Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 15

This is our final post in our study of the Christian life as we look at Titus 2!

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

God’s SAVING grace is also a TEACHING grace (vv. 11-12).  As a WAITING grace (v. 13), it helps us wait for Jesus to return for us. We’ve also seen that Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify us (v. 14).  The kind of people Jesus wants are those who are eager to do what is good, whenever and wherever we can!

These are powerful concepts which, if properly communicated, will have dramatic effects on those who pay attention to them.  The Christian gospel (the saving grace of God) not only redeems people, but tutors us in godly living. And we learn to be patient as we serve Him, waiting for His return.  But we are not to be waiting around — we are to be turning away from wickedness and focusing on being purified by that grace.  An eagerness to do good ought to mark the child of God.

If Titus 2:11-14 is a summary of what God’s grace does and is doing in the believer’s life, then what do we do with these truths?  We teach them to others!  We do not let those who don’t believe them discourage us or push us into silence about what GOD has said! These things we should TEACH.  We should use these truths to ENCOURAGE and to REBUKE WITH ALL AUTHORITY!  We can’t prevent people from despising us or the message — but we can keep their unbelief from silencing us.

A few questions:

1.  Have you received this salvation-bringing grace for yourself?

2.  Are you a student of God’s grace, allowing it to instruct you in both the negative and the positive aspects of following Christ?

3.  Are you waiting for Christ to return, busy in His work, and rejoicing in His full deity?

4.  How’s it going with the good-deed-doing?

5.  This touchy matter of purity — are you making progress in that whole area of growth?

6.  Do you look for opportunities to pass these truths on, to gently but clearly apply these first to yourself, then to those God gives you to influence?

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 14

Let’s continue our study of the Christian life as we look at Titus 2:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

God’s SAVING grace is also a TEACHING grace (vv. 11-12).  As a WAITING grace (v. 13), it helps us wait for Jesus to return for us. We’ve also seen that Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness (v. 14).

But He also gave Himself for us to purify for Himself (καθαρίσῃ ἑαυτῷ) a people that are His very own (v. 14).  A holy God deserves a pure people.  He did not give Himself just to redeem; He gave Himself to purify!

We notice today that He gave Himself to purify a special kind of people:  “a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”  We belong to Him– and He wants us to do good!  I love what John Wesley said.  He said, “Do all the good you can by all the means you can in all the ways you can in all the places you can in all the times you can to all the people you can as long as ever you can.”

We can’t save ourselves by our good deeds — but we have been saved to DO good deeds!

We have been saved to do good as His special people.  A writer by the name of Mary Lyon said,  “Trust in God and do something!” (to be continued)

 

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 13

Let’s continue our study of the Christian life as we look at Titus 2:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

God’s SAVING grace is also a TEACHING grace (vv. 11-12).  As a WAITING grace (v. 13), it helps us wait for Jesus to return for us. We’ve also seen that Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness (v. 14).

We learn today that He not only gave Himself to redeem us from all wickedness, but He also gave Himself for us to purify for Himself (καθαρίσῃ ἑαυτῷ) a people that are His very own (v. 14).  A holy God deserves a pure people.  He did not give Himself just to redeem; He gave Himself to purify!  A merely redeemed people is NOT what He wants.  He wants a purified people!

Do we already think that we are pure?  This term καθαρίσῃ  is used in this form twice in the New Testament.  The term is used here in Titus 2:14 but also in I John 1:9 where we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  The Savior not only FORGIVES; He also PURIFIES.

Other forms of this word καθαρίσῃ are used 31 times in the New Testament.  The verb καθαρίζω can be translated as “to make clean, to cleanse” (from physical stains or dirt, Mt. 23:25; for cleansing of a leper, Mt. 8:2; or to remove by cleansing, Mt. 8:3).  In a moral sense, the word καθαρίζω can mean “to free from the defilement of sin and from faults; to purify from wickedness” (2 Cor. 7:1; Acts 15:9).  It can also refer to the idea of freeing from the guilt of sin (I Jn. 1:7, 9; Heb. 9:14; Eph. 5:26).

Gotten scrubbed recently?

Has it dawned on you, Christian, that Christ gave Himself for you to PURIFY you?  to cleanse you from the defilement of sin?  to free you from the guilt of sin?  Salvation is only the start!  As Paul instructs husbands to love their wives, he says in Ephesians 5:  ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

Gotten washed recently?  That’s part of the reason that Christ came and gave Himself! (to be continued)

 

 

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 12

We continue our study of the Christian life as we look at Titus 2:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

We have seen that God’s grace is a SAVING grace (v. 11).  It is also a TEACHING grace (v. 12) that helps us learn what to deny and what to affirm.  We have also seen that God’s grace is a WAITING grace (v. 13), assisting us to wait for God the Son to return for us.  In thinking about the Son, we have seen that He is the One who gave himself for us (v. 14).

But why did He give Himself for us?  The text is quite clear: to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own . . . (v. 14).  We needed REDEMPTION!  The term λυτρώσηται is from a word group that means “to release by paying a ransom, to redeem.”  It is used three times in the New Testament:
(1) In Lk. 24:21 we read of Jesus meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  They were devastated because their Rabbi had been executed.  They say to the risen Jesus (not knowing that He had conquered death): “we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel . . .”

(2) In I Pe. 1:18-19 we read: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

(3) Here in Titus 2:14 we read that Jesus “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own . . .”

Slaves get redeemed.  Those who don’t see themselves as slaves don’t need redemption.  Jesus declared in John 8- “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (v. 34).  That includes everyone.  Everyone is a slave to sin — and needs to be redeemed out of that slavery.

Notice:  He redeems us from all wickedness.

The term ἀνομίας is a simple word meaning “no law.”  It can be translated as “lawlessness” or “iniquity” and describes the condition of one without law, either because ignorant of it, or because violating it.  The term is used 15 times in the New Testament.  Here are a few of those uses:
Mt. 7:23-  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν (literally, “the ones practicing the lawlessness”).
13:41- The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν (literally, “the ones doing the lawlessness”).
Rom. 4:7- “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. Μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, (“transgressions” [literally, “lawlessnesses”] can be forgiven!
2 Cor. 6:14-  Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  Μὴ γίνεσθε ἑτεροζυγοῦντες ἀπίστοις· τίς γὰρ μετοχὴ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἀνομίᾳ, ἢ τίς κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος; (here the term is translated as “wickedness”).
Heb. 10:17- Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts
 I will remember no more.” καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀνομιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθήσομαι ἔτι·  (here the term is translated as “lawless acts”).
I Jn. 3:4- Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.  Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία. (literally, here we are told that everyone doing sin is “also doing lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”).

In our text, the expression is ἀπὸ πάσης ἀνομίας and can be translated as “from every lawless deed . . .”

One of the questions that occurs to me is this:  Is Jesus redeeming us from the wickedness of the world — or the wickedness in ourselves? (to be continued)

 

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 10

We are learning a great deal about the Christian life from the Apostle Paul in Titus 2.  There he writes —

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

God’s grace not only saves us; it teaches us how to live.  And this Christian life involves both denying (ungodliness and worldly passions) and affirming (living soberly, uprightly, and godly in this present world).  Christians are not to impose their values on the world in some militaristic way, but to seek to influence culture as salt and light.

Today we move on and notice that God’s grace is not only a SAVING grace and a TEACHING grace.  It is also a WAITING grace.  Notice what verse 13 says, “while we wait for the blessed hope . . .”

I don’t know about you, but I hate waiting.  Unless the person or reason I am waiting on or for is worth it!  And Jesus is worth it!  We are waiting “for the blessed hope — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”!

Whenever my wife says those four most feared words to me any husband can hear (“Let’s go shopping, Dear!”), she knows that I will be spending some time waiting for her.  She makes sure I take a book to read (maybe several), finds a coffee shop in the mall, takes the credit card, and says, “I’ll be back in a few days, Dear.”  I don’t mind waiting for her.  We Christians are waiting for our Savior to return.  And ours is not wasted waiting. It is worthwhile waiting, for He is coming back for us!

Ours is not wasted waiting!

By the way, for how many people are we Christians waiting, according to verse 13?  We are waiting for one Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice how He is described here: “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”!  What clearer statement of His full deity could there be?  Are you keeping busy for Him as you are waiting?

(By the way, the Apostle Paul is our example in godly waiting.  Take a look at Acts 17 for what Paul does as he waits for his companions). (to be continued)

 

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 9

The Apostle Paul has much to say about the Christian life in Titus 2:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Thus far in our study of Titus 2 we have seen that God’s grace not only brings salvation, but it teaches us how to live.  Negatively, it instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly passions.  Positively, it teaches us to live soberly, upright, and godly, in this present age!  Right now!

In our last post, we said that our world hates Christians “imposing” their values on culture.  It also criticizes Christians for being “so heavenly-minded that they are of no earthly good.”  The world can’t have it both ways!  Perhaps the following chart may be helpful: 

It seems to me that we Christians have three options when it comes to how we live in this world. We may live a private life of INSIGNIFICANCE, a life we live to ourselves, by ourselves, without any effort to impact our culture. We may seek to live a life of IMPOSITION in which we strive to take over the world for Jesus, getting angry because our culture is becoming more and more ungodly, and thinking that we will Christianize our society for the Savior. These two options, it seems to be, lack biblical warrant.

Jesus calls us to a third option — to be salt and light in our world. We are to seek to INFLUENCE our culture for good. Salt preserves what is good; light illumines the darkness. Both preservation and illumination are important in a just and good society. Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:16) (to be continued)

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 8

In examining the Apostle Paul’s paragraph on the Christian life found in Titus 2, we saw the following:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Thus far in our study of Titus 2 we have seen that God’s grace not only brings salvation, but it teaches us how to live.

Negatively, God’s grace instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly passions.  Positively, we saw that it teaches us to live soberly, upright, and godly.  WHEN are we to live this way?  Paul makes it clear that God’s grace teaches us to live NOW — “in this present age.”  The expression Paul uses — ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι — can be literally translated “in the now age.”  The phrase is also used in I Timothy 6:17 where we read:  “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”  When are we who are wealthy to put our hope in God?  Now.  While we are in this present world.  When are we to live soberly, righteously, and godly?  NOW. In this present age.

Our world hates Christians “imposing” their values on culture.  It also criticizes Christians for being “so heavenly-minded that they are of no earthly good.”  The world can’t have it both ways!  We are to live IN THE NOW WORLD.  A futuristic Christianity does not attract present people to the reality we have in Christ.  A nostalgic Christianity only entertains aged saints in nursing homes as they reminisce.  Our world needs to see right-now, just-in-time, real Christianity being lived out by convinced, committed, counting-the-cost disciples who are ready to be hated by the world.

 

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 7

In examining the Apostle Paul’s paragraph on the Christian life found in Titus 2, we saw the following:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Thus far in our study of Titus 2 we have seen that God’s grace not only brings salvation, but it teaches us how to live.

Negatively, God’s grace instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly passions.  Positively, we saw that it teaches us to live soberly and upright.

But Paul uses a third adverb to describe how we are to live and that adverb is GODLY.  We are to live godly lives in this present age.

“Your Christianity must be personal — but it dare not be PRIVATE!” (Carl Henry)

The word εὐσεβῶς is used only twice in the New Testament.  In 2 Timothy 3:12 we read, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted . . .”  Paul has just rehearsed his life and ministry in 2 Timothy 3 as well as the persecutions and sufferings he has had to endure.  He then says, “Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them” (v. 11).  Want to be godly?  Then count on persecutions!

The word εὐσεβῶς can also be translated “inward piety.”  That’s precisely what our world wants from us — inward piety!  It’s when our piety — our godliness — gets externalized that we get into trouble. (to be continued)

 

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 6

In examining the Apostle Paul’s paragraph on the Christian life found in Titus 2, we saw the following:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

God’s salvation-bringing grace doesn’t stop at saving us.  It teaches us — and it does so from two perspectives.
First, from a negative perspective, God’s grace shows us what to deny (ungodliness and worldly passions).
Second, from a positive perspective, God’s grace teaches us to live.  We are live (a) soberly, with moderation,
Notice today that we are also instructed to live (b) “upright.”  The word “upright” is δικαίως and is used five times in the New Testament.  As an adverb, it can be translated “justly” or “righteously.”  δικαιως is used in Luke 23:41 by the repentant thief on the cross when he says to the other thief being crucified with Jesus: “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong.”  In I Cor. 15:34, Paul writes: “Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.”  The verb “come back” here has the idea of “return to soberness of mind” or “snap out of!”  Literally, “be sober out of [righteousness].”  (ἐκνήψατε δικαίως- awake up to righteousness!)  In I Thes. 2:10, Paul says “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.”  The term δικαιως is also used in I Peter 2:23 where we read “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

We are to snap out of the stupor of the world and awake to righteousness!  It is right and proper for us followers of Jesus to live righteously; to come back to our senses and stop sinning; to conduct ourselves in holiness, righteousness, and blamelessness; and to entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly.

That’s a tall order for the Jesus-follower.  But that’s how we are to LIVE.  And righteous living always has a double effect:  it draws some (who want to live honorable lives before God) to the Savior and repels others (who want to live life on their terms) away.  (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Basics (A Study of Titus 2): Part 5

In examining the Apostle Paul’s paragraph on the Christian life found in Titus 2, we saw the following:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

God’s grace is not only a SALVATION-OFFERING grace, but also a TEACHING grace.   God’s grace teaches us from two perspectives (negative and positive) how to live the Christian life.  We saw that we are to deny UNGODLINESS and WORLDLY PASSIONS.  But God does not want us to be passionless people!  The same word for “desires” can be translated “lusts” (depending on the context).  We are to deny, to turn away from, ungodliness and the worldly passions.  Some “worldly passions” that occur to me are (1) a sense of entitlement:; (2) an attitude of ownership; and (3) a spirit of minimalism:  I will do only what is expected or required of me, especially in spiritual matters (church involvement, witnessing, social concern).

“I’ll drink to sober living!”

God’s grace also teaches us from a positive perspective how to live the Christian life.  It instructs us what to affirm.  We are to LIVE!  We are not to simply exist or stagger about like religious zombies denying everything we see. We are to LIVE.  How are we to live?  Note that we are to (1) live soberly.  The word used by Paul is σωφρόνως and is used only once in the New Testament (here in Titus 2:12) and may be translated “soberly,” “with moderation,” “prudently, or “with sound mind.”

When followers of Jesus make outrageous choices, live undisciplined lives, embarrass the body of Christ, we should not be surprised that a watching world stops watching us.  And looks elsewhere for truth about God. (to be continued)