Sermon Tone Analysis

March 16, 2012

By John Barnett

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Do you serve the Lord with grace-energized kindness?

Knowing that is vital because that is the only type of serving that God will reward according to His Word.

Someday when our journey on earth ends, and we stand before Christ's Throne—the Scriptures use only one word to describe what God eternally rewards.

Have you thought about what it is that God has decided is worth rewarding in our lives?

Paul reduces God’s desire to just one word: *agathos* (Greek), which we will see in our passage this morning means grace-energized kindness or goodness.

Turn with me to II Corinthians 5:10 and think about that moment when we each stand at Christ's Feet.

That scene is well known to us from this verse, as Paul captures the eternal moment we have lived our lives on earth to prepare for.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether *good [Gk.

agathos]* or bad.

NKJV

Everything we ever lived for that wasn’t offered to God the way He desired it done will be incinerated.

This word is the adjective that quantifies and describes God’s desire for our lives.

It isn’t just *what* we do—it is also *why* we do it that matters so much to the Lord!

Every deed, every word, every motive, every moment lacking this one quality of goodness or kindness will in an instant be reduced to a puff of smoke and then forever be gone.

Remember the fires that examine our works?

Paul had already described that event in I Corinthians 3:10-17.

There he tells us that--

*Good Works Don’t Get Burned*

The works that remain and get rewarded are “good” Paul says.

The bad is burned and gone.

The bad are not sin because we will never again face our sins because of Christ's justifying death.

All rewards will be based upon that word: “Good”.

This simple description is a word when used in the Bible of everything but people it means ‘good’ and when used of people it means ‘kindness, generosity, benevolence’.

Someday we are going to stand in front of Jesus Christ and watch him open the history files of our lives.

Better than any web program God has logged the keystrokes of our lives.

Our actual motivations, our genuine intentions, our literal thoughts will all be exposed as the frames around each action.

There at last will be exposed the complete picture of God’s servants.

And everything done for Jesus that was done in grace-energized kindness will last forever.

Jesus mentioned this word “good” twice in a statement nearly all believers can be heard wanting to have spoken over them by the Lord.

Here is what Jesus said in Matthew 25:21,23 “… ‘Well done,* good* and faithful servant…” NKJV.

When we stand before Christ's judgment seat, God the Father has already graciously “justified” the document of our lives: removing every sin, erasing the record that they were ever done, and placing the full penalty upon Jesus Christ.

But now in the “history file” is everything we have done since salvation.

Every service of Christ's church we came to, every day of work we lived, every moment in our homes, cars, and personal lives.

And that file is placed on the altar, and a fire burns that will consume anything that was not a grace-energized work of kindness.

We know because:

*God’s Plan is Clear*

Now turn with me to Titus 2:5.

What will be the test of eternal rewards?

It is whether they were good in God’s sight.

In this verse once again God reduces what He is looking for in a Titus 2 woman into this same one word : “good” (KJV/NKJV) or “kind” (NIV/NAS) in Titus 2:5.

Paul says grace-energized women ought to be characterized by being gentle, tender-hearted, and merciful toward others.

Just as we all should be if we want to receive eternal rewards.

This morning as we see the grace-energized woman of kindness, we are looking at what God wants you to be as a woman, as a wife, and as a mother.

No matter where you are in the chapters of your life—this is God’s advertisement in His Word for exactly what He is looking for.

As His children, there is nothing we want more than to please Him.

And when we think of Heaven, and when we seek to have a crown to cast at Christ's feet—think of living life, doing good works with grace-energized kindness.

*Wanted: Grace-energized Women of Kindness*

Paul asks Titus to train women in the church how to become kind in their personal life, marriage, home life, and in their ministry to others in Christ's Name.

How can we, with God's Word in our hands, understand this life-style God calls good?

What does that mean to us who want to please God and live this way?

Is there any example to follow?

Is there a clear pathway God has laid down for us?

If this is what determines my eternal rewards, it is something God must have very clearly explained, right?

Exactly, and there are four very notable people in the New Testament that are described as “good” or “kind”.

So this attribute Titus is to train women in becoming brings us into great company.

The New Testament examples of being good are in order of occurrence in the Scriptures:

• Joseph of Arimathaea (Luke 23:50) who sacrificially gave his own family tomb to Jesus, and publicly identified with Jesus by burying Him;

• Dorcas (Acts 9:36) who was known as a generous, loving servant of Christ's church in real and tangible ways; and many people testified to her kindness and generosity.

She was described as someone who works to benefit others, does deeds of kindness and speaks words of kindness.

• Jesus Christ our Lord (Acts 10:38) whose entire earthly ministry was described by Peter as “who went about doing good”; and

• Barnabus (Acts 11:24).

Look at the last one in that list with me.

In Acts 11:24/" the Spirit of God praises this quality in Barnabas: he was a good man, he was full of the Holy Spirit, and he was full of faith."/

Acts 11:24 "/For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.

And a great many people were added to the Lord."/

NKJV

*A Simple Life of Kindness*

Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to pastor the great missionary church at Antioch.

We know from Acts that Barnabas was a Hellenistic Jew born and raised on Cyprus.

His life had been watched by the church at Jerusalem, and they had deep respect for his godliness and generosity.

In a time of great need he had sold his property on Cyprus and laid it at the apostles’ feet (4:36–37).

Barnabas was known as an encourager.

He could be described as cheerful, big-hearted, and loving.

He was the perfect choice of a pastor that was needed in the fast-growing church at Antioch.

Acts 11:23 says:

/"When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts."/

(v.

23)

Did you see what Luke records?

Barnabas, sent from Jerusalem had eyes to see “the evidence of the grace of God”! Think about what a grace-energized kindness does to a person.

Barnabas is a crucial character in the New Testament as he is the first pastor of a gentile church we see in the book of Acts.

James pastured in Jerusalem but that church was primarily Jewish and dealt with those issues for a long time.

But a pastor to people steeped in sin, paganism, and without Biblical backgrounds to their culture—that is who Barnabas pastored.

And…

*Barnabas Saw Past the Exterior*

“Barnabas could easily have seen the situation in a different light.

These people were new, untaught Christians.

They still carried the mire of Antioch with them.

Some of them had miles to go in their language and relationships and ethics.

But Barnabas “saw the evidence of the grace of God.”

He could see Christian grace and charm in their lives—the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace…”—and “he was glad.”

So he simply “encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts,” to meditate on him, to make him everything!

In this way Barnabas helped them focus on that which would cleanse them of the defilement of Antioch.

His advice is appropriate for all Christians, whether in beginning stages or well along the path.

Maclaren rightly warned, “Many of us are so busy thinking about Christianity that we have lost our hold of Christ.”

Barnabas saw grace, rejoiced, and then tenderly encouraged God’s people.

How was he able to do this?

The refreshing water of the Spirit flowed from Barnabas’ innermost being.