Faithful Sayings (part 6)
“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.” Titus 3:8
Everything written in the Scriptures is faithful, dependable, trustworthy, worthwhile, and worth accepting and using in our lives. The five “faithful” or “trustworthy” sayings summarize things generally said throughout the New Testament. These statements challenge us to examine both what is said and our acceptance of it. Do we accept this truth? Are our actions consistent with the worth we claim to put on them? Does it show in all we decide and do?
The final faithful saying makes our belief and trust in God practical: Do what is good! It takes something internal (faith) and makes it external (doing).
Context…
The final faithful saying comes near the end of the letter of Paul to Titus. The first three faithful sayings are scattered throughout First Timothy (1:15; 3:1; 4:9). The fourth saying is near the middle of Second Timothy (2:11). Like First and Second Timothy, Titus is a letter to a preacher, helping him appoint elders, showing him how to approach different people, encouraging godly living, and insisting that he “Speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you” (2:15).
The letter to Titus ends with several things Titus is to do and not do, and a reminder of the kindness God poured out on him (and us) when we are “justified by His grace”, becoming “heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (2:4-7). It is at this time that the Spirit inspires the final faithful saying…
The Fifth Faithful Saying…
“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.” Titus 3:8
This is a powerful and life focusing statement!
“…these things I want you to affirm constantly”
This is a strong motivator to preachers! It’s not up to you what you preach! You can’t change the message! Paul says that preachers are to “affirm constantly” (NKJV, NASB) or “stress” (NIV) or “insist on” (ESV) what the Holy Spirit has revealed. It won’t always be easy. It won’t always be accepted. But it’s what must be done.
This can also help people who aren’t preachers understand what a good preacher is, and why good preachers do what they do. It’s not speaking ability or how friendly a person is that makes them a good preacher. It’s whether they will faithfully stress and insist on speaking (and others accepting) the truth! And now we know why preachers sometimes say things that are unpopular with people and get them in trouble. They cannot change the truth or stop affirming it. This is what we need to insist on and support in preachers!
“…those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works”
Believing in God is just the beginning. Believers were saved for the very purpose of doing what is good (Ep 2:10). It’s tempting to think that faith is enough. It’s tempting to think that God knows our hearts and that’s enough. It’s tempting to say that we can’t do things that are truly good so why do any at all? This is why Paul says we need to be careful to maintain good works. The NIV reads, “be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good” (the ESV is similar). It’s going to take effort (maintaining) and dedication (devotion). Good works aren’t going to do themselves and they won’t happen automatically. And there will be many things that will try to distract us from doing what is good.
We immediately think of bad and sinful things that distract us from doing what is good. And sin truly is a problem. We must not excuse or downplay what is does to our relationship with God and our ability to obey Him. However, a bigger problem may actually be things which aren’t in themselves wrong or sinful, but which busy us to the point that they distract us from doing what is good. We just get immersed in life and family and work – none of it actually sinful, but may become too big in our lives and make it impossible to “maintain good works.”
“These are good and profitable to men”
This final line from the fifth faithful saying is a good way to end this series on these faithful and worthwhile statements. The things God wills for us and the things He asks and requires of us are truly good. We need to be fully convinced of that. The world makes us wonder if His will and law are good – but they are good, and you can depend on it! And they are “profitable for everyone” (NIV). What God says is valuable – in this life and the life to come. All people, everyone, can profit from what God has to say. All people, everyone, can depend on and trust God’s will for them. “This is a faithful saying!”
