Living Godly in this Present World

Transcript

GRM 557
2/01/1998
Living Godly in this Present World
Titus 2:11-15
Gil Rugh

I want to direct your attention to the book of Titus, this morning. The little letter of Paul to Titus. This follows up on the last study that we considered on the coming of Jesus Christ to earth and events associated with the return of Christ, the plan and program of God for Israel and for the Church. I want to talk a little bit this morning from the book of Titus on some familiar material. A reminder on God’s plan and program for us as His people in living in this present world between the first coming and the second coming of Christ, and the characteristic of the lives of those who have been redeemed by God’s grace.

The book of Titus is a book about godliness, about our behavior, about our conduct. How we are to live as God’s people. You note in the first verse of the first chapter: “Paul, a bond servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness in the hope of eternal life.”

What Paul’s going to be drawing to the attention of Titus and to those at Crete where Titus is ministering, is the importance of godliness in the lives of the elect in the context of the knowledge of the truth. It’s the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness. The marvelous salvation that God has provided for us in Christ will set us free from the bondage to sin, purify us from the defilement of sin and empower us to live transformed lives according to the character of God.

The problem at Crete was false teachers were bringing a corrupted message, a mixture of truth and error. And Paul is concerned that some of the believers at Crete would be influenced by this false teaching and allow their lives to take on the character and characteristics of the world around them and thus in their life deny the reality of the power of God in salvation.

Paul refers to these teachers in very unflattering term, these false teachers. In verse 10, he says, “There are many rebellious men, empty talkers, deceivers.” Verse 11, “They must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families. They’re teaching that which they should not teach.” Down in verse 16, “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” Very strong language regarding false teachers and those who would corrupt the truth of God.

Chapter 2 opens up then, “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.” Titus, you be careful [that] you are teaching those things which are fitting with healthy teaching,” healthy doctrine. He reminds him as he focuses on different groups, older men, younger men, older women, younger women, and so on. The goal in this, the end of verse 5, is that “the word of God may not be dishonored.” The end of verse 10, “that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, in every respect.”

This is his purpose and goal, that our lives and our behavior and our conduct will manifest the character of the God who has caused us to be born again. So we have an emphasis on how we who have been redeemed by God’s grace are to live in light of “the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” as he will talk about in verse 13.

I want to focus on the closing verses of chapter 2 as he explains something of why we are to live holy and godly lives in this present day. You note that little word, “for”, that begins verse 11, indicates that he is tying this to what he has just been talking about, particularly the first 10 verses of chapter 2. The emphasis is on our lifestyle, on godliness in our living and why we must live lives that conform to the character of our God.

Verses 11-14 are one sentence. One flowing sentence. The subject of the sentence is the grace of God, the grace of God. We’re going to talk about God’s grace as it has been manifested in the past with the coming of Christ in His death and resurrection. The manifestation of God’s grace in its present work in the lives of the redeemed. And then talk about the manifestation of God’s grace in the future hope of the believer, as well.

So, these three aspects will be included in what he is going to be talking about in these verses related to the work of God’s grace and it’s manifestation in the world and in our lives.

Now note what he says in verse 11, “For the grace of God has appeared.” The word “grace” simply means the kindness or goodness of God. Grace is something that we do not earn, or we do not deserve. It is something freely given, something graciously given. It is not something we earned or worked for or partially deserve. Paul made clear, in writing to the Romans, if there are any works or merit involved, then you do not have grace at work.

Now we are talking here about something God has done that we did not deserve, that is not being given as a reward for our behavior. This is something God freely gave in spite of, and not because of.

“The grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men.” That word, “has appeared,” looks back to the first coming of Christ. A historical event. The “grace of God” “appeared bringing salvation” when Jesus Christ came to this earth, was crucified on the cross and subsequently raised from the dead. He’ll focus on this in verse 14 when he says that “Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us.” But here he mentions it in the context of God’s grace and God’s grace appeared and became manifested on this earth with the coming of Christ.

Down in chapter 3, verse 4, he says, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,” talking about the same event. The coming of Christ to earth to be the Savior. Back up, ah, a couple of pages in your Bible to Second Timothy, just before Titus. Second Timothy, chapter 1, the end of verse 8, Paul encourages Timothy to “join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.” You see the contrast. “Not according to our works but according to His grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, is that the Son of God has come to earth, has been crucified on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, has been raised from the dead in victory and all who believe in Him are forgiven their sins and given new life in Christ. That’s the manifestation of God’s grace providing forgiveness of sins for those of us who were hopelessly lost and under condemnation. He was doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. The grace of God was manifest in Christ.

In spite of the repeated emphasis on that in scripture, it’s still the overwhelming opinion of people today, Church people today, that God will accept us because we are doing the best we can. God will accept us because we keep the Ten Commandments, at least in our thinking. That we try to do good, and so on. Yet, they fail to understand salvation is by grace through faith.

“The grace of God has appeared.” One other point to keep in mind, God’s grace was manifested before Christ came to earth. God dealt in grace through Old Testament times. He called the nation Israel to Himself to be a nation that belonged to Him. He didn’t do that because they earned it or deserved it, He did that by His grace. But the point is, that even all of God’s grace manifested in the Old Testament flows out of the grace that would be manifest in the coming to earth of His Son, Jesus Christ. So, the full display and manifestation of grace and, if you will, the provision of grace for mankind focuses in the cross of Jesus Christ.

So, we can say “the law came through Moses,” as John wrote, “but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” God’s dealing with us in grace is founded upon the death and resurrection of Christ, because that pays the penalty for our sin and enables God to justly declare us forgiven because the penalty, the demands of righteousness, have been satisfied.

So, come back to Titus, chapter 2. “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” The death of Christ is the provision of God for the salvation of mankind. It is the only provision of God for salvation. It is a salvation for all men. That does not mean that all men all saved, but it is the provision made for all men. All mankind. All races. All groups of people. All classes of people. All kinds of people. All people. This is the provision God has made. This is not one of the provisions. This is the grace of God which has appeared for all men. So, “God is declaring today to all men everywhere, that they should repent, because He has appointed a day when, in which He will judge the world in righteousness, having furnished proof to all men by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

So, the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and His subsequent resurrection, is an encompassing work as God made provision for sinful humanity. Now He exhorts and encourages them to turn from their sin and believe in the Savior that has been provided, to experience His grace in saving and transforming their lives. So, Ephesians 2:8 and 9, as I referred to a moment ago, “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Now, where Paul wants to focus is not on the unfolding of the doctrine of salvation and our justification, but in the out working of that salvation. It is what we might call the present aspect in the transformation of our lives in the way that the people who experience the grace of God in salvation are to live their lives.
So he says, “the grace of God has appeared” verse 12, “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires.” “The grace of God has appeared.” The grace of God is “instructing us.” That word, we get the English word, “pedagogy” from it. The Greek word is “pedagogue”, basically, child training, nurturing a child, training a child. The picture here is of God at work in His grace developing us as His children who have been born again by the grace of God.

So God’s grace is not just something that provides for the forgiveness of sins and the assurance that you won’t have to go to hell when you die. The grace of God has a very present dimension in instructing and training and developing us on how we are to live in this present day. That will be the emphasis, as we’ll see in a moment when we get to the end of verse 12, when he talks about “in the present age,” literally, in the now age. The grace of God is a teacher to us. As we learn that God has not only provided for forgiveness and eternal life in Christ, but He has provided for a transformed life in that salvation grace that has been given to us in Jesus Christ.

What are we being taught by the grace of God regarding the way we live? First, the negative, and then the positive. Paul did not have the benefit of our modern-day methods where we hide the negative and just talk about the positive. But he did have the benefit of the indwelling Holy Spirit who directed him in what he should write. So we learn that there are things that you do away with, that you renounce, that you deny when you have come under the influence and power and instruction of the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

The grace of God teaches us that we are to be “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.” Ungodliness, very simply, is everything that is contrary to character of God. Remember, First John 3, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious.” The contrast is the children of God manifest the character of God, the children of the devil manifest the character of the devil. Same thing as John’s gospel, chapter 8, when Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, “You are of your father the devil,” so you always act like him. He was a liar and you are liars. The substance of what He said. We manifest the character of our spiritual father, if you will.

So, here, those who have experienced the grace of God in salvation, are now being developed in the child training process of grace working in their lives. They’ve learned that they must deny or renounce ungodliness. And that’s broad in its scope. All that is contrary to the character of God.

Remember we read in verse 1, the last phrase of verse 1 of Titus 1, “the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.” That would involve renouncing those things in thought and behavior that are contrary to the character of God. We could look at details and make a long list. The works of the flesh in Galatians 5 would be one of the beginning places for such samples, if you will, of what would be included.

Along with ungodliness are “worldly desires.” Worldly desires are simply what they say, the desires of this world. The lust and longings that are centered in this world. We see a change has taken place. A person who has experienced the grace of God in salvation and so now has that grace at work in his life, teaching and instructing him, is learning that he must renounce worldly desires. Those things which this world has to offer. The things which the world finds important which are the focal point of the things of this life.

Look over in 1 John, chapter 2. Toward the back of your New Testament, almost to the book of Revelation, 1 John, chapter 2. Note verse 3, “By this we know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments.” Now, you note the order here. You don’t come to know Him by keeping His commandments, but the evidence that you have come to know Him is that you keep His commandments. And as we’ve noted on other occasions, we’re not talking about the Ten Commandments here. We’re talking about the commandments that come through Christ, what we have is the substance of the New Testament, beginning with the Epistles. We have 1 Corinthians in our Bible as the first of those.

“The one who says I have come to know Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him, the one who says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same manner as He walked.” So, you see what happens, the one who truly knows God will manifest the character of God in his life because he has been born into God’s family. Remember Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again!” You need a heavenly birth from above that transforms us on the inside.

We begin to live differently, just like a baby does different things. I’m having fun watching our grandchildren grow up. You know, it’s interesting, they’re born into the human race and there are certain things that they just begin to do. Some of them, now, are at the stage where they want to stand up and they want to try to take a couple of steps. Well, you know you start out like that it’s a hard process. They can go faster on all fours. But you know there’s something built into them, they want to get up on those legs. And then they want to start to walk. In fact, if you have a baby and it doesn’t do that, and time goes by and it has no desire to stand up, no desire, you take him to the doctor. Something’s wrong. It’s just part of being a human being. Now, you get a baby dog, never find him working after a little bit of time. Now he wants to get up on those hind legs. Now he wants to walk on those legs. Now, he doesn’t want to walk on all four legs. No way, because he’s a dog. A dog is different, in spite of what they teach in school. So it is in the spiritual realm. That’s why the analogies are so simple and clear. When you’re truly born into God’s family certain conduct will result. Now, you don’t say I’m going to make my dog a human being by teaching him how to walk on his back legs. Well, you can teach a dog to walk on his back legs, at least I’ve seen some of these trick dogs, dogs that have been trained. I don’t know if they are tricky dogs. But that doesn’t make them human.

Be careful that you don’t turn it around. Many people go to Church, so they therefore say, I’m a Christian and on my way to heaven. Why? Because they go to Church. That doesn’t mean anything. I mean, that’s not, it’s got to be a transformation that begins in the heart.

So, it that context of manifesting God’s character, you come down to verse 15 of 1 John 2, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” So, you see, the grace of God is teaching us to deny or renounce worldly desires, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but from the world.” Our lives have been transformed from within. So what is from the Father is to be what is characterizing us and becomes the focal point of my life. We’ll see that will involve a responsibility on my part. The change is there and in the in analogy it’s just like the baby. It doesn’t mean that just because they’ve been born into the human family they just get up and start running. No, they expend the effort. There is a training process going on and what? You stand them on their feet and then you get out and you hold your hands out, what? Just a little too far. What do you want to do? You want them to take a step. And then you’ve got to call everybody in the house and say, watch this! They’ll say, well, I can do that, watch! No, it’s different. Why? He just learned to that. There is a development process. So, we are in the child training process. And we are renouncing this world, the things associated with his world.

We are not worldly focused. Now, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have some of the things of this life that are not sinful, but we need to be careful we don’t become entangled or absorbed or these things become the desire of our life.

We sometimes try to sit and contemplate, and you never can, until the situation. Lord, if You took away everything that I have, would I love You as much tomorrow as I do today? Would I question Your love for me if you took my possessions or my health or loved ones? I have to be careful that my focal point, even though I enjoy some of the things of this life, I appreciate the love of family and friends, I enjoy the comfort that we are privileged to have, do I entangle those things in such a way as, oh, I don’t know if I can continue to serve the Lord without them. I think my love for Him would be diminished. I hope not. So, that becomes a test. How important are these things? Be careful of the things of this world, as we are exhorted here.


Come back to Titus. We are denying, and particularly, the ungodly and sinful things of this world, the things that the world holds out that stir our lusts and our passions and our desires. Those are the negative side. Now he gives a list of three things that characterize the believer positively. We live rejecting certain things, ungodliness and worldly desires. “We are to live sensibly, righteously and godly.” “Sensibly, righteously and godly.”

Now, I have to say, this word “sensibly” is one that Paul has a passion for in writing to Titus. This is the fifth time he has used this word or a form of this word in Titus, “sensibly.” Back in chapter 1, verse 8, elders are to be “hospitable, loving what is good, sensible.” Chapter 2, verse 2, older men are to be “temperate, dignified, sensible.” Chapter 2, verse 5, young women are to be “sensible.” Verse 6, young men are to be “sensible.” Now we come down to verse 12, all of those being trained in the grace of God are to be “sensible”.

A word that means basically to be self-controlled. Not the self in the worldly sense of I can do it on my own! Pull myself up by my own bootstraps, kind of self. But the responsibility of one who has experienced the grace of God in salvation, who now has the enabling grace of God as his source of strength, to exercise his responsibility in disciplining his body, which is the positive side. I bring myself under control by the power and grace of God.

Turn back to 1 Corinthians, chapter 9. 1 Corinthians, chapter 9. This whole area of self-discipline, it is to be the characteristic of a believer. We are to be a disciplined people. I wish it was just natural. And in one sense it is natural, like we talked about in the analogy of the little baby learning now to walk. But it’s not natural in the sense that there is no effort, there is no discipline applied by that child to do it.

Look what Paul says about himself in 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run but only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win.” “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way as not without aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air, but I buffet my body and make it my slave, least possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

“I buffet my body.” The idea there is to beat black and blue. The idea was you hit somebody under the eye and the eye turned black and blue. The self-discipline he exercised is to be characteristic of us as believers. I am learning in the grace of God that I should renounce ungodliness and worldly desires. I should discipline myself to be what God says I should be.

It’s not, well, if the Spirit moves me I’ll do it. I know I need to feed on the word and be taught the word, so I discipline myself to roll out of bed and get up and get to the study of the word. I’m tired when I come home in the evening, but I know I need to be involved with believers and in the ministry of the word, so I come home from a hard day, a busy day with the kids, or whatever, and what? We go to Bible study, or whatever. I say, well, I did that just because my body felt like doing it. No, I did it because what? I’m exercising the discipline. There are certain things that I don’t do as a believer, that I avoid. Why? They would entangle me in the things of this life, they would ensnare me in the worldly desires, so I discipline my body, and discipline myself. That’s what he’s talking about here: self-discipline.

So it is by the strength and power and enabling of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the efficiency of God made available to us in His grace, but it means that in that grace I will be exercising the discipline over myself. That is characteristic of one who is growing in the grace or salvation that God has provided.

Come back to Titus, chapter 2. “To live sensibly, righteously” is an upright life. Some have broken these down, to live sensibly, righteously, godly, to where sensibly focused on myself. That’s self-control. Righteously, right conduct in relation to others. And godliness, proper conduct and relation to God. But they do end up blending together. Righteous behavior is conduct which is right before God, right and according to the standard of righteousness. That would involve my behavior with others and my relationship with others and so on, of course.
Godliness is, as we’ve seen, that which is consistent with the character of God. This is part of my being conformed to God’s character.

Now, this last phrase, “in the present age”, literally “in the now age,” does two things. Number one it contrasts us with the age to come, which he’s going to mention in the next verse, where we are “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing” of Christ’s glory which will transform us, into the next age. So, that contrast there, we’re living now, in contrast to the present age, but it has that focus on this is how we are to live in this present day. We have a responsibility. You know, we’re just not so otherworldly that we are no earthly good. That’s not truly possible because the more otherworldly you are the more effective you will be in your earthly ministry today. You have a biblical perspective on “setting your mind on things above and not on things of the earth.” Then your life on earth will have the impact of heaven.

So, we are to be living in this present age. Today is important. The salvation I have in Christ, as a result of His death and resurrection, and my faith in Him by God’s grace, is preparing me for a future time that we will talk about in a moment. But it is training me how to live today. How to manifest the wonder of God’s character in my life today, in this now age, corrupt and defiled.

How often do you hear Christian say I just hate to go to my job? It’s defiling. You feel like you’re polluted just breathing the air. You know, where do you go? It’s everywhere! The worldliness of this world. And, yet here we’re told that God expects us, if you will, to be an island of holiness, of purity, of righteousness, of godliness, in the now age.


So, Christians are going to stand out like a sore thumb. I mean, we have renounced the world and we are living the life of God in the midst of the world that we have renounced. Now I don’t mean that we walk around arrogantly. Paul gets into that in chapter 3. Remember what you were. You don’t live like what you were but don’t forget what you were. There ought not to be arrogance about us that we are better than them. Oh boy, I hate to rub shoulders with sinners. You know, it defiles me. No, bumping shoulders doesn’t defile me. If I begin to think like them, that defiles me. If I begin to behave like them, it defiles me. But the fact I have some contact with them doesn’t defile me. Jesus Christ could eat and drink with sinners, but He didn’t become one, but He ministered to them.

So, we are to be living in the now age for the Lord. So don’t give up! I’m encouraged by this because this is God’s will. So, I think I just get through today. How much more of this can we put up with? Wait a minute, this is part of the salvation work of God’s grace that we should live as He intends in the now age. But we say, what am I going to do with the kids and the grandkids growing up? What’s it going to be like for them? Well, we better be modeling and living an example for them of what godliness in the now age is. That it is possible. Thus, by God’s grace, should they come to know Him, they will have had an example to follow in the now age.

“We live looking,” verse 13, “for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” God’s grace has appeared and brought salvation. It’s teaching us how to live. In the context of that grace, we have an otherworld focus. We are “looking for the blessed hope.” There is an eager expectancy pictured here. I am concerned and focused on manifesting the grace of God in my life today, but I have a focus of life that transcends and goes beyond this life. I am “looking for the blessed hope.” The “blessed hope” here is the “appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior.” So, the blessed hope is the appearing. I’m not looking for two things, the appearing and the blessed hope, but they go together. The blessed hope that we have is what? The appearing again of our Savior. The grace of God has appeared, verse 11. We are looking for the re-appearance of that grace, again, in the person of the one who is our God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

So, even though we have a responsibility to live in the now age, we are not focused on the now age. We are focused on the coming of the One who is our Lord and Savior. Paul doesn’t get into the details of the appearing of whether this is the rapture or the second coming to earth. He’s just talking about that is the focus. Now, for us as the Church, He will appear for us when He calls us to meet Him in the air. Remember, 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul says I don’t want you who have experienced the loss in death of loved ones who trusted in the Savior. I don’t want you to grieve as those who have no hope, because we have a blessed hope. Because we believe that Christ is coming again. And He’ll bring with Him those who have died.

And there will be a time, at the glorification of the body, when we will see Christ face to face and be re-united with our loved ones. That’s the blessed hope. So don’t live as those who have no hope. Don’t grieve as those who have no hope. The grace of God is teaching and instructing us and we are looking for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior.

Turn over to 1 John, chapter 3, again. 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God.” You see that emphasis will be developed through 1 John 3. We are the children of God, “and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.” We know that if He should appear, that we’re looking for the blessed hope, the appearing of our Great God and Savior. We know that “if He should appear, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him just as He is.” At that time, we shall be glorified. Our salvation will be brought to it’s completion. That work of transformation will be realized. “Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself just as He is pure.” You know, people say, I don’t study prophecy. I’m willing to leave the future in God’s hands. You know, the old I’m a pan-millennialist: I believe it will all pan out. It’s just in God’s hands, and we go on. But there’s a problem. That focus on what is going to take place purifies me in the now age. It changes radically the way I live. I don’t want to study the coming of the Lord and the events associated with that just to satisfy my curiosity. But the study of that sharpens my focus and causes me to realize the overwhelming importance of living for Him today, because I am one who will be transformed into conformity with His glory when He shall appear.

Note verse 4 of 1 John 3, while you’re here, “Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.” It goes on to draw a contrast. I mention that verse because, come back to Titus, we’re going to hit that theme here and you will have seen it there. So, we live with another world focus. Our attention riveted on the coming of Christ.

Verse 14, “This Christ is the one who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed.” So, we’ve picked up what he mentioned in verse 11, “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation.” Verse 14, this Christ who is the manifestation of the grace of God “gave Himself for us.” That was His sacrifice on the cross. “That He might redeem us.” The word to “redeem” means to set free by paying a price, by paying a ransom.

1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 18, says, “You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold.” The things you inherited from your parents. “But you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.” The spotless, unblemished Lamb of God. That was the price of our redemption, the death of the Son of God. That’s why it’s such a travesty to say that people could be saved by going to Church, by keeping the Ten Commandments, by giving their money, by being baptized. No, we are redeemed with something far more precious, we are redeemed by the death of Christ. He paid the penalty for sin, because “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”


Back in Titus, chapter 2, verse 14, “He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed.” So, the first thing He did in His death on our behalf is to set us free from the bondage of sin. He redeemed us by paying the price, dying in our place. “From every lawless deed.” Remember, we just read 1 John 3:4. “Sin is lawlessness.” That’s what sin is at heart. It’s rebellion against God, it’s a rejection of God and His authority in our lives. Sin is lawlessness. Christ set us free from bondage and slavery to sin. And “purified for Himself a people for His own possession.” He not only set us free from bondage to sin, He purifies and cleanses us from all the defilement of sin that we might be a people that belong to Him. “A people for His own possession.” Something that belongs to God in a special way and in a special sense. This one who is our Savior is our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, we become His special possession. A people that belongs to Him in a unique and special sense. All things belong to God ultimately. The general sense, He is the creator and sovereign of all, but those redeemed and purified by Him are His special people.

A concept that came out of the Old Testament where Israel was selected as the nation that would belong to Him. And now God’s working in all to Himself the Church, a people of all nationalities, to be special and unique in their relationship to Him. This people, set free from the bondage of sin, purified from the defilement of sin. God’s people are to be zealous for good deeds. Now, you note the order here. The people who have been set free, the people that have been purified, they are the people to be zealous for good deeds. People miss this! They think, oh, I’m going to do my best. I’m going to serve God. Wait a minute! Wait a minute. We’ve got to get the order right. You must be redeemed. You must be purified. Then you serve Him.

But let me say something, the people that have been set free, the people that have been purified are to be the people who are zealous for good deeds. Believers are to be aggressively, enthusiastically about the work of God in the world. I referred to Ephesians 2:8 and 9, “Wherefore, by grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not as a result of works that no man should boast.” But verse 10 goes on to tell us, that we are to do good works, the good works that God foreordained and prepared for us as the redeemed to do.

You know, I think there is serious question about the salvation of one who wants to say, oh, yes, I’ve trusted Christ, but he has no enthusiasm, no zeal, minimal interest in doing the will and works of God. Something’s wrong! Because Christ gave Himself to set us free, gave Himself to purify us, gave Himself that we might be the people of God who are, what? Are plodding about the work of God? No, zealously, enthusiastically, not holding back in our pursuit of doing God’s will and God’s work. Why should you have to try to talk the people of God into studying the word of God? Why should you have to beg them to come and study God’s word? It ought to be the delight and hunger and passion of our life. I fear what has happened is we’ve filled our churches with many people who don’t know the Savior. So [they] have no zeal for serving Him.


You need to ask yourself, am I zealous for doing the work of God? I’m not saying, I always want to do it! But I have to say that even when I don’t want to do it, I want to do it. That just compounds the misery. I don’t want to go to Bible study. I want to stay home and watch television. I stay home and I’m miserable because I know I should be at Bible study. And I really want to be, I just don’t feel like it. That’s where the self-discipline comes in.

So, I don’t want to give a misunderstanding that every morning I wake up and say, oh, good! Just a day to study the word and serve the Lord! That’s what I need to tell myself, but sometimes I wake up and say, oh, no, not another day. Pull the pillow over my head. I must remind myself of the grace of God and what the day is about, what is important, what the focus is to be: zealous for the work of God.

Well, I’ve been trying to do my task, because verse 15 says, “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” We have like the bookends here. Verse 1 of chapter 2, “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.” Verse 15, “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.” The conduct and behavior that we’ve talking about in chapter 2, that’s consistent with healthy teaching. These are the things you are to speak, to teach, to exhort, encourage and challenge people to do, and rebuke them when they don’t do them. Reprove “with all authority.” Because Titus was someone important? Because I am someone who has authority? No, because the word of God is true. God has spoken. The authority there has come from the God who has given His word. So, it’s commanded not because of who Titus is, who I am or any other teacher is, but because this is what God has said, “Let no one disregard you.”

A constant problem. The Corinthians found reasons to ignore Paul. Strong letters, weak person, and on it went. Timothy and Titus had even more problems because they weren’t apostles themselves. So, it’s one thing if Paul tells me I have to do it, but it’s another thing if Timothy or Titus tell me I have to do it. No, the issue is this is what God has said, regardless of who the human messenger is that is conveying it. “Let no one disregard you” in that sense, because the truth is God’s truth.

God’s grace is marvelous and beautiful. You know, that we can be here and talk about God’s grace. You know, it’s free. Grace has to be free. It’s available to you. God’s salvation been brought to all men and God is commanding all, everywhere to repent. God wants you to turn from your sin, turn from trusting yourself, turn from your rebellion against Him, repent and recognize our great God and Savior Christ Jesus gave Himself. He went to the cross to pay the penalty for sin, so that the penalty for your sin might be paid so that you could be set free by trusting in Him. So that you could be purified and cleansed and become a child of God and thus live a life that is pleasing to Him.


We are blessed as a people. Aren’t we blessed to be brought together as a Church? To be called together as God’s people? Not because we deserve it. Not because we are better than others, but because God sovereignly in grace has drawn us to Himself, opened our blinded eyes and caused us to see and believe in His Son Jesus Christ. What a privilege and blessing it is to come together and worship Him, to be nurtured and nourished on His Word, to join together as a body of believers in serving Him and doing His will in the world today. How privileged we are to be called to live out the character of God in it’s holiness and purity, righteously and godly and sensibly in the now age? Greatly encouraged to know that God in grace has made such a full and abundant provision for me. Not just that I could be cleansed from the past, not just that I could be prepared for the future, but His grace is an enabling power in my life that I might draw upon His sufficiency and find Him adequate to live for Him until Christ comes.

So, let’s pray together: Thank you, Lord, for the magnificence of Your grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin. Lord, we thank You for the appearance of that grace in the coming of Christ to Calvary. The manifestation of that grace in the life of the redeemed today, and, Lord, the anticipation of the future appearing of that grace and the coming again of our Lord and Savior. Lord, may we, individually, and we as a Church take to heart what your grace teaches us as we deny the things of this world and we manifest the beauty of Your character. That by Your grace through us in our testimony others might come to believe in the Savior and be nurtured and nourished in the grace that we are experiencing. All for your honor and glory we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.