9-17-2022 West Palm Beach 7th Day BAPTIST Pastor Jasmine “Maintaining Good Works” Titus 3;8, Titus 3;1-7, Titus 2;1-8, Matthew 10;22, James 2;17-18, Titus 3;10-11

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9-17-2022 West Palm Beach 7^th Day BAPTIST Pastor Jasmine “Maintaining Good Works” Titus 3;8, Titus 3;1-7, Titus 2;1-8, Matthew 10;22, James 2;17-18, Titus 3;10-11

 

 

Maintaining good works is hard work that requires cooperation from everyone. If one person slacks off and does not do his work, this creates a lot of problems and unrest. So the maintaining is what keeps the home, the church, the city, the state, the country and the world running. Maintaining makes it possible for all of us to live healthy, peaceful and practical lives. Take for example the home. Suppose there is one who does not care about keeping the home clean. This person takes off their clothes and drops them on the floor and it piles up on the floor. Everybody will get irritated right? You keep telling that person everyday to pick up their things and they keep dropping them on the floor. Everybody gets irritated.

 

Take for example the neighborhood. You have one person in the neighborhood who brings his trash and junk and puts it on the corner. And it keeps piling up. Everybody in the neighborhood gets upset right? Some folk call the Health Department. Why? Because it brings down the value of their property and it gives the neighborhood a bad name. The same thing happens in the Church. It only takes one person to act in an ungodly way for it to effect everybody in the church whether inside or outside the walls of the church. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Titus to Titus. Titus was ordained the first Bishop of the Church of the Cretans in Macedonia. Paul was telling him about church order. There are places in the Bible where it says “Let everything be done decently and in order”. The book of Titus is about church order.

 

In Titus 3;8 there is an admonition to the church and it reads “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”. Should be careful to do what? Maintain good works. Paul says these things are good and profitable to men. The first seven verses of Titus chapter 3 is a wake-up call to us to be ready to do every good work. Because remember WE are the church and not the building. Its a wake-up call for all of us to do good works. Notice what Paul says; its not just some good works but every good work. Now what are these things hes telling Titus to stress? To figure this out we have to go back to Titus chapter 2. Paul says to teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, love and endurance.

 

Then Paul says to teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live. Not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine. They should teach what is good to the young women so that they will love their husbands and children. To be self-controlled and pure; to be busy at home and to be kind and subject to their husband. Their own husbands so that no one can malign the Word of God. Verse 6 says to encourage the young men to be self-controlled. Encourage who? The young men to be self-controlled in everything. Be an example by doing what is good, show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech. Do this so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you or us. In verse 12 it says that in denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.

 

We are to look for the Blessed Hope and Glorious appearance of our Great GOD and our Savior JESUS CHRIST. This Jesus gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself his own special people, who are zealous for good works. So we are his special people and if we are his special people then we should be zealous for good works. The question for us today is how do we maintain good works? Most of us will do a good deed for a day or two and then we get tired of always doing good. We do good but we are not consistent and don’t continue it. You start off with fire in you to do good. You do it for a while and then you stop. We may get tired of doing good because no one shows us gratitude or acknowledges all the good we are doing. We give up and say let someone else do it.

 

How do we maintain doing good works? We have a schedule for maintaining our smoke detectors. We know to change the battery once a year and they say to do it on your birthday so you will remember. You also tune up your car on a regular basis too. If we don’t do it on a regular basis, these systems will break down. God gave us a schedule to maintain our body. He said work 6 days and rest on the 7^th day. God even tells us how to maintain the 7^th day. He says to rest and worship. Its true you can do some good works on the Sabbath in case of emergency but basically God tells you to rest and worship Him. If you do this every week, you are helping to maintain the body, your body that He created. Look at Matthew 10;22. Jesus tells the disciples that they will be hated because of Him. But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. In James 2;17-18, James, the Lord’s brother, says Faith without works is dead. Someone may say you have faith and I have works. James said show me thy faith without thy works and I will show you my Faith by my works.

 

****Four Things To Do To Maintain Good Works****

 

1. Have Faith In God’s Promises: He will give us the rewards and not those that we are doing the good for.

 

2. Maintain Your Love For Jesus Christ: If we don’t do this then the good works won’t mean anything. Good works don’t get you into Heaven or get you eternal life. Only Jesus can do that!

 

3. Avoid Getting Into Foolish Controversy: Don’t get into debates about the Law or the Bible or biblical beliefs or preferences. Matthew 10;14-15 says leave those people and move on. Titus 3;9 says avoid foolish questions, striving and arguing.

 

4. Don’t Compromise To Keep The Status or The Friendship or To Build Up The Numbers In The Church: Don’t compromise. Titus 3;10-11. It says to reject a divisive man (heretic) after the 1^st and 2^nd admonition. Knowing that such a person is warped (subverted) and sinning, being self-condemned. They know the truth and don’t want Jesus or the church unless its for a church funeral, wedding or a baby blessing. They live in sin so don’t compromise with them but instead reject them.

 

May God help us to maintain good works by having Faith in God’s promises, by maintaining our Love for Christ, by avoiding foolish controversy and by NOT compromising God’s words. Our goal is to enter into God’s Kingdom and bring others along with us. Our goal is to live with God eternally. Our job is to teach the Truth of Jesus Christ and to spread the Gospel. Period.

 

AMEN