Engage in Good Deeds!

It seems that a huge problem in evangelicalism today (beginning with my own heart) is the appearance of doctrinal understanding without the accompaniment of works of love. We rightfully cling desperately to the doctrine of "justification by faith [alone] apart from works" (Rom. 3:28), but in reacting to those who believe works play a role in salvation, we place far too little importance on them.

Paul understands this tension and warns a young pastor he left in charge of a church in Crete named Titus. Paul tells 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).

Do we get that? Jesus came to redeem us from our rebellious independence. We lived without regard for His Word and with absolutely no power to obey it even if we read it. He set us free, breathing the purifying life of His Spirit into us, and as a result, a defining characteristic of our lives should be that we are eagerly desiring to engage in acts of love and sacrifice!

Paul continues to instruct Titus concerning works:

"Remind [people of all ages within the church] ... to be ready for every good deed" (3:1).

"God saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (3:5).

"Concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believe God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good a profitable for all men" (3:8).

A couple of quick observations:

1) We have to be ready for them. God has prepared good works for each of us to walk in before we were ever born. Lets pray that God would make us ready by opening our eyes to see the works He's prepared for us.

2) These works have no role in our salvation. We were saved because God is merciful. We continue in that salvation in the same way, walking "by the washing of water with the Word" and by the power of His Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:26; Gal. 3:2-3; 5:16).

3) The knowledge of that salvation, that God has justified us as a free gift of His grace, frees us and enables us to engage in good deeds. So we engage in good works, not out of guilty obligation, but out of hearts that are free to pursue Jesus with joy and are empowered by His Holy Spirit to obey Him in loving and serving others!

4) It requires care. Paul instructs Titus to warn his people to be careful to engage in good deeds, because the only thing that the devil would love more than keeping us distracted from the need to engage in good works is making us feel like they will happen naturally and that no attention to them is necessary.

Works do not make us righteous; that is clear. They are the overflow of the Holy Spirit inside of us. If He lives in us, He will will point out works that He's prepared for us to walk in and empower us to do them. As such, good works are a thermometer of our spiritual condition. They function like fruit - telling us if we are, in fact, children of God, and if so, how healthy we are. Jesus can't help but engage in good deeds. If He's living inside of us, what should our lives look like?

Praying for greater surrender to His indwelling life,

Ben

TAKEOVER!

Last week, we posted a link to a blog post asking "what if the church of God came together to give generously to the students of KSU?" What if picking up their tab for them at Waffle House and Starbucks led to the opportunity to pray for them and share the gospel with them? What if we could reach hundreds of students with the love of Christ and it created a buzz around campus, not about Campus Church, but about their God?

Praise God it happened!

This past Sunday night, God brought one of the smallest crowds we've had in a while at Campus Church to show to everyone that what He was about to do was of Him, and not of us. That small group of students and some other loving adults gave the largest offering we've seen at Campus Church with the knowledge that every dime was going to bless the students and the staff at Starbucks and Waffle House the very next night!

Last night, hundreds of students came out for free food and coffee, and God gave us the opportunity to pray for them and share the gospel with them. Our desire was that they would see a God who loves them in our giving to them without expecting anything in return. Many seeds were planted as we told the students there that God wants a relationship with them now and that we didn't want them to miss out on the joy of knowing Jesus. We told them that entering into a relationship with Jesus does not promise prosperity, but that He promises to be with them and to hold them up in the midst of what they're going through. We're praying that God uses last night, a very small spark, to start a huge movement of His Spirit on the campus of KSU - one that is grounded in the Word of God and centered on the cross of our Lord Jesus.

It was an AWESOME night that I am praying sets the standard for how we do ministry at CC ... to lavish love on others for the sake of telling them about the matchless joy we have in knowing Jesus! That is the first part of the Campus Church vision: to REACH, DISCIPLE, and LAUNCH!

Would you just us in praying that God would water and grow the seeds that were planted last night? Would you also take 5 minutes and pray over the requests (see below) that the students gave us? We want to see God move in their lives and draw them to Himself, and He will do it as we join in the privilege of asking Him to do so!

Let's live to make Him known!

Ben

Sharing the Gospel in Power … Like a Nursing Mother

Do you share the gospel? If so, how?

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul tells them that his gospel "did not come to [them] in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction" (1:5).

Upon reading that, it's easy to think that Paul came with a boldness that was primarily characterized by assertive or even abrasive speech. His aim, after all, was to preach the unadulterated gospel and not just what men needed to hear.

This is why he goes on to tell them that he and his friends have "been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so [they] speak, not as pleasing to men, but God who examines [their] hearts" (2:4).

It is essential for us to understand this as we share the gospel – if we are sharing in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be doing so without catering to what our listeners want to hear.

However, does his "full conviction" concerning the truth of the gospel translate into him lording it over people, impatiently pushing them to understand and obey, and holding them in contempt if they don't? Or does his confidence in the gospel result in a confidence in himself as a minister of it?

No!

Paul says that he and his fellow apostles were gentle among the Thessalonians and cared for them like a nursing mother would care for her own children (2:7).

Stop and really think about that.

Not exactly what we normally picture when we think of someone being "manly," is it? Yet here it is being exalted by God as a model for all who would share the gospel, especially those men who proclaim God's Word to His people.

It is the calling of all children of God. While the immediate context implies that we are to have this attitude toward those we are discipling in the faith, we are not to push and press and become arrogant toward those who don't hold to our gospel or toward those who are immature and, like us, have much need to grow in it. Instead, we are called to show loving affection toward all people, nurturing them and caring for them – imparting to them both the gospel and also our very lives, dying to ourselves and to our schedules to see Christ formed in them (2:8).

It is in meekness, which is really just desperate and humble reliance upon the Spirit of God, that the gospel is shared in power and with full conviction. God has given us the treasure of the gospel in our weakness so that the surpassing greatness of its power would be of God and not from ourselves (2 Cor. 4:7).

It must be our prayer and hope that God would work in us this gentle and nurturing affection for all people so that the gospel may sound forth from us in power and so that God might grant others repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 1:25).