Maintaining Good Works

"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."

Titus 3:8

I have heard people say, "That's my good deed for the day" as if it is a onerous chore.  It seems some are glad to move on from doing good to get on with what we would rather do.  But is there anything better than doing good, seeing it is one purpose God has created us?  Why limit our good deeds to one when, if done with the mindset of irritation or self-commendation, it may not even be classified as a "good" deed because of selfish motives behind it?

Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  Having been born again by faith in Jesus, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works God has prepared for us to do.  The Titus passage affirms constantly we should be "careful to maintain good works."  It is strongly implied even after we trust in Christ we are not vigilant as we should be to continually do good.

To keep things we have in prime condition maintenance is required.  Quality vehicles, houses, yards and our bodies need regular maintenance.  Toilets, the BBQ, carpets and floors need maintenance to remain clean.  We love the idea of things being "maintenance free" like many car batteries are these days, but that still doesn't mean they will last forever.  Good works are not maintenance free:  they need to be carefully maintained because they do not happen automatically.  The desire, ability and joy in doing them all come from God, and thus maintaining a close relationship with God is a key to maintaining good works we join with Him and others in doing.

In reflecting on maintenance, it is easy to start well and quickly taper off.  We can be forgetful to mow the lawn or decide we'd rather not power wash the deck because it isn't that bad.  We can be tired, prioritise doing something else, or plain choose to ignore the thing.  This is where self-control, diligence and perseverance God gives make a difference when we humble ourselves before the LORD.  Doing good is good and profitable to all men, and that includes us and others.  Jesus has given us an example of what doing good looks like, in Acts 10:38 Peter connected Jesus' doing good with being anointed by the Holy Spirit and power.  God was with Him, and Jesus has promised to be with us.

After you have done a good deed, don't stop there!  If we do good it is only because God is good, and instead of commending ourselves we ought to praise and thank Him.  Each day we are given on earth is a good gift from God, and we ought to be constantly careful to maintain good works.  We need not keep a tally of our good deeds, for every one is only possible because of our good God and Saviour who created us to do good works He has prepared beforehand for us to do.  Doing good is what we are to devote ourselves to because we are in Christ who has begun a good work in us.

The Honest Truth

Lately I've been reading through a compilation of articles written by G.K Chesterton.  I have found to follow his long and slow moving train of thought to the end, all my continued attention is required.  Today I was particularly impressed with his observations shared in a particular paragraph and felt like saying, "Hear, hear!" because Chesterton was spot on.  The distinction he made between not telling lies and telling the truth is an important one, whether in public school or not.

"Touching the morality of the public schools, I will take one point only, which is enough to prove the case.  People have got into their heads an extraordinary idea that English public-school boys and English youth generally are taught to tell the truth.  They are taught absolutely nothing of the kind.  At no English public school is it even suggested, except by accident, that it is a man's duty to tell the truth.  What is suggested is something entirely different:  that it is a man's duty not to tell lies.  So completely does this mistake soak through all civilisation that we hardly ever think even of the difference between the two things.  When we say to a child, "You must tell the truth," we do merely mean that he must refrain from verbal inaccuracies.  But the thing we never teach at all is the general duty of telling the truth, of giving a complete and fair picture of anything we are talking about, of not misrepresenting, not evading, not suppressing, not using plausible arguments that we know to be unfair, not selecting unscrupulously to prove an ex parte case (a proceeding conducted for the benefit of only one party), not telling all the nice stories about the Scotch, and all the nasty stories about the Irish, not pretending to be disinterested when you are really angry, not pretending to be angry when you are really only avaricious.  The one thing that is never taught by any chance in the atmosphere of public schools is exactly that--that there is a whole truth of things, and that in knowing it and speaking it we are happy." (Chesterton, G. K. All Things Considered. CreateSpace, 2018. page 78)

In secular societies like Australia and the United States, talk of duty is almost wholly rejected unless speaking of your duty to yourself to do and say as you please.  Duty is a dirty word because it strongly implies a subservient position of a person with an obligation to others.  When it comes to speaking the truth it is a duty before God who created mankind, gave us minds to think, consciences to consider, and mouths to speak.  There is an enormous difference between avoiding telling lies and honestly telling the truth.  Fear, insecurities, the desire to be accepted and pleasing can stand as insurmountable obstacles to the naked truth.  It is entirely possible to avoid lying and never come close to actually speaking truth.  Jesus claimed to be Truth personified, and thus His followers ought to love, speak and walk in the truth.

Jesus provided us an example of what speaking the truth in love looks like, for His bold statements and probing questions were with the glory of God and the good of others in mind.  Since Jesus knew the hearts and thoughts of men, He could have used this to His advantage to humiliate adversaries and seek favour by catering to man's skewed opinions.  Too many times I (and probably everyone else) have been careful to avoid telling lies rather than speaking the honest truth.  I have cared more about a potential adverse reaction someone might have to it rather than being motivated to speak honest truth because with this God is well pleased.  There is a necessary place for the considerations of the thoughts and feelings of others and tact, but this does not justify cloaking truth with convenient half-truths which could rightly be called lies.  Since we are of the Truth, we ought to walk in truth, love in truth and speak the truth rather than avoiding telling lies.

The Presence of the LORD

"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, ⁸ Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters."

Psalm 114:7-8

The earth created by God has been witness to countless miracles and displays of divine power.  God caused the earth to open its mouth and swallow Korah, Dathan and Abiram and all who joined with them against Moses.  When God descended on Sinai the earth shook and a thick cloud covered the mount.  The miracle referenced here was when God, on at least two occasions, caused water to flow from the rock in the wilderness (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20).  God provided water from the rock for His people to be refreshed, sustained and He would be sanctified in the eyes of the people.

This miraculous flow of water was a foreshadowing of how God, by a new covenant entered into by faith in Jesus, would cause the Living Water of the Holy Spirit to flow through those who are born again by the Gospel.  Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."  The people who drank from the water God caused to flow eventually fell in the wilderness, but those who are spiritually regenerated by faith in Jesus will live forever in glory with Him.

It is a fitting thing for the earth to tremble in the presence of the LORD because the power of God to save is equaled by His ability to destroy forever.  This earth, unlike believers in the LORD Jesus Christ, will not be redeemed:  it will be replaced with new heavens and a new earth where only righteousness dwells.  This world, all the systems, wisdom and Satan the temporary ruler of it are under the coming judgment of God which is inescapable.  Jesus Christ provides the only hope of forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation from sin.  Those who know God tremble before His power, and those who do not yet know God someday will.  Because the almighty God humbled Himself to appear to the world as Jesus Christ, Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7-11:  "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

The earth trembles in the presence of the LORD because it will be no more.  People tremble out of fear, yes, but also from anger, from shock or when nervous or excited.  The earth trembles and quakes, yet by the grace of God believers are established on solid ground and can stand fast by faith in Jesus.  Praise the LORD for the spiritual rebirth He has granted us by His grace and the Living Water of the Holy Spirit which springs up into eternal life.  We tremble because we are weak, and we tremble because God is strong.  How good it is to be held secure by Him!

Glory and Grace

"Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!"

Psalm 119:11

God's word lights our path to walk uprightly.  Jesus said if the light in a man's heart is darkness, how great is that darkness.  This illustrates the importance, not only to know God's word and practice it, but as much as we can to remember it accurately.  Reading God's word for ourselves is incredibly important to illuminate our hearts and minds, for God is faithful to open our eyes to truth we previously missed.

This reminder came to me recently as I read the familiar passage in Romans 3:23 that says, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  As I read it with my own eyes I realised my tendency to say it, "...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  This tense change from "fall" to "fallen" has a whole new meaning to it.  It is true we have all sinned and thus fallen short of God's glory, but the words of Paul emphasise we still do fall short even though we believe in Christ and have received the Gospel.  Our failure to live up to God's holy, perfect standard is a past and present reality.

This magnifies the grace of God spoken of in the following verse in Romans 3:24:  "...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."  Because God has justified Christians by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus received by faith, we are able to begin to comprehend and walk in righteousness as God intended from the beginning.  He has washed us clean of the eternal punishment and power of sin, and God empowers us to walk uprightly.  We fall short, and God knows this.  How good it is we we also know this, praise God for His grace and extend it freely to others too!

God's grace is amazing, and amazingly we can fall short of it.  Hebrews 12:14-16 says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright."  Knowing God's love, His word and salvation extended to us by grace enables us to pursue peace and holiness.  It is by God's grace our strength is renewed and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to put off bitterness and walk uprightly.  The grace of God, instead of enabling sin, guards steadfastly against sin and provides godly perspective and instruction.

See how grace teaches us in Titus 2:11-14:  "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who 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."  Having received God's grace we are called to walk righteously with eyes looking to Jesus.  He has redeemed and purified us that we might reject ungodliness and do what pleases Him.  Praise the LORD for His glorious grace, even when we mistakenly misquote His word!