MISCONCEPTION:
When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and believe in Him, you will just automatically do these works of righteousness as a result of your belief or faith.
THE TRUTH IS:
The Apostle Paul instructed his ministers to constantly remind people to engage in a life of doing good works for God (Titus 3:8), and this is something they would have to learn to do (Titus 3:14; Is. 1:16-20). The very reason God instructed His people to get together is to provoke one another to more love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24). The word provoke here means to go against your nature. The Apostle Paul had to discipline himself daily for the purpose of godliness so he wouldn’t be a hypocrite (1 Cor. 9:27; 1 Tim. 4:7). Does this sound like it comes naturally, or was the Apostle Paul fighting the good fight of faith by fighting his evil human nature and resisting Satan daily (1 Tim. 1:18)?
For more on this subject click on one of the following:
Bible Study: Do We Automatically Do Good?
GRAIN OF TRUTH: Does Good Come Automatically as a Christian?
Bible Study: Do Good Works Come Naturally
Bible Studies on Righteousness
PODCAST: Righteousness is True Repentance