godliness and good works

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Deut 7:6-11 Titus 1:1-16 John 1:29-34

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness. (Titus 1:1)

(15) To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. (16) They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus1:15-16)

Godliness and good works. We've seen this term, godliness (religion, piety), an important one in 1 and 2 Timothy and now it introduces the third "Pastoral Epistle" in Titus 1:1. We will see the idea of "good works" being an important one in this letter to Titus.

My main message yesterday in my Ash Wednesday sermon was (1) that Lent is a journey with a destination, which is Easter. It is a time to intentionally do the work of repentance and faith in order to more fully identify and be united with Christ in his passion, death, and resurrection. (2) On this journey, prayer, fasting, and giving to those in need, are disciplines that will help us - in fact, they will change us, if we participate in them with all our hearts. This was Jesus' message in Matthew 6 and Isaiah's in Isaiah 58. Jesus' point was not to say that we didn't have to pray, fast, and give if we couldn't do it with a right heart. Neither was his point to say we must go in our closet, not let our left hand see our right hand, nor simply to wash and look cheerful.

He was saying, "Seek God!" Participate in your heart as you give, pray and fast. He was saying, "Yes, give and pray and fast - and do it with all your heart. Mean what you're doing, be intentional. Love God with your all your heart and soul and strength!"

God has promised that those who seek him will find him, that those who truly repent will be forgiven and cleansed. ("Fasting" in Matthew 6, and in Jesus' day, meant literal going without food and drink, as a sign of the intention of repentance and amendment of life.)

In Titus 1:1 Paul links faith, the knowledge of the truth and godliness together in referring to God's elect people people. In fact, the faith and knowledge of the truth is described as "which accords with godliness." They are, all three, to be inseparable. Think on that.

Lastly, the goal of godliness, of following Jesus through "putting on" disciplines such as prayer, fasting, and giving to / serving those in need, is to bring about the kind of purity of mind, conscience, and works that reflects the Image being worked increasingly in us, that is, the evidence that we are being conformed to Christ, in heart, mind, and deed.