TITUS 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
God’s grace brought us salvation. Paul said in Ephesians 2:1-7 God looked at us, while we were in our sins, as dead. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
We were dead and didn’t even know it.
Because he saved us, we cannot continue to live the life where we walk according to the world. We cannot live by the spirit who works in the sons of disobedience. We cannot live our lives fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and of the mind. We cannot live as the world does, thinking only about ourselves and the fulfillment of our lusts and desires. Why? We died to that life when we became Christians and were baptized into Christ. We buried that “old man of sin.” That old way of living should not appeal to us anymore. We are dead to that and alive to Christ. So, what do we do? We deny, once and for all (as is noted in the Greek usage of the word) ungodliness and worldly lusts! Beloved, the church must deal with its worldliness and stop being like the world.
It is not enough to quit doing something; we have to replace what we were doing with something else. What does Paul remind Titus of in Titus 2?
We should live soberly. The ESV translates this as self-controlled. We must control our lives and thoughts, for it is our thoughts that lead to action. Hence, we must guard our hearts and watch we put into our lives, lest they show in our words and actions.
We should live righteously. Doing justice to our neighbor and to other human beings. We should do what is right, not what is convenient, ALL THE TIME.
We should live godly – GOD LIKE – all the time. If God lives in us, if Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, and the Spirit indwells us through the word, these should help us to remember whose we are and never do anything to “sully” the name of our God.
We should live our lives looking forward to going to heaven – indeed, we should look for the Lord’s coming as we would look for a loved one who has been gone for a long time. I remember waiting up one night to open the door for my dad who came back home from Vietnam. Should we not look in the same way for our Heavenly Father who will take us home to be with him?
Why should we look with anticipation for Jesus who gave himself for us so that we could be redeemed from all iniquity and sin? We should always remember the cost of our salvation and NEVER TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED! And, that should motivate us to greater godliness and righteousness in our lives. We replace the sinful, evil, and wicked with the pure, righteous and just things.
Not only did he redeem us, but he purified us as well. He cleansed us from sin, and we need to strive for the holiness that sets us apart and makes us a peculiar people.
ZEALOUS FOR GOOD WORKS. We have the motive for driving sin out of our lives, and we have the motive for our labors for the Lord. Are we zealous? Are we fire up about the work of the Lord? Or are we “ho hum, another day – big deal.” “Oh well, another worship service . . .”
What good works are you doing right now that will bring glory to God and our Savior Jesus Christ? We cannot tell others what they need to be doing – what ARE YOU doing for the glory of God?
Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.
Tommy
Thanks to all of you who do work behind the scenes and make everything go smoothly when we worship together. Thank you to those who work behind the scenes and try to meet needs when you see them. Thank you for all you do — the Lord is aware — keep being zealous!
