Devoted To Good Works
Titus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome
Quarterly Memory Verse
Announcements
Prayer: Tuesday, 28th
Congregational Meeting — Feb. 2nd
LNI: “Flourish” — Feb. 7th
Youth Fellowship — Feb. 7th
†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Psalm 115 Pastor Austin Prince
Minister: The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us, he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.
Congregation: Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory. For the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness! You are our help and our shield!
Minister: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
Congregation: We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You are the Lord; Creator, Sustainer, and the Ruler of all things. You are our Lord, the God who gave His own Son for our salvation; who has called us out f darkness and into your marvelous light. Come, O God, inhabit the praises of your people. Send the Spirit that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. Receive our worship, as you receive our prayer.
†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #219
“O Worship the King”
†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON
based on Psalm 51; Isaiah 44:22
Elder, Craig Hoffer
Minister: Let us confess our sins before God and one another:
Congregation: Merciful God, you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you. We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy. We have not loved you with a pure heart, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not done justice, loved kindness, or walked humbly with you, our God.
Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving kindness. In your great compassion, cleanse us from our sin. Create in us clean hearts, and renew right spirits within us. Do not cast us from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation. Sustain us with your bountiful Spirit, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Minister: Hear the merciful response of a loving God: My people will not be forgotten by me. I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist. Now return to me, for I have redeemed you. Know that your sins are forgiven. Be at peace.
Congregation: God is merciful, offering forgiveness to all who confess their sin in faith. We are forgiven. I am forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 97
1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! 2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. 4 His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. 7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods! 8 Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord. 9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. 10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Co 13:1–3
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
†HYMN OF PREPARATION #170
“God, in the Gospel of His Son”
SERMON Titus 3:12-15 // Devoted to Good Works
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
We pray, that we, as those who Paul charged, may be filled with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that we may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please you in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all the power, according to His glorious might, for the affirming of all steadfastness and patience. Amen.
TEXT Titus 3:12-15
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. 15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
AFTER SCRIPTURE READING
Every word of God is perfect, let his people bless his Holy name.
INTRO
Why has the emphasis of this book been to stress the point of doing good works? And why does Paul take one last opportunity to urge the Cretans to devote themselves to them?
Because good works make the gospel seen and known.
In a place like Crete, we know from chapter one that even their own poets recognize that Cretans are lazy, untruthful, and reprehensible. The gospel, by its nature, doesn’t blend in with such a culture—it stands out. It’s bold, different, and transformative. It’s counter culture. It’s provocative.
Here are perhaps three ways that good works makes the gospel provocative in a town like Crete. (In town like ours, too)
1). Good works strategically make the church stick out. It’s not wrong to be aware that what we do stands out. It’s not wrong to intentionally try to stand out. Sometimes we think that it would be a poor motivation for good works — somehow less holy because we are thinking about being seen or noticed. Paul here says that’s the point. Jesus tells us the same — “don’t hide but put the light on a lampstand for all to see”.
But it’s not just the oddity of good works, the oddity and provocation of second-mile generosity and kindness by itself, it’s that…(and this is number two)
2) Our good works adorn our doctrine. What we believe about God, His character, His patience, His kindness, His pursuit of the lost (even those who are His enemy), amounts to untold and mind-boggling levels of grace. It cannot be that we hold to these truths while being unchanged by them. We, too, become gracious, patient, kind, loving, hospitable, etc. The beauty of our doctrine is confirmed and adorned by good works. Our good works are like ornaments, making the truths of the gospel beautiful and real to others.
3) Good works bring clarity on who is walking in the truth. As we’ve seen through this letter, there are many who claim to follow Christ, yet, their actions tell a different story. Whether they are lazy, or contentious, or simply attracted to the philosophic idea of God, their lack of genuine good works, of bearing good fruit, has made them unprofitable and unconvincing. They aren’t fit to follow. Good works authenticate true belief.
The truth is, we often downplay the importance of good works in our teaching. The temptation is understandable. We are naturally inclined to believe that what we do will save us or commend us to God. But the biblical view shuts this down. Contrary to what we would tell ourselves, the Bible says there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves or commend ourselves before a holy God. As Protestants, we protest against a Roman Catholic view which sees grace and works both as contributing factors to salvation. We believe that we are saved by grace alone.
But here’s how one of the clearest texts situates the dynamics of grace and good works:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, ESV)
It’s is clear that we are not saved by good works. We are saved by grace through faith — not a result of works; no one can boast.
But once we are saved, what are we for? The text says that we are created anew in Christ for good works, and we should walk in them.
In Paul’s farewell address to the Cretans, that’s what he is stressing one last time
“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14, ESV)
This final challenge to the Cretans is twofold: to learn to do good works and devote yourselves to them.
Outline:
Learn To Do Good Works
Devote Yourself To Good Works
I. Learn To Do Good Works
To truth is, we have to learn how to do good works. In many ways, we don’t know how to do them as we ought. The Cretans knew how to be Cretans, but they didn’t know how to be Christians.
They knew how to be lazy, uncharitable, prideful, etc.
We’re like that. What comes natural to us, what comes easiest to us, is self-interest and self-service. Good works go against the grain of our flesh. We need help. We need God’s word, the Spirit’s help, spiritual mentors, etc.
Throughout this letter, Paul has been calling us to, but also teaching us about, good works. I want to highlight three ways that we can pay attention to learn good works:
1) Learning from the Lord — Grace, mercy, kindness
When Paul describes what the Lord is doing, He frequently tells us why He does it as well. Earlier in chapter three, in describing the gospel, it’s not just that God saved us, but the goodness and loving kindness of God saved us, by his mercy (Titus 3:4-5).
So much of the Bible’s instructions for us outwardly in good works is to return to the Lord for the lesson.
We know love (or have learned love) because He first loved us (1 Jn. 4:19)
Forgive, as the Lord has forgiven you (Col. 3:12)
Be kind to one another, as the Lord is to you (Eph. 4:32)
That may be an obvious point, but how many times do I read my Bible and think only how it serves me and miss the points about how it teaches me to serve others?
It would be a good practice devotionally to see the glory of God’s good work towards us and after rejoicing in that to not stop there but pray that we would be like that to others. That we would take up that cross and follow Christ in the manner in which He has loved us.
We are to learn because we don’t always know.
2) Learning from others — (Older men/women, our elders)
When Jesus called his disciples, it wasn’t a call to come into a classroom. He called them to follow Him and to watch. To share meals, and trials and life together. We need more than just a call to good works, we need examples of how to live them. For Paul, this meant making sure that the Cretans had faithful elders (ch.1), that the older men were investing in the younger men and older women investing in the younger women (ch.2).
We, too, need more than the classroom. We need the living room, and the hospital room and the boardroom. We need to learn faithfulness in all of life.
This is in part why we push for membership. This is, in part, why we don’t want to be the type of church that you can slip in and out of unnoticed. We want accountability and long-term shoulder to shoulder examples of faithfulness.
Perhaps you can ask yourself, “is there anywhere where I am isolated?” Am I in a position to teach and to serve, but have not pursued others. Or, am I in a position to learn, and am I hiding out from learning? Is my schedule too full?
3) Learning from doing — “Cases of urgent need”
Paul, in his call to faithfulness in good works, gives the Cretans an immediate example of what to do. He says that Artemas or Tychicus is coming, and Zenas and Apollos are also travelling around on their missionary journeys, see to it that they lack nothing.
If we were to ask what the good works should be and where can we do them, the encouragement here is to look around next to you and be faithful.
Those travellers would have needed all kinds of things: shelter, food, oil for lamps, clothes, etc.
One of the ways that we learn good works is to look around for the opportunities. Ask good questions.
When we are listening to prayer requests, be thinking of how you could follow up on those. In some cases (in many cases) you are able to help bring comfort or relief, or help. Send a meal, clean a yard, share an encouraging word or testimony, let the faucets drip, babysit, dog sit, etc.
So much of our learning is by doing. Jumping in and putting your hand to the plow. You’re also learning that God has equipped you for the work. God’s grace is with you — you are made for good works.
The athlete who plays the game knows much more than the fan on the sideline who might know all the stats but never plays. We learn by engaging. Our doctrine is adorned by our good works, but not only to those who are receiving the good works, but also by those who are doing them.
Summary:
We are disciples of the Lord — we should always be in a position of learning to do more good works.
II. Devoted To Good Works
To be devoted to good works is a striking way to put it. It’s not just that good works are noble and fitting for those who believe the gospel, it’s that good works become the ambition and the passion of the Christian.
The summary of the whole letter of Titus comes form 2:11-14
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11–14, ESV)
Because of the gospel, there should rise up in us a zeal (an eagerness) to bless others wherever we can. To bless our brothers and sisters in the church. To disciple other Christians. To serve our unbelieving neighbors. To stand as a faithful witness in the public square. To serve with courtesy in the little things and fix problems at the highest levels of justice and corruption. Building businesses to changing tires to ending abortions to creating orphanages and starting schools and planting churches and baking pies and writing letters.
It might be a juvenile illustration, but if good works were the color blue, we want our entire sphere of influence to be shaded in blue. Our work, our neighbors, our families and homes. It’s an adornment to the goodness of the gospel. Not a substitute. Not salvation through works, but works because of salvation. As James says, faith without works is useless. And that’s the right word. The word that Paul’s letter to Titus has been stressing this whole time — a gospel usefulness.
What might keep us from being devoted to good works?
Sometimes we might feel that we would help but that we are not qualified. I’m too young, too old, etc. I would host, but I don’t have a big house. Or, I live in an apartment. But you can still serve. Being faithful doesn’t mean that you have to host everyone. Where can you be hospitable?
Sometimes we don’t serve because we don’t feel that we have something to give. This person we want to serve is more mature than me. Or perhaps they have more than me. We might see ourselves as ‘inferior’ to them in some ways, so what would we have to offer them? But give anyway. God will use your obedience.
Maybe we don’t serve because we have grown indifferent — we withdrawal from people more than we engage. We need to learn that that isn’t the way.
Maybe we have lost our zeal for good works. We love getting our doctrine right and appreciate good teaching, but our lives lack a devotion (an ambition/passion) for good works. This text reminds us that God has saved you to make you zealous in service.
CONCLUSION
Paul’s final words are grace be with you all. If you feel that a call like this one to good works is a call to you where you are lacking in zeal, there is grace to you.
If you feel inadequate for the work, there is grace to you.
God’s grace is not just a kind word — it’s the active gift of His mercy and kindness.
As we leave today, consider this:
Where can you learn more? Are you seeking God’s Word, learning from others, and stepping into opportunities to serve?
Where can you devote yourself more? Are you passionate about good works in your home, church, workplace, and community?
Let’s go today, learning to walk in good works and devoting ourselves fully to them, trusting that God will use even our smallest acts of obedience for His glory and the building up of His Kingdom. Amen.
†PSALM OF RESPONSE #139B
“Lord, You Have Searched Me” (vv. 1-5)
THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Minister: Lift up your hearts!
Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.
Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION Mark 14:22-25
Hear Jesus’ words as he offers the supper to his disciples:
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.
And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
CONFESSION OF FAITH Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A’s 75, 80
Minister: Christians, what do you believe about these words?
Congregation: By these words our Lord commands all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in true faith and in the confident hope of his return in glory.
In this supper God declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself finished on the cross once for all. He also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ, who with his very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, where he wants us to worship him.
Minister: Let us worship him together. Be seated.
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
The Lord has prepared this table for all who love him and trust in him alone for their salvation. It is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and abiding union with his Church.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” Let’s pray.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Minister: Lord, our God, send your Holy Spirit so that this bread and cup may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we and all your saints be united with Christ and remain faithful in hope and love. Gather your whole church, O Lord, into the glory of your kingdom. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
[Ask elders to distribute the trays].
Does everyone have what they need?
SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
As the Lord Jesus has commanded us, take, eat and drink, remember, believe, and proclaim.
†OUR RESPONSE
“Come, Thou Almighty King”
To the great one in three eternal praises be,
hence evermore. His sovereign majesty
may we in glory see, and to eternity love and adore.
†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thess. 2:16-17
Why does this book focus so much on the importance of doing good works? And why does Paul use his final chance to urge the Cretans to stay committed to them?
It’s because good works make the message of the gospel visible and real.
In Crete, as we learned in chapter one, even their own poets admit that Cretans have a reputation for being lazy, dishonest, and morally corrupt. The gospel, as it spreads, should stand out in a place like that. It’s not supposed to blend in—it’s countercultural and thought-provoking.
Here are three ways that good works help the gospel spread in a town like Crete (and in towns like ours, too):
Good works make the church stand out.
It’s okay to be aware that what we do can make us stand out—it’s even intentional. Sometimes we think that if we’re doing good works to be noticed, it’s a less holy motivation. But Paul reminds us here that standing out is part of the point. Jesus said the same: “Don’t hide your light—put it on a lampstand for everyone to see.”
It’s not just about the unusualness of kindness or generosity—it’s deeper than that.
Good works show what we believe about God.
Our actions reflect our beliefs about God’s character—His patience, kindness, and love for the lost, even those who oppose Him. His grace is beyond comprehension, and if we truly believe that, it should change us. We, too, should be patient, kind, gracious, loving, and hospitable.
Good works reveal who is genuinely following Christ.
Throughout this letter, we see that many claim to follow Christ, but their actions prove otherwise. Whether they are lazy, argumentative, or distracted by empty philosophies, their lack of good works shows they aren’t truly living in Christ’s truth. Without good fruit, they become unproductive and unreliable.
Sometimes, we downplay the importance of good works in teaching because we don’t want people to think they can earn salvation. That’s an understandable concern. The Bible is clear: nothing we do can save us or make us acceptable to a holy God. We are saved by grace alone, through faith, not by works.
Here’s one of the clearest passages explaining how grace and good works fit together:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, ESV)
We are not saved by good works—we are saved by grace through faith, so no one can boast. But once we’re saved, what is our purpose? The text says we are created in Christ for good works, and we should live them out.
That’s why, in Paul’s farewell to the Cretans, he stresses this: live a life devoted to good works.
“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14, ESV)
Grace Notes:
Paul urges the Cretans to embrace good works because they make the gospel visible and authentic. Good works serve three key purposes: they make the church stand out, they adorn our doctrine by reflecting God’s character, and they provide evidence of genuine faith. While salvation is by grace alone, good works are the fruit of that grace and a vital part of the Christian’s calling.
Paul stresses that good works should be learned—through God’s example, mentors, and practical service. The Cretans, like us, need guidance in serving others, as our natural inclination is self-centered. Paul also urges them to be devoted to good works, seeing them as a passion, not just a duty. This devotion comes from the gospel itself, which transforms us to be zealous for service. As Jesus says in John 15:8, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
Where in our lives do we lack this devotion and zeal for service? Where can we learn or be teaching others how to walk in a greater faithfulness?
What will it look like today to be ambitious for blessing others? How might Christ’s grace make you gracious today? How about his patience? Etc.?
The book of Titus calls us to a stressed eagerness to be useful — a faith that is accompanied and adorned by good works.
