Good Works and the New Testament
By Joe Turman

Turn your attention to, and then we're going to kind of trace it through the New Testament. And this is a study that just benefited me and encouraged me so much, and I hope it has that same impact on you. So look here at Titus two, verse 14.

And here at verse 14, he says, who gave? That's Jesus gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people. Zealous for good works. Let's pray.

God, we need you. Help us understand your word. Help us to know you more, love you more, serve you more.

As we stare into your word and we see who you are. Thank you. In your name, amen.

So our passage day, we talked about God's grace. And here in this text, I just want to focus on two words that pop out and that we'll chase through the New Testament and kind of see how it forms a bigger picture of one of the results that grace has in our life. If you look at the end here, it says good works.

Now we hear those words, and if you're like me, you immediately think of not saved by good works, right? That's immediately what pops into my mind usually when I see that, because I'm like, well, I want to be as clear as possible. That is not good works. That saves us.

It's grace. So there's almost, in a sense, in my heart where there's a little bit of a reaction towards that, like, oh, okay, okay, all right. I want to make it as clear as possible.

We're not saved by these good works. Saved by grace. That's important.

But, man, as I did this study, it was amazing to see throughout the New Testament how littered this word is throughout the scriptures, how much it's just all over the place and pops out everywhere as an expectation in our lives as believers. It was really fascinating and encouraging to me, and I hope it's a blessing to you. And since this is more of a Sunday school format, I'd love just to hand out some texts and just have us read through.

So please don't be scared. If I call on you, I might just work down the line. Just ask us to read a text as we go through, and if you don't want to do that, when I ask you to just point, just say no, pass it on to the next person, nudge your neighbor and make them do it.

But I'd love us just to get interacting with the word of God as we do this. If I could give us a statement that would summarize this. And I was told I can use the whiteboard.

Here we go. If I could summarize a statement, what we're doing here and what we're going to look at, it's this. Good works do two things.

They glorify God. Do I need a different color? Can you see that? Is that better? No. You want me to try a different color? Let's try that again.

Can you see this one? Yeah. All right. Good works do two things.

They glorify God, and they benefit others by grace. And what I want to do is I just want to look at those three things and just unpack. Glorify God and benefit others by grace.

So let's look at a few passages that do this. Jonathan, can I have you read Ephesians two, verses eight through ten? And then, Lemuel, could I have you read first Peter 212, and then dory, would you read Matthew 5:16, Ephesians two, eight through ten, for Jonathan? Yep. And then, yeah, go ahead and read that.

For by grace you have been saved through faith that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Yeah.

So we start with this phrase here. It's all by grace. And we unpacked that this morning.

So I don't want to stay too long on that to sound like a ringing bell. But it is important to recognize the role of good works. Good works come after grace.

Grace comes before good works. And Paul makes that clear in our passage here, by grace, you've been saved not of yourselves, not of works. Right.

But he doesn't leave us there, and he does bring us to say, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. So good works don't make us new, but grace makes us new so that we would do good works that is a result of grace in our lives. So good works or good works don't save us, grace saves us.

So that's why we have that phrase there on the end, by grace. And then that grace moves us and creates us new so that we would do good works. But now I was going to have, Lemuel, if you'd read your text for us first.

Peter 212, having your conduct honored honor among the gentiles, that when they speak against you as evil deliverers, they mean by your good works, which may observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Yeah. So did you catch that language? The good works done when we're slandered and other people oppose us, glorify God, and then dory.

If you'd read for us, what did I give you? Matthew 516. Yeah. So good works have a role in glorifying God, showing his greatness and influencing others for that.

That's what good works do in our lives. Again, as a basis, grace saves us. Not good works, but grace saves us unto good works.

And those good works have a role in our life, and they show God's glory, and they help other people. So we've really seen these two. We've seen grace and we've seen God's glory.

But what I want to focus on now, really practically, and kind of just get into the dirt. And this was really interesting as I studied through the New Testament, is to look at, one, what are good works? And two, how do we get them? What are good works and how do we get them? Because we think, okay, yeah, good works. But then we think about it, like, what is a good work? Right? Well, let's look at it.

Let's see what the Bible says, because that's the authority for our lives. So we're gonna go through and hand out some text. See? Jana, could you.

Did I get that right? Okay. Okay. Acts 936.

I'm playing a dangerous game trying to remember names right now, and, ooh, I'm going to get in trouble. Acts 936. And then, Karen, let's all go together with these texts.

All right, I want us to pause and see this for ourselves, so we'll go one at a time. Acts 936. So give us a little context.

This is the story of Peter. And he's going. And he is interacting with a group of people in his ministry.

And Dorcas, also named Tabitha, ends up passing away in this passage. And this is the passage where she's raised back to life again. But if you would read verse 36.

Jannah, chapter nine. Yeah. Thank you.

So did you catch that? This woman was full of good works. So the way that the Bible describes this lady is that she was full of doing good things. It's what filled her and defined her.

That's what characterized her as a person. Well, what were those? Well, look a little farther in the text with me at verse 39, this lady, Tabitha, had died. And Peter comes and he goes.

And it says here in verse 39, Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and the garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

Did you catch that? That's an example of the good work she did. She benefited them. And here's the word I want to use for us.

There's going to be five of these. We look at it benefits others through charity. See, God's given all of you guys a skill or a talent or an ability that you're able to use to benefit other people with.

What was Tabitha's? Well, she was a seamstress. She worked with textiles, right? She could put together fabrics and make something look pretty that I could only make into a rag, right? She had a skill and an ability that allowed her to benefit other people. You know, there's people in our church where I'm from who are plumbers, right? And they go around and they help people, and they're just a blessing to our church members by helping them with plumbing things, right? Some of you have all sorts of abilities and skills.

I was talking to Lynn. Lynn's an it guy, right? I'm not sure. I don't want to volunteer for it services, because, you know, that happens to it guys.

But the reality is, like, we all have skills and abilities, right? And we all serve each other with that. So charity giving to others, especially those who are in need and who are widowed or fatherless, especially. Think of James one.

There's an importance that we show charity. So that's one example of a practical service. Let's look at another one.

Karen, could I, have you read one Timothy three one? It? Yep. One Timothy three one. Yes.

You catch that there at the end. He desires a good work, or your translation might say a good thing or something that is good. Really, in the very, very just basic translation of it is what the NKJV has here is a good work.

Now, the office of bishop is really. We know that as the office of pastor. You have Pastor Jordan Hines here, right? He's your pastor, and he's desired that work, and the Lord has given it to him, but he desires a good work.

Now, our second thing, the way that good works benefit others, one of them is ministry. And for some people, the Lord has gifted them to serve in such a way where their primary ministry of good works is helping other people do good works. See, pastors do that.

They help churches come together and facilitate the doing of good. And God has equipped some people to teach and train others in order to do good. That ministry that they do helps the rest of the church do that even better.

Because imagine, like, if we're all on our own doing good works individually, that's great. But imagine a collective force of people who put their skills and abilities together and their energy backed by someone who loves the gospel and wants to see that go forward in a community. Man, imagine the power that God can use through those people in a community to show his glory.

And so God has given us pastors as a blessing to equip us not only with the opportunity to do these things, but even the spiritual strength through the word of God as they preach, to bring us the opportunity to do ministry. So our next text, first, Timothy 618. And here's where I've wandered into dangerous territories.

Some people I haven't met over on this side of the room yet. So can we go back row, Sarah? Okay, thanks, Sarah. Sarah, could you read one Timothy 618.

So not too much farther ahead from where we're at. Sorry, Sarah, do you want me to read that for us this time? Sorry, didn't mean to do that to you. So first, Timothy 618 here says, let them do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share.

So Paul here is writing to Timothy to give him instructions specifically to a group of people in his church who were rich. But those individuals who are rich in this church were to do good and be rich in good works. And what does that look like? Well, catch it with me here in the text.

Ready to give, willing to share. Our third good work that we see in the New Testament is generosity. Now, God.

God has blessed us all tremendously in Jesus by giving us salvation. Not all of us get the blessing of having riches, though. Comparatively, if we look across the world in the places that we have or the places around the world, comparatively, we are beyond filthy rich in comparison to many of the places in the world.

God's blessed us so much, right? We're in an air conditioned room. That's amazing right now. And I love ac and I need that in the summer.

Cause I will die without ac. But there's so many other blessings that God has given us. And God may have blessed you in unique ways where you are able to serve others by giving and by being sharing of the finances that God has given you.

That's really the way that the church is even supported and run is through the generous giving by grace of the individuals that make up the church. But even so, towards others. God calls us to have this generosity that we're full of that as we come across people who have need and even those who don't.

And we just want to bless. God gives us grace to give to others. And, you know, even if we take that principle of generosity that expands to more than just finances.

You know, one of the things that has come to define America is that time is money. Right? That's a statement often attributed to Ben Franklin. Time is money, and we have this.

We have a lot of time. But how stingy are you with your time? I often hang on to my time pretty closely, and I want to stay on track. I got to guard my time, what I need to use it for.

But, boy, when those interruptions come, are they really interruptions, or are they God's appointments in our life? For us just to give and share our life with someone and give our time to them, generosity is an opportunity for us to do good. Let's look at one Timothy 510. Do I have a volunteer who would read one Timothy 510 for us? I saw Lynn 1st fourth quarter.

For good work. She has brought up children. She has lied strangers if she has watched the saints.

Yeah. So here Paul is writing instructions again to Timothy, how to deal with the widows in the church. And he gives them some instruction on how to navigate that, how to care for those without husbands in the church.

Specifically, he gives some criteria for those whom the church should support with its finances. But note how it describes this widow in verse ten, well reported for good works. So she's characterized.

She's defined. People would look at her and say, this person's characterized by good works. Well, look at what she does.

Right. Look at what this individual does. Brought up children, raised children.

Okay. Lodge stranger. So she's hospitable.

Wash the saints feet. Just sacrificial, service oriented, relieve the afflicted, diligently followed, again, every good work. Think about that.

What do all those things have in common? And I would suggest that really, it's just duty. You know, it's the day to day, mundane, doing things that normally are just duties. Our duties that God has given us have very significant impact in God's eyes.

It might not seem significant to change a diaper. It might not seem significant to change the oil on your car. But those good things that we do, that in turn help us to do good for others are important.

And it's a good work, not necessarily because it might have great impact in other people's lives, but because it pleases God when we do it for him. That's a good work. Our duties are good works.

Our last one, someone want to read Titus 314 for us and volunteer to read that? Jonathan. And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful okay, so at the end of this epistle of Titus, Paul gives some instructions to Titus. Right before, in verse 13, there's two individuals, Zenas and Apollos.

Two great names to name your kid in the future if you need that. Tuck that away for later. Titus 313.

Zenas and Apollos. What are they doing? They're coming through their journey through the island of Crete. See that? They may lack nothing.

And then he tells the people, and let our people learn to maintain good works and to meet urgent needs. So he's saying these two individuals are coming through the church. Help them out, help them on their way as they travel to come work with me.

See that they lack nothing. Help the people to meet their needs so they might not be unfruitful. Our last good work that I think we could characterize in the New Testament is hospitality.

Hospitality is a way that we can serve others by sharing with them our lives and giving to them what they need. And hospitality is more than just simply opening our home up and putting on a nice, warm show where people come and feel comfortable, though, that's really important. And that's opening our homes.

And sharing our homes is a wonderful way to let people into our lives. But hospitality also is an attitude that we have, and we can have a hospitable we could show hospitality in our home and be inhospitable people. I don't know if that makes sense.

So let me explain. I can be a very cold and not welcoming person, and yet I could have my home open as a way for me to show, wow, look how great my food is. Look how great.

Not my food, it's my wife's food, right? I don't cook worth beans. But if she were to cook, we could make it all about ourselves. But that would be inhospitable.

Hospitality is opening our hearts in our homes so that we warm the lives of other people and help them see Christ. And if we make it about Christ, our hospitality could be just a friendly smile in the foyer as someone comes in the church. It could be warmly shaking someone's hand as they come and just greeting them and being glad to see them.

Hospitality is really a sharing of life, to life specifically, that happens in our homes, but that happens in many ways as we meet the needs of other people. These are the good works, charity and ministry, generosity, duty and hospitality. And these give us tangible, concrete ways to practice doing good.

So I said we were going to answer two questions. We really have answered three. Why do we do it? God's glory, the benefit of others, what are they? Well, these five.

Now, how do we get them? How do we get good works in our life? And you might think, well, don't you just do them, Joe? Well, yes, but there's a way for us to grow in those good works. I want us to look at four ways this happens. There's four things God gives us to grow in good works, and really good works grow in our life.

As we grow spiritually, as we grow close to Jesus, good works come out of us. Can I get someone to read two Timothy 221? Anyone want to read two Timothy 221? Shelley, would you read that for us? So in this passage, Paul is giving us an example of two types of vessels. There's some beautiful vessels, containers.

Think of it like gold and silver. And then there's some containers that are used for other purposes, right? So imagine with me, are you going to mix your salad for lunch after church in the oil drain container? There's two different uses, right? You're not going to put lettuce inside your oil drain container. Mine's got a lot of oil in it.

Pretty gross. I don't want to put that thing in there. It's got a different purpose.

It's dirty. It's for indifferent use. If I want to make my salad, I'm going to put that in my nice, clean glass bowl in the kitchen, because it's clean and it's set apart for that use in our lives with God.

God works in our lives as we are pure and set aside for him. He enables us to do good works. How does God grow us to do good? Well, we start with godliness.

Simply put, as I step aside and as I pursue knowing God and living for him, being aware that he's seeing every part of my life as I know and have a relationship with him and grow closer to him in communion. That's actually the beginning of our good works, because I could actually do a lot of good and not know God. There's a lot of people who do good charities in this world, and they don't know God.

It's not about exactly doing the most good as much as it is knowing the God who is good. And from that come good works abounding in our lives. And we start with being godly.

But then there's other ways this develops in our life. And interestingly, these all accord with three normal ways. Turn over to Colossians 110.

I'll read this one for us. Colossians 110. And here Paul says, as he writes to the Colossians, he's actually praying a prayer for them here.

It starts in verse nine and I'll start there. For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease what? To pray for you and what is he doing? And to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding. So he's praying, God, would you help the Colossians know you more? Why? Well, verse ten, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

You know what's a result of prayer in our lives is that we actually do good. Another way we grow in doing good is praying. And if you're still struggling to make the connection, you're like, well, Joe, just go do the good work.

Well, if we're not prepared for the good work then we are not going to do them in a way that pleases the Lord. We're not going to do them in the grace that he strengthens us with. I'm going to do it in my might, in my effort so that I get the glory, not God.

But as I prepare myself with the Lord and I walk with him and I talk with him and I ask him for the help in doing good. You know who gets honored? God does. You know who gets the glory? God does.

Because it's not about us. It's always been about him. And you know, some of the most amazing stories in history have been the ones where we've seen God use someone who is weak and who doesn't have maybe skill or ability and God does a powerful work through them.

There's missionaries who have gone out to countries and have done great things for the Lord who God thought or who others thought could never amount to anything. And God used them because it's not about us. It's about knowing God.

And as we pray God fills us with these good works. Okay, look at two more with me. Two Timothy 316 and 17.

These may be familiar verses to you. Second Timothy 316 17. I know we're bouncing around a lot but I hope kind of just to put together a picture of this for you.

Two Timothy 316 17. Say this, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Why that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Notice what the word of God does. It's profitable. It has value for something.

And what is that? Well, doctrine to tell me what is right for reproof, to tell me what is wrong for correction, how to get right, and for instruction, how to stay right. God's word gives us these things. Why that we might be equipped for every good, good work.

You want to know another way to prepare for good works is scripture. As we soak ourselves in the word of God, and as I marinate in God's word, and I let the beauty of who God is, and I let what he's done just immerse me, and I understand him and I know him. You know, what it does is it gives me examples of what, how to serve God.

It gives me the strength to serve God. It shows me what is right and what is wrong. It shows me how to stay right and how to get right.

It shows all these things so that I might do good. You know, our personal Bible reading in the mornings, the prayer as we talk with the Lord, that that's not just for us in the Lord. That as I do, that God's actually equipping me in that moment to go help others.

That personal time with Jesus strengthens me to be able to go do good to others. That's the amazing thing about what God's word does. It not only moves us to be like him, but it moves us to go help other people be like him.

God's word is relational, not only with God and me, but also with me and others. And it moves me to do these things. Last one, look at Hebrews 1024 with me.

So here, Hebrews ten, verse 24. The author says, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another in so much more. As you see the day approaching, the last thing that God uses in our life to help us do good works is fellowship.

See, as we consider one another and we think about, how can I stir up and encourage someone to do good works? We often recognize that we need people to help us with their examples and with their exhortation to move us to do good works. Good works are stirred up in my life as I am faithful in my attendance to a local body or to a local church and being with other believers who are like minded and who want to grow. I'm sure you've experienced the example, maybe, of coming to church, and as you're here and you're gathering together with other believers, you suddenly see, oh, I see the way that this person lives their life, and that just challenges you to do the same.

You see the faithfulness of this other individual pursuing and living for the Lord, and you're like, wow, I would have never thought to do that. But, man, their example just discipled me of how I can do a good work. That's the benefit of gathering together not only to hear the word, but to challenge each other with our example.

Some of you, and maybe you have been the recipient of exhortation, someone coming alongside you and saying, hey, I just want you. I want to see you do this good thing in your life. And I know you can do that.

And here's how God's word can help you do that. And so I want you to do this good. We've been challenged by mentors, by people who love us, by people who are farther down the path than us.

They've come alongside, and they put an arm around us, and they said, hey, here's how I can see you can do good. That's the benefit of the church in doing good. Do you notice that all those things are normal disciplines of the christian life? All those things are just normal habits that we do as we walk with the Lord, but they result in us doing good.

So why do we do good? To glorify God, to benefit others. How do we do that? Well, several ways. Charity, ministry, generosity, duty, hospitality.

And how do we get those? Well, we get them as we just know God. And we. And we walk with him.

We soak in his word, we pray, and we be with his people. And you know what's going to happen? God will produce that because the good work he started in us is going to bring it to completion. That's very day.

Philippians one six. So I hope that's a blessing to you. It's been a blessing to me just thinking about what my life should look like as a Christian.

And here's the things that should characterize that. I hope that challenges and encourages you guys. Is there anything that you would add to that? You know, is there things that the Lord's worked in your life? Have you seen examples of this? You have a testimony of how someone's done this for you.

You have other scriptures that come to mind that would encourage you. Lynn? 14. So I look up to the young kids.

Yeah, yeah. No, those examples are so helpful, you know, and the way I live my christian life now is only because of what God has taught me in his word and because of the examples of other people. You could have never did it without the people and the examples God has given.

That's good. All right. Oh, yeah.

Dory. If I would ever try to say something good which praise her. In any way.

She would take me by the shoulder. Yeah. Wasn't that neat? Yeah.

None of these things testify to us. God in us, man. Yeah.

Let's go. Good. All right, well, let me pray and we'll be dismissed.

It's really been a blessing being with you guys. Thanks for your hospitality as a church and thank you for letting us come and minister to you guys. It's been a blessing.

My wife had to leave early. She's out in the car. Pregnancy.

She's. Yep. You might understand if you've been there before.

I've not been there, so I don't understand, but she does. So pray for her. But let's pray.

Lord, we're grateful for your grace and mercy, thankful for this church, their light in the community of Des Moines, and the gospel as it is championed here. And we pray just for your blessing upon them as they set out to continue to share your word with people around them and build up your church, continue to strengthen them, encourage them, and allow them to be the blessing that they are and continue to do that to many. Thank you, Lord.

We love you. In your name, amen.