Genuine Enthusiasm for Good Works
Notes
Transcript
How do I get to the point in my life where I am zealous or eager or enthusiastic for good works?
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Good Works- major theme of the letter
Titus 1:1 (ESV)
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,
Titus 1:9 (ESV)
9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
The qualifications for elders / pastors are themselves descriptions of good works
Titus 1:16 (ESV)
16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
Titus 2:1 (ESV)
1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
Older men and older women are to teach younger men and younger woman to do good works.
Titus 2:7 (ESV)
7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,
Titus 2:10 (ESV)
10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
Servants are to put on good works in the workplace.
Titus 2:14 (ESV)
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Titus 3:1 (ESV)
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
Titus 3:5 (ESV)
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Titus 3:8 (ESV)
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.
Titus 3:14 (ESV)
14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.
We are not save by our works of righteousness, we are not saved by good works- rather we are saved for the purpose of good works. God wants his children to devote themselves to good works, to teach others to live out good works, and to display these good works because that is excellent and profitable for people.
Do you ever find it difficult to be regularly devoted to good works? Do you ever find yourself having to force yourself into doing good works? Do you ever find yourself resenting when other people try to force you into good works?
Do you resent when other people have tried to get you to conform to an external standard of righteousness? Wear these clothes, comb your hair this way, listen to this style of music, don’t watch that movie, don’t read those books, don’t participate in those hobbies, don’t use that version of Scripture.
Sometimes we resent when people try to get us to conform to external standards of righteousness because they are not based on the Scriptures. In other words the authority for doing or not doing a certain thing is not found in the Word of God, but in the traditions of men.
Sometimes we even resent or at least are hesitant at being devoted to good works that are founded on the authority of Scripture. Making disciples, letting the word of God dwell richly in our hearts, spending time in prayer, being faithful to assembling together as a church body for worship. These are things that are good works, from the authority of God, founded upon the Scriptures, and yet we struggle to devote ourselves to them, let alone to be zealous for them.
Titus 2:14 (ESV)
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
To be zealous for something- to be enthusiastic, to be eager
My kids are not excited to do chores, but if you make Saturday game time contingent upon getting their chores done all the sudden they clean the house with vigor and determination.
How do we get to the point of spiritual maturity where good works are no longer something we think of as a chore, but something that we are enthusiastic to pursue?
I think Paul gives us three different spiritual workings that must be present in our lives if we are going to become enthusiastic for good works.
I. We must be trained by grace
I. We must be trained by grace
Titus 2:11 (ESV)
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
11Ἐπεφάνη[1]γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ
For the saving grace of God has appeared
σωτήριος[2]πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις
(saving) to all people.
Appeared- Shinned like a sunrise: c.f. Luke 1:76-79
Zechariah’s prophecy
Luke 1:76–79 (ESV)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Titus 2:11 (ESV)
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
Bring Salvation- The instrument or means that brings delivering, preserving- pertaining to divine salvation. C.f. Luke 2:29-32; 3:4-6!
Simeon
Luke 2:29–32 (ESV)
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
The saving grace of God that has appeared for all people is the appearing of our dear Savior Jesus- who was in-fleshed and added to His nature that of a human, and became a slave. He humbled Himself by being obedient to the Father, all the way to death- even the death of a cross.
Like no other time in human history the unmerited kindness of God appeared- it became most visible when Jesus became our substitute and fully exhausted the wrath of God for our sins and satisfied the justice of an infinitely holy God for us.
This wonderful saving grace of God that has appeared for all people is at the very heart our obedience to the truth. It is at the very heart of our outworking of practical holiness.
Notice the effect this wonderful saving grace of God has on believers:
Titus 2:12 (ESV)
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
12παιδεύουσα[1]ἡμᾶς,
Training us
[1] to provide instruction, with the intent of forming proper habits of behavior; to provide instruction for informed and responsible living, educate; c.f. Acts 7:22; Acts 22:3.
How long does it take to train a child unto adulthood? Unto maturity? How long does it take to train children in forming proper habits and to be able to live responsibly?
Acts 7:22 (ESV)
22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
Acts 22:3 (ESV)
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.
Titus 2:12 (ESV)
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
The grace of God is constantly working in our lives to train us- to instruct and shape us (like the rearing of a child all the way to maturity).
I am thankful that this is a life-long process. If you are a child of God, at some level, the grace of God is at work in your life training you unto Christlike maturity.
We need to be careful that we do not demand of people to conform to external standards of righteousness too soon. We need to be careful to allow people to be trained by grace and not forced into spiritual growth.
What does that process look like?
Titus 2:12 (ESV)
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
ἵνα ἀρνησάμενοι τὴν ἀσέβειαν καὶ τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας
for the purpose of denying impiety and worldly cravings
σωφρόνως[1]καὶ δικαίως καὶ εὐσεβῶς ζήσωμεν
and to live in a self-controlled and a righteous, and a pious (devout) manner
ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι,
in this present age,
Ungodliness- ἀσέβεια, in general ἀσέβεια is understood vertically as a lack of reverence for deity and hallowed institutions as displayed in sacrilegious words and deeds: impiety
Worldly Lusts / Craving
Soberly- Being prudent, moderate, sober, or having self-control. Living in a wise manner so as to keep in check one’s passions and desires.
Righteously
godly- piously, showing fitting and proper respect or reverence to God / OT concept of the “fear of the Lord”
So it is the grace of God, specifically the saving grace of God that has appeared in the person and work of Christ, that trains us to show reverence and awe to God. And then glad obedience and good works are an outworking of a heart that is over awed by God.
Grace has to train us in this area. People need time to grow in grace, so that they truly become godly. Insisting on external conformity, and trying to bypass the training work of grace in godliness is extremely dangerous.
How do we grow in grace?
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Grow in knowledge and application of that knowledge. Studying the word of God and encouraging each other to constantly be joyfully obedient to the word. Be patient, but also be faithful. Be gracious, but also be purposeful.
How do we become enthusiastic for good works?
2. We must be motivated by hope
2. We must be motivated by hope
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
13προσδεχόμενοι[1]τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα
While we wait for the blessed (happy) hope
καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,
even the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior—Jesus Christ,
Looking- P,A,Part- to look forward to arrival of something.
Blessed- happy (engagement to Sharon)
What is our happy hope?
EVEN the appearing of the glory of our great God EVEN our Savior—Jesus Christ
Appearing- for a second time
Glory- Christ wants to show us his glory (infinite glory- by definition more of Christ’s glory is being hidden than is being revealed)
In what ways will Christ show his glory?
18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. 19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Kinds of glory because of the appearing of our great God and savior.
Creation / Glorification - as good as the glory of Christ will be displayed in the creation and as displayed in our glorification, it will not be the most wonderful glory that we have to look forward to.
Rutherford, Samuel. The Loveliness of Christ:
Our love to Him should begin on earth, as it shall be in heaven; for the bride taketh not by a thousand degrees so much delight in her wedding garment as she doth in her bridegroom; so we, in the life to come, howbeit clothed with glory as with a robe, shall not be so much affected with the glory that goeth about us, as with the Bridegroom’s joyful face and presence.
9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
How do we take advantage of our blessed hope now?
We smell of the smoke of this lower house of the earth, because our hearts and our thoughts are here. If we could mount up with God, we should smell of heaven and of our country above, and we should look like our country, and like strangers or people not born or brought up hereaway. Our crosses would not bite upon us, if we were heavenly minded.
John Owen- (only survived 1 of his 11 children in life- yet full of hope)
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Go up beforehand and see your lodging. Look through all your Father’s rooms in heaven; in your Father’s house are many dwelling-places. Men take a sight of lands ere they buy them. I know Christ hath made the bargain already: but be kind to the house you are going to, and see it often.
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
How soon will some few years pass away, and then when the day is ended, and this life’s lease expired, what have men of the world’s glory, but dreams and thoughts? O happy soul for evermore, who can rightly compare this life with that long-lasting life to come, and can balance the weighty glory of the one with the light golden vanity of the other.
My counsel is, that ye come out and leave the multitude, and let Christ have your company. Let them take clay and this present world who love it: Christ is a more worthy and noble portion: blessed are those who get Him.
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
How do we become enthusiastic for good works?
We must be trained by grace
We must be motivated by hope
3. We must be controlled by love
3. We must be controlled by love
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
WHO- who is the who? What have we just learned about this person?
He appeared once to manifest the greatest display of God’s grace in providing for us our salvation.
He will appear a second time to manifest for us the greatest display of God’s glory.
Why? What is the His purpose for doing these things?
To redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession!
This fact, this wondrous act of love, that Jesus would give himself for us to redeem us, ought to constrain us or control us!
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 (ESV)
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Titus 2:14 (ESV)
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
When God’s Spirit is at work in you, and you are constantly being trained by His grace, and you are constantly being motivated by His hope, and you are consonantly being controlled by His love- then you will be people who are eager, full of zeal, and enthusiastic for good works.
When we have an entire church full of people like this- we become a healthy and beneficial church for the lost around us.
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.
What area of spiritual working is deficient in your life today?
Do you need to avail yourself to the grace of God to train you in Christlikeness?
Do you need to fill your mind with the hope of God to motivate your obedience?
Do you need to be over-awed all over again at the love of Christ so that your lives become constrained by his sacrifice?
Are you eager, full of zeal, or enthusiastic for good works?
May the power of God and the working of the Spirit accomplish this in our hearts for the sake of His glory. Amen.