreacted against that and have swung the wheel so hard that they've ended in the opposite ditch. And that opposite ditch is to claim that you can be saved though you have no good works.

[2:27] Now, they're not the same. Did you hear the difference? This ditch is claiming that by my good works, because of my good works, I'm saved. I'm saved by my good works.

[2:37] This ditch is saying, I can be a Christian and not have good works. Now, those are the two ditches, and we ought to be concerned with either.

[2:54] Pink was especially burdened by the number of professing Christians in his day who were over here living loose and morally licentious lives, and yet are saying, I asked Jesus into my heart.

[3:09] I'm a Christian. I'm ready for heaven. But they had no change. They just went on living like they did before. And Pink was very concerned about that, and much of this chapter deals with that error, that ditch on the left.

[3:25] The first ditch is legalism. The second ditch is antinomianism, anti-law-ism. Now, people by the church foals this morning are found in both ditches, but by the grace of God, there we would be, so we need to run right between these ditches as we follow the truth of God's word.

[3:48] We take the whole counsel of God, and there are verses that would answer the legalism and bump us back onto the pavement, but they would not shove us over too far because there's other verses that would bounce us back into the middle from that side.

[4:02] So I trust that the Holy Spirit will give us a balanced view on this topic of good works. How can I know if I'm profiting from my intake of the word of God, whether it be reading, memorizing, hearing sermons, what have you?

[4:16] Well, number one, we profit from the word when we're taught the true place of good works. And again, to keep from running into either ditch, we need the whole counsel of God.

[4:30] We need all that God has said on this subject. Now, there are two main points that we must say about the biblical view of good works. Number one, good works are not the cause, but number two, they are the effect of our salvation.

[4:46] They are not the root, number one, but they are the fruit of our salvation. They're not the way to be saved, but they are the way a saved person lives.

[4:58] They do not merit salvation, but they give evidence of salvation and show our gratitude for salvation freely given for Jesus' sake alone. Turn to Ephesians 2, 8 through 10.

[5:11] What I find interesting is that the Bible often makes both of those points in the same breath. That it makes both of those points in the same passage.

[5:24] And that's really good for us, that in one place we can see that we're hedged in from either of those two errors that we spoke about earlier.

[5:35] Ephesians 2, 8 through 10. Notice how the Apostle Paul keeps us from either ditch in this passage. Ephesians 2, beginning in verse 8.

[5:51] For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

[6:05] How can anyone ever get off into the ditch over here of legalism as long as Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 are in our Bibles? It's not by works that you're saved. How much plainer could it be?

[6:18] And so we're ready to leap over in the other ditch, and verse 10 meets us. For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

[6:35] What's the purpose for which God saved us and created us anew in Christ Jesus? It's to do good works. That's the very purpose behind God's salvation.

[6:50] We can only do works that are truly good in God's sight once He has come and saved us and joined us to Christ. Now we're able to do good works. And indeed, that's the reason He joined us to Christ, that our lives might produce the fruit of good works.

[7:06] So God's work equips us for these good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. That's the end of His whole predestined plan of salvation.

[7:16] He's prepared in advance works for us to do. Turn to Titus chapter 3. You see, again, both truths taught in the same context of Scripture.

[7:31] Titus chapter 3 and verse 5. This would keep us from the ditch of legalism. He saved us.

[7:44] He saved us.

[8:14] Again, you see the negative there? He saved us not because of righteousness, righteous things we have done.

[8:28] That would keep us out of the ditch of legalism. But lest we begin to think that, therefore, I can be a Christian and just go on living the same way that I live.

[8:38] Look at verse 8. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.

[8:55] That is, good works. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. I want you to stress these things for those who have trusted in God. They're not resting in their own good works.

[9:06] They've trusted in God. He saved them by sovereign grace alone. And now, I want them to do what is good. Be careful to devote themselves to what is good.

[9:19] No, it's not a casual interest in good works that he's speaking of. If someone's devoted to something, it's more than a casual interest. And that's what he wants everyone who's been saved by the free grace of God to be doing, to devote themselves to doing what is good.

[9:37] And notice in chapter 2 and verse 14, the very end for which Jesus gave himself for us on the cross, speaking of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Titus 2.14, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

[10:05] Zealous for good works was the King James translation. And so God has saved us through the redemption of Christ in order that he might have a people who are very intense about doing good works.

[10:20] That's the purpose for which Christ died on the cross. Now, we can't belittle or demean good works without belittling a very part of God's preordained plan of salvation.

[10:34] So that's the first thing, that we profit from the word when we see the proper place of good works in the Christian life. Not saved by them, but neither are we saved without them.

[10:45] They are the fruit, not the root, not the cause of our salvation. Secondly, we profit from the word when we're convinced of the absolute necessity of good works.

[10:57] Turn to Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14. There's seven points, so we're going to have to keep moving. But we profit from the word when we're convinced of the absolute necessity of good works.

[11:15] Hebrews 12, verse 14 says, Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

[11:28] Now there's a lot of verses, several verses in the book of Hebrews that talk about without this, this will never happen.

[11:39] Without this, this will never happen. Listen to them. Hebrews 9, 22 says, Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness, remission of sins.

[11:50] And we all say, Amen. Without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 11, 6 says, Without faith, it's impossible to what? To please God.

[12:02] And we all say, Amen. Without faith, impossible to please God. Well, with equal clarity, the book of Hebrews says, Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

[12:17] And the Amens trail off. But why? It's as an equal statement as all the rest. Without this, this will never happen.

[12:29] Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. All of these are absolute necessities. Now, some might try to evade the problem.

[12:40] We'll say, Well, that's the holiness of Jesus that's imputed to my account. That's the imputed righteousness of Jesus. Well, there is such a righteousness. Thank God. That's the only way we have a standing in heaven is because the holiness of Jesus, his perfect obedience, is put to our account by faith.

[12:58] But that's not what he's talking about here. He's talking about a holiness that we make every effort at. You don't make every effort at the holiness of Jesus put to your account.

[13:10] You quit your works and you rest on Christ and you just receive that by faith. It's the open hands of faith that receives Christ's holiness for ourselves. That's not what he's talking about, is it?

[13:22] Make every effort to be holy because without holiness no one will see the Lord. So this is talking about a holiness of life. It's talking about a life that's marked by good works that God has ordained that we should walk in.

[13:37] In other words, this holiness that is absolutely essential for seeing the Lord is the holy lifestyle of the Christian. The life lived by the saints in heaven is a continuation and completion of the new life begun on earth after they were born again.

[13:55] So we're looking for a great change when we see Christ. We will be made like Him. All of our sin will be gone. But there will be no vital change to the heart when we see Christ.

[14:09] Now hear that clearly. When we see Christ, we're looking for a great change, but not a vital change. There will be no new nature given to us. There will be no new direction given to our lives.

[14:22] No, that was given at the new birth. We were with our faces going our own way and our backs toward God. When did the vital change in our lives take place?

[14:32] At conversion, at the new birth. We were turned to God. And now we go falteringly, stumblingly, obeying and following after Him.

[14:43] One day we're going to see Jesus and we're going to walk with Him in perfection. But that will be a great change. I'm not diminishing it. But it is not the vital change of direction.

[14:54] That takes place here. And Pink's point is nobody should expect that when Christ comes back, He's going to make such a change that you're no longer headed towards sin, but He will change your direction when He returns.

[15:08] No, if that has not taken place in this life, then it will not take place when Christ returns either. The vital change that must happen in every sinner's life must happen in this life.

[15:22] They must be converted, turned toward God. So the absolute necessity of good works. They don't merit salvation, but they are inseparable from it.

[15:35] We're not saved by them. But without good works, we prove we have not been saved. That's what James says in chapter 2 over and over. This faith that you claim to have that has no good works, it's useless, it's dead, it's never saved anyone.

[15:53] In fact, it's like the demons' faith. They believe too and even tremble. But they have no change of direction in their hearts. They're not serving Christ.

[16:06] They're walking after their father, the devil. So, the absolute necessity of good works. If we're profiting from the Bible, we'll understand that.

[16:17] Thirdly, we profit from the Word of God when we're taught the design of good works. The design or the aim. What's the aim?

[16:29] What's the target for our good works? Jesus said it, Matthew 5, 16, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and say, Wow, what a fine Christian woman she is.

[16:47] No, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. The aim or the design of good deeds is to bring praise and honor to our Father in heaven.

[17:03] Now, that verse reminds us that some good works are visible and may be seen by men. Not all good works are visible. Some of your prayers are private prayers.

[17:16] They're not all public prayers. And we need to pray publicly. We're commanded to pray publicly and together as a church. But Jesus also said, Enter into your closet and shut the door where nobody but God sees.

[17:29] Some of your good deeds are done in private. But Matthew 5, 16 just assumes that if you're a Christian, there are many of your good deeds that are in the open.

[17:42] People can't help but see them. And they see them and our aim in them is not to draw attention to ourselves but to God by whose power they are done.

[17:52] We saw it last week. God is at work in us working out both the will and the power to act according to what His good pleasure is. So, it's not for my praise but for God's.

[18:05] But it's nonetheless worked in us. So, when others praise us for any good thing that we've done, we ought to be quick to divert their attention back to the doer, to the one who has worked in us.

[18:20] That God our Father might deserve the praise. When I hear Pink talking about the aim of good deeds is to bring honor to God, I think of Andy and Rebecca Hamilton over in China.

[18:35] And remember how we listened to a tape from our brother Andy where he told how decades of atheism in communist China have have borne fruit in a lack of love in society.

[18:51] Just absolute no concern for one another. And he talked about the man who had been hit by a car and lie there on the street and the traffic just keeps right on going. No one stops.

[19:02] No one cares. That's the fruit of there is no God. Into such a society comes a Christian.

[19:14] A Christian couple who have been saved by the grace of God. Sheer grace for nothing they've done. Not of gratitude to God. They want to spend their lives serving him. And that's why they're there.

[19:28] And they're telling other people about Christ and they're taking in these children and loving them and pointing them to the lover of their souls. And people see their good works and they wonder wonder what is this about.

[19:42] You can't hide them. Being a Christian you cannot hide loving your neighbor as yourself. That's just I'm sorry it's not a private good work.

[19:53] It's out there where everybody sees it. And it brings honor. It brings praise to our Father who is in heaven. And as our world is more and more marked by selfishness the Christian's good work should be standing out as different and drawing attention to Jesus Christ our Savior.

[20:18] The most generous people are Christians. That resounds to the glory of God. So we are profiting from the word if we understand the correct aim and design of good works.

[20:33] The praise of God. Fourth we profit from the word when we're taught the true nature of good works. The true nature of good works. Now this is something the world is ignorant of.

[20:47] If they do something that they're pleased with they think that God ought to be pleased with it. That's the world's way of thinking. If what I've done is pleasing to myself I'm pleased with that what I did.

[21:01] I just helped that poor lady across the street. I'm quite pleased with that. They think God ought to be pleased with that. They make themselves the judge of what a good work is.

[21:13] If I put forth any effort at all well it surely must be regarded as good. If I did something that was better than others the most then surely God ought to regard it as good.

[21:26] But what God or what man calls a good work and what God calls a good work are two different things aren't they? So we want to know what is the nature of a good work?

[21:38] How does God define a good work? Real good works are much rarer than most think. A work can only be called a good work in God's sight if it's done first of all in obedience to God's command.

[21:59] And here Romans 6.16 is cited we do it because it's something God commands. It's done with an eye to his command.

[22:12] I'm doing this Lord because this is what you want me to do. It must be something that he has ordered for us. In other words the good works are not for man to determine.

[22:26] And here is where the church has erred in history. You want to do good works well. They define penance here. Let us tell you what good works are.

[22:38] You must say so many paternosters. You must say so many our fathers or so many hail Marys or so many you must not eat this on this day. And man has defined these things as good works.

[22:50] If you do these things that we say to do the church then that's a good work and that will be put to your benefit. And Pink begins right from the beginning and says no God has not required this at your hands.

[23:05] It's not a good work. The Pharisees were great at that weren't they? Coming up with a whole list of things that were way beyond what God required and if you did these things well you were righteous.

[23:17] They were good works. So the first thing for any work to be called good in God's sight it must be done in obedience to his command. Not some man-made works of righteousness.

[23:31] Secondly it must be done out of love to God. Love is the fulfillment of the law. And so to do the outward act without love is not pleasing in God's sight at all.

[23:44] It's not something that even registers on the scale of good works. You see then you may do the very same thing that another person is doing and in one person's case it's a good work in God's eyes and another it's not.

[23:59] Why isn't it? Because it was not done out of love to God. First Peter 5 to elders are to serve not because you have to but because you are willing as God wants you to be.

[24:12] You see the love the heart is in it. The love of Christ compels us to no longer live for ourselves but for him who died and was raised to life. Paul says so there must be love to God if it's to be a true work a good work.

[24:29] Giving 2 Corinthians 9 7 may may if it's not done out of love to God.

[24:40] For your giving is to be not reluctantly, not under compulsion, oh, I've got to give this, but rather cheerfully, for God loves a cheerful giver, one who out of a heart of love gives back to his Father in heaven.

[24:57] So it must be done in obedience to a command of God, must be done, secondly, out of love to God. Third, must be done with faith, because without faith, it is impossible to please God.

[25:11] So it must be done in faith, and this is where many religious folk get tripped up. They have no faith in Jesus Christ, but they have a lot of good deeds they're doing.

[25:25] At least they think they're good deeds, but without faith in Jesus Christ, it doesn't even register as pleasing to God. There was a religious man named Cain once, and he did what looked like a religious thing on the outside.

[25:43] He made a sacrifice. His brother Abel made one too. Here's two boys, they each make a sacrifice. And one is pleasing to God, and the other one isn't. Now I know that commentators have added their thoughts on why the one was pleasing and the other wasn't, but listen to the divine commentator.

[26:04] Listen to what the book of Hebrews says. Why God was pleased with Abel and his sacrifice, and not with Cain and his sacrifice.

[26:16] Hebrews 11.4, By faith, Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith, he offered a better sacrifice than Cain did.

[26:31] A person may live their whole life in a very precise manner, with an outward moral life, striving to be a good neighbor, doing their duty to their country, doing much community service, but if there's no faith in Jesus Christ, Pink says he has not done one good work in all his life as far as God is concerned.

[26:53] It never even entered into heaven, heaven's registry as good. Even our best works, as Christians, are marred by many imperfections that would totally undo them were it not for the righteousness and blood of Jesus.

[27:13] That covers us. So whatever good deeds we do, they only become pure and good in God's sight as they're done through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ is sprinkled on them, his own goodness, his own blood.

[27:30] Just think about any good work you've ever done. Can you not look back and say, you know, I could have done it better this way. I could have done it with a better motive. I could have done it more thoroughly, with less weakness, and there's always some imperfection to it.

[27:49] And that's why everything we do must be offered up through Christ, faith in him, who makes my works acceptable in God's sight. Colossians 3, 17, whatever you do then, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of our Lord Jesus.

[28:06] Jesus, with an eye of faith on him, whatever good thing you're doing, do it with an eye to him. So it must be in faith. And then it must be for the glory of God.

[28:18] Lastly, so whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. There's the right aim, the right motives at the level of the heart. not aiming for our fellow man to see, but aiming that God might be praised.

[28:36] So when we see what God calls a good work, and what the world regards as a good work, we begin to see that these things are a whole lot rarer than we might imagine.

[28:47] Indeed, not one of these good works is to be found in an unbelieving sinner.

[29:01] There is none that does good. No, not one. Outside of Christ, there's not even one good work done. In fact, Augustine says, what most men consider their good works are merely splendid sins.

[29:14] Splendid sins. All of their righteousness. Rarer's are as filthy rags in God's sight. So that's the fourth way to check.

[29:25] Are we profiting from the word of God? Then we don't just run around doing what we think is a good work, or what the world defines as a good work, but we judge good works by what God says a good work is. Fifthly, we're profiting from the word when we're taught the true source of good works.

[29:43] And again, here Pink says, being ignorant of what a good work is, men wrongly suppose that they may do good works, that they have what it takes to do a good work. If just plunking $1,000 in the box is a good work, well, I can do that.

[29:58] You know, I've got more than that much money in the bank, and I can make a draw and write a check, and I can stick it in there. There's no problem. As long as men are ignorant of what a good work is, they think they're able to do them.

[30:13] But once they begin to see that, no, there's got to be a different motivation at the heart, there's got to be a desire for the glory of God, there's got to be an eye to Him, and pleasing Him, and obeying His command, there's got to be faith in Jesus, and love in the heart, well, I can't do that.

[30:32] I can't do that. Well, that's what the Bible is meant to do, to drive us away from any resting on ourselves. Unregenerate men have no power to perform these good works in a manner spiritually pleasing to God.

[30:50] They are not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can they be. Romans 8 and verse 7. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Can he? Can a leopard change its spots?

[31:04] Can he? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. It takes a new heart, doesn't it? It takes grace to come and create us anew, to make us new creatures in Christ Jesus, so that the old is passing away, and behold, all things are becoming new.

[31:25] Apart from me, Jesus says, you can do nothing. You cannot do one good work without me, apart from me. Hence, you see, why the unbeliever cannot do the first good work.

[31:36] We have to have the Holy Spirit in our hearts, producing the fruit of the Spirit, these good works. Again, that's Philippians 2.13 that we saw last Sunday morning as we were preaching through Philippians.

[31:49] Well, it's, we're profiting from the Word when we see that our sufficiency for doing these good works is God himself, and we begin to depend more and more upon him in the doing of them.

[32:03] Well, sixth, we profit from the Word when we're taught the true scope of good works. You know, you start out on a chapter with Pink, and you think, okay, he said about everything he can about good works at the first two or three points, and then you realize, no, there's another way to look at this.

[32:18] Now he's looking at the scope of good works. The true scope. What all does good works encompass? How broad is the scope?

[32:29] What does it have in its sights? How broad of a scope does good works cover? It's not just a few religious deeds, putting money on the plate, attending church, keeping the golden rule, and so on.

[32:43] Rather, the scope of good works is so far-reaching that it includes the carrying out of our duties in every relationship in which God has placed us.

[32:55] In that place, I am to do good works. So what you do as a faithful husband are good works. What you're doing as a faithful wife are good works.

[33:07] As a faithful citizen, as a faithful church member, as a faithful neighbor, those are good works. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 5.

[33:22] I love this passage because it defines for us right down in the nitty-gritty, what are all these good works that the Bible talks about? And sometimes we can get so religious that we have to have some super spiritual thing attached to them before we understand them as good works.

[33:42] But here the Holy Spirit jerks us right down to the planet Earth and shows us what kind of things He's referring to when He speaks of good deeds and good works in the Scriptures.

[33:54] Here in 1 Timothy 5, 9 through 10, we're learning about the kind of widow that was worthy of the honor to be supported financially by the church.

[34:08] And there was a list and this is some of the qualifications that were listed. So who's to be put on that list? What kind of widow? Well, verse 9, 1 Timothy 5.

[34:19] No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she's over 60. I don't know that that's a good work, just getting over 60, but go on. Has been faithful to her husband and is well known for her good deeds.

[34:37] Okay, there it is. Good works. Well known for her good works. Such as. Now I'm really interested. What are the good works? Such as bringing up children.

[34:48] And we stop. And we come to realize that all that's involved in bringing up children is regarded by God in his people as a good work.

[35:01] The wiping of the runny nose, the changing of the diapers, the doing of the laundry, the washing of the dishes, the instruction given formally, informally, all of it, bringing up children, all that's involved in bringing up children, that's a good work.

[35:18] Showing hospitality. Ever open up your home to others? That's what he's talking about. Washing the feet of the saints. That was a servant's job.

[35:31] You ever serve the saints? Get down and do the dirty tasks that nobody else wants to. That's a good work. Helping those in trouble. Devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

[35:44] He just runs out of time and paper and says, listen, I could go on and on. But I'm talking about all kinds of good deeds. You see the scope of good deeds? I trust that we don't have it up here in the clouds and it's got to be having our devotions.

[35:58] Those things are good deeds. I'm not diminishing them. But please, let's see that the scope of good works touches everything that we do in our life. All kinds of good deeds.

[36:12] things. So indeed, in one sense, everything you do is either a good work or a bad work, isn't it? It's either done in conformity to God's law or in violation of it.

[36:26] And so number seven, lastly, we profit from the word then when it moves us to the actual doing of good works. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3.

[36:36] We started this whole study with this text. 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17.

[36:51] All scripture is God-breathed and is useful, the old King James says, profitable, hence the title of the book, Profiting from the Word. How can we know what the Word of God is profitiness, whether it's profitiness or not?

[37:03] Well, it's God-breathed, it's given by God, and therefore it's useful, it's very profitable for four things, for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and training in righteousness to a certain end so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for something.

[37:23] What is it? It's for every good work. Every good work. So you can know that you're profiting from the Word of God if it's equipping you for every good work.

[37:36] If it's actually bringing you to the doing of good works, then you're profiting from this book. That's the very end to which it's been given. Notice, it's not merely an intellectual knowledge of these things that the scriptures have been given us for, not just to give us big heads and to remain strangers to the practice of good works.

[38:03] And so you find Paul praying in Colossians 1.10 and we pray this, in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work.

[38:16] That's the end for which the scriptures have been given. That's what I'm going to pray for you, that you would bear fruit in every good work. Hebrews 10.24, just as we profit from each other's fellowship, where we're told don't neglect the assembling of the saints as the manner of some is.

[38:38] He tells us in Hebrews 10.24, let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. You see, our fellowship is to be like a spur that a cowboy would put in the backside of the horse to move it along.

[38:57] Our fellowship is to be doing that to each other, to be spurring us on to love and good deeds. Well, in the same way as our fellowship is needed so that we might be spurred on, so that we profit from the Word of God when it spurs us on, when we come away from our devotions in the morning and we've got a spur on our side to find someone to do something good to, to find some activity of service, to do some good deed, I've profited from the Word.

[39:31] I didn't just sit there and get a big head. I come away from a service and I'm not just interested, did I feel good? Did that feel good? I rather want to know who can I love?

[39:45] How can I show my love to Jesus by loving His people, by loving the lost? So let your good works be an indicator of how much you're profiting from your intake of the Word of God.

[39:58] Is it making you a better soldier of Christ, a better husband, a better wife, a better parent, a better worker? Is it actually equipping you for the doing of every good work?

[40:11] There was a woman in Joppa who was a disciple of Christ named Tabitha, which one translated as Dorcas. who was always doing good and helping the poor.

[40:25] Isn't that a good epitaph for a gravestone? She was always doing good and helping the poor. You remember at her funeral, the room was filled with people who had brought their garments and said, she made this for me.

[40:45] She was like her Savior. One of the summaries of Jesus' life on earth was that he went around doing what? Doing good. Maybe it's just speaking with respect to a woman that the world gives no respect to at the well of Samaria.

[41:06] He was doing good. Maybe he's healing someone. Maybe he's teaching someone the way to life, eternal life. maybe he's dying on the cross.

[41:20] He went around doing good to others. Dorcas, her whole life was marked as one who was always doing good. May it be that God would stamp us with our Savior's passion.

[41:36] That's why he died, that he might have a people who are zealous for good works. May that be a spur in our side and a whole trail of good deeds follow in our wake.

[41:53] Give me a faithful heart guided by thee that each departing day henceforth may see some work of love begun, some deed of kindness done, some wonderer sought and won something for thee.

[42:10] Let's pray. So our Father, we come from your word and we confess our sin to you. Our works that are good in your sight are so few and so imperfect and it again drives us off of any resting in ourselves.

[42:30] Oh, we thank you for the Lord Jesus. We thank you that we have a Savior who forgives us from our sin. Wash us and forgive us afresh. wherever our guilty conscience condemns us.

[42:43] Come and cleanse us. We have failed you. We've not walked as we ought to walk in good deeds. Not been like our Savior going about doing good. So forgive us and then come and work it in us.

[42:58] Oh, Lord Jesus, you have this grace to give. You are so full of grace and truth. Come and give us that grace. We couldn't look on people the same way.

[43:09] that we once did. We would see them as objects of your love, therefore objects of our love and good deeds. Come and teach us what only you can teach us.

[43:20] Come and move us to do things that only you can fit us and enable us to do. We ask it for the glory of your name.

[43:30] We ask it that people might not just see us and it end there, that they might see we're your people. and we bear the stamp of our Savior, that we would be quick to tell them of him, that no praise would end with us, but would redound to our Savior, to whom it's all due.

[43:50] Make him even more precious to us in this coming hour as we worship in his presence. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[44:02]