Amen. I would invite you that if you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, you would turn to Titus chapter 3. So we'll be looking at verse 8 today. And as he does throughout his letter, Paul carefully specifies the cause and effect relationship between sound doctrine and sound living. That is, right belief in God and his gospel leads to right and godly living. But first, Paul reminds us that God does not save us because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. And by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, God empowers us to live godly lives here and now. Therefore, Paul emphasizes that good works are a mark of true, genuine belief in the life of his people. So with that in mind, may we now turn to our text to see the trustworthy and profitable word of our God. We'll read verses 1 through 11. Hear the word of the Lord. Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who may pour it out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people, but avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissension, and quarrels about the law. for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him. Knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self-condemned. Amen. Let's pray. O Lord, who do we have in heaven but you? And to whom shall we go? For you alone have the words of eternal life. Therefore, we now come to your word, seeking these words of eternal life. So give us eyes to see and ears to hear, a mind to understand, a heart to believe, and your spirit to obey your word. Guide us with your counsel, O Lord. Amen. So we're looking at verse 8 today, and verse 8 is a summary command of all the previous verses that summarize the gospel message. The message found in verses 3 through 7 remind us of our sin, and more importantly, it reminds us of our salvation through the grace of our triune God. So when Paul says, the saying is trustworthy, He is referring back to the concise and rich gospel truth found in the statement coming before verse eight. Now, throughout Paul's letters, he will often cite a hymn or a creed. And these hymns or creeds are possibly written by the apostle himself. And they seem to be known by his readers. This would be especially true as he's writing to Titus, who Titus is a disciple of Paul and a companion of Paul. And so when Paul says, the saying is trustworthy, Titus goes, I know this saying well. We see this throughout Paul's letters in Colossians 1, 15 through 20. We have a hymn or a creed about Christ as the Lord of creation and the Lord of redemption. And then in Philippians 2 verses 5 through 11, we have a hymn or a creed about the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. And it's also plausible that Ephesians 1 verses 3 through 14 is also a hymn or a creed about the salvific work of our triune God. And so throughout the New Testament, we see these hymns or creeds by Paul written down in scripture. And because of the structure and rich gospel truth found in Titus 3 verses 4 through 7, it is also believed to be an early Christian hymn or creed. And it's quite possible that this would be a baptismal creed, one that was stated before a convert was baptized and welcomed into church membership. Therefore, Paul gives us these hymns that we would be reminded and encouraged by these deep and rich gospel truths. He gives them to us and says, remember these truths about God. Remember the truths about the gospel and be encouraged by them. And I would suggest to you that Paul, writing these hymns or creeds into his letters, is what Paul is speaking about in Colossians 3.16 where he says this. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Now it's interesting that Paul commands that we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly and then begin speaking about poetry and songs. It is also peculiar that we can turn on the radio and listen to a song that we haven't heard in five years and be able to repeat every single word. Paul connects for us the power of memorizing scripture with the power of song. As for memorizing scripture, it's often one of the most overlooked spiritual disciplines. And yet, it is also one of the most important spiritual disciplines. What did the devil do when he tempted Christ in the wilderness? He looked to Christ and he quoted scripture to Christ, but what did he do? He twisted the scripture. And how does Christ reply to him? but by himself quoting scripture and rightful context. And so he resists the devil by the word of God. Therefore, we need to let the word of Christ dwell within us richly. Whereas the apostle Paul says, do not be conformed to this world any longer, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. And so we need to get into the Word of God to get the Word of God into us. And by getting the Word of God into us, we live according to the Word of God. And one of the best ways to do this is by developing a deep and rich hymnody that powerfully proclaims the Word of God to us. And if you want to begin memorizing scripture, I would suggest beginning with the hymns of Paul. and the Psalter. I shared this on Facebook yesterday, but a year ago yesterday was when I was first told that the mass in your leg is a tumor and it might be cancerous. And the first thing that came to mind was a hymn. He Will Hold Me Fast, we sang it last week. When I fear my faith may fail, Christ will hold me fast. Though the tempter would prevail, Christ will hold me fast. And so hymnody, knowing hymns that speak of scripture, sings to our soul, so that when the tempter would come along, or when the fearful paths of this life come and hit you, we turn to the word of God, which holds the words of eternal life. That when you hear that you have cancer, that when you hear that one of your parents died, when you hear that your child died, or something goes wrong in your life, you don't fall into the fret of this world. You don't fall into despair. but you sing of the richness of Christ and salvation in him. And so Paul says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, encouraging and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. But here in Titus three, Paul says the same. is trustworthy. Saying being, referring to the hymn or creed that he just cited, that Titus probably knew well. And what he says is, it's trustworthy. Now the Greek phrase here is pistos halagos, literally meaning faithfully is the word. Here is a summary of the gospel, and it is faithfully proclaimed. This phrase occurs five times in the New Testament, but only in the pastoral letters of 1st, 2nd Timothy, and Titus. And the phrase functions in two ways. First, it accentuates the truthfulness of the word to which it is connected. And secondly, it indicates a quotation from accepted apostolic teaching and tradition. Therefore, this trustworthy word refers not to a generic saying, but to the gospel proclaimed and handed down to the church by the apostles. It is the message of salvation given by Christ to his apostles, and it is the only message by which we can be saved. So Paul says, the saying is trustworthy. A similar phrase is used in Titus 1.9, where the elders are commanded to hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. That trustworthy word being the gospel itself. that in Christ we have life through his life, death and resurrection. And why must they hold fast to this trustworthy word as taught? So that he may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it. To care for your souls, that you may grow in the knowledge of Christ and that you may avoid the patterns and sins of this world. And so he repeats a similar phrase here in Titus 3.8. The saying is trustworthy. Paul is saying that verses four through seven, and I would extend it out to verses three through seven, is an accurate and trustworthy summary of the trustworthy gospel. And it is a creed or hymn derived from apostolic teaching. And for us, it's recorded in scripture, which is breathed out by God. And therefore, it is worthy of full acceptance by anyone who hears it. God saves us not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. Therefore, since the saying is trustworthy, Paul implores us to insist on these things. The saying is trustworthy. And since the saying is trustworthy, insist on them. Constantly proclaim them. Constantly tell them. Again, we come back to a deep hymnody. Because I don't know about you, but every day that I wake up, I am faced with trials and temptations. And the only way that I can make it through every single day is if Christ holds me fast and I cling to his word. And I'm reminded of the truthfulness of the gospel, that it does not rely upon me. It relies solely upon our triune God. So he says, insists on these things. And the question you should ask is, what things? That we were dead in our sins and trespasses. And God saved us by his grace and mercy. And God has enabled us to live good and godly lives in the hope of eternal life. Those things, the gospel. Paul wants Titus to stress and affirm strongly that sound doctrine and sound living is only derived from the trustworthy message of the gospel. And the church in Crete and our church today must understand this And the church in Crete must understand this specifically because they have false teachers teaching a false gospel. And so Paul comes along and says, this saying is trustworthy. Cling fast to the message given to us by Christ. Because in it, it will produce eternal life in you. And it will produce in you living according to sound doctrine. That's why in the very next verse, Paul says in verse nine, he says, but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and dissensions and quarrels about the law. Why? For they are unprofitable and worthless. The gospel It's profitable. The gospel is excellent. The gospel is a treasure hidden in a field that a man goes and sells everything that he has in joy and buys the field so that he can have that one treasure. The gospel is worth more than anything that this world has to offer. And Paul comes along and he says, it's trustworthy. So insist on these things. And he says, don't worry about foolish controversies. Oh, how we get caught up in foolish controversies. Especially in light of social media these days. Or genealogies. Or dissensions or quarrels about the law. For they are unprofitable and worthless. But the gospel is trustworthy. The gospel is excellent. The gospel is profitable. We need to be a gospel people. known for having lives centered around the gospel. What is that? Believing sound doctrine, living according to sound doctrine. We cannot be known as people who quarrel about meaningless things. And so we see here that the primary role of an elder pastor is to hold firm, teach, and insist on the trustworthy message of the gospel. And by doing so, the gospel would be received and take root in the lives of those under his care. Now is that the only role of a pastor? No, but that is the primary role of the pastor. He cannot fail in preaching the word of God and teaching his people the word of God. Because in it, they would believe in sound doctrine and they would live according to sound doctrine. That is the one place in his ministry that he cannot fail. And Paul gives us his reasoning for this by saying, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. Now, just a brief point on how to read and understand your Bible well. Because the Bible is the Word of God. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3.16, no, 2 Timothy 3.16, that the Word of God is theanoustas, that all scripture is theanoustas, breathed out by God. Now, I've told you this before, but it's as if you put your hand in front of your mouth as you're talking, and you feel the breath coming out of your mouth as you talk. That is what scripture is. God breathing forth his eternal word. And so, if this is how we are to know God, then we have to know how to understand it. So when you see words in the Bible, like, so that, Therefore, because, for this reason, stop and meditate on what the passage is saying. Because the apostle, when he writes, is about to make a very important point. And it connects what he just said with what he is about to say. It's the cause and effect. It's the if-then statements. For example. this passage we see the cause and effect of the gospel. So in verses 1 through 3, Paul says this. He says, remind them. Well, there's an important word. Remind them. So if he's to remind them, then they already know what he's about to say. To be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. And then look what begins in verse three. Four. Now he's about to give you the reason as to why you are to be submissive and gentle and to be courteous to all people. Four. We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, and hating one another. So he gives us the reason why we are to be like that, because you were once like that. He is giving the reasons why. And then he gives us his reasoning, is the gospel that saved us from our sin. Because if the gospel did not appear, we would still be enslaved to various passions and pleasures as people of this world are. So he says this, verse four, but. Another great word. As you work through your Bible, circle these connecting verbs. Circle these, not verbs, circle these connecting words. Circle the, therefore, so that, because, but, for. He says, but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. And then he says this, so that, why has he saved us? Why has Christ appeared? That being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. So he says, the saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things. Why is he insisting on these things? So that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. So in verse 8, elders are to insist on the gospel, so that by believing sound doctrine, we may live in accordance with sound doctrine. Therefore, elders are to insist on these things. First, so that we may believe. That we may believe in God. Now to believe in God is the gospel taking root in our lives. In this sense, to believe in God is to trust and rely upon God for your salvation. This is what Paul has just laid out for us in the gospel presentation. He saves you not by works done by you in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. Therefore, belief is relying solely upon God for your salvation. We do not put hope in our accomplishments or our goodness, but rather in the goodness and loving kindness of God, our Savior. This reality, then, should humble us. It should humble us. The gospel should humble us. Because we are not saved by works done by us in righteousness. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, and the completed works of Christ alone. In 1 John 4.19, the apostle says this. We love because God first loved us. That is, God demonstrates his love to us, so that in turn, we love as God loves. If we do not comprehend the truth of the gospel, then we do not understand how God has loved us, and in turn, we cannot love how God loves. But how does God love? Again, It's not because of any works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. God's love is not conditional upon us. God's love is conditional upon the completed works of Christ. And again, this should humble us. It is not a pastor's job to make you feel good about yourself. We don't teach moralistic therapeutic deism. That if you clean yourself up and do enough good in your world, then God will save you. That's not what we teach. We don't teach to make you feel good about yourself. The pastor is to remind you of the goodness of God in spite of your sin. This is what Paul does, he reminds us of our sins. We were once like this. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. So verse three has a very low view of man. Look at it. We were foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days or wasting our days, and malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. That is a very low view of man. You are utterly dead in your sins, unable to help yourself. and then verses four through seven have a very high view of God's mercy and grace. His loving kindness and goodness appeared and saved us, not because of anything we did, but according to his own mercy. He gave us His Son, and He gives us His Spirit. It is God who causes this work of salvation within us. We do nothing because we can't do anything. And yet, in His grace and in His mercy, God saves us. So it's a very low view of man. So don't think too high of yourself, rather think low of yourself. Because there's that good old Charles Spurgeon quote that says, if any man may insult you, you should thank him because he thinks more highly of you than you do. Got that quote wrong, but you get the point. That was off the cuff. But anyways, God's Grace and mercy, scripture places very high, and it places man very low. But yet God adopted us into his family, though we had no right, though we had no righteousness, and no resources to make it so. There was nothing that you did to cause God to want you in his family. He wants you in his family because of his goodness, his kindness, his love, his grace, his mercy. It's all of God. And by God's grace, we have been made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Therefore, those who understand the gospel know that they are only saved because of God's grace. This is why the gospel produces humility and submissiveness and gentleness and patience. So I just want to take a second and critique our own theological tribe for a second. Calvinists get a bad rap because we'll take these very doctrines in which we call the doctrines of grace that God intended to humble us and we will fill ourselves up with pride over our knowledge and our theological clarity compared to everyone else. Against Paul's warning, we become divisive and contentious. And this hurts our gospel witness even if we believe the correct doctrines. We have the absolute highest view of God's grace. And yet we are known for our pride. We say, it's all of God. It's all of God's grace. God does everything to save us. There is nothing that you can contribute to your salvation. God saves you in spite of your sin, and God saves you by his sovereign choice. It's all of grace. And yet, even though we say it's all of grace, we become puffed up and prideful. Because in reality, Calvinists should be the most kind, they should be the most humbled, and they should be the most gracious Christians on earth. because we look at our life and our salvation and we say, I don't know why God chose me. We studied this morning. Jacob I loved, Esau I hated. Because I look at my own life and I say, I know why God hated Esau. Because he has the right to hate me for the same reasons. I'm a rebellious sinner against him. And until he appeared, I hated him. And then he appeared and caused me to love him. So I don't understand why God loves Jacob. Because you go and you read the story of Jacob and you're like, I don't like Jacob. How does God like him? Even more yet, how does God love him? And I look at my own life and I go, I don't know why God likes me. I don't know why God loves me. And yet he does. And that should cause us to be the most gracious, humbled, and kind people on earth. Jesus tells us this in a parable in Luke 18. In Luke 18, he, in verse nine through 14, he tells the story of two men who go to the temple and pray. And he said, two men went out into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, one who is a lover of God and zealous in keeping God's law. And one was a tax collector, one associated with one who turns on his own people, a rebel against God, a sinner. So two men go up to pray. And the Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector over here. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get. Now, who does that sound like? But the tax collector, standing far off, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, beat his chest, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. And so don't think too high of yourself. That's the problem with the Pharisee. He goes in there and he says essentially to God, God, I thank you for me because I'm awesome. I don't need your salvation. I do everything that I can. I do works and righteousness. Therefore, I'm awesome and thank you for me. Jesus says that man does not go down to his house justified. But who goes down to the house justified? The man who came and bring himself to look up but instead is humbled and shamed by his sin and humbled by the grace of God. I thank you that you would be merciful to a sinner like me. Too often we have the reputation of the Pharisee. And what I'm telling you is to be like the tax collector. Be humbled. Be gracious. Do not think too high of yourself. Rather, think highly of God and think of how gracious he has been to us. So the pastor insists on the gospel that we may believe because faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. That's why the pastor is to preach, to hold firm, to the trustworthy word is taught, to teach it and to insist on it. The gospel never grows old. Another great hymn to thee. I love to tell the story. I love to hear the story that I've known so well. It's the story that we tell when we get to heaven. We get to heaven, And that old, old story is told over and over again, that it never grows old. Because when we get to heaven, the only reason we're there is because of this story. We were kicked out of the garden because of our rebellion. And God condescends and brings us back into paradise with him. And so for all of eternity, we will be singing and proclaiming the story that Christ has died for sinners like us. Secondly, the pastor is to insist on the gospel so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. That is, once the gospel has taken root in our lives, it begins to bear fruit in our lives. By believing, we are saved. And by being saved, we live godly lives. Belief in the gospel causes a concern for living in accordance with sound doctrine. God gives us a new heart. God gives us his spirit. The question is, why? And we are answered to cause us to walk in his statutes and carefully obey his rules. For those who truly believe, good deeds become a primary concern. And the reason for that is because God has made us a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. Therefore, we must be holy as Yahweh is holy. If we are to be the people of a holy God, then we must reflect His holiness. And the only way that we can reflect His holiness is if Christ comes and dies and gives to us His righteousness. But make no mistake about it. We become a holy people by that salvific work of our triune God. The Father elects us, the Son dies on a cross for us, He is buried and raises three days later, the Spirit comes and applies that redemption to us, and He takes our heart of stone and gives us our heart of flesh, and He begins to conform us into the image of Christ. And so one day we are in His glorious presence, where the presence of sin cannot dwell. And we are called a holy people. Why? Not by any works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy. We are justified by the redemptive work of Christ, and we are sanctified by the renewing work of the Spirit, and we are glorified by the work of our triune God. In all of his writings, Paul makes clear that faith, being the root of our salvation, is far more important than good deeds. That is, faith must come first so that deeds may follow. just as a plant must establish its roots before producing fruit, so too must a Christian have faith before he can perform good deeds to the glory of God. But Jesus is also clear in the New Testament about this, that trees, that bad trees do not bear good fruit. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a diseased tree cannot bear good fruit. Likewise, in Mark 11, Jesus curses a fig tree for appearing to have fruit by bearing leaves. But when he searches it, there are no figs to be found. And so Jesus curses it, it withers, and it dies. It's a parable for anyone who would appear to have faith, but lack the evidence of faith. And this is what James means when he says, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Because a dead tree cannot produce fruit. Therefore, if you believe sound doctrine, then you must live in accordance with sound doctrine, or it's of no benefit to you. And what I'm trying to say to you, if this applies to you, stop pretending. If you profess to have faith, then produce fruit. If not, you will be cut off and burned up. I'm pleading with you. Do not fake it till you make it. The gospel needs to take root in your heart for you to bear fruit. And if you do not bear fruit, you will be cut off and burned in the fires of hell. Again, it's not done by any works of you in righteousness, it is by the mercy of God. Plead with him if this is you. Be like the man in Mark 9. I believe, help my unbelief, oh God. Therefore, if you believe sound doctrine, You must live in accordance with sound doctrine, or it's of no benefit. Faith without works is dead. And Paul commends us to devote ourselves to good works. Or more literally, guard and give attention to good works. Again, I'm reminded of Ezekiel 36, where the spirit is given that we may carefully obey the law of God, which in turn is good works. To love God and to love neighbor as God commands. And then again, understand that these duties never garner grace. We don't do good works that God would give us grace, but rather in response to God's grace, the doctrines of grace lead us to these duties of gratitude. That we do good works out of salvation, not for salvation. True godliness flows from the love of God and a love for God. Paul emphasizes the importance of sound doctrine and sound living by saying, these things are excellent and profitable for people. Again, when Paul says these things, he is referring once again to the gospel and gospel living. And our faith and our good works, he calls excellent. The term could also be understood as beautiful and honorable and precious. Likewise, they are profitable. That is, they are a blessing. Put simply, they are good and useful to men. But what men? They are good and useful to men in three ways. First, they are excellent and profitable for you. They are an assurance of your salvation. So ask yourself this question. How can I know that I am saved? Well, the question that must follow that is, am I producing fruit? But what is fruit? Well, Paul tells us the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. So the question that you must ask yourself then is, since the time that the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared and saved me in your life, have you grown in these? Since you have known Christ in the week that you've known him, in the month, in the years, in the decades, in the scores, in the entire lifetime that you have known Christ, have you grown in love? Have you grown in joy, and peace, and patience, and kindness, and goodness, and gentleness, and faithfulness, and self-control? Have you grown in these? If you answered yes, then have assurance. Be assured of your salvation, because it's been accomplished by Christ. And the spirit dwelling in you is sanctifying you and conforming you and transforming you into the image of Christ. How can you be assured? Because you are growing in the likeness of Christ. Now secondly, these good works are not just profitable to you as an assurance of your faith, but as an encouragement to other believers. Paul commends the Corinthians to follow him as he follows Christ. But Paul's life is an encouragement to the entire church. Paul calls himself the chief of sinners. That he was on his way to persecute the church in Damascus when Christ appeared and saved him. And in that moment, he goes from being a persecutor of churches to a planter of churches. And he becomes an example worth following. Your growth as a Christian benefits other Christians. It helps us learn that we don't have to keep learning the same basics, but from each other's lives, we can learn to grow in the likeness of Christ. It takes a church to bring a person to the full maturation of Christ. Because the truth is, I have strengths that I can teach you, but I also have weaknesses. And what I want to disciple you in is strength. not in my weaknesses. This is where a plurality of elders comes in handy, that they would complement one another and help build up the church. And this is where congregationalism comes in too, that we as a body of believers, as a priesthood of all believers, would help each other grow into the full maturation of Christ. Your walk with Christ, your sanctification is a benefit to your brothers and sisters. This is also why Paul tells us to mourn with those who mourn, and to rejoice with those who rejoice, that our lives would be knitted closely together. Thirdly, your faith and good works are profitable to those outside of the church as well. This is what Titus chapter three has been all about, our relationship to those outside of God's grace. The term translated as people here is general, and it means all of mankind. So your faith is not only beneficial to those who have already been converted, but it's beneficial to the unconverted. Your faith and good works demonstrate God's grace through you. It demonstrates the power of the gospel to transform you. I was once like you. What changed? God. He took my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh, and He dwells within me. That's why I'm different. I get that all the time when I see people from high school. I hate seeing people from high school because they remind me of how evil I was, and yet I'm thankful for it because they remind me of how evil I was and how good God is. They say, there's something different about you. I say, it's not me. It's God who dwells inside of me. It's Christ who has changed me. So your faith and good works demonstrate God's grace. It demonstrates to the people of this world their need for God's grace. And it demonstrates the transforming power of the gospel. In Matthew 5, 16, Jesus says, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Martin Luther put it this way. God doesn't need your good works, but your neighbor does. What he means is, God doesn't need your good works to save you. But through your good works, your neighbor may know the gospel. And this in no way negates what Romans 10 tells us, that we must go and preach. But it's both and. believe the gospel, proclaim the gospel, live out the gospel. We are called to believe in sound doctrine and live in accordance with sound doctrine. And if we fail to see God's grace in our own lives, then we will be in no position to demonstrate and offer grace to others. Therefore, live in such a way that powerfully proclaims the gospel of grace. Believe sound doctrine, live in accordance with sound doctrine, be humbled, be kind, be gracious, be loving. In all times, proclaim the gospel with your lips and live in accordance with the gospel with your hands and feet. Let's pray. Oh Lord, you have saved us not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to your own mercy, and through the completed works of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we give thanks for that, that we may rest in the grace of our God, knowing our salvation is assured. And yeah, Father, I also pray that we would be humbled, that we would not be like like the Pharisee who goes in and says how great we are, but that we would be humbled by these theological truths. There is nothing we have done to earn your salvation, but it's all of grace. And so Father, may the gospel that has taken root in our heart produce fruit. And if it's not producing fruit, oh God, We pray and we plead with you that we would grow in the image and likeness of Christ. Let us not become cold to your ways or to people. Oh Lord, may we grow with a fire evermore for you. May we grow for a thirst for your word. And may we have eyes and hearts for those people around us. May we be a gospel-centered people, not only at church, but every day and every millisecond of our life. Help us, oh Lord. Help us to be a good and gracious and kind and loving people who are marked by your grace and demonstrate that grace to a lost and dying world. May we proclaim the gospel to our lost loved ones and to the lost stranger. and may we demonstrate grace to them. We pray all of this in the strong name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. Love you guys.