Eager To Do Good – So Now You Know

Isaiah 1:16-17 (NIV)

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

The theme of repentance and righteous conduct continues with our Verse of the Day. And it resonates with me this morning as I think about the message of Scripture – God revealing His plan of salvation for the world and His will for us to respond to Him. We see the desire of God to redeem His fallen creatures from the moment sin (disobedience) entered the heart of mankind. It is reflected in His judgment of the serpent (the deceiver):

Genesis 3:14-15 (NKJV)

¹⁴So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall crush your head, and you shall strike His heel.”

Moses instructed: “Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees He has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.” (Cf. Deuteronomy 6:17-19) And centuries later, King David observed: “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Cf. Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3)

David urged:Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. (Cf. Psalm 34:14) Isaiah lamented: “What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? (Cf. Isaiah 5:4) And Jeremiah pondered: “If you ask yourself, ‘Why has this happened to me?’— it is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated. Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. (Cf. Jeremiah 13:22-23)

What does God require? What has God always required of human beings since we attained the knowledge of good and evil? (Cf. Genesis 3:22) Perhaps Job articulated it best: “God looked at wisdom and appraised it; He confirmed it and tested it. And He said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” (Cf. Job 28:28) And King Solomon reiterated this same truth: “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” (Cf. Proverbs 3:7)

The Old Testament instruction is clear that we are to stop doing wrong … that we are have deep reverence for God … that we are to choose good and to shun evil. But it is clear that mankind has failed to heed the wisdom of God revealed through His servants. I want us to clearly see that the message from God has not changed. As Isaiah disclosed: “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (Cf. Isaiah 30:15) And so, in these last days, God has spoken to us through His Son … our Lord Jesus. (Cf. Hebrews 1:2) And this is how Jesus began His ministry after His wilderness experience: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” (Cf. Matthew 4:17)

His message was the same as His forerunner, John the Baptist, was sent to preach:

Matthew 3:1-8 (NIV)

¹In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” (Citing Isaiah 40:3) ⁴John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Indeed, the fruit of repentance is what our response to God should be for His mercy, grace, and kindness! “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. (Cf. Titus 2:11-12) It instructs us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God. (Cf. Micah 6:8) It admonishes us to take our evil deeds out of the sight of God; to stop doing wrong; to learn to do right; to seek justice; to defend the oppressed; to take up the cause of the fatherless; and to plead the case of the widow! Yes, we were saved to serve … to love our neighbor as ourself … to love one another as we have been loved by God in Christ Jesus.

In his Gospel, Mark noted that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Cf. Mark 1:4) After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God. “The time has come,” He said, “The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Good News!” (Cf. Mark 1:14-15) My friends, if we want to receive reconciliation with God through Jesus, then we must begin with repentance! Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Cf. Luke 5:32) Indeed, God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Cf. Romans 5:8)

Acts 2:37-39 (NIV)

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

This was the message that Paul preached as well:

Acts 26:19-20 (NIV)

“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. ²⁰First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.

Do you see it? Paul said that we are to demonstrate our repentance by our deeds! And that is the application of our Verse of the Day. Our deeds … our good works … do not save us or redeem us; rather, they demonstrate our repentance and faith! As James asserted: “Someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” And then he adds, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” (Cf. James 2:18, 24) So, let us keep produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Cf. Galatians 6:9-10) “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” (Cf. 1 Peter 2:15)

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (Citing Proverbs 11:31) So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” ~ 1 Peter 4:17-19

Titus 2:2 (NIV)

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

Our Verse of the Day seems especially applicable to someone like me … an older man. I have this mental image of the elder Paul speaking to the much younger Titus in a mentoring conversation – Paul encouraging Titus in his responsibilities as a young church leader, overseer, and preacher. And we can see this “conversation” unfold within the full chapter:

Titus 2 (NIV)

¹You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. ²Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. ³Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the Word of God. ⁶Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. ⁹Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, ¹⁰and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. ¹¹For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹²It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

There is a lot of teaching presented here; and I see the following points for our consideration:

Paul begins with contrasting the work of Titus with that of the false teachers (See Titus 1); admonishing him to preach “sound doctrine.”

Sound doctrine will direct righteous conduct of all believers, regardless of age, sex, or position, so that our actions help rather than hinder the spread of the Gospel.

Older men, as leaders, are to be moral and spiritual examples through reverence, faith, self-control, temperance, patience, and love. Think about the fruit of the Spirit as a guide.

Likewise, older women are expected to adhere to the same standards of conduct – to be reverent in their behavior as becomes holiness.

Note that older men are to be mentors of the younger men, and older women are charged to be mentors to the younger women with regard to conduct that pleases God.
Those who are bondservants should be submitted to their owners in everything. Again, their conduct is to be respectful as well. Slavery was a basic element in Roman culture during that period of history. I think in Paul’s mind, slaves who were Christian could give a unique and powerful testimony to the gospel by demonstrating their willing faithfulness and obedience to their masters. Paul considered himself a “slave” to Christ….

In our generation, the same type of conduct would be applicable to the employer-employee relationship. As employees, we are expected to exhibit the type of conduct as would become a Christian who follows the patterns of sound doctrine … the teachings of Christ.

Regardless of whether we are Jew or Gentile; male or female; free or slave; Paul is concerned that our conduct aligns with our confession of faith in Jesus. As he stipulated in Verses 11 and 12: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

Paul reminds us in Verse 14 that Christ Jesus gave Himself for us … He was crucified to redeem us from all sin and wickedness … to purify for Himself a people that are His very own … a people eager to do what is good.

These, then, are the things Titus was admonished to teach … the sound doctrines that lead people to holiness … with preparation for His Second Coming in mind … in expectation of the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior. Yes, these are the things Christians are to learn and teach … to pursue, live, and share with others with eagerness.

So, in light of this teaching, I think there is a question we should ask ourselves: “Am I eager to do what is good?” Per the NKJV: “Am I zealous for good works?” Paul urged: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Cf. Romans 12:11) I believe if we want to spread the Gospel message as we have been commissioned to do, then we need to be mindful of our conduct so that the Word of God may not be maligned or blasphemed. Christian hypocrisy must end if we are to be effective and productive to win souls to the Kingdom of God. People will judge the sincerity of our faith (and its message) more by our conduct than our words. We should be eager to walk in holiness and love … for these are the outcomes of the sound doctrine we have been taught by Jesus and His Apostles. As the Apostle John admonished: “Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.” (Cf. 1 John 2:6)

Tag: Eager To Do Good

Learn To Do Right…