Titus 3:14

A Church that Works

focus for January on what it means to be the church, and the relationship of Faith and Good Works

Background of Titus - why it relates

Titus is written to young churches in a morally chaotic culture (Crete).

Paul is deeply concerned with public credibility and internal health.

Repeated refrain: “devoted to good works” (1:16; 2:7,14; 3:1,8,14).

Titus reminds us that the gospel is not only to be believed, but to be seen.

Grace Grows Goodness

One of the great strengths of the Reformed faith is our confidence in God’s grace, that we are saved not by what we do, but by what Christ has done.

But one of the quiet dangers of that strength is that we can begin to speak so clearly about grace that our lives begin to speak less clearly about obedience. Scripture never pits grace against good works.

Instead, it insists that grace gives birth to them.

The question before us this morning is not whether we believe in grace, but whether that grace is at work among us.

We are saved by grace from wrath, sin, and death. We are saved by grace for good works. Grace saves us for goodness sake.

Grace is the root, works are the fruit.

The presence of good works is not measured by perfection, but by direction.

Sermon series - a church that works is a working church: working together is essential to our faith, to our witness, and is the overflow of God working in us.

Defining Good Works -

“Good Works” without definition can become whatever we want them to be.

Good works are not what feels good, but what God calls good (WCF 16).

Left undefined, good works tend to drift in one of two directions. Either they become whatever is easiest for us, or whatever makes us feel the most righteous.

Some of us reduce good works to private spirituality and neglect our neighbor. Others focus on outward service while neglecting holiness of life.

Scripture refuses both reductions by telling us what pleases God.

All good works are simply the obedience of love, love for God and love for neighbor, worked out in the ordinary places God has put us.

Good works are not extraordinary acts for exceptional Christians, they are ordinary obedience shaped by grace.

What works are pleasing to God?

Works of Piety

Worship, study in the word, loving the Lord with all your heart soul mind and strength

Keeping God’s commands in humble obedience

Works of piety are not meant to replace faith, they are meant to express it. Piety is not withdrawal from the world, but devotion to God that reshapes how we live in it.

Works of Charity

Loving your neighbor as yourself, bearing one another’s burdens, outdoing one another with honor, overlooking offenses, and being reconciled to one another - it begins in the household of faith.

How we treat one another in the church is one of the clearest measures of whether grace is at work among us.

It is possible to be doctrinally sound and relationally harsh, and Scripture gives us no comfort there.

Works of Integrity

The Inner working of righteousness. Integrity is what grace looks like when no one is watching. Much of our obedience does not happen on platforms or in programs, but in kitchens, offices, classrooms, and quiet decisions no one applauds.

Fighting temptation through the intercession of Christ, loving your wife, forsaking all others, loving your children by giving yourself to them, teaching them the faith, working with integrity, honesty, and diligence

Works of Mercy

“providing for urgent need”

Paul doesn’t speak of good works in the abstract, he points us to urgent needs, real suffering, and tangible love.

Providing for those who are suffering, the widow, the orphan, the needy, with works of love and kindness.

Mercy does not replace the gospel, but it makes the gospel visible. These works adorn the doctrine we confess.

They key to good works

They must be done by faith

WCF on the good works of the unregenerate: Good works without faith may benefit society, but they do not please God nor flow from union with Christ.

Faith does not make a work impressive, it makes it acceptable, because it unites us to Christ.

What makes a work good is not merely the act itself, but the heart from which it flows. Good works are not extraordinary acts for exceptional Christians, they are ordinary obedience shaped by grace.

Learning Devotion to Good Works

Sidenote

Learning - a lifelong growth, not something that is natural to us

Devotion -

What we think of: dedication, love, and loyalty to God, involving a wholehearted commitment of one's being to Him through worship, prayer, obedience, and service.

The word here means to lead by, to excel in, to stand out, or manage others through this practice

Paul is not calling us to occasional acts, but to a way of life, one that stands out, leads, and excels in good works.

Keys to learning devotion

You don’t learn devotion to something you don’t value

The value of good works: fruitfulness in life = blessing to others, glorifying God

What do our schedules, habits, and conversations reveal about what we truly value?

You learn devotion to something by doing it every day

Building a habit, looking for opportunities to serve, loving goodness more and worldliness less each day

You learn devotion to something in community

Surround yourselves with those who are engaged in godliness, so that you can learn to be godly

Join with others in good works of service and mercy. Invite others to join you.

God rarely teaches us devotion to good works in isolation, He teaches us through one another.

The same grace that saved us is the grace that is still at work among us, training us, shaping us, and sending us out.

No one plants a tree expecting fruit the next morning. But if a tree never bears fruit, something is wrong at the roots. In the same way, grace takes time to grow goodness, but it does grow it. God is not looking for a church that appears impressive overnight. He is cultivating a people whose lives, over time, quietly and faithfully bear fruit for the good of others and the glory of His name.

Grace grows goodness, and where grace has taken root, fruit will come.