“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people” (Titus 3:8).
I have the attention span of a gnat. I’m one of those brightest-light-in-the-room kinda guys. My mind jumps from one thing to the next so fast that it gets whiplash. It’s frustrating when my prayers go something like this. “Oh, Lord Jesus…Look! A Bird!” Here in his letter to Titus, our man Paul tells the Big T to cut out the distractions and focus on being God’s blessing to the people around them. I’m to rein in my brain and think of ways to shine His light and spread His salt. Good works. They’re good for you, good for me, and good for them. Tullian Tchividjian is absolutely right. God may not need my good works, but my neighbors do.
The apostle has spent the past few verses trying to explain the mind-bending mystery of salvation. God rescues us when we could never even think of rescuing ourselves. Before Jesus pulled us out of the dumpster fire that we ignited, we were fools, rebels, dupes, addicts, bullies, and haters (Titus 3:3). I’m glad it wasn’t up to me. If I took one look at that hot mess of humanity, we really weren’t worth the trouble of saving. But that’s when Jesus did His divine swan dive from the palace of heaven into cesspool of sin to save us. Chew on that for just a minute.
We don’t do good works to build up our resume to get saved. Paul has already pounded the table over that point. “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness” (Titus 3:5). Instead of doing good works to get saved, we do good works once we’re saved. Our good works are an act of worship for what Jesus has done for us. They are not the price of admission into His kingdom. They are not the means that we stay there either. The only good works involved with our rescue is what Christ did for us that we could never do for ourselves. That’s why He screamed “It is finished!” (Jn 20:30). There’s nothing left to play. There’s nothing more to do. As the old hymn goes, “Jesus paid it all.” While we don’t work our way into being saved and staying saved, we do good works as a way of saying “thank You” to our Savior. God’s Word goes on to say that we’re all masterpieces of Jesus “for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). That’s because God may not need my good works, but my neighbors do.
Back in his letter to Titus, Paul makes his point by writing, “The saying is trustworthy” (v8). Paul loved using this little phrase to put his apostolic stamp of approval on something. He drops it four other times in letters to his buddy Timothy (1Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2Tim 1:11). The man from Tarsus talking here about what he’s just written in verses 4 through 7. A quick recap. Our good God stepped into the spotlight when Jesus took center stage during His incarnation. He came to our rescue, not because we deserved it, but because His heart broke for you and me. All three members of the Trinity teamed up to save us: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Jesus drenched us in His Spirit to regenerate and renew us. Despite our obvious guilt, He declares us to be completely obedient as an act of overwhelming and undeserved goodness. We go from defendant to an heir of eternal life. THAT’S something you can trust! THAT’S something you can take to the bank!
So now that He’s rescued us, what do we do now? To paraphrase the great theologian Hulk Hogan, “Whatcha gonna do when God’s grace runs wild on you?!?!?” Well, listen up, all you little Hulkamaniacs. Paul pumps up the Big T to make a big point to God’s people about doing good stuff. Once we place their trust in the good work Jesus has done for us, we’re to preoccupy ourselves with doing good deeds for others. The apostle says believers should “devote themselves to good works” (v8). He uses the Greek verb phrontizo, which means to be concerned about something, fixate, and let your mind dwell on a topic. It literally means to rein in your brain and force it to focus on particular idea. After following Jesus, let’s focus like a laser on reaching out and helping others. We should always be thinking up ways to spread His salt and shine His light. Let’s be creative in what we can do.
I need the reminder to focus. I need the encouragement to keep my head in the game. Good deeds are very important. While they certainly don't have any impact on my salvation. But God may use them to reach others around me.
God may not need my good works, but my neighbors do.
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