Children can be dismissed for Children's Church at this time. Amen? And take your Bibles, if you would, and turn to Ephesians chapter two. So Do you have it all, Riot? Alright.

Looks like Riker forgot his bottle, didn't he? Alright. Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians chapter two this morning. We'll read verses eight, nine, and 10.

And then we'll jump back into this vital series that we need to understand as children of God. Praise the Lord. He hasn't left us without a witness, testimony, and a revelation of his will. What who he is and what he wants for us. We hold his revelation in our our hands right here in the word of God.

He has told us not only the way of salvation, but as children of God, how he expects his children to live. How we can bring glory to him who saved us by his grace. Ephesians two eight nine and ten. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Dear heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, today for your word. Thank you for the spirit that you have given us to aid us in our service to you, to aid us in our understanding of your word and in the application and performing of it. We thank you, Lord, most of all for our salvation in Jesus Christ.

And we thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to serve you here today to bring glory to your name, not only in this place this morning, but every day of our life. Lord, may we honor you. In Jesus' name we do pray. Amen. So to review, are we saved by good works?

No. We are not. Paul is emphatic here in Ephesians two:eight. For by grace are you saved through faith. What is grace?

It is the gracious nature of our God in heaven who sent his son to die on the cross for our sins, who did the work on the cross of Calvary, and that he took our punishment upon himself to redeem us from ourselves, from our sin, and from sin's penalty in hell. That we might be saved not by works, but by what? By faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the dead. For by grace are ye saved through faith and not by works. Nobody knew this better than the man who penned the words himself, the apostle Paul.

For he was, as he says, the chiefest of what? Of sinners. He was responsible for the arrest, the persecution, the torture, and sometimes even the death of believers in Christ before he came to know the Lord Jesus Christ himself on the road to Damascus. There's nothing Paul could do to erase the sins that he had committed. He could only commit himself to the mercy and the promises of God, to the grace of God whereby Paul was forgiven of his wretched sins and saved the same as we.

Because we too are wretched sinners. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. And only by God's grace, through faith in his son, can we know salvation can we receive eternal life. So we're saved by faith and not by works. Are we saved to perform good works, both pleasing and honoring to the one who gave his life for us?

The answer to that is yes. We are not saved by good works. We're saved to do good works. As God changes us, as we become a new person in Jesus Christ, there should be what did we call it last week? Fruit.

There should be evidence to saving faith that we have been regenerated, that we have become children of God in Christ Jesus. And Paul says here in verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus, that is through salvation in Christ, unto what? Unto good works. God saved us not just to take us to heaven or else we would be there. He saved us to glorify himself in us both here and now and forever in heaven.

But the here and now is also important. God desires to be glorified in your life and in mine, and he certainly deserves to be for all that he has done for us. And he has given us his spirit and his word to help us, to empower us, to bring glory to his name, to do good works. Matthew five sixteen, he says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your, what, good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. They are not the means to salvation.

They are the result of salvation in Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, they are an important result. Good works. What are these good works? Well, they are works which demonstrate the love of who?

The love of Jesus Christ that has been shed abroad in in our hearts. Works that demonstrate, that reflect the love of Christ empowered by the spirit that he has given us. John thirteen thirty four says this. Jesus says to his disciples, a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. First John four seven and eight, I learned it as a a a chorus when I was a kid.

Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. So beloved, let us love one another. First John four seven and eight.

What does that verse tell us? It tells us that as born again children of God, God expects us as his children to love one another as he has loved too, as he has loved us. What are good works? They're works that reflect the love of Jesus Christ in our love for him and in our love for others. What are good works?

Though there are works that are consistent with his purpose and his nature. What is God? God is holy. God is loving. God is holy.

He is entirely set apart from that which is sinful and defiling and wrong. And in first Peter one fourteen through 16, we read as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, that is before you knew Christ. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation or that word conversation there means conduct. In all manner of conduct because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy. If you have been born again, you're a child of who?

A child of God. What does God expect of his children? That we learn to be more like our father which is in heaven. What is he like? He's holy.

He's separate. Set apart from that which is sinful and defiling. And that is what not only he expects of us, but that is what he himself is performing in us as he changes into the likeness of his son, Jesus Christ. That we be holy, set apart from sin and worldliness. That will cause us to be salt and light on the earth and set us apart from others around us as we become more like who?

More like Jesus Christ. And then what are good works? Well, good works are works that demonstrate the love of God. They are works that are holy, that that reflect his nature, and they are works that are pleasing and bring glory to his name. Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the what?

Do all to the glory of God. Good works are works that bring glory and honor to the God we serve whose name we confess. Do your works do everything you do, do they bring glory to God? Or they do they bring dishonor to God? Well, if they bring dishonor to God, then they're probably not a what?

A good work. Good works are those that bring glory to God, not the inverse. And sometimes those good works are just doing our best at our job or doing our best to be a husband and a father or a wife and a mother, doing our best with the small things as well as the big things. Those two are good works that bring glory to God. What are good works?

They are simply obedient works. They are simply works done in obedience to our father in heaven. The Lord describes his children as those who obey. Couple of verses here from Acts and Matthew. And we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that, what?

Obey him. Matthew seven twenty one, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. How do his children give evidence that they are his children? By doing good works. What are good works?

They are simply obedience. Simply obeying the commands of the Lord. Again, for clarity, these two verses do not give us a means to salvation. We are saved not by works but by what? Faith.

But these verses give us the result, which is what? Obedience in the heart and life of the redeemed in Christ. Those who are his children have a desire to do what? To obey him. And in the power of the Holy Spirit, we not only have the desire, but we have the enablement to do that very thing and live obediently to our savior, which is in heaven.

The Lord connects our obedience with our love. John 14, if you love me, what? Keep my commandments. If you love how do we show our love for God? How do we demonstrate our love, our faith, our trust?

By just doing our best by his grace to keep his what? To keep his commandments. It's it's not as difficult sometimes as as we may. We make the Christian life this this complicated thing. It's not so complicated.

It's actually very simple. If you love God, do the things that please who? That please him and not just not just you. Now pleasing him can also be pleasing you. But there are oftentimes things that the flesh wants to do that are contrary to things that that honor God.

And what does God want? What does God deserve? How do we show our love? By choosing him over those other desires. If you love me, keep my commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. That word grievous means they're not burdensome. They're not all that burdensome. God simply asks us to avoid the things that would destroy us, that would make us miserable, that would destroy our testimony in his. Those things are not burdensome or grievous to the child of God.

Sometimes our flesh gets in the way, and, yes, it's not always easy. Sometimes it's a bit difficult, but it's not burdensome. It's not, oh, man, I can't I can't get drunk. Oh, I just hate it. I can't get drunk.

Or, oh, I can't I I just can't steal that car that my neighbor has. Boy, I just can't live with that. I want that as a child of God, you don't think that way. His commandments are not burdensome. Oh, I just I don't wanna witness to anybody.

Why should I tell them about Jesus? That's not that's not the heart of a child of God, is it? Sometimes we may have a difficulty getting over that hump to actually doing it. Our fears and stuff get in our way a little bit sometimes, and God can help you with that, by the way. But his commandments, we don't look and go, oh, boy.

I I I just hate that I can't. No. I'm you know something I realize when I look at God's commandments and that that they're there not to restrict me, that they're there actually for my what? For my good as well as his glory. The two work hand in hand.

For what brings glory to God is good for me. And bless brings blessings into my life and into the lives of others. So they're not burdensome, and they're not grievous. The world out there, they look at us, boy, well, how do why do you wanna live like that? And I look at I look we as Christians should look at the world and go, why do you wanna live like that?

You know, that doesn't there's pleasure in sin, but it's only for a what? For a season. So you get drunk, and the next morning, you have a hangover. And then you don't remember what you did. And then you regret what you did when you do remember what you did.

It's just best not to get what? Not to get drunk. Pretty simple. I don't want to get drunk. I worked with a fellow at the over the summers at the tire factory when I was in college.

He came in once a week, and he had to go sleep off his drunk in another room. I don't know why they let him do that, but they did. And he asked me, how do you have any fun without getting drunk? And I asked him, how do you have fun getting drunk? It doesn't seem like fun to me.

You look pretty miserable when you come in. But, you know so God's commandments are not grievous. They're therefore are what? For our good. For our good.

And God expects his children to obey as he should. And this is not a small thing, though many so called Christians today treat God's authority lightly and their responsibility to obey haphazardly, the starting place for all good works is simply obeying what we already know that our heavenly father wants us to do. We must start with simply doing as we are are told by our greatest authority, whether it is convenient or not. You know, sometimes it's convenient. Sometimes it's just a bit inconvenient.

You know, I I wanna do this with my time. And, well, sometime I gotta spend some time with God in prayer and in his word. And it might not be convenient today. It might not be convenient to say no to what a group of friends want me to do because they may laugh at me or they may shun me. And it's not convenient.

But whose whose praise should be more important? The praise of your friends or the praise of your God? Doing what's right or doing what's wrong and then having to pay pay the consequences for it. In Acts chapter five and verse 29, the apostles and Peter ran up against the local authorities in Jerusalem and made it very clear it was going to be very inconvenient for them if they continued to tell other people about Jesus. They said, you can believe what you want, basically, but keep it to yourself.

Have you ever heard that? Yeah. It's fine. You believe what you want, but keep it to yourself. What has Jesus told us?

Go into all the world and preach the gospel. In other words, if you're obeying the Lord, you can't keep it to yourself. Now, you can be gracious and wise in the manner in which, in the time in which you share it, but you cannot keep it to yourself and not and obey the Lord at the same at the same time. So Peter said to the council in Jerusalem that was telling them to keep their mouth shut, this is his response. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men.

What does that mean? Well, means this. God expects you to obey the authorities that God has put in your life except when they conflict with whose authority? With whose commands? God's.

And then we must choose to obey God rather than man, even if it's what? Even if it's inconvenient, even when it's inconvenient. The test of our faith is not obeying when it's convenient, but obeying when it's what? Inconvenient. The test of our faith is not obeying when it's easy, it's obeying when it's what?

When it's difficult. Let's consider Exodus chapter 20. Anybody know what's in Exodus chapter 20? Where might we start when we're thinking about obeying God's commands? Exodus chapter 20.

Right. What's in Exodus chapter 20? The 10 commandments. Alright. Now, let ask you again.

Are you saved? Can you be saved by keeping the 10 commandments? The answer to that is no. Why? Because if you offended in one point, you are guilty of all the Bible says.

And, by the way, you've offended in more than one. Praise God. The only way of salvation is through the work and obedience of Christ on the cross, putting our faith in him. However, having been saved and becoming part of the family of God, we should obey his what? His commands.

And and here are are 10 of them which we might consider the 10 commandments. So first one, thou shalt have no other what? Gods before me. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. No gods before the true and living God.

We are not to place anything or anyone higher in our loyalty than God or in competition with God. It's not to say, well, I don't have, you know, higher gods. I just have other gods. No. That's not what this verse means.

Not not higher, but no no other gods at at all. Okay? No one in competition with God. No other allegiance that God has to share in our hearts with with other gods. This and the next three commandments reflect and expand upon the greatest command we find in Deuteronomy six.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy what? With all thy heart, all thy soul, with all thy might. God deserves that we do not share allegiance with any other god. There is only one. There is only one.

He shouldn't have to share our heart with any other. No other gods before me. No idols. Do not number two, no idol. Don't make them.

Don't venerate them. Don't serve them. Period. Do not make idols. Do not venerate them.

Do not pray to them. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in what? Spirit and in truth. God does not want us to make figurines of Jesus and bow down in worship to it because that is not Jesus. Jesus is not an idol.

God is a spirit. Do not make idols. Do not bow down to them. And lo and behold, there are many people that call themselves Christians that actually have images of a saint sitting on their dashboard to keep them safe as they drive down the road. What has that become?

It has become an idol. That is not a good work. What is the good work? The good work is making it clear there is only one God that I serve, and he is not an idol. Do not take God's name in vain.

Do not swear by his name falsely. Do not use it blasphemously or dishonorably. Speak his name with what? Reverence and with respect. And be careful overall with the words that you use that they bring glory to God and not dishonor.

What is the good work that God desires to see in his children? That our communication honor him and edify others. In Ephesians four twenty nine, Paul writes, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, of building up, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. That's what that's a good work. Just encouraging somebody.

Just say I'm praying for you. Just rather than insulting them or slandering them or cursing and using vulgarities, those do not bring glory to God. Bring glory to him by what you say, and don't take his name in vain. There's no reason to say, oh, my God or Lord, when every little bad thing in life happens, you are using his name flippantly. I don't think that brings honor to him.

And saying his name Jesus or Jesus Christ. Jesus. What does Jesus mean? It means Jehovah's salvation. It is God's personal name.

There's nothing more blasphemous than using Jesus Christ as a cuss word. And yet, it has become commonplace in the vocabulary of many people. It should never roll off the tongue of a Christian unless we are talking to Jesus or about him. Remember the Sabbath day. In other words, take out time to remember the one who made you and to worship him as you're doing today in being here.

Those first four commandments have to do with good works that are in keeping with the greatest commandment. The next six are an expansion of the second greatest, which is love thy what? Neighbor as thyself. Honor your what? Father and mother.

Let's start at the closest here. Let's start at home. Alright? Your first neighbor you meet is your mother. Honor your father and your mother.

Children, obey your parents. Respect your parents. And as adults, help to take care of your parents. That all has to do with honoring your parents. You can do a good work that brings glory to God simply by obeying, respecting, honoring, and helping your parents.

The next one, thou shalt not kill or do not murder. What is murder? Is it killing anybody without just cause? By the way, abortion and euthanasia are not justifiable causes for killing another human being. They are murder.

They are the purposeful termination of a human life that has done nothing wrong, that is no threat to you. That's what? That's murder. Can you be forgiven? Of course, you can.

But it's best not to murder in the first place, And these are murder. Also, Christ in the Sermon on the Mount raised the ante to include hatred and malice and violence and slander. If you slander your neighbor out of hate, then in your heart you have committed murder. It is a what? It is a sin.

What's the good work here? The good work is this, edify, love, and protect others. Don't wish them ill. Don't hate them. Don't slander them.

Edify, love, and protect them. Why? Because they were and they are a human being created in the image of who? Of God. That sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, does it not?

For we were the only ones created in the image of God. And human life, therefore, is sacred. Thou shalt not commit murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Do not cheat on your spouse or commit other lewd and reprobate sinful activities, including homosexuality and fornication.

They are an abomination to God. Regardless of what the world says or the world practices, promiscuous living is an evil sin. In Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews writes, marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers, God will, what? Judge. On the Sermon on the Mount, Christ raised the ante again by declaring lusting and fantasizing after another woman to be a violation as well.

Some of the Pharisees who were talking to Jesus said, well, we're we're not adulterers. We're okay. And then, well, wait a second. You're divorcing your wives so you can have another one. Is that okay?

No. You fantasize about other women. You keep your wife, but you fantasize about it. Is that okay? The answer is what?

No. That's not okay either. The good work is this, be faithful to your wife in mind and in heart. And be faithful to God by abstaining from fleshly lusts, desires, thoughts. Do good works.

That is a good work. Do not steal. Do not take that which belongs to someone else. Pretty simple. You'll have to explain what stealing is, I hope.

Shouldn't have to explain what murder or adultery is either, but in the world in which we live, that seems to be require a little more explaining. Do not steal. What does God expect of us? What good work? Be honest and be fair in your dealings with others.

Do not defraud them or take advantage of them. Respect their personal property. And rather than taking, what? Give. There's the good word.

Don't take, instead give. Don't defraud. Be honest. If it's in question, you take the loss. Don't take advantage of somebody else.

In Ephesians, Paul writes, let him that stole, steal, no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth. And then do not bear false witness. What does that mean? Do not lie about your neighbor for personal gain or a personal vendetta. Don't lie to them either.

Just don't what? Don't lie. What is the good work? Just be honest and tell the truth. Be honest and tell the truth.

Now the world sees no problem with that today. They don't have any problem with lying. But God does. And you can you can honor God and do a good work and demonstrate your love for him simply by telling the what? By telling the truth.

Just tell the truth. Be honest. And then finally, do not covet. In other words, don't be greedy or jealous or envious of what your neighbor has. Rather than being envious and jealous and greedy, be content and thankful and rejoice in the blessing that God has brought into the lives of others.

That that is that reflects the love of God. Rather than being envious for what you have, I'm happy for what you have. Even if I don't what? If I don't have it. You see, that's that's the love of Christ.

And that that is the good work. Just obey his commandments. Don't have any other gods before him. Don't make any idols. Don't take his name in vain.

Take time out to spend with your God, not just once a week, but every day. Don't don't kill. Don't steal. Don't commit adultery. Honor your father and mother.

Be honest and be thankful for what you God has given you and rejoice in what God has given others. And you will demonstrate. You will bear fruit. You will show to others around you. You will give evidence to the faith that lives within you and the one who lives within you, Jesus Christ.

You know want to know what God expects? God expects his children simply to obey his commands. By doing so, you show your love for him who gave his life for you. When you fail, and I know that'll never happen, even John said in first John, he says that God desire is not desirous that we sin. God desires that we not sin.

But if we do sin, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. And if we will, rather than denying those sins or justifying, if we'll simply confess, he will take that burden off of us. And he will forgive us and cleanse us and help us to move forward in our service for him. So when you fail, what should you do? Just be honest with him about it.

Be honest. He'll he'll he'll relieve you of that guilt, and he will help you to do better tomorrow. Just be willing to confess. And maybe you're here today. We've looked at some of these things, those commandments that God has given to us.

He said, boy, I I I came up a little short in that area. What should you do? Be honest with the Lord. Admit to him as we give this hymn of invitation. You don't have to sing.

Just bow your head in prayer. Talk to him. Maybe you need to come forward this morning. I'll meet you down here and pray with you. But he is a patient, loving, and gracious God.

You wanna do better? Just confess it and ask him to help you. And he will. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you, Lord, for your love for us.

We thank you for the opportunity to become the children of God through faith in your son. And pray, Lord, if there be one here this morning that is yet to receive that gift by faith. If there won't be one here this morning that's trying to get to heaven by good works, that's trying to get to heaven by keeping the commandments of the law or the church or whatever list they may have. Lord, help them to understand there's no list that we can keep to earn our place in heaven, but only to receive and accept the invitation to salvation in Jesus Christ who died in our stead. Lord, I pray they'd come as we sing this hymn of invitation.

And Lord, as you have worked in the rest of our hearts, I pray that we would take maybe a little more seriously our need to show our love and our trust in you by obeying your commandments, whether they be the commandments that forbid certain activities or whether they be the commandments like, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Lord, I pray that we would take them all seriously, that by your grace, you might help us to keep them. In Jesus' name, do pray. Amen. You take your hymn books