A Life Full of Good Works
Notes
Transcript
A tribute to Marilee
A tribute to Marilee
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.”
39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.
40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.
Introduction:
I’m sure we all want to hear those words someday, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (Matt. 25:23 NKJV)
The hard part is that it requires a lot of hard work and a lifetime of faithful service and living a life that honors the Lord. As Americans, we often try to find an easy way to do things. “Work smart, not hard.” But that’s not the way we will be productive in the kingdom of God. It will require diligence and great effort and endurance on our part. God is the one doing it all, and yet he accomplishes great things through our effort and hard work.
In the life of faith and faithfulness, God has given us many great examples. We heard in our Scripture reading from Hebrews earlier of Noah, Abraham, and Sarah. The Bible tells us of many others as well, including this lady Tabitha (Dorcas) in our story in Acts. And God graciously gives us real life examples for us to observe, like Marilee. And we thank God for the examples of faith and faithfulness that he has given us. This message is a tribute to such a life of faith and faithfulness to the Lord that we have seen in the life of Marilee.
As we begin talking about a life full of good works, I want to start with an important question.
Are Good Works Necessary for Salvation?
Are Good Works Necessary for Salvation?
You Are Not Saved by Good Works
You cannot get into a right relationship with God or earn salvation and eternal life by good works that you do. We do not do good works in order to be saved.
The best things you do outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ are counted as filthy rags. Without getting too graphic, this probably refers to clothing stained by a woman’s menstrual period. Isaiah says that the best things you do, your “righteous deeds” done apart from Christ are that filthy and unclean and even detestable to God. It’s because even if you’ve done the right things, you’ve done them for the wrong reasons. You haven’t done it for the glory of God.
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
So you can’t possibly be saved by doing good works. The best you can offer in your own ability is not acceptable to God.
You Are Saved for Good Works
We do not do good works in order to be saved, but because we have been saved.
If you are truly saved, you have not only been saved from something, you’ve been saved for something.
You’ve been saved from sin and its consequences, but you have also been saved for God and for the good things he has planned for you to do.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
This is God’s purpose and plan for every one of us as his children. We are saved for good works — to do the good things God has prepared for us to do.
Good Works Demonstrate the Reality of Our Faith
Good Works Demonstrate the Reality of Our Faith
If there are no good works evident in your life, there is reason to doubt the genuineness of your profession of faith. If you are a true believer in Christ, it will be evident in the changes in your life, the fruit your life produces.
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Faith without works is dead. If your life looks just like people in the world around you, you need to be asking if you have true, saving faith. Saving faith always produces good works, works of love and kindness toward people around you, especially toward other believers.
On the Day of Judgment, your works will either confirm or deny the reality of your faith. On that Day, the Judge will know everything you’ve done, and he will know why you’ve done it. He will know your actions and your motivations.
On that day, your works with either confirm that your faith was real, or they will show that you were not in fact trusting in Christ.
28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
Do not misunderstand. Your good works do not earn your salvation; but they are a necessary result of true, saving faith. If you are truly saved, your life will produce good works.
It is important to remember that it is the quality rather than the quantity of the works that matters most to God.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Jesus speaks in the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 of some soil that produced a hundredfold - 100 times what was planted, other soil that produced sixtyfold - 60 times what was planted, and other soil that produced thirtyfold - 30 times what was planted. His point is that good soil always produces fruit, but the quantities will vary. Your life may produce a large quantity of fruit or a small quantity, but what matters most is the kind of fruit. The fruit of faith is love, and love will always demonstrate itself through words and actions of kindness toward others.
Jesus tells us of the kind of good works he expects from our lives in Matthew 25:31-40
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
These good works do not earn us a right relationship with God; they do not earn our salvation or eternal life; but they are necessary as a result of true saving faith. Doing these sort of things doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re saved; but if you are saved, you will do these things.
We see this reality from the passage in Acts as well.
Tabitha was a Disciple
Tabitha was a Disciple
A life full of good works begins by being a disciple.
The first thing we learn about this woman Tabitha (Dorcas) is that she is a disciple.
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
Being a Disciple means:
Following Jesus
Learning from Jesus
Spending Time with Jesus
Imitating Jesus in your words and actions
40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Being a disciple means becoming more and more like Jesus. People should be able to tell by the way you talk and live that you are Jesus’s disciple.
Tabitha was a disciple of Jesus
Tabitha was Full of Good Works
Tabitha was Full of Good Works
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
It doesn’t say that she did a few good things; her life was FULL of good works.
Just like a cup that’s full to the brim spills when you bump into it, her life spilled over good works when you bumped into her, because she was full of them. Everyone that looked at her life could see the kind things she said and did.
This passage tells us something of what that looked like:
Tabitha was Known for Acts of Charity
Tabitha was Known for Acts of Charity
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.
She had made clothes for widows
Many times widows have family members that can help them out, but other times they have no one to help them and they’re destitute. It seems likely that these were the ones Tabitha was looking out for and helping. She met their needs and provided clothing for them to help them keep warm. It may seem like a simple thing, but it was a great act of love and charity toward others in need.
Notice, “All the widows” were there, grieving because she was gone. She had been the one taking care of them and meeting their needs, and they were sad because she was gone. I’m sure she ministered to other people as well, but these widows seem to be the ones most affected by her death, so it seems likely she gave special attention to serving them and meeting their needs.
Marilee, you have faithfully served in multiple different churches over the past few decades. Even as you move on, I’m sure you will continue to do that.
You’ve ministered to children, including mine, by teaching about God and His Word, helping them learn Bible verses and songs about the Bible.
You’ve served for many years at Little Mary’s, ministering to families in desperate need of hope and encouragement.
And I’m sure that you’ve served and done acts of kindness that none of us know about, just as Jesus taught us to do.
Tabitha’s Life Brought Many Others to Christ
Tabitha’s Life Brought Many Others to Christ
42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
The testimony of Tabitha’s life and what God did through her and for her spread all around town, and as a result many people trusted in Christ. And here we are nearly 2000 years later talking about this woman’s life.
Marilee, by God’s grace, your words and actions have resulted in many people coming to trust in Christ and draw near to him, whether directly or indirectly. Your testimony has been used by God to produce eternal good in the lives of so many others.
This is a fruit of a life full of good works, fruit that we should all desire and seek to have in our own lives. God can use each one of us in the things we say and do to draw others to him — perhaps a family member, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, or even a stranger.
God has given us examples like Tabitha and Marilee to learn from and imitate. The kind of life we see described here is the life that we all must aspire to as believers in Jesus Christ.
8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,
10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Thank God for Examples of Faith and Faithfulness
Evaluate your own life - is there any evidence that you’re a believer?
Live in close fellowship with Jesus Christ so that your life can bear the fruit of love and good works for the glory of God.