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Saved for Works (Ephesians 2:10)

I. Introduction. A. Orientation. This morning, We saw that we were not saved by our works Thats impossible: We were spiritually dead We only hated God, We didnt love Him We had aligned ourselves with Satan We were in his kingdom, Following him, Along with the world, Seeking our own pleasure And our own fame And we were under Gods wrath We walked with Satan, And were going to share his fate.

In that condition, Nothing we did was acceptable, Because nothing we did was for Him Only for ourselves.

If you are saved, You didnt do it yourself, God saved you Because of His love and mercy, He gave you grace His Spirit, You didnt deserve Him, You forfeited Him in the garden When you ate of the tree. He gave you faith by His Spirit Its not something you did by yourself So that salvation from first to last Is truly by His grace alone!

The more you understand this, The more useful youll be Youll stop working, Trying to be good enough for Him, And begin working for Him

The more you understand this, The more thankful youll be, And so the more youll put into your work.

3 B. Preview. This is important because of what we see this evening: You were not saved by your works, You were saved for works. Paul writes, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

If you are to be useful to God You must believe this; You must be willing to serve Him; You must be willing to do good works.

Lets consider two things: 1. Why you should do good works. 2. And how you should do them.

II. Sermon. A. First, why should you do good works? Youre not saved by them, So why do them?

There are at least five reasons: 1. First, thats why God saved you That you might do good works Thats what Paul says here.

Jesus says He is the vine, we are the branches

Every branch in Him bears much fruit (John 15:5).

James tells us, That our faith is seen to be real By the works it produces (James 2:18).

Paul writes to Titus That Jesus gave Himself for us To redeem us from every lawless deed, And to purify for Himself a people For His own possession, Zealous for good deeds (Titus 2:14).

So why should you, as a Christian, Do good works? Because thats why He saved you That you might do them.

2. You should do them, second, Because theyre right And thats what you want to do.

You werent doing them before Because you were in rebellion against God Which is also, by the way,

5 Why you were on your way to hell.

He sent His Son into the world To break that rebellion. He did it by changing your heart by His Spirit, Giving you a new desire To do whats right.

Why should you do good works? Second, if you have a new nature, Youll want to do whats right Because its right.

3. You should do them, third, Because this is how you can show God How thankful you are.

You were on your way to hell Where you would have been punished For all eternity.

But He saved you He gave you His Spirit, Opened your eyes, Turned you from your rebellion, Forgave you of the sins

That would have weighed you down forever, And has prepared a place for you in heaven.

You will spend eternity in paradise In a place that is far better Than anything you have ever experienced Or could experience here, Than anything you can imagine, Swallowed up in pure love And pure joy for all eternity.

What should you want to do for Him in return? Whatever He wants you to do Especially when what He wants Is not only the right and loving thing to do, But also what you want to do Because His Spirit has already given you this desire.

You should do good works Because thats how you show God How thankful you really are For all Hes done for you.

4. You should do them fourth, Because this is how God moves His kingdom forward.

He could have done all the work Himself. He could have written the Gospel In the sky for everyone to see, Or announced it in everyones mind, Or sent the angels to declare it. But He didnt.

Instead, He gave us the honor and privilege Of bringing this good news to others. (Even though our audience Doesnt see it as good news, Doesnt mean it isnt.) Its the best news anyone can possibly receive: The free gift of the forgiveness of sins, And a perfect righteousness That will allow them to go to heaven And escape hell.

The Gospel is the only message The Lord uses to save And He has reserved the privilege Of sharing it Both by word and life

8 For His people alone.

Why should you do good works? Because its the only way God advances His kingdom. Because its a great privilege The Lord has given you. And because if none of His children do them, His Kingdom wont move forward.

5. Finally, you should do them Because this is how you can gain Honor and riches for yourself.

The Lord has told us not to seek fame Or fortune in/from this world. If we try, well not only lose it all in the end, But we may lose our souls as well (Matt. 16:26).

But that doesnt mean We cant seek them somewhere else: We can and should seek them in heaven. Jesus commands us to lay up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20). He tells us to seek honor from God (John 5:44).

How do we gain this treasure and honor?

Through good works. Paul writes that God will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, [He will give] eternal life (Rom. 2:6-7). If you build on the foundation of Christ, With gold, silver and precious stones With good works You will receive a reward (1 Cor. 3:14).

The more you do for Him, The more He will give you on that day.

Youre not going to lose anything If you give up what you cant keep, To gain what you can.

This is why the Lord saved you, What you want to do, How you show your thankfulness, How He advances His kingdom, And how you ultimately become rich and famous In a way that you get to keep.

B. Second, how should you do good works? Heres four things to consider: 1. First, you need to do them Gods way.

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Too often, We do what we want, And expect God somehow to put His stamp of approval on it. Thats not the way it works.

If you want to do something Hell recognize, accept and reward as a good work, You must not only do what He says, But how He says to do it.

Hes given us plenty to do, So we dont need to worry about The things He hasnt.

2. Second, you need to do them all the time, not in your spare time. Sometimes we miss the point Of what Jesus means When He tells us to pick up our crosses And follow Him. He doesnt mean Do everything you want to do With your life, And if you happen to find any spare time,

11 Give it to Him.

No, He means for you To set your own life aside entirely, And serve Him with all your time, All your talents and all your resources.

Does He want you to quit your job And go on the mission field? Maybe He does if thats His calling for you.

He at least means That you should serve Him As best you can With the job you have. Do the best job you can For your employers Because you love Him (Col. 3:23-24). Try to love and serve the people with whom you work, And reach out to them with the Gospel.

If you dont yet have a calling, Figure out what your gifts are, And how they can best be applied to His work, And go that direction.

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Serve Him with your whole life Even in your recreations. Do what you need to do That you might better serve Him, But do all you do for His glory.

3. Third, do them with your whole-heart, not half-heartedly. If theres anything that bugs an employer Its having an employee That does just enough to get by, But who really isnt doing their best.

What does God see When He looks at you? Does the effort you put into serving Him Answer to the love and mercy Hes shown you?

Nothing we do on this earth ever will, But Ill wager we can put much more into it Than we currently are. Paul encourages us in Romans 12 Not to lag behind in diligence, But to be fervent in spirit, Because we are serving the Lord (12:10).

13 And he writes to Titus, The Lord redeemed us That we might be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).

4. Finally, you need to do them In a way that glorifies God, not yourself.

Jesus says, Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). And, Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven (6:1). Its possible to do whats right With the wrong motive. If our motive is only to draw attention to ourselves Whatever attention we get, Will be all we get (Matt. 6:2).

As much as possible, Do what you do for God In a way that only He sees, And what He sees in secret He will reward (Matt. 6:4).

The Lord saved you That you might serve Him; And so do what He tells you to do,

14 With your whole life, And your whole heart, For His glory alone, Not only will the Lord use you To advance His kingdom, He will also richly reward you Once He brings you home to heaven. Amen.

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