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Sunday 06/08/25

Title: Good works & Wealth

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Good Works & Wealth

Last week we took a closer look at good works since they are part of our kingdom work, they are part of our love for God, love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, our compassion for the world and they are a HUGE part of our kingdom work. We cannot increase the scope of Jesus’ rule and reign in the earth if we do not live lives transformed by His rule. Being living witnesses is to be salt and light. Or said another way, it is being good stewards of the talents and minas invested in us by our Lord.

Last week we looked at the instructions Paul gave to Titus as he finished Paul’s work of strengthening the churches on the Isle of Crete and establishing pastors in every church.

These instructions were regarding living out our confessions of Jesus as our Lord by how we live our lives as older men and women, younger men and women as well as servants, slaves and employees.

This passage wrapped up with a statement about God’s grace – what it is, what it teaches and what it accomplishes in those who surrender to it – which is ‘good works’.

“(11) For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people, (12) instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, (13) while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

(14) He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do good works.

(15) Say these things, and encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

Now as we progress into other examples of ‘good works’ as they are lived out in various aspects of our lives and in certain unique circumstances and believers I want to touch again upon understanding ‘good works’.

These “good works” are spoken of throughout the New Testament.

Jesus said,

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.”

(14) “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.”

“(16) IN THE SAME WAY, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your GOODWORKS and give glory to your Father in heaven.” – Mathew 5:13-16

Eph 2:10, “For we are His creation–created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”

1 Peter 2:12, “Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do evil, they may, by observing your good works, glorify God in a day of visitation.”

And of course the one we just read in Titus said,

“He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do GOOD WORKS.” – Titus 2:14

Good works require a commitment to the kingdom of God. Meaning a commitment of devotion to Jesus as King and to all those under His rule which are those in the body of Christ. This also includes our being living witnesses before an onlooking world that they might “see out good works and glorify our Father in heaven.”

So it requires, as I said, a commitment to the Kingdom of God.

It requires grace, as we read in Titus. Grace of course requires humility, sensitivity to the Spirit, which in turn requires reverence for God and love for God, your siblings in Christ and compassion for lost humanity.

All good works either spring from or are strengthened by these things!

Good works for the rich: (which include those with the gift of giving)

1 Timothy 6:17-19,

“(17) Instruct those who are RICH in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, Who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.

(18) Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, (19) storing up for themselves a good foundation for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.”

While this could apply to anyone with more money than they need, it offers us an excellent insight into the ‘gift of giving’.

Now it is a certain truth that NOT to say that all giving is financial, but someone with the ‘gift of giving’ will certainly possess a surplus of something that they might be able to give.

The logic of this is inescapable and we see it in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church.

2 Corinthians 8:10-15, “(10) So here is my opinion on this matter: It is to your advantage, since you made a good start last year both in your giving and your desire to give, (11) to finish what you started, so that just as you wanted to do it eagerly, you can also complete it according to your means. (12) For if the eagerness is present, the gift itself is acceptable according to whatever one has, not according to what he does not have. (13) For I do not say this so there would be relief for others and suffering for you, but as a matter of equality. (14) At the present time, your abundance will meet their need, so that one day their abundance may also meet your need, and thus there may be equality, (15) as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

And doesn’t this accord with the words of our Lord Who in a parable once said,

Luke 12:13-21, “(13) Then someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

(14) But Jesus said to him,

“Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?”

(15) Then He said to them,

“Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

(16) He then told them a parable:

“The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, (17) so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’

(18) Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. (19) And I will say to myself,

“You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’

(20) But God said to him,

‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ (21) So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”

It should be noted that Luke records Jesus as teaching this JUST BEFORE His teaching on not worrying about food and clothing but seeking first the kingdom of God.

What is the teaching then regarding things?

We are told in Psalm 62 that IF riches increase we are NOT to set our hearts on them and we are to pay no attention to it. It then offers two principles:

“(11) God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God, (12) and faithful love belongs to You, LORD. For You repay each according to his works.” – Psalm 62:11-12

In James 5:5 the rich men are warned against being “wanton” in their lifestyle.

The overall idea this:

As we seek first the kingdom of God, our needs will be met.

This is not just by supernatural means, but by God’s favor on what we do as representing king and kingdom. Included in that is the work of our hands in natural things for provision and even in spiritual work.

We are counseled to not hoard up riches, but if we have an increase we are to give.

What this means:

Once you have received your wages (whatever that looks like – daily, weekly, monthly, yearly…etc.), if you have an increase you should seek to give – to invest in others.

What is meant by “increase”?

It means more than you need.

Who do we give to and how much?

If you are a family such giving should be done AS a family.

If you are the head of your family it MAY mean blessing your family BEFORE others from time to time…

Take them out to eat
on an outing or
maybe even a vacation.

You give out of your abundance. We are told to give to the one who asks you, seeking nothing in return. The promise is that our Father Who sees in secret will reward us openly.

What about setting aside?

This is PART of provision. We need only look to Noah and Joseph as examples. By God’s warning and foresight they knew when and what to set aside for when troubled times came.

We are counseled in scripture to consider the ant. It may be summer when you experience an increase, but we are to be wise and set some aside as reasonably as we can anticipate for leaner times.

Proverbs 10:4-5, “(4) The one who is lazy becomes poor, but the one who works diligently becomes wealthy. (5) The one who gathers crops in the summer is a wise son, but the one who sleeps during harvest is a shameful son.”

The example of the ant is a good one since winter is an annual and predictable event. So is wear and tear on things we own.

As the head of the family, God will grace husbands (or single mothers) with wisdom regarding when and what that looks like.

What this does NOT mean:

As Paul said in the 2 Corinthians 8:13 we give out of what we have NOT out of what we DON’T have. It is not the teaching of scripture to give to the point where you are in need just to provide for others.

On the other hand, if you are so led by the Spirit, it will bring a blessing (2 Cor. 8)

So it can be somewhat safely said that the one who is graced with the gift of giving as a permanent gift, they will have as a constant possession, the goods of this world from which TO give.

They are told to give with liberality!

However, it also tells you what you should do in times of abundance beyond your need. We should always seek God regarding the distribution of kingdom resources.

Blessings!

Tri

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!