In our Wednesday study of Paul’s letter to Titus, we have
been struck by the consistent emphasis on the importance of good works, or
godliness, in the life of the church.
The flow of thought in the letter repeatedly comes back to this
theme.
Paul begins by saying that his apostleship was for the
purpose of imparting a knowledge of the truth “which accords with godliness”
(1:1) The first section of the
body of the letter reveals that the elders of the church must be godly men
(1:5-9). These godly men are
needed to silence and rebuke the ungodly people in the church (1:10-16). Chapter 2 begins with the exhortation,
“But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine” (2:1). Paul then prescribes what godliness
looks like in the various groups of the church—older men, older women, younger
women, younger men, and slaves (2:2-10).
In 2:11-15, the apostle explains that the grace of God in Jesus Christ
came to save people so that He might
purify for himself a people for His own possession, “who are zealous for good
works.”
Chapter 3 continues the message with an exhortation to “be
ready for every good work” (3:1-3).
In 3:8, Paul exhorts Titus to be diligent in teaching these things “so
that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good
works.” For good measure, he ends
the letter with the echo, “let our people learn to devote themselves to good
works” (3:14).
Good works, good works, good works. We get the message—the gospel is
commended when those who proclaim it live godly lives. But with all this emphasis on the
importance of good works, a vital question arises. How is it that we maintain a zeal for good works without
good works becoming the main thing? Or, how is it that we maintain a zeal for good works without
beginning to trust in our good works?
The answer that Paul gives is the
gospel.
Toward the end of the letter, when he has already made a
very strong plea for good works, Paul brings us back to the gospel, reminding
us of two things. First, it is the
work of the gospel in our lives that makes good works possible. After recalling the former state of
believers – “we were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various
passions and pleasures…” – he reminds us that the catalyst for radical change
was the appearing of the “goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior” who
saved us (3:3-5). It is this truth
that enables us to live the kind of godly lives to which we are now called.
Second, Paul reminds us that our salvation was in no way a
result of our good works. 3:5
reads, he saved us, not because of works
done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy… In 3:7 he writes that we were
“justified by his grace.” There
was nothing in us that moved God to save us. Rather, it was something in Him. I love the
passage in Deuteronomy 7 where the Lord reveals this truth to the people of
Israel: “It was not because you were more
in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose
you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that
he swore to your fathers…” Why
did God love and choose us? Because
He loves us.
Our standing before God is strictly because of His love for
us and the redemption that we have in His Son…not because of works done by
us. Works are the result of
salvation, not the cause of it.
So, God calls us to be zealous for good works, to love doing
good. We are to make every effort
to be godly (2 Pet 1:5-7). The way
that we are able to keep this pursuit of godliness from leading us to trust in
our good works is to keep it squarely in the context of the gospel. God saved us by grace so that we might
be zealous for good works so that He might be glorified in us.
Posted by Greg Birdwell
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