************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 86-87 ************
Doctrine: the reason for good works
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on October 7, 2001
Q & 86-87
John 15:1-8
"Saved to Do Good"
Introduction
Topic: Compassion
Subtopic:
Index:
Date:
Title:
A lady answered the knock on her door to find a man with a sad expression. "I'm sorry to disturb you, " he said, "but I'm collecting money for an unfortunate family in the neighborhood. The husband is out of work, the kids are hungry, the utilities will soon be cut off, and worse, they're going to be kicked out of their apartment if they don't pay the rent by this afternoon." "I'll be happy to help," said the woman with great concern. "But who are you?" "I'm the landlord," he replied.
Leadership p. 44 1984 5/2
In the Christian life it isn't always this easy to discern the difference between real and counterfeit good works. But, as the Catechism makes clear, those who have been redeemed by Christ's blood and renewed by His Spirit do produce genuine fruits of gratitude.
I The Goal of Salvation: to do good
A In Q 86 of the Catechism we have moved from Part II, Man's Deliverance, to Part III, Man's Gratitude.
WE HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM OUR MISERY BY GOD'S GRACE ALONE THROUGH CHRIST AND NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE EARNED IT: WHY THEN MUST WE STILL DO GOOD?
The wider context of the Catechism shows us that the authors did not have in mind any extraordinary acts of kindness or holiness; rather, they were thinking of obedience to God's commandments. So the real question that is being asked is, "Why then must we obey God's will?"
B The Catechism uses 11 lines to answer this question. But the answer can be summed up this way: We obey not to earn salvation but as the fruit of salvation.
One of the goals of God's salvation is a gratefully obedient people. Over and over again we find this taught in Scripture.
(Jer 31:33) "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
(Titus 2:13-14) ... Jesus Christ, (14) ... 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.
(Eph 2:10) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
(1Pt 2:9) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
The Catechism tells us that Christ has not only "redeemed us by his blood" but "by His Spirit is also renewing us to be like himself." He has made us into a brand new creation. And being a new creation we are to produce fruit in accordance with our new nature. No longer are we to follow the sinful nature and produce fruits of bitterness, envy, jealousy, anger, rage, coarse talk, gossip; our lives are not to be filled with complaints, nit-picking, and criticism. Instead, we are to produce fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; we are to produce fruits of obedience and thankfulness and gratitude.
C Based upon Scripture the Catechism teaches us here that justification and sanctification always go hand-in-hand. It is not just a matter of right standing with God; it is also a matter of right living in the presence of God. To put it another way, grace is a privilege; but with this privilege comes the responsibility of fruitful and obedient living.
All too often, I'm afraid, Christians look at the saving grace of God just as a blessing. All too often Christians look at God's saving grace just as a means to have sins forgiven and to gain entrance into heaven. But that same grace of God requires us to be obedient servants, the salt of the earth, a light on a hill, and a leaven at work in the world.
Compare our journey through the Catechism as a hike through the mountains. From the valley of misery the Catechism has taken us up the cliff of deliverance. By His grace Christ has hauled us to safety while, by faith, we cling to Him helpless and terrified. Now, at the top of the cliff, Christ, by His Spirit, would lead us to the mountain top of new life. We cannot stop at the cliff of deliverance. We must move on. To sit, perched on the cliff's edge, looking back down, shuddering at what we have escaped, is fruitless. Yet, that is what many Christians do. We must realize that we are saved to serve and obey. We are delivered that we might do good.
D Based upon Scripture the Catechism lets us know that it is normal and natural for the redeemed to do good. Doing good is not something strange for Christians; for them it is as natural as breathing, sleeping, or eating. In fact, doing good is inevitable for the Christian. It is something he or she cannot help but do. Just like we can't stop our hearts from beating or our brains from sending impulses to our nervous system, so we cannot stop ourselves from doing good. As a good tree inevitably bears good fruit, so we who are saved by Christ must inevitably do good. In our Scripture passage Jesus says,
(Jn 15:5) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit ...
It also follows, of course, that if we do not do good, if we are not grateful to God, if we are not obedient, then we are not saved. Those who do no good are not part of the Kingdom of God. Those who do no good are not part of the vine that is Christ. Those who do no good are not renewed by Christ's Spirit.
Question and Answer 87 affirms this same thought for us. It asks,
CAN THOSE BE SAVED WHO DO NOT TURN TO GOD FROM THEIR UNGRATEFUL AND IMPENITENT WAYS?
Another way to ask this is, "Are those saved who do no good?" The answer: "By no means." You are not saved if you do no good. The Apostle James says, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17). And, Martin Luther said, "We are saved by faith alone; but the faith which saves us is never alone." Or, to say the same thing in different words, we cannot have Jesus as Savior if we refuse to honor Him as Lord. Salvation involves conversion. And those who don't get converted, who don't live the new life, have not been saved.
One of the biggest tragedies among church members today is that many who say they believe have never done anything to back it up. They don't live the new life. They don't do good.
One of the goals of our salvation, then, is the fullness of the redeemed, sanctified, thankful life. One of the goals of our salvation is to do good.
II Why We Do Good
A When we look at the Catechism's answer we see that a grateful and obedient life is a testimony in three directions: it speaks to God, it speaks to ourselves, and it speaks to our unsaved neighbor.
First, says the Catechism, the life of gratitude speaks to God. Just as fruitful trees reflect favorably on the owner of an orchard, so our lives glorify God when they produce what He intended. We do good, says the Catechism,
so that in all our living
we may show that we are thankful to God
for all he has done for us,
and so that he may be praised through us.
God loves to see His people do good. The life of gratitude is to Him a song of praise. And, of course, we have so much to thank Him for both spiritually and physically.
I have always loved the first question and answer of the Westminster Catechism:
Q 1. WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN?
A Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
In living the life of gratitude we are finally doing what God created us for: to live for His glory.
We need to understand that we are created, saved, and sanctified for God's praise and glory.
B Second, the life of gratitude also speaks to ourselves. According to the Catechism, "we do good so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits."
At a distance it may be difficult to tell whether a vase of flowers is real or artificial, but at close range it becomes immediately apparent. Real flowers, you see, have life and fragrance; and artificial flowers have no life and no fragrance. The same thing can be said about real and artificial fruit. A bowl of artificial fruit may, at a distance, look very luscious. You may be tempted to bite into an apple or a pear. But when you touch it, pick it up, the desire to eat it disappears because you have discovered it is not real.
It's the same way with faith. Sometimes it is so apparent that a person's faith is not real. Other times it is not immediately obvious. Jesus, however, gives us a litmus test so we can tell the difference between a real and an artificial faith.
Topic: Faith
Subtopic:
Index: 1201-1218
Date: 10/2001.101
Title: Litmus Test
I remember working with chemical compounds in my high school chemistry class. Sometimes I needed to know if the liquid I was working with was an acid or a base. To find out I had to do the litmus test. I would take a piece of paper treated with litmus and dip it into the liquid. It turned blue in bases and red in acids.
Do you know what the litmus test of faith is? Jesus says,
(Mt 7:16-17) By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (17) Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
In the same way, a person with a real faith produces fruits of gratitude.
You are wondering, "Am I saved? Is my faith real?" To answer your question, apply the litmus test of faith: look in your life for good, for obedience, for thankfulness. If you, by the grace of God, find good, you are assured of your faith by its fruits.
C Third, the life of gratitude also speaks to our unbelieving neighbor. According to the Catechism,
... we do good ...
so that by our godly living
our neighbors may be won over to Christ.
This is one of the few places where the Catechism speaks of evangelism. The good we do is supposed to be an evangelism program that wins our neighbors over to Christ.
Let's be honest here. Usually when we do good, when we do deeds of kindness and love, we do it to gain points with our neighbor. Quite often our good is designed to make ourselves look good, to win friends, to influence people. But the Catechism reminds us more than once that the gain from our works is supposed to go to Christ, or to God.
Many times we find this message in Scripture. One of the passages the Catechism has in mind is Matthew 5:16 where Jesus says,
(Mt 5:16) ... let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The people who look at me because of the good I do are supposed to have their attention directed upwards to my Father in heaven. If they keep staring at me or talking about me or my family or my church, the goal of good works has not been reached. The praise must not come to me or to you but to God!
Another passage the Catechism has in mind is 1 Peter 2:12 where the Apostle says,
(1Pt 2:12) Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Peter sees a situation where unbelievers, atheists, and pagans speak evil of Christians. Peter says that the believers should deny that evil with their lives. Then the pagans will have their eyes opened and conclude that the God of these believers must be good and great.
A final passage we can mention is 1 Peter 3:1-2. Here the Apostle says,
(1Pt 3:1-2) Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, (2) when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
These women have believed the gospel, but their husbands have not. The wives could not keep silent about their faith. But all their talk was merely a nagging nuisance to their husbands. Keep still now, writes Peter. Preach with your lives.
In each instance the Gospel is first presented in Word. Christians press the claims of Jesus Christ upon the pagan and unbelieving. But there comes a time when we must stop talking and start doing. Our lives must back up our words and be an eloquent testimony to the power and claims of Christ. As the Catechism puts it,
... we do good ...
so that by our godly living
our neighbors may be won over to Christ.
One of our missionaries in Sierra Leone tells us about a middle-aged man who had been a Muslim for most of his life and became a Christian a few years ago. One of the things that led this man to believe the Gospel was that Christians showed compassion for the poor – whether they were Muslim or Christian – and this impressed him. Their projects in his slum community broke the grip of poverty for some families. By these actions the Christians of Sierra Leone won the man over to Christ.
Conclusion
Christians, my brothers and sisters, do good. They do good not to save themselves but because they are saved.