Gal 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. 
There was unsettledness in my heart after last week’s message. We are dealing with the Apostle Paul’s very practical description of what it means to rely on Jesus Christ Alone for salvation. We are considering what it means to be a Christian, to be made alive in Jesus Christ. We are dealing with the sowing unto the Holy Spirit, in order to reap a harvest of the fullness of God in Christ Jesus. Our deliberation of verses 9+10 emphasized the fact that we are not in control of anything, including time. It all belongs to God. We are, therefore urged, by the Apostle Paul and many other New and Old Testament writers to do good.
Before we go any farther, it needs to be re-emphasized that doing good as a Christian is the working of the nature of Christ Who now indwells us. We are not, in any measure, form, or interpretation, stating that we have to do good works to get or to keep salvation. That is done once, for all time, when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him, beseech Him, and humbly lay ourselves before Him with a heart that desires Him to be our Lord and Savior. There is nothing in us that is of any value in terms of being worthy of the salvation of God. We can not, and never could, earn it through our works, through our imperfect obedience to the Law, by any of our efforts. Salvation belongs to the Lord and is freely lavished, in all His Grace and Mercy and Love upon those who will but respond to His heart of love. 
The good works of our consideration are but the characteristic response of that so great Love working mightily in us. We do not have to do good works, but we desire to do them. Our heart is now infused with the love of God and we earnestly yearn to show forth that love unto others. This is not a matter of thou shalt and thou shalt not. It is the living expression of Christ, who indwells us by His Holy Spirit, living His life out from us unto others. 
In line with that love, we recognize that the testimony we present in our lives on this earth is the manner in which Christ is now livingly and powerfully and in all wisdom declared in this world. It is as our lives give the evidence of the tremendous transformation that has taken place in us, that God will be glorified. It is in our living forth, by obedience to the Holy Spirit, absolutely in line with the Word of God, in the truth of our being a completely new creation in Christ, that the lost of this age will witness the true life of Christ. They will seek that same change of heart, of attitude, of focus, and desire God’s righteousness, peace and joy. This is all by the work of God, as highlighted by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 3:6-9, I planted, Apol'los watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 
	I realize that this is just a quick review. However, there is something in this 10th verse of Chapter 6 that we dare not take for granted. This is the cause of the unsettledness that remains after last week’s message. It is in the phrase …let us do good…. Even now, there is a deep sadness in my heart as I consider that there may be some people in this room and absolutely many people in this world who have no idea what it means to do good. There is a current campaign by this world age to mask, to pollute, and to infuse the truth of goodness with this age’s perverse ideology of promoting self. To …do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith is an aversion to this world order. This world power is actively at work to corrupt any sense of goodness. How often today, are we subject to this age’s vile propaganda in our readings, by our vast media complex, in our studies, in our workplaces, in our sports, in our friendships, and in our marriages that there is no longer a clear distinction between good and bad? The once crystal clear water of truth has been muddied by the corrupt desire of self righteousness, self-promotion, and self realization. The mantra of this age is that it is bad for one’s self-esteem to be told he or she is doing something wrong. Rather, let them discover for themselves, for their own self-enrichment how best to define goodness in their own lives. 
	There is no longer a clear understanding of right and wrong, good or bad. Everything is now considered in degrees. We can now live to a degree of goodness in our lives. Our businesses can run with a degree of honesty. Our sports figures, politicians, entertainment idols, and yes, even ministers, can promote only a degree of integrity, and still are considered role models for this age. The absolute of what is right and what is wrong before God has been vanquished for the haze, the smog, and the camouflage of moral corruptness and decay. The confusion taught in our schools alone makes it very difficult for the young of this age to possess any sense of what is good; of what it means to treat others in goodness; of how to live forth in the complete, and self-sacrificing goodness of love one for another. How can we encourage what is good, if hearers do not know the very basic elements of what this goodness is that the Apostle Paul is so striving to relate?
	Let us briefly look at some practical aspects of being good, good in terms of showing forth Christ in these lives that we live before Him. We need to look to scripture to see the pattern of the good that should be the natural evidence of Christ in us. Let us consider, for a brief time, our lives hid in Christ, which should be the basic witness of Christians in this world. As our lives more and more reflect that which is before us, so all the more will they be the witness of our Living Lord Jesus Christ. This living witness of Christ will be manifested in complete opposition to the ideals of this age. 
Col 3:23+24 Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ. One key aspect in this life of… do good to all men,… is the recognition of for Whom we live in this world. Our witness of the goodness of Christ is seen in the manner in which our lives reflect hearts that are focused on Him. In everything we do, we need to present the fact that we are bringing forth only the best of everything within us unto the Lord. The testimony of Christ is showing forth the fact that we are living unto Him, in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces, in our recreation, in our private time. There is never any time that we can forget to Whom we belong. James 4:17 Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. As that truth of Christ becomes the forefront of our heart’s desire, so will our every activity be done from hearts that seek only to please Him. That heart’s desire mandates that we bring our very best unto Him. Heb 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. We don’t earn our salvation, but we do live with the focus of our hearts set on pleasing Him. We are a living sacrifice to the Glory of God on this earth. Our entire focus must be centered in what will please God, Alone, in the lives that we live.
Heb 12:5-7 And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? - "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 
	Oh, how even the word, discipline, causes the hairs of our neck to bristle. When we are disciplined, many of us see it as a terrible punishment. It is considered by this realm as unbearable and negatively impacting our freedom of self-expression. So be it! Of what value is self-expression? We are seeking to have our lives characterized by the expression of the living Christ who dwells within us. Let us count it all blessing that God so loves us that He treats us as sons. His desire in our discipline is not to hurt us, not to berate us, and not to belittle us. It is a loving discipline with a heart after bringing us into all the maturity of sonship in Jesus Christ. He is showing forth the great Love with which He loved us unto Himself by guiding us, yes with discipline, into all the truth of our life hid in Christ Jesus. All that is good is established in the discipline of the Lord. That is what makes it of greater value than anything that this world could ever try to offer. Let us learn to cherish the fact that God loves us and is at work in us to only bring forth the greater and greater expression of His Son in our hearts, in our beings, in our lives.
Rev 2:2+3 "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false; I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. Toil, patient endurance, not bearing evil, not growing weary. These are elements of our lives in Christ Jesus that should be evident in our daily life of devotion unto God. They should be the confirmation of the great work that God is doing in us. Because He so loves us, He gives us the opportunities to learn patience, long-suffering, discernment, and rest in Christ. These are so vital to any life that is bearing accurate witness of Christ. These are the good works that characterized His walk on this earth. As such, they are the very good works that should characterize our walk on this earth. 
One of the keys of this walk is the spiritual discernment that should be developing in us. We should have that finite sense of what pleases or displeases the Lord. When we see something on TV or in the movies that degrades our Lord, when we hear something false being taught, when we are encouraged to do things that are not proper, there should be that recognition of the Holy Spirit within our hearts that says NO! A registration should well up within our soul that causes us to be disturbed. We should be dismayed, yes, even sickened by the elements of this age that cast aside the Holiness of God. Our hearts should be nauseated as this world promotes the evilness that is infused into this atmosphere of the hatred of all the things of God. Very simply, we should know in the depths of our souls, that what is displeasing to God is also displeasing to us. 
Ps 34:13-15 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry. So often, we think that if we do the right thing, if we treat others with all the goodness of our hearts, they will simply take advantage of us and nothing will be accomplished. Whether we see positive results or not, never let us despair in doing good unto all men. Never let us get discouraged. Let us count on the Lord through everything. After all, we are learning to live out from Him and for that to take place, our trust has to be in the fact that He has all things well in hand. He hears our cries in the night hours. He sees the abuse set upon us in this realm, and He loves us in all His faithfulness. He responds heart to heart with the covering and the comfort and the guidance of His Holy Spirit. 
Ps 37:1-7 Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 
To do good is to honor God in all that we do. This world is looking for anything that it can use to exploit the weaknesses of Christians. The terms hypocrisy and hypocrites are so freely tossed forth when an indiscretion of the Church is pounced on by the powers of this age. The fact is that the world demands us to be perfect and because we are not yet perfect in this realm, it uses that imperfection as a means to try to discredit the work of Jesus Christ. With the intense scrutiny of the world focused on everything we do, we can get discouraged; we can get depressed; and we may want to give up. The Apostle Paul was not a stranger to this. There were charges of impropriety in his day. Christians with money were suspect of wrong-doing, and faced the very same temptations as those who are well off today. It is only by the grace of God that we can live lives that are the true witness unto God on this earth. Grace. God’s omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent grace is what carries us on in Christ. 
Paul deals with all this in 1 Tim 6:14-21. I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed. O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, for by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith. Grace be with you. 
	…guard what has been entrusted to you. Grace be with you! Oh the joy of knowing that God’s grace covers our every action. Yes, we make mistakes, but let us not get caught up in the error, but rather earnestly and honestly seek God for His grace to cover any errors that we make. It is no shame to seek God’s forgiveness and to beseech Him to not allow that mistake to cause anyone to stumble. We should seek after God to teach us not to make the same mistake over and over again. Whether we are considering members of the Body of Christ, or those who are critically viewing our every move, God’s grace is sufficient to cover. God’s grace will bring forth His glory in response to His call of Love in these lives that we live before Him and before men.
1 Peter 2:11-17 Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 
	This is an area that many of us need to take before the Lord for His guidance in the manner in which we treat and talk about those whom He has put over us for a time. Yes, bosses, teachers, administrators, politicians, or bureaucrats, they are in place in our lives because that is what pleased God for us at this time. We must look and consider each of those in position over our earthly days as instruments of God for the benefit of His work in our lives. Workmates watch the manner in which we deal with superiors, especially those superiors seen as mean or unfair or playing favorites. How do we respond to them? Do we join in the course of this world and ridicule them?  Do we only complain and complain? Do we consider them as not worthy of the efforts of our hands and minds? Do we criticize and judge their every move? Do we make fun of them and think of them as fools? If we join in the actions of this world, we are the fools. We need to treat everyone with love, teachers, bosses, political leaders; none of them deserves anything less than the prayers of our hearts that God will work His salvation into their hearts as He has into our hearts. Pray that God will guide them as they make their every decision. Our actions, our words, our thoughts, our attitudes must be that we are the instrument of God in that place at this time to bring forth the love of God, yes even to our tormentors.
	We conclude this morning with the writing of the Apostle Peter. Listen to Peter in his most practical encouragement to live lives worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. We dare not try to live this life with our feeble abilities. We must seek the Lord by the Holy Spirit to live the Love of God in us unto the lost of this realm. We must rely on Him to be all goodness in our lives for the sake of our brethren in Christ Jesus. Keep our eyes on Christ! Live forth from His goodness now and forever.
1 Peter 3:8-16 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing. For "He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil." Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is right? But even if you do suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 
Did you notice? Peter defines goodness in the first statement of this passage. This is how we …do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. This is the expression of the goodness of Christ. … have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind… Then The Apostle Peter adds the final aspect of our lives on this earth …in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord.

Today’s benediction is from Deut 28:8-12 in the Amplified. The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouse and in all that you undertake. And He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name [and in the presence of] the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord shall open to you His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands;…