Consider the following words by Paul, “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).
We will leave aside for a moment whether a failure to “maintain good works” will have an impact upon the salvation of the negligent Christian. My question is this… If Paul wanted Titus to “affirm constantly that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works” why do men today speak evil of those who do just that?
Men trumpet the joy and release they feel when they stop worrying about obedience, and just trust in the “finished work of Jesus.” They disparage their “destructive” upbringing, among a group of legalists who constantly emphasized, “OBEY, OBEY, OBEY!” They call such “patternists” destructive and evil.
It seems the American version of “Christianity” will not put up with men like Titus, especially as they diligently follow Paul’s instructions.
Nevertheless, Paul contends that such constant calls to faithfully obey God are “good and profitable to men.” As such, the diligent evangelist will endeavor to remind men “to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1).
Remember Paul’s words, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
