Commitment to maintain good works

Titus 3:8 (NKJV)

8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Paul exhorts Titus to remind those how have believed in God to be careful to maintain goodworks.

According to Titus 2:14, We undertsand Jesus gave himself for us so that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, Zealous for good Works.

“good Works” is the many type of works that we do in the Kingdom of God and in our life as a natural outgrowth of our spiritual conversion.

It can be the many ministries that we are involved in the house of God, it can be prayer,consectration, ministry of the word, witnessing, giving, our personal works of devotion to God (private prayer, study of the word and so forth).

When a person is Converted there is a natural Zeal for good works, this is good. Once a person has come to this point what he must be careful of is to maintain what he has began to do.

However what is important for us who have believed in to maintiain the works we have began.

Whenever you begin a good work out of Zeal, you have to be careful to maintain that good work as a believer.

Why?

Titus 3:13–14 NKJV

13 Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. 14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

Paul has learned that the difficulty is not getting people to be zealous for good works but rather to maintain the good works they had began to do.

Furthermore, it is by maintaing the good works that their works will be fruitful.

It is something that we need to learne to do.

We have to learn to maintain whatever good thing we do in the kingdom of God if we are to be fruitful in our works.

A person who does not maintain what the good work he has began to do will be unfruitful in his works

What We need to maintain good works

Commitment/devotion

Simple example of Church attendance.

Church attendance is goodworks, because you could be doing all other worldy and ungodly things but you chose to do something good by attending to hear the words of the Lord, to worship God withe the saints.

However, to see fruit from your good work of attendance, you have to show commitment. If you are 50/50, the fruit of your work will be 50/50.

The key to maintain any good thing that you have began to do is commitment. Devoting your self to that very thing both in the high’s and the lows.

The Parable of the Sower

Luke 8:4–15 (NKJV)

4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:

5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

IN Matthew 13, we read the same Parable with a little bit different information.

The devil steal it away because the person who hears it does nt understand the word.

The rocky ground.

Those who hear God’s word and receive it with Joy.

These are people whom the Word of God inspires and moves, and they accept with zeal and immediately begin to do good works. This is signified in Matthew 13 “immediately sprang up”

Sometimes we can be inspired by the word of God and a good work immediately spring up in our life .

However just like the plant withered, because it had no root, when the sun rose on it. Such people’s good works will also wither, because they lack commitment, when the heat rises upon their work.

When it becomes difficult to continue with the work, When you are discouraged to continue the work, when passion and desire fails you.

However those who receive the word and keep it bear fruit with patience.

They Bear fruit because they maintin their good works through patience and commitment.

Example of Ruth and Naomi

Ruth 1:8–18 NKJV

8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 13 would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

Both Ruth and Orpah loved Naomi

Both Ruth and Orpah and great affection for Naomi.

Both Ruth and Orpah Know being with Naomi had enriched their life.

Yet the difference between these two people was that one was unconditionally commited to Naomi and the other was not.

If you are going to be committed you have to be fully commited, you cannot be half commited, or commited when it is only convenient. Becuase your commitment will be tested.

The sun began to rise over Ruth and Orpah’s Desire and zeal to remain with Naomi.

Naomi began to bring the heat upon their commitment) Naomi tested their commitments to her, and preached to them how hopeless their life would be if they persited to remain with her.

Ruth Commitment unconditional, to the very end however Orpah was conditional.

At the End Ruth’s Commitment paid off, Orpah faded away into oblivion.

Ruth was married into the family of Boaz, one of the wealthy people in israel and she became the ancestor of the great King David from whose line Christ came.

We have to commited to our good works, that is the only way we will maintain and thereby be fruitful in ou works

Double Mindedness can keep people from being Commited.

James 1:5–8 NKJV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Though this verse my be speaking concering asking things in faith yet,

It makes a statement about a certain mindset which is double-mindedness

This mindset leads to instability in ones’ ways.

One’s work is not consistent, it is up and down like the waves

A double minded mind is really a mind that is not fully committed.

if we are double minded our work will be unstable.

Jacob when he spoke to his sons before he died.

He spoke of the firstborn Reuben, Genesis 49:4, that he was unstable as waters , and therefore he will not excel, you will not be fruitful in your ways because you rewally are not commited to anything.,

Luke 9:62 “62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.””

the eye of the ploughman if he is to do his work well, must look straight before him at the line of the furrow which he is making. To look back, while working, is to mar the work entirely.

Concluding

Let us be committed to maintain our good works so our work may be fruitful.