“This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” (v. 8)

Good works do not come by osmosis. Because we are flesh, many times we have to work at producing good works. When we want to lash out with out tongues at someone, we have to learn to bite our tongue; when we would strike them in anger, we need to restrain ourselves; good works are not “automatic” for the Christian, and yet, we are to maintain. The word “maintain” implies that the good works had a beginning in us, and we are to carry on in them. You see, good works are expected of us, and we were saved thereunto. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are saved “unto good works”:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” God has ordained that we should walk in them. A Christian, more so than any man, ought to be caring about good works. He ought to be mindful of them, and they should not only be a part of his life, but a desire of his heart. He is created unto good works. Any man that cares not to do good, would be questionable concerning his faith in Christ. You see, faith and works belong together, as man and wife. Good works do have a beginning in faith, and ought to dominate our lives in our Christian walk, but they will not always be OBvious unless we strive to show them to others outwardly. Remember the words of our Savior, that we should let our lights shine that others may see our good works, and glorify the Father; it is by our good works that they too can praise the Lord. (See Mt. 5:16).

Now, this paragraph may sound contrary to the previous one, but think it through: There is a definite change in the life of a born again believer. One of the earmarks of the faith is that we become “new creatures” in Christ, with a new heart toward the things of God. If there is no desire to draw closer to the Lord, and to be OBedient to His call and commands, then there is no salvation. This is “automatic”, it comes with the package! You may notice the desire to do right in every example of salvation in the Bible. The Ethiopian eunuch desired immediate baptism; the woman at the well ran and told all her friends about the Messiah; the Maniac of Gadara sought to follow Jesus, then was told to be a soul winner; the blind man told everyone who healed him, etc., everyone was excited, and had a desire to move in the direction of right and good. In this sense, there is a “work” that immediately introduces salvation, the work of the Spirit in us. This is the work that exists in us, and that we are to “maintain”.