Get In The Game!
Part 1
“Created for Good Works”
Eph 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
CREATED: Means God made something that was “not there before” (ex nihilo, out of nothing, something).
When you were saved, God created something brand new, something that was ‘not there before.’
2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
And once born again, you and I become God’s handiwork, his project, his work of art.
“Handiwork” literally means ‘a masterpiece.’
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Now, it says that God made us into something brand new,
a brand new person,
not only to make us fit for heaven,
but that we would do ‘good works’ while here on earth!
He literally created us to do good works that he planned for us LONG AGO!
• We are not saved by good works, but good works testify that we are saved!
—Scripture teaches that Good works are one of the evidences of a true believer’s life—they are what we are literally DESIGNED TO DO!
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That said, what is a GOOD WORK?
“Good works” are good deeds motivated by faith, in obedience to God, for His glory and not our own.
A genuine good work is always done to point and bring glory to the Heavenly Father!
The Pharisees were well known for doing good works for the wrong reason–to promote themselves.
Jesus almost comically illustrated their self-seeking motivation for good works:
Matt 6:1-2 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.”
Jesus also told us what good works look like,
“I was in prison and you came to me, sick and you visited me, hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink, naked and you clothed me.”–Matt 25:35-36
A good work can be anything from:
giving a hungry person something to eat,
to giving an encouraging word to a discouraged person,
to knitting a shawl or a blanket to keep someone warm, or
to helping a person that can’t help themself as illustrated in Jesus’s parable of the Good Samaritan.
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The LOCAL CHURCH, your church home, is a great place to get involved in good works!
It can be:
volunteering to serve in the church,
in the tech dept
running a camera,
helping in the children’s dept,
or serving as a greeter,
or a deacon,
or an usher.
It is giving of your time and ability to glorify God by a good work!
• The Christian’s call to good works is not about EARNING salvation—it’s about EXPRESSING salvation.
• We aren’t saved BY good works, but we are saved FOR good works!
• Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works!
Think of a FRUIT TREE:
It doesn’t produce fruit to become a tree—it produces fruit because it IS a tree.
In the same way, good works are the natural result of a life rooted in Christ Jesus!
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Paul’s prayer for the church was that:
“…we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”–Eph 4:14-15
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I was blown away when I first discovered how often GOOD WORKS are taught in the Bible!
In the little 3 chapter book of Titus, GOOD WORKS are mentioned four times!
It says we are to be:
• EXAMPLES to others, “by doing good works of every kind.”–2:7
Then it says we should be:
• ZEALOUS for good works, that Jesus literally: “…gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, ZEALOUS for good works.”–2:15
Then it says twice that we are to:
• MAINTAIN good works, and to “be sure that the people understand these things–that they may not be unfruitful.”–3:8,14
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A great example of a person rich in good works is where we read in the Book of Acts of a woman named Dorcas who was “full of good works and acts of charity.”–Acts 9:36
One day Dorcas got sick and soon died, and the Christians in that town called on Peter to come and pray that she would live.
Now, it says that when Peter arrived, her weeping friends “showed him the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.”–Acts 9:39
Notice how It was her good works that had endeared her to the public, and brought a powerful witness for Christ to the community!
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Now, if there are GOOD WORKS, there are also BAD WORKS!
• GOOD WORKS are works that originate from the Light of the world, Jesus Christ.
Conversely,
• BAD WORKS are works of darkness that originate from the prince of darkness, and are what we were all involved with before we were saved.
Eph 2:1-3 “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.”
So just as GOOD WORKS flow out of faith, a brand new nature, and obedience to God——BAD WORKS flow out of unbelief, a fallen nature, and obedience to sin and Satan!
This is why Paul writes to the new Christians at Rome, saying:
“For just as you (once) presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral] lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness!”–Romans 6:19
As the old song says, “If you’re saved and you know it, then your life will surely show it…”
• It’s through GOOD WORKS that we fulfill our purpose as believers and contribute to building God’s kingdom on earth—”Thy kingdom come…”
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So here’s what I want you to get from this first message in our new Series:
——it is through GOOD WORKS that we GET IN THE GAME!
That is, it is doing good works, by faith, in obedience to God, for His glory and not our own, that we fulfill our purpose as a born again child of God!
• Jesus taught that good works are one of the ways we witness:
Matt 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Good works are one of the KEY WAYS we testify about Him to a lost world.
It’s not just WORDS, it is ACTIONS that preach!
ILLUS: Years ago, in a small town, there was a man named Samuel who was known for his faith. He attended church every Sunday, carried his Bible everywhere, and could quote Scripture with ease. But one winter, a neighbor’s house caught fire. While others rushed to help, Samuel stayed inside, saying, “I’ll pray for them.”
Prayer is powerful — but that night, the family lost everything. Later, the neighbor said, “I’m grateful Samuel prayed… but I wish he had brought a blanket.”
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Hence, the Apostle James adds that faith without works is DEAD!–2:17
Martin Luther said, “It is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat from fire!”
If you have saving faith, it will show itself in good works done in His name.
—In fact, James goes on to tell us that faith will never even come to full maturity apart from good works:
2:22 “You see that his (Abraham’s) faith was working together with his works, and as a result of the works, his faith was made perfect, completed [reaching its maturity”].
So summed up:
• We’re not saved BY good works, but we are saved FOR good works.
• Good works testify to the lost world of God’s glory.
• Good works perfect our faith.
• Good works are how we get off the bench and get into the game!