Colossians 4:7-18 - The Fellowservants of Paul

All right. Well, we are in Colossians chapter 4 verses 7 and 8 and we're taking this little trip with Tychicus through.

Paul's.

Missionary journey. One of the missionary journeys and learning what Tychicus would have learned by just walking with Paul and.

So.

We've covered several things. The first thing he learned was the proper attitude of a pastor. And we talked about that a little bit then we learned the proper order of the means of salvation and We saw Paul how he gave the gospel.

It wasn't just Jesus died for you was buried and rose again. It was there was more to it than that as far as the method that he used to preach the gospel, so we talked about that a little bit and So then we talked about the proper posture of a pastor what is a pastor supposed to be like what's he supposed to live like and so forth and We covered that in pretty much detail and then last time if you remember What's the proper answer to those who think they know God's will for you?

Anybody remember the answer to that? The answer is to know yourself God's will for you because they may not know and so always remember you're the one that needs to know not other people. All right, so that brings us to if you would turn to 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 10 and We'll pick it up here in this this point is He learned a lesson about the sin of unfaithfulness now.

Tychicus was faithful he was a faithful man but he saw others who were not and he saw the effect that that had on the Apostle Paul and He also saw saw how the Apostle Paul handled it when other men were not faithful to him who had been his supposed friends and Helpers and so forth.

So we'll see that here in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10. So follow along with me. It says for Demas hath forsaken me. Having loved this present world and is departed unto Thessalonica. Crescens has departed to Galatia and Titus unto Dalmatia.

Only Luke is with me. Take mark and bring him with you for he is profitable to me for the ministry and Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. So here's here's our friend Tychicus.

The.

Cloak so he was obviously with Paul and he was sent to do something for him a mission for him in Ephesus. Which we know what that is, but we'll talk about that in a minute. But then he says the cloak that I left at Troas with carpets when you come bring with you.

And the books but especially the parchments. So let's just stop there a minute and see what Tychicus might have learned and what we can learn it together with him about Paul. So the first thing is there is this gentleman named Demas.

Who not only forsook Paul, but he forsook the Lord. Because it says he loved this present world. Now, how many enemies do we have as Christians? We have three main enemies and a bunch of subsets under it.

Probably the world the flesh and the devil, but the world system is what Demas had a problem with and that was before billboards. So imagine what he would be like today. Before the internet before television imagine what Demas would be like today, but there are a lot of Demas is out there.

And we don't want to be a Demas. We want to be a Tychicus. We want to be a faithful person who's not only faithful to the Lord. But to the people in our lives that God has called us to serve with and so this man forsook Paul but he had already forsaken the Lord and he just got into worldliness and that was his downfall and When you read the phrase he loved this present world.

It's in them seems to imply That a person that does that also has lost sight of the future world because in that future world where you're going to have perhaps a multidimensional body and be very powerful person serving together with the Lord as King priests with him and Either having received rewards or suffered loss of them for eternity.

You lost sight of that if you're like Demas, you're not even thinking about that. You're just thinking about the next. Thing you can grasp hold of that brings joy to you in this life, or maybe it's fun.

Or maybe it's just powerful or maybe it's whatever. And you're focused on right now in this very moment of time which the Bible says it's like a vapor. It's here today and just passes away and focusing on that rather than all of eternity with the Lord with his Saints and with your Rewards are losing them like Demas did from the human viewpoint.

He lost his rewards. Well, that's Demas now. So what about this though in the same sentence men in the Greek? I doubt I in fact, I know you don't have a semicolon. You don't have a comma you don't have Scripture chapters and verse markings.

It's just a paragraph and the sentence says for Demas has forsaken me having loved this present world and is departed to Thessalonica Crescens to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. What's interesting? Is that the same Titus's who wrote the book of Titus?

Well, perhaps So did he total did Titus totally forsake the Lord and go after this present world. Well, I don't think the Holy Spirit would have used him to write a book of the Bible if that were the case.

Unless this is a different Titus sometimes that's difficult to tell but let's assume it's the Titus who wrote Titus and So did he Leave Paul because he had forsaken the Lord and gone after the world system probably not so it may just be that Paul mentions those two men who had left him and gone to minister somewhere else.

It's interesting. If you look at verse 11 mark where it talks about there Paul had gotten upset with him at one point because he left and went and did something else. Now see that almost goes back to the point.

We already covered where Paul thought he knew God's will for their lives. But he didn't because it was God's will for them to go serve somewhere else and Paul just wanted them with him and so it upset Paul because Paul was human and we can learn lessons from that that sometimes when friends and Co-workers leave and it upsets us and we think they're out of God's will because he would obviously want him to stay here with us.

We're not always right about that. So I think probably at least Titus falls into that category and probably this other person that You'll never hear of again other than this one verse and probably God just sent them to do something else.

So.

Paul is writing to Timothy his young Man that he led to the Lord and who is preparing for the ministry. And he's asking him he first he tells him Luke is still with me. Well, Luke is the one who wrote the book of Acts who tells the story of Paul and So he's with Paul and Later, the Holy Spirit would inspire him to write the story of Paul's journeys three missionary journeys and he Tells Timothy who is in a different place to come to him and bring mark this man that he once had been upset with and now He's not.

So they reconciled and and that's why I think Paul adds this bring him for he is Profitable to me in the ministry. He's telling Timothy. I'm not mad at him still, right? Very human there, but this is this is what happened now.

Tychicus was there and observed this I believe but then he was sent to Ephesus and He was sent there to let them know the estate of the Apostle Paul so they wouldn't worry too much about Paul. They would know he's well.

You know, he's he's Sometimes in prison, but he's okay. He's well and so forth and I think at this point he's on a prison wall. Maybe or at least in prison. But look what he asks for. He says bring me a cloak.

So he's in a cold place. Maybe a dungeon. He needs his coat.

And.

Then he asked something very instructional for all of us. He says bring the books and especially the parchments. The parchments are the the Old Testament scriptures and. The books are other books perhaps theology books perhaps books of science mathematics.

Paul was a well-educated man and that teaches us that these people that sometimes will criticize us and say well. You know, you're reading all these other theology books. You should just stick. Read the Bible only.

That's what I do and I've met people like that where they look down on you if you read anything Other than the Bible or if you study anything other than the Bible and Paul studied stuff other than the Bible.

So that means we have the right to do it. The Holy Spirit inspired him to write that let us know. That it's okay to read theology books. It's okay to study science as long as it's true science and.

To read.

Anything in to make us a better rounded person to be a better witness to all kinds of people but always hold everything up to the scripture and leave the scripture above all of that and All of that has to answer to the Bible not the other way around and it's a real temptation among young men studying theology to get caught up in Philosophy and Be led away from scripture and not and they let their theology make them unscriptural and you can never do that you've just got to guard against that forever and Check every philosophical statement for the presuppositions to see if they're true according to the scripture or not.

That's usually where the mistake is. But other than that You can we can learn things from everybody can't we you know, you can learn something from a lot of different people and Even even the books we read usually will have some error in there because humans wrote it and It's okay.

Especially if you're reading the older books, it is interesting that Not only was the Word of God given down through time Not all at once but theological development happens down through time not all at once and I would say that our way of expressing the Trinity is More developed than it was in the first century yet.

They didn't talk about it in the first century. Now you can look at it the other way. They were closer to Christ and the Apostles their view might have been perfect. And they maybe didn't have some of the questions we have but there are many cases in theology where for example, John Calvin certainly Advanced the study of the sovereignty of God and put it in a way that's easier to remember.

Easy to find the scriptures that deal with it in the context of those scriptures. He was a wonderful teacher but that doesn't mean you would agree with sprinkling babies or or Some of the other things that the Lutherans and the press early Presbyterians believe they were wrong about things.

So you don't have to buy into what they're wrong about. Just buy into what they teach if it fits the scriptures. Soundly and then you can benefit. I'm reading a book Ben gave me for my birthday by John Gill who wrote the 1700s and my goodness his I've read a lot of theology works on the Trinity.

Usually they fall so short. I just say well, that's disappointing. I didn't learn anything new from that. They didn't even help me on the questions I have but this man. This book I'm going. Wow. Does he have insight into this that I never saw before?

So it's out there. You just have to find it. But hold it all up to Scripture. Unbelievable things like I remember a psalm he quoted and remember he had no internet. He had no concordance probably. When was the first concordance?

I don't think they had one in 1700s, but they might have they had some tools. But nothing nothing like what we have and yet he quotes a psalm where the Bible is talking about the face of God. You know upon us and you look it up in the Hebrew and he said most people don't notice it but in Hebrew it's plural.

So it's the faces of God and he said that's an allusion to the Trinity that try you in existence of God. Even in the Old Testament in many places. He brings it forth out of the Old Testament that you didn't see.

I mean, we all know the one in Elohim, you know in Genesis Chapter one is plural. We know those basic ones, but he brings ones I've just never seen and it's magnificent so you can learn so much from other books.

Don't ever let some pious person say well, you should only read the Bible. But hold everything up against the Bible. So that's what I think we learned from 2nd Timothy 4 13. All right, I'm gonna go to the next point.

It's in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 17. Please turn there and we're gonna see Tychicus there. I never noticed that until this little study I've done on the end of Colossians there where this Relatively unknown man Pops up in a lot of places all of these places that I've gone out to Tychicus.

It's talking about him and his experience with Paul. So.

Ephesians.

Chapter 6 is the famous spiritual warfare section of Scripture and Tychicus may well be learning this for the first time in his life from Paul as he walks with Paul and I'm not gonna read the whole section on spiritual warfare because it's not a sermon on spiritual warfare and how to deal with it.

But most of you've been through that section if you've been in this church very long at all. You've been through that section. So just go up a few verses and read down through it and you'll get all of it.

But I want to focus on the end of it here and what you learn just from verse 17 through 24. So Ephesians chapter 6 verse 17, and this is sort of the last part of the armor the spiritual armor and it talks about Take the helmet of salvation.

Now imagine you're Tychicus and you're hearing this for the first time because you don't have a New Testament Bible yet. But then the Holy Spirit has inspired Paul to write these things and Tychicus is with him when he's writing these things most likely and So he's learning this take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God now.

We know from another scripture in Thessalonians That this is the helmet of the hope of salvation, which is a little different than just salvation itself. What would you think the difference between? Just talking about salvation in general are talking about the hope of salvation.

What's the difference? Somebody give me a thought on it. So so the rapture. Yeah, you have the fullness of it the the finality of it perhaps the the rap. What happens at the rapture, you know, we are changed in the air.

Our flesh no longer pulls against God or us. It pulls with God. It's just the old man. It just falls off of us, right and The new man is in complete control together with the Lord and So that is the great hope of our salvation and we should live today like that's coming very soon.

We don't know when We should live like that. And so that's what the hope of salvation is. So what's the difference? Well, obviously a Helmet in warfare is something you don't wear all the time. You take it on and off, correct?

So it cannot be a reference to your salvation because you don't lose your salvation and then put it back on again, right? Everybody with me, so it's not talking about a helmet of salvation, but the Bible sheds light on the Bible.

So when you find the other passage about that. Then you will see that it's really talking about the helmet of the hope of salvation and the hope of salvation. Is the end of your life when you meet the Lord that you are prepared.

You're like a bride pure and clean and you are saved to the ultimate. You're you're literally glorified and in your glorified state standing before the Lord without sin. Serving with him forever. That's the hope now.

What does it mean to put it on and off like a helmet? Well, it means when Satan is attacking you with fiery darts is what it describes it as up in the context of this. One of the things you should do is put on that helmet.

When you see him attacking put that helmet on and what is that telling you get your mind in the right state your mind is I Have eternal security. I Cannot be lost. No, man can kill my soul. They may kill my body.

They cannot kill my soul and they can't kill my body unless it's my moment that God picked for me. So I'm invincible until that moment and so put that helmet on. The helmet of the hope of salvation the helmet of the hope of immortality the hope of glorification the hope of the old man being gone and you being perfect and living with the Lord forever and then all of a sudden.

Those fiery darts just bounce right off of your head they don't get in your mind and get you all depressed and Get you down and how hard it is in this life and all that stuff. It just takes you right to the next level.

It takes you right into the heavenlies where you are currently Seated with Christ in the heavenlies, that's the helmet of the hope of salvation. So that's just one part of the armor the other thing many others up above it in the context.

Then it mentions the sword of the Spirit which is the Bible. Think about that the only offensive weapon listed in all of that is the one thing the Bible. This is what you attack with. When Satan comes against you put the helmet on first.

Realize you're invincible. You he cannot mess with your salvation. He can't mess with your soul he shouldn't be able to mess with your mind because that's what the helmets for and then grab your sword and Go after him.

You never turn your back and run from Satan. You resist him with the sword and he will flee. That is a promise. It's not like he might flee he will flee. Remember that when you're being attacked and we get attacked from time to time and usually when it happens to one of us It happens to a lot of people in our circle at the same time like a shotgun rather than a rifle.

I've said that a million times.

So.

These two parts are the last two parts of the armament we're supposed to the you know, the the armor that we're supposed to have and Very two important parts, but then verse 18 says there's another element and it's called prayer.

And I want you to notice this a specific prayer. This is because this still has to do with the armor the spiritual warfare battle. We're in This particular kind of prayer. Look what it is praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit.

So don't ever pray pray in the flesh. You know be sure you're holding Jesus hand and you're praying in for things he would ask for praying with him so praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and This next word is the spiritual warfare word watching.

There and two with all perseverance like like a soldier who's on watch while the others sleep at night. He cannot get sleepy and take his eyes off the horizon can he. So he has to have perseverance and stay awake and stay alert and He he has to be paying attention and watching and that that is what we're supposed to do but look who it's for.

Watching there and two with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints. That means all the Saints that you know and the Saints not a Catholic Saint a Saint in the Bible is a Christian a born-again person so all the born-again people that you know in your circle and Paul's listed several, you know through the some of these letters.

He lists the people that he's working with. Tychicus is one of them. That's who you're praying for that in their spiritual battles. They will conquer. They will have power when Satan comes against them and then be watching when you see a brother or sister who is down.

And I and I'll say this maybe some of you guys will agree with me some several of us. Took a tactical shooting class in the Dallas area two days ago. It was intense. I am still tired from it. And we each individually shot 250 rounds with an instructor right behind us yelling at us.

I mean not in a bad way, but in a firm way like quit jerking the trigger. Mitchell, you know, whatever.

And.

While you're trying to hit the target, but but I noticed when we left and he's a brother by the way. He's he had Christian. He had John 316 there. He had all kinds of stuff and he goes to church. I don't know if he goes to the same church with John, but John's Quinn is very close friends with him.

And I just noticed he was down. And he had to leave early because of some family issue. Which was fine. We were done. We had plenty by the time he left. Go take care of your family. Thank you very much.

This was great. But I mean, I just noticed he was. I just noticed He was down. I don't know what it's about. I don't know anything about it. So I've been praying for him for a couple of days on and off.

That's what this means when you see your brother down for whatever reason it is if you can find out what it is and If they don't want you to know and they don't tell you that doesn't matter either the Lord knows you just pray for each other.

And so this is this is right in the spiritual warfare passage. So we're supposed to be watching and praying for each other very very important that you leave no man alone on the battlefield.

Ever.

And.

Now look at this specific addition to this prayer. Paul says Paul says and pray for me. So that the utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.

Paul of all people Said pray for me. I'll have boldness to witness because if I'm not bold, I won't say anything to anybody. Isn't that interesting that he needed that prayer? You wouldn't think so, would you?

So we need to pray for each other that we have the boldness to say something with your mouth. I mean a huge important part of your witness is your life. I agree with that but there are times we're supposed to speak to people about the Lord and we need to have the boldness to do it and We should pray for each other to have that.

And that was part of the specific prayer. Not only the watchfulness in the helping of the spiritual warfare when a brother's down help lift them up. But also that we might all speak boldly The gospel to the lost world around us.

But that ye also may know my affairs and how I am doing. I'm gonna send Tychicus a Beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord. So we learned additional information about Tychicus here that we had not seen before.

Paul doesn't just count him as a helper. He's a beloved helper. He is like a close friend in Paul's circle one of the best friends of Paul and a lot think about this along with Luke and Mark and Titus who all three wrote the part of the Bible.

This man is counted as dear to Paul as those men. And There's women that were very dear to Paul as well that helped in the ministry. Some are listed in elsewhere in the Scriptures in Paul's letters.

So.

He's gonna send Tychicus this very close friend and brother of his to the church at Ephesus. So that they can know Paul is okay, even though he might be in prison. He might be beaten right now he is okay, and the Lord's working powerfully and He wanted them to know His status so he's gonna send Tychicus a very trusted man.

Obviously a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord. Shall make known to you all things and what he means is all things about me. How it's going as I witnessed to the Gentiles how many Gentiles are getting saved?

How many of them are starting to grow and give a full report to the church at Ephesus? Verse 22. Tychicus whom I have sent to you for the same purpose. Now remember this is the letter to Ephesians. Tychicus may well have delivered this letter.

Think about that. Isn't that interesting? Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose that you might know our affairs and that he might comfort your hearts as well. So he's also going to minister to that church.

Peace be in Paul's absence, right? So Paul had duplicated himself in Tychicus. Now he delegates to him to go minister like Paul would if he could be there. That's what all of us are supposed to be doing.

We don't just lead people to Christ. We start to help them grow. We bring them over to the house and give them a Bible study, you know, get them in the basics and As quickly as possible and get them out serving the Lord.

So Tychicus here is a duplicate of Paul. So he sends him to this powerful church at Ephesus. And then verse 23 he closes this with peace be unto the brethren and love with faith. From God to gifts the Holy Spirit gives you at the moment.

You're saved. Love and faith. Jesus is faith. Jesus is love from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where the love and the faith came from. It's God's love. It's Jesus's faith. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.

Not with those that are faking it. That's implied. Amen. Okay, so there's that. Let's see what time it is. All right, so. So let's go the next one turn with me to 2nd Timothy 4 and verse 16. So we just kind of talked about Those who had been unfaithful to Paul and how Paul dealt with it.

And.

Then we talked about the spiritual warfare lesson that Tychicus learned along with everybody else Paul was with and the church at Ephesus now. This is the eighth point we can learn with Tychicus and it is this.

Know who will never forsake you? So this this also has to do with how Paul dealt with it when Demas forsook him and other men and the only person left with Him was Luke out of all the people he had walked with in the ministry Luke was with him and that was it.

Well, he still had Timothy and Mark but we don't know how many left him and went a different direction or just quit and I know missionary stories. I've read where Missionaries stayed on the foreign mission for years translating the scripture and finally got one convert in India and That he discipled this convert for a year and After a year the concert the the convert went back to Hinduism.

So he had no nothing. It seemed like no fruit the home churches cut off his money. So he had to become entrepreneurial and work with his hands to live while he stayed there the rest of his life. Translated the Bible into I don't know 21 or I don't know how many dialects.

Amazing Dude so you can't go by what you think are good results. They've kind of talked about that and his Sunday school lesson this morning. You don't always get to see the results. What's the famous missionary to India?

Ben, do you remember? William Carey see I know all these things. I have forgotten so much, but I know it's William Carey. Amazing story if you ever want to read a great book read pick up any Biography on William Carey and just read it.

It'll blow your mind. Well anyway. So look, here's how you deal with it. If everyone leaves you Second Timothy 416 at my first answer No man stood with me. So Paul was in a debate, right? He was in a debate and He lost the debate.

No one believed his position. I Love reading that because I hate it when I explain something plainly to somebody and they just won't change. They just won't change their mind. It's plain as day. You're wrong.

I'm right plain as day and they won't change their mind. Well, it happened to the Apostle Paul. No man stood with him, but all men forsook me and look how he responds to it. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

You know how I pray Lord. Vengeance is yours. Take care of that person. That's how I pray. And I was reminded, you know when I put this together a month or so ago. That is not the right attitude. You know, they go against you they call you names they try to split your church.

They do this that and the other God take care of them. No, that's not what Paul meant when he said take care of me meant, you know, make it go. Well, don't hold it to their charge. Wow. Paul was I guess the greatest Christian that's lived since Christ and We can work towards that right?

I'm not there yet. We can work towards that though. My goodness. Look at that. So so no man stood with me all men forsook me and I pray God that it might not be laid to their charge. One of these days, maybe you'll save him.

Lead him to Jesus. Wow, that is so powerful verse 17 notwithstanding The Lord stood with me. So what was his answer? To being forsaken by the world being forsaken by so-called Christians who had walked with him and pretended to game.

I mean you think about Paul was famous wasn't he? How many people do you think want to walk with a famous person for a while? But then when trouble comes and tribulation or threats or danger, what do they do they go right back to the world.

How did Paul deal with that when then no one no man stood with him just by himself all of a sudden? He spent his whole life in ministry and he's by himself. Can you imagine that? That's what happened.

But he said notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and he strengthened me. That by me the preaching might be fully known and That all the Gentiles might hear and I was delivered out of the mouth of a lion.

Who's the lion?

Satan I.

Mean Tychicus got more than one lesson on spiritual warfare when he walked with Paul. Didn't didn't he? So who will forsake you men will who won't Jesus? He never forsakes you. It doesn't matter if every man woman.

Everybody in your family doesn't matter what happens if if everyone forsakes you. Jesus never will as long as you're in the word and you're walking with him and you're sincere and you love him and. You can count on that.

And Paul was not worried about it. I think of dr. Freeman by the end of his life. Very few churches would invite him back to preach anymore. It started out when I met him. They would have him for two week revival meetings.

Then it got to where they would have him for one week revival meetings. And then it got where they would have him flying on Wednesday to Wednesday night and leave Sunday night and then it got where he got few invitations and then he then he died and went to heaven and.

And had he lived another ten years he would have been broke because he lived off of love offerings. He wouldn't have been broke though because he loved entrepreneurial stuff. He would have been he would be doing trade ways.

What he would have been doing. I just know he would have I Mean if he did multi-level marketing with me, he would have done trade way. He tried market America. It was great. You should have seen him do the products man.

Anyway. Bless his heart. I love him miss him every day.

But.

If everybody forsakes you who do you have? You got the Lord. So what does it matter? It doesn't even matter. Oh, it feels like it matters. But in reality Paul knew it didn't and two things He said number one. I've got the Lord and he is standing with me.

And then number two. That one standing with me just delivered me from the mouth of the lion. So now it continues. That's not all that he gets from Jesus being with him. Look at verse 18. And the Lord shall deliver me.

He just delivered me from Satan and he will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me Unto his heavenly kingdom to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. What is that? That's eternal security.

That's the hope of salvation. He put that helmet on when he was being attacked and he realized wait a minute Jesus is standing right here. Satan hadn't killed me yet, you know. Eventually the Lord allowed that to happen, but not yet not till it was his minute.

Not till it was the minute Paul was supposed to have his head severed from his body.

And.

He knows he has eternal security and he also knows What Jesus had taught that whosoever lives and Believes in me shall never die. He wasn't worried about the the sword. He wasn't worried about the Roman sword that was going to take his life because Jesus still delivered him from the world of flesh and the devil.

He totally delivered him from the world when he died physically and he totally delivered him from Satan when he died Physically and from his old man when he died physically and he was instantly with Jesus.

That's just how it works and Paul knew it. He wasn't worried when everybody forsook him Grace be with you. Amen. He says all right, so Let's cover one more because I'd really love to be done with this study.

Look at this. Here's the next point expect effects From those who claim to have experienced the cause. Think about that and you'll know what I mean. People claim they're saved right some of the demons probably claimed he was saved.

Hey people hadn't saved. He was lost as a goose. So people claim to be saved the cause is when the Holy Spirit regenerates them and awakens them and they're alive Spiritually, right and they say they're saved which means that is supposed to have happened.

But the truth is when there is a cause this cause there's there are always Effects and the effects are what you've heard me call the symptoms of salvation. The greatest of all is love for the brethren.

Next behind it is kindness. Next behind it is truth. Like I will not bow down to Some book I've read or whatever the world thinks if it contradicts scripture. There are all of these symptoms of salvation and they're all effects of the salvation.

But if you have the cause the effects should be there and we see that in Titus chapter 3 verse 8 Which Ben is taught on recently, I think Look at what it says in Titus 3 8. This is a faithful saying and These things I will that thou affirm constantly that those who have believed in God Might be careful to maintain good works.