The sermon focuses on the acceptance and reward of believers' good works despite their weaknesses and imperfections. It emphasizes that believers must first be accepted by God before their works can be accepted by Him. The example of Cain and Abel is used to illustrate how God looks with favor upon those who have faith and are righteous. The sermon also highlights the sacrificial elements of the Christian life and the importance of doing good works as a response to God's love. It concludes by emphasizing that good works are only acceptable through Christ and that God rewards faithful servants.

Our reading this morning from the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 again comes from chapter 16 of Good Works, paragraph 6. Yet notwithstanding the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, Their good works also are accepted in Him, not as though they were in this life holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in God's sight, but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections. Last week we spoke about the inability of our best works to merit pardon of sin or to merit eternal life at the hand of God. Today we will focus on how God is pleased to accept and reward the good works of believers despite their many weaknesses and imperfections. There are two points to focus on here.

First, We must be accepted by God before our works can be accepted by God. Second, even the best of our works cannot be accepted except when looking upon them as God looking upon them in His Son. Regarding the first point, we must be first accepted by God before our works can be accepted by God. This means we must be believers, we must be saved. We've already learned from the confession that good works come only from obedience to God's commands, from a true and lively faith, done in a right manner and done for the glory of God.

Let's take a look at an example from scripture on this first point. Genesis 4, verses 3 through 5. In process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of that fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.

But unto Cain and to his offering, he had not respect." We have an indication here of a difference between Abel and Cain and their offerings. It says, The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. Other versions can use the term had regard. But what does this mean, respect or regard? Looking at various commentaries, you can come away with the sense that God looked with favor first on Abel and then his sacrifice.

The Benson commentary even states that God showed his acceptance probably by fire from heaven. And we see that example throughout the Old Testament of God accepting the sacrifices or offerings of his people with fire coming down from heaven. We see that in Leviticus 9, 24 with Moses and Aaron. On the altar, we see it from 1 Chronicles 21, 26 with David offering on the threshing floor of Ornan that he just purchased. 2 Chronicles 7, 1, after Solomon's prayer and the dedication of the temple.

We also saw, of course, the very noteworthy thing in 1 Kings 18, 38 with the battle between Elijah and the priests of Baal. In contrast to all of that, God did not look with favor upon Cain nor his offering. In Genesis, it doesn't tell us why this is so, but if we turn to the book of Hebrews, we're given some additional information. In Hebrews 11, verse 4, by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it He being dead yet speaketh. We learn here that Abel had faith, that he was righteous and was accepted by God.

And thus, his offering, the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof, was accepted. And it is implied here that Cain did not have faith, though he was outwardly obedient in offering a sacrifice. Let's take a look at another passage offered as a proof text in this section. In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, we read in Ephesians 1, verses 6 and 7, to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his graces. Matthew Poole on the second half of verse six where it says He hath made us accepted in the beloved, comments, having chosen us in Christ, He likewise favors us, is well pleased with us in Christ, to whom we are united, in whose members we are, and in whom God looks upon us.

We're hateful in ourselves as sinners, but accepted in Christ as sons. We're accepted by God in Christ, and thus our good works will also be accepted in him. Secondly, even the best of our works cannot be accepted except when looking upon them in his son. From Peter's first epistle, we read in chapter 2, verse 5, ye also, as lively stones, are built up in a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. MacLaren's exposition offers some clarifications to the metaphors that Peter uses here.

Christians, individually and collectively, are temples inasmuch as they are the habitation of God through the Spirit. They are priests by virtue of their consecration, their direct access to God, their function of representing God to men and bringing men to God, their sacrifices, in as much as one main part of their priestly function is to offer themselves to God. Now, this conception of the sacrificial element in the Christian life runs throughout the whole New Testament and is applied there in very a variety of remarkable forms. We have four classes of them here. There is the living sacrifice of the body.

Of course, the central idea of sacrifice is to surrender to God. And of course, the place where that surrender is made is the inmost self. The will is the man. And when the will bows, dethroning self and enthroning God, submitting to his appointments and delighting to execute his commandments, then the sacrifice is begun. How many of us, young and old, have fleshly lusts which war against the soul?

How many of you young men have no heart for higher, pure, nobler things because the animal in you is strong? How many of you find that the day's activities blunt you to God. How many of us are we can still under the great antagonism of the flesh lusting against the Spirit so that we cannot do the things that we would? Sensuality, indulgence in animal propensities, yielding to the voices of the beast that is within us. These things wreck many souls.

Let man govern and coerce the animal and let God govern the man. I beseech ye that yield your bodies a living sacrifice. There is the sacrifice of praise. In the great psalm which lays down the clearness never surpassed in the New Testament, the principles of true Christian worship, this is declared, whoso offereth praise glorifieth God. The true offering is not the slaying of animals or the presentation of any material things, but the utterance of hearts welling up with thankfulness.

Nor that only, brethren, but also there is another shape in which our words should be sacrifices, and that is in the way of direct utterances to men, as well as of thanksgiving to God. What a shame it is and what a confession of imperfect partial redemption and regeneration on the part of professing Christians it is that there are thousands of us who never all our lives have felt the impulse or necessity of giving utterance to our Christian convictions. You can talk about anything else. You're tongue tied about religion. Why is that?

You can make speeches on political platforms, or you can discourse on many subjects that interest you. Yet we can never speak a word to anybody about the master that we say we serve. If you want to deepen your Christianity, declare it. If you would have your hearts more full of gratitude, speak your praise. There is also the sacrifice of help to men.

Do not talk about being the priests of the Most High God unless you are doing the priestly office of representing God to men and carrying to them the blessings that they need. Your service to God is worthless unless it is followed by diligent, fraternal, wise, self-sacrificing service for men. And lastly, there is the sacrifice of death. I am ready to be offered, says the apostle, to be poured out as a libation. And again, if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice with you all." These sacrificial elements of the Christian life are good works.

Our good works are a response to God's great love for us and all that He has done for us. Our good works are an offering that we give back to God, not to gain something from them, but as an expression of our love for our creator and our redeemer. We delight in executing his commandments and obeying His commands. The living sacrifices of our bodies, the sacrifice of prayer, the offering of help to men, and even the offering of our lives, even up to death, are some of the practical ways we do good works every day. But even still, these good works are accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.

They are as filthy rags and come from polluted lips and hearts tainted with sin. Our confession teaches us that despite this, God is pleased to accept and to even reward that which is sincere because He is looking at them in His Son. Our good works are acceptable only through our Christ, our mediator, our intercessor, before the throne of God. It is through the merits of Christ gained from his perfect obedience to the law and his great sacrifice on the cross, not from anything we have done, lest we boast." And not only does he accept these good works, God also rewards our good works done in Christ. Let's look at the parable of talents that we read about in the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 25, 21.

His Lord said unto him, "'Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, and I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." The master here warmly commends his servant, well done now good and faithful servant. The pulpit commentary elaborates, there are plainly two parts to this here. One is advancement to more important position from servant to ruler.

The second is participation in the fullness of joy which the Lord's presence ensures, which possessed entirely by himself, he communicates to his faithful. This comprises all blessedness, And it is noted that the joy is not said to enter into us. That indeed through a blessing unspeakable would be an inferior boon. As Augustine says, but we enter into the joy when it is not measured by our capacity for receiving it, but absorbs us, envelops us, becomes our atmosphere and our life. There are many commentators that quote Puritan Robert Layton's beautiful remark on this.

It is but little that we can receive here, some drops of joy that enter into us. But there we shall enter into joy as vessels put into a sea of happiness." Are you faithful in the little things, in the few things? Do you want to hear God speak to you? Well done, thou good and faithful servant. I do.

I hope you do as well. Who wouldn't look forward to that warm commendation from God Almighty? You've been given faith. You've been given gifts and talents. You've been given the Holy Spirit to indwell in you.

These you received not from anything or no effort on your part. You didn't earn them. You didn't deserve them. They're a gift. So what is your response?

Do you sit around pontificating with others how holy you are and how messed up everybody else is. Do your prayers begin with, God, I thank you that I am not like other people, swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector from Luke 18.11. Don't neglect your service to God. The living sacrifices of our bodies, of praise, of helping others, even the offering up to our lives, are really practical ways we can do good works. And we should do every day.

But in doing them, don't forget that your good works don't earn you anything, nothing. They're only acceptable to God through Christ as our inaccessor before God by His covering of their defects, by His perfect righteousness, by God looking unto them in His Son. Amen.