Are You Qualified for Every Good Work? | Exploring Titus Chapter 1

Reagan encourages the congregation to open their Bibles to Titus Chapter 1 and engage in a thoughtful exercise: if being a Christian were illegal, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you? He discusses the importance of good works as the true testimony of one's faith and examines how good works are defined and ordained by God, not by human standards. Referencing various Bible passages, including Titus and Matthew, Reagan explains that good works must be rooted in God's teachings and be part of a Christian's everyday life, driven by passion and commitment. Additionally, he shares personal anecdotes to illustrate the real-life application of these principles. The talk concludes with a call to action, urging believers to reflect on their dedication to good works and inviting non-Christians to commit to a life of service through Christ.

00:00 Introduction and Mental Exercise
01:22 Conviction Through Works
03:20 Good Works Begin with God
06:06 Defining Good Works
07:13 Examples of Good Works
12:34 Living a Life of Good Works
17:05 Passion for Good Works
24:25 Preparation and Commitment
26:40 Learning and Teaching Good Works
32:47 Call to Action and Conclusion

Transcript

Would you take out your Bible please and turn to Titus chapter one, Titus Chapter one. We'll read verse 16 here in just a moment. And as you're turning there there are some gentlemen that are going throughout the congregation, the auditorium to give you a handout. If you would like one of those raise your hand.

They'll be sure. And get one of those to you now as they're passing those out. And as you're turning to Titus chapter one. I wanna just go through a mental exercise together, and this is something that I've thought about through the years. I've always been fascinated with the law and I'm a sucker for a good courtroom drama.

I'm also kind of a sucker for the idea of. A dystopian story. You know, I know that's all kind of fiction, but it's always interesting to me to think about it in those terms and, and certainly there are times throughout history where being a Christian would run afoul of the law. So here's the mental exercise.

Just go with me on this for a couple of minutes. What if. In America, they made it illegal to be a Christian. Now our law system is set up in the same way that it is now, but it's illegal to become a Christian and you are arrested on the charges of being a Christian. You're not allowed to testify on your own behalf.

I know everyone in here would, would confess to that. I'm guilty. Yes, I'm a Christian, but in this mental exercise, you're, you're not allowed to do that. Would you be able to be convicted? By the standard of our courts beyond a reasonable doubt, would you be convicted of being a Christian? Now, we're stretching ourselves a little bit here.

Let's imagine that the devil is your defense attorney and he wants to make sure that you get off on this charge of being a Christian. Would you be convicted? And, and as we think about that, we're not able to testify on our own behalf. What would the evidence have to be? It's not your own testimony.

Nobody knows what's in your heart. So the evidence would have to be your what? Your works. What have you done? Have you lived your life in such a way that that others see Christ in you, that others see your good works? And because of that, they're the ones who testify and say, yes, this person actually is a Christian.

So connected with our lesson this morning of being willing to give and serve with what we have. What does that look like in our works? Well, hopefully, hopefully you're there in Titus chapter one, as we consider being a people qualified for every good work. In Titus chapter one and verse 16, we see kind of just the opposite of that.

They profess to know God, these people who are coming in and, and, and being idle talkers and deceivers. They profess to know God, but in works they deny him being abdo, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. Now it stands to reason. If somebody can be disqualified for every good work, they can also be qualified for every good work.

So what does that look like? For us as Christians, we, we are willing to give, ready to share. We want to do our service with what we have. So what does it look like to be qualified for every good work? Well, notice a couple of things with me from the book of Titus, and first of all, good works begin with God.

They profess to know God, but in works they deny him. God is ultimately the one who's gonna determine what good works are. They're disqualified. Because they don't know God, they don't know him as he truly is, and that's connected with this idea of of sound teaching sound doctrine. The very next verse, chapter two in verse one says, but as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine, English standard version says, teach what?

Accords with sound doctrine. The teaching of Christ by Grace tells us what works are actually good. And so when we look into our Bibles, God is ultimately the one that that is the beginning of any good works that we might perform. You go back just a couple of pages in your Bible to two Timothy chapter three, verses 16 and 17, a passage.

Many of us are familiar with Paul writing to Timothy instead of Titus says. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and I would suggest that includes both Old and New Testaments and is profitable for doctrine that is teaching for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that for this purpose, the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So we're qualified and we're equipped for every good work. When we go back to God's standard for what good works are, what kind of works are we talking about? Good works. And we know that the Bible says that no one is truly good except for God himself. In Mark 10, Matthew 19 and Luke 18, Jesus has this exchange where somebody calls out to him and says, good teacher.

Now, most people would take that as a compliment, but Jesus knowing the hearts of all people asked the question, why do you call me good? No one is good except God. And so either what Jesus was saying was true and good, and thus he was deity, or what he said was evil and he wasn't God. Now we know that we can all be good in a limited sense, but in comparison to God complete.

Goodness is, is not what we are, purity and perfection that we see in the holy one. Well, we are not those things to that degree. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but God must be the source of our or any goodness. So God is the one who defines what is good and what isn't good. Now, that's true of works and everything else, but as we think specifically about this idea of good works.

What qualifies as a good work? What is good? What are good works? God is the one who defines what that is. Now, initially, as I was making this outline, I first put that God has the right to define what is good and what isn't. What isn't, and that's true. He does have the right, but I would take it so far, is that God does do this.

God does define what is good and what is evil, and we cannot give it a different definition. And expect that to actually change anything. Well, we can give it a different definition, good and evil, but it doesn't actually change anything. You're probably familiar with Isaiah five in verse 20. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.

We can call it that, but does it actually change anything at all? I would suggest that it doesn't because good works ultimately begin with God himself. Preston this is good timing serendipitous, whatever the case might be. Preston sent me you know, these AI action figures that everybody's posting on social media of themselves and others and those sorts of things.

Preston is keeping me young here by sending this to me. Well he sent me a bunch of these AI action figures, but they're of various types of religious figures and he sent me a bunch of them. I'm just gonna give you some of my favorites, right? So you've got the megachurch pastor he's got his keys, I'm pretty sure those are keys to an airplane with a watch and a wad of money.

He's a sharp dresser with his microphone. All those sorts of things. Kind of at the other end of the spectrum, you've got the Calvinist with his. Beard in Romans nine. He's active on X or Twitter, all those sorts of things. Oh, I don't know how that one got in there,

but he sent me this one. The bi, the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Now the pope that is currently in office however much longer he is, an office is pretty radically progressive, especially when compared to his predecessor. What is the defining statement of this pope? What, what is he remembered for, among other things, but what is he remembered for, for what he has said the most?

Well, it's interesting to me. This is AI generated, and all the AI is when it generates stuff, is a reflection of what's on the internet. So what is the Pope most known for in terms of a statement? Who am I to judge? Now according to Catholicism, well, you're the Pope. You're the vicar of Christ. I mean, if anybody has the power of to judge, it ought to be you.

But do you know about what group of people? He said those words 10 years ago? He said that in regard to homosexuality, who am I to judge? And he was praised by many, even most, for such a statement. And we might say, isn't that good? Well, by whose standard god's or by mine? We think about all of the different things that the Bible talks about as being good.

Love is good, faith is good, kindness is good, but who defines what those things are? The one who is objectively good. Love is good, but it must be defined by God. Love God, love your neighbor on these two things. Hang all the law in the prophets. Matthew chapter 22 and verse 40 tells us, but God doesn't just say that, love God, love your neighbor.

He defines what that looks like. And likewise, faith is good. But God tells us what real faith is, and he says, faith without works is dead and so to good works are good. There are works that are good, but God is the one who defines what those good works are. The one God gives us to do that he prepared for us before the foundation of the world.

As Ephesians chapter two and verse 10 says, as we talked about this morning, those are truly the good works that come from God. And we could give any number of examples of things that people call good works that God does not define in that way. Helping people. I think we would all agree that that is a good work.

But what about helping a non-Christian from the church treasury? Isn't that a good work? Well, not if God doesn't define it as so not, if that's what God doesn't want me to do, the way he wants me to accomplish that work, God says it's a good work. Not when I reach into the church treasury that has very specific purposes to help non-Christians, but when I reach into my own pocket.

To help non-Christians. That's what God defines as good and so good works. Begin with God in this way and ultimately doing good works. Point others back to God in this way. Turn to the gospel of Matthew for just a moment. Matthew chapter five. Matthew chapter five,

in talking about our purpose. Salt of the earth and light to the world. Jesus says in Matthew five, in verse 16, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Ultimately, the good works that we do are for his glory, so we should do the good works that he wants us to do.

A couple of pages over at the end of the sermon kind of book ending. The sermon in some ways in Matthew chapter seven and verse 22. Let's start in verse 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name.

These are good works as defined by them. Then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. So if we want to practice good works, be equipped for all good works, it has to begin with God and his definition. If you turn back to the book of Titus. I think we also see that good works don't just begin with God.

Good works are intended to be our way of life. It's not just something that we tack onto all the things that we're already doing. Good works are just an expression of, of who we are as Christians. I. Look there if you would, in Titus chapter two, beginning in verse seven. Now Paul is writing to Titus, and Titus was an evangelist in the early church, but this would certainly apply to all Christians in one way or another.

He says in verse seven of chapter two, in all things showing yourself. To be a pattern of good works in doctrines, showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility sound, speech that cannot be condemned in all things. We as Christians, should be showing ourselves as a pattern of good works, that if other people pattern their lives after us and the way we're living.

Then they too would be living a life that was full of good works. May we all be like Daniel in Daniel chapter six in verse five, where his opponent said of him, we shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Well, that's exactly what Paul is saying to Titus in Titus chapter two and verse eight sound speech that cannot be condemned that so that here's the result.

One who as an opponent may be ashamed having nothing evil to say of you. Would that be true? Would that be true of me? Yeah. Maybe somebody could make something up. Yeah. Maybe they could twist things to their own liking or their own reality. Yeah. Maybe I, I do mess up from time to time. Calling, calling us as Christians unloving or uncaring or hypocritical or judgemental or holier than thou or anything.

But good should ring hollow when compared to the works that I am striving to do and doing in my life. This any number of examples I could use for this, but I, I think one of my favorite examples is, is Bill Reeves. You know, bill Reeves was, was a hard man in a lot of ways, but he was also a very caring and loving man as well.

And he, he did good work. I mean, whatever you say about him, he believed this and he lived it to the very best of his ability. And when he was preaching in Miami he had a debate and the debate was over orphans homes and a number of things relating to that. And in the course of that debate, his opponent called him an orphan hater, an orphan hater.

Well, that's an accusation from an opponent in a very literal sort of sense. Right. But what the opponent did not know is that Bill Reeves had taken two orphans into his home and he had no idea that, well, I mean, in, in his defense there were a lot of children sitting on the front row that night, right? So.

How did he know that two of those were orphans that had been taken into the home, rang Hollow when Bill got up there and said, how can I hate orphans and have two in my home? Because his good works showed what was truly in his heart. Now that's a really extreme example, but when people come to us or look at us with accusations about what's in our heart, they don't know what's in our heart, what is or what isn't.

What we can look to and what we should be able to point to is, well, these are my works. They're good. They're from God, and I'm striving to be who God has called me to be, and this is my way of life. This is what I'm committed to. This is the pattern that I've been living my life. And no, I'm not perfect in that, but I'm striving to be who God has called me to be.

That's the way it should be with us. Maybe we should put it this way, when we say. Good works in our way of life. Good works should just be another way of describing our works. This is who we are, this is the way we live. All of our works are good. All of our actions come back to striving to live as a Christian and in all ways we are seeking to imitate Christ and thus prove a pattern for others on how Christ wants them to live.

Now, are we gonna achieve that? Totally. Of course not, but we try to. Because it is important and we care about it. Good works are our way of life. And not just, okay, this is who I am, this is who I'm trying to be. Good works should be our passion as well. Are you still there in Titus chapter two? Start reading with me in verse 11.

There's some motivation here. All passion comes from some motivation, and for us, it's the grace of God. Verse 11, for the grace of God that brings salvation, has appeared to all men, teaching us that there's doctrine again, denying ungodliness and worldly lust. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.

Well, there's a way of life again. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people. Listen zealous for good works. It's not just that we acknowledge what good works are and we strive to live our lives in such a way that we are doing those good works, we should be zealous for those works.

Those works should be our passion in life. And yet we know as time goes on and our service to God, if we're not careful, it can become just going through the motions of good works. It can become a drudgery for us. A great example of this is in Revelation chapter two. Marking Your Spot again in Titus.

Go to the Book of Revelation in these letters to the seven churches of Asia. Jesus as he inspires. John writes to the church in Ephesus, first of all,

now this is about 45 years after the church in Ephesus was established. That's enough for maybe two to four generations of Christians and they've been fighting the good fight for a long time. And this is what, this is what Jesus says about them beginning in verse one of Revelation chapter two. To the angel of the church of Ephesus, right?

These things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. That's Christ. So Jesus says, I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil and you've tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars.

You have persevered and have patience, and have labored for my namesake and have not become weary. What a great, what a great endorsement of a church. False apostles have been around. Paul warns the Church of false apostles in Acts chapter 20. In in, he writes to Timothy, who was in Ephesus in one Timothy chapter one and verse three, wolves will arise and you gotta be ready for all of those things.

And the church in Ephesus. They were listening to Paul, they did the good works that Paul called them to do. They were doing well on this, and he's, they're holding onto the word, and it's interesting what the Lord doesn't doesn't con commend them for, he doesn't say. You know, you've tripled your membership or you're supporting preachers all over the world, or you're influential in the brotherhood, or some of the best preachers who have ever lived have worked there.

All of those things seemingly are true of this segregation, but what he says of them is you've persevered, you've kept the faith, you've continued to do these works. I know your works and your patience and your perseverance and your labor and speaks volumes. Speaks volumes of a congregation or of an individual Christian.

And there are certain simple requirements of Christianity that Christ expects us to do. They are not optional, but they are important. And this is what Jesus highlighted as positive in this congregation that they were holding fast, doing with diligence, the things God had called them to do. But as good Bible students, you know what comes next.

It is not enough to do good works. We must be zealous for them. Keep reading. Nevertheless. Verse four, I have this against you that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.

Now he commends them again for standing up against false doctrine there at the very end of this section verses six and seven. But notice that they're doing good works, but lost the love and passion and enthusiasm that they once had for those good works. You ever found yourself there? We live as we can, as a Christian, as a good Christian.

We do what we're supposed to do, but maybe we are a little burnout. We do good because we love God and we know that's what's right, but we aren't really. Enthused about it as we once were, and sometimes in those moments our, our natural reaction is to withdraw from our brethren to get more involved with what's happening with me or maybe my family and less involved with what's happening with us and our family.

But that's the very opposite of what we need to do. How do we stir one another up? Well, we do that by being together. Good works were still their way of life, but they had ceased being their passion and they needed to go back to what it was like at the beginning when they had that first love. Hebrews chapter 10 verses 23 and 20 through 25 talks about that really it begins long before verses 23 through 25.

If we have boldness to enter the holiest by the way of Jesus by his blood. We've become a Christian and we see everything that that is for us that we can draw near to him with a true heart and full assurance of faith. Then what we should do beginning in verse 23, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised his fateful and 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 and so much the more, as you see the day approaching Now Rick and I have talked about this. Some, I, I don't think that's just the assemblies that we have here at the building, but it starts there.

And how can I stir someone to do what they know to be right, not just to do it. To do it with enthusiasm. How can I be a driver toward good works? We can have all the passion in the world and it won't mean that we're doing the good works that we should, but the opposite is just as wrong. I'm doing the good works that I should, but I, I just don't have the passion that I should in those things.

Well, it doesn't just happen. And I would say that that's, the next thing that I want us to see, that good works don't just happen. They require something of us if we're truly gonna live our lives in this way. Notice chapter three in verse one. As we've gone through the book looking at these good works, remind them, these people who are supposed to be zealous for good works to be subject to rulers and authorities to obey and to be ready for every good work.

Good works don't just happen. They require preparation. We have to make ourselves ready for these good works, to know what we're supposed to be doing, to know how to do it, and have the means to do it when the opportunity presents itself. And whether that's having money set aside in our budgets for helping those who are in need or studying our Bibles and, and having some answers ready for religious questions from our coworkers and friends.

We need to be preparing ourselves for these good works when the need arises. Good works require full commitment from us. You drop down there to verse eight. This is a fateful saying, and these things I want to affirm constantly. Other translations say I insist on these things. I confirm Affirm constantly that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.

These things are good and profitable to men. Careful to devote themselves to do good works. May be your translation. Says, you know, bad works in many ways are genuine gen gen generally more often than not, easier than good works, right? Bad works are the path of least resistance following after the flesh.

And it is no wonder that Paul emphasizes in this letter things like being sober and temperate and self-controlled. But if we are truly committed, if we insist that I will do these things and I'm gonna be careful to devote myself to these things, then good works can become our way of life. And commitment leads to the kind of passion that we ought to have.

And then finally, the last time we see good works mentioned in the book of Titus. In chapter three in verse 14, that good works require teaching and learning. Notice what he says, and let our people, our people who are, who are my people you remember the, the movie Inside Out and Anger when they finally got to San Francisco, when everybody's honking at one another and anger says, these are my kind of people.

Well, who are my kind of people? Our people are other people who are committed to love and good works, and let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful. It is something that we have to learn if we want to be qualified for it. I've talked about Bill Reeves.

Let me go down a generation and talk about Steve Reeves. I don't think I'll make it to the next, generation was Stephanie Reeves, but a lot of the same things apply. Steve Reeves is a man qualified for every work, right? He's qualified probably to be a mechanic, a carpenter, a roofer, a plumber, an electrician, you name it.

He can probably do it. How? I call him a lot of times and I ask him, Hey, how do you do this to this day? He's never said Reagan. I have no idea. I, I just, I don't know how to do that. At the very worst he has said, Hmm. Let me make a phone call. How does, how has he figured these things out? Well, he's mechanically minded, all those sorts of things, but usually it was something like this.

Now sometimes he like goes back to the beginning of time now Adam and Eve in the garden, they made this sort of thing. And that led to a carburetor, right? Somehow, but usually it's something like this. Well, I was preaching in such and such a place. And there was a brother or sister there who was a, whatever it was, and they told me this about this thing, and when I applied it, I, I figured out that that really worked.

Why is he equipped for so many works? His qualifications aren't from some formal course, at least not usually, but instead it's from a lifetime of learning and being willing to learn. I don't have it all figured out. Do you have it all figured out? I admit that I don't. I'm still learning and hopefully I am willing to learn how can I serve better?

How can I serve more precisely? How can I give more generously? How can I be more aware of need and seek to meet them? And that teaching comes from all sorts of people. My, my elders, my wife. Well, there's the next generation. My children, another generation after that. My brethren, even my enemies, but most of all, it comes from my savior.

When I look at Jesus and I strive to walk like him, if I can truly do that, then I will be qualified for every good work I can see what good works are and imitate them. And I'm gonna continue to keep learning those good works as best I can. What does that look like? Well, I don't want to just speak in generalities.

Tonight I want us to take just a second and, and look at this list. Now, I've shared this list with you a couple of times, but I just think it's so powerful to think about some of the categories that we find when it comes to what good works are. Titus talks all about good works and being qualified for them.

Well, what are we talking about here? Well, these are at least some of the things that Paul writes to Titus and says, these are good works, raising godly children. That's a good work. It's a powerful work. It is a work that has generational implications. Practicing hospitality. I was speaking to somebody in the foyer about that this morning.

That is a, a good work. Almost said a great work. Let's keep 'em all in the level playing field here. That is a good work. It's something that we should be striving to do. And Paul writes to Titus about that exhorting and convicting those who contradict the word of God. That is a good work. It's a difficult work.

It's not one that we always enjoy, but it is a good work teaching sound doctrine. Teaching younger counterparts what is good and how to do it. That's good work, fulfilling God's role for you in the family, whatever that role might be, whether that's physical family or spiritual family, be being a pattern of how to live for others, others can look to you for what is right is salt and light.

Being obedient to those who rule over you in Jesus Christ is a good word. This isn't the way Paul put it, but this is my summary. Watching your mouth and remembering your influence. That's good work. Being honest in everything that is entrusted to you. That is good work. Not speaking evil of anyone, well that's something that you're not doing, but we all know sometimes it's, it's work to not speak evil of someone.

Whether that's to their face or behind their back. But it's good work that we keep ourselves from doing that. And the idea is intentionally when someone intentionally is trying to run someone down, I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna be a part of that. Instead, I'm gonna seek peace with all men through courtesy and humility.

That is good work. And it's not that all people want this piece. But we will not be the ones who start the fight. And we're looking for an excuse to find peace with others and meeting the needs of urgent, the urgent needs of our brethren. That is good work. My granddad always used to say, it's good work if you can find it.

Well, well, the things that we have available to us in Jesus Christ are all around us. Good works can be found if we're looking for them and ready to find them. Are you doing these things? Are you doing things far beyond this list? Are you ready to do them if they were needed? Well, may I suggest this evening that we need to, we need to get to work.

No. We need to get to good work so that we might be who it is that God has called us to be. We know of course, that being a Christian is so much more than just working, but it is not less than that. God has called us to be workers. Workers who work with passion and enthusiasm, workers who work for the things that are good as defined by God, not by us.

And I look out at this congregation and I see workers like that, but I pray that we would all aspire to be more who God has called us to be in this realm. If you're here this evening and you are not yet a Christian. Well, Jesus has done a lot of work to try and get you there. A lot of good work to make that possible.

He came and lived as a man perfectly to be a sacrifice for sins so that you might have the opportunity to come to him. And yes, you cannot save yourself in the sense that you earn your salvation, but there is work for you to do. Are you willing to come in humble submission? To put off the old man of sin so that you might put on the new, to go down into a watery grave of baptism, to rise, to walk in newness of life, being committed to every good work and qualified by your Lord to perform those very things Well, if we can help you with that even tonight, once you come well together, we stand in while we sing.