A final trustworthy saying. Titus 3.

This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone. (Titus 3:8 NLT)

I'll get to the actual trustworthy saying that Paul is referring to in a minute, but first, it's time to say goodbye to Paul in our reading for a while. We still have two of his letters to read before the end of the year, but they don't contain any identified trustworthy sayings. As noted earlier, the presence of these sayings is a reflection on the maturing of the various churches, adding embodied truth in the form of memorized and repeated sayings.

Even as Paul says that he's given Titus a trustworthy saying, he adds his own trustworthy saying. Titus was to teach the church at Crete what the apostles had taught, teach what was embodied in the trustworthy saying. The result of that teaching would lead any who trust in God to devote themselves to doing good works. Our trust in God's work on the cross is the starting point of doing good, not the end point. While some of the teachings in this letter are rooted in the situation in Crete, this isn't. We don't have to take an extra step to extract principles for us from the prescription for the initial recipients of the letter.

But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7 NLT)

And there you have it. God did all the work, in kindness and love, not because of what we had done. We're made new, anointed with His Spirit, and declared righteous. And it's that truth that leads us to devote ourselves to doing good. Can there be any doubt? If we really believe this, if we grow in our understanding of what it means, if we see more and more clearly what it means to be eternally in God's presence, how can we possibly do less than be devoted to doing good?

Paul can remind us (and Titus) of this, but it's our choice to absorb the lesson. It helps to remember the story of Jesus, and we get one more reading of that, yet this year. And it helps to have trustworthy sayings in our memory, ready to call up at any moment to chew on, meditate over, and remind us that it really is all about Him.