Not by Works, but for them

I've been thinking a lot about Grace and works righteousness lately, having just heard a number of fiery sermons telling us to Do Right in order to Be Right with God.
Then last night I read the last chapter of Timothy, and was surprised by the amount of stuff Paul packed into just a few verses:

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 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. (Titus 3:4-8 ESV)

The intro to Titus in my Bible talks about evidence for the divinity of Jesus, which is one of the striking bits here.  In verse 4, "God our Savior appeared...," pouring out the Holy spirit on us "...through Jesus Christ our Savior," in verse 6.  While there isn't a whole lot of direct Biblical evidence for the Trinity, it is nice to see these passages were the three Persons are all related, and in some sense equated -- God gives us the Holy Spirit through Jesus, both God and Jesus being "our Savior."
But what really struck me was the juxtaposition of two things that are said elsewhere regarding Grace and works.  That is,

1. We are not saved by our good works, and
   
2. We are saved in order to produce good works.

The first is stated clearly in verse 5: "he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy..."  then Paul takes some time to describe how that happens.  Salvation is accomplished by this thing called regeneration, which is like washing, and the work of the Holy Spirit, which renews us.  And this Holy Spirit is given to us (and richly) through Jesus.  And the result of this action on us by the Holy Spirit (and through Jesus) is that we now have a different legal status --we wait in hope for eternal life.
This doctrine of our salvation then gets some commentary in verse 8.  This statement (either the whole statement of our salvation by Grace, or our position as heirs of eternal life) is trustworthy.  Not only is it trustworthy, but we should insist on it. But Why? Here's the trick, where the second statement above comes in: we insist "so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works."  And this is both "excellent" and "profitable."

So there is this reality, that God saved us on His own terms, irrespective of good things that we may have done. This salvation that He gave us puts us in a position of Hope, where we await heaven.  But Titus is encouraged to insist on the trustworthiness of this doctrine. We really can trust in God's provision for our salvation, both for now and for the future, as we await the time that all is made right in Heaven.  And this confidence, that God really does have it all under control, is what leaves us free to do real Good, good that might please God, and not be just another misguided attempt to buy His favor.  I guess this is what John Piper calls faith in "Future Grace," that our confidence in God's accomplished provision (for the next five minutes, and to the time of our death) frees us to start living Holy lives.

And this this both excellent and profitable for people, because we waste so much time trying to look good.  If we took the time and energy we wasted trying to look good, and applied it to being satisfied with what God has already done for us, we might actually get some real good done.