Titus 3. Good works follow. Orthopraxy?
June 9, 2009
8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
ESVSB notes:
Summary Command. The command to insist on these things is similar to 2:15, both statements carrying a significant tone of authority. Again note the emphasis on good works as a mark of believers (see 1:16; 2:14; 3:1).
There is nothing new here. All this talk about orthopraxy, as if Christians have just discovered some new insight, is much ado about something we’ve known since…well since the beginning.
Another of today’s readings is in Deuteronomy10 and 11:
Dt. 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?
Dt. 11:1 “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.
Dt. 11:8 “You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9 and that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Dt. 11:13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
Dt. 11:22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him,
There is no divide here. Of course orthopraxy is important. That’s what the bible has been saying from the beginning. Orthodoxy leads to orthopraxy. It goes one way, but not the other. Get the doctrine right first, the doing will follow. Get the doing right first, well you and Goodwill have much in common (or any other social help organization).
So, let’s keep the priority where it ought to be. Teach truth. God’s people will do.
