Friday, August 14, 2015
Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
A FAITHFUL SAYING (5)
Many who reject the truth of God's free gift of forgiveness in Christ do so because it seems too easy to them. They reason that if God really is offended so much by sin, He wouldn't offer a solution that requires nothing from mankind. To those who hold to such a philosophy, they see the teachings of grace alone and faith alone as a license to abuse God's forgiveness and freedom to do whatever you want.
There is, no doubt, a great temptation to lean on God's grace as a crutch that allows us to indulge in sinful behavior. As with any gift from God, people have the ability to corrupt and distort it. This doesn't change the purpose of the gift, however. Our insecurities and short-comings do not alter the plan and full attainment of free salvation in Christ Jesus.
With his sole "faithful saying" to Titus, Paul emphasized the value of fruits of faith (good works) in the life of the believer. It's important for us to remember that faith in Christ is a life that follows Christ. Each of us will be imperfect in our practice of producing good works because we still suffer with sin. Therefore, we have no hope at all if we must meet the standard of God's righteousness through our own fruits in order to be saved. We will always fall short. But Paul reminds us of the proper place those fruits have in our lives. They do not achieve what Christ has already achieved in our place. Rather, they show that we have the blessings of that achievement in our lives by faith in Christ. When others see our good works, they should see what Christ has done for us -- and for them; not what we have done for ourselves.
