When the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone
that believes[1] comes into the lives of people, then a real change of life is to be expected.
Sadly, it must be said that one meets many people who have had some kind of
religious experience, but in the long term it appears to have made no
difference.
Some have grown up in a
Christian home, they had been baptised as infants and yet they have never come
to Christ themselves. Others have been baptised in the hope that this would
make them a Christian. They were never thoroughly instructed concerning the purpose
and meaning of baptism to begin with. Others have accepted Christ by walking to the front of the church, praying
the sinners prayer and then, having been
pronounced by a pastor
or counsellor that they had thereby become a Christian, feel after a while that there is no change happening. Whatever your Christian conversion experience
may be, if it did not reverse the
direction of your life, and if it does
not presently transform you, then you
are not likely to be converted at all.
Our contention from Paul’s letter to Titus is that
the receiving of the gospel of Jesus changes your life.
The gospel had come to Crete, an island of morally degenerate
people (cf. 1:12). In the midst of
this moral mess, people became followers of Jesus. Their lives began to change.
Churches were planted. Godly elders were
installed in the church (1: 5-16).
These qualified elders were to teach the church and watch over the church, for
there were many corrupting influences, directed by the archenemy of the church,
Satan who seeks to destroy the young church at all times[2].
New
converts had to be instructed in the faith they now embraced. This teaching and training was to be done at
many levels. Older men, older women, young men and young women had to learn to
live this new life in accordance with the gospel they had embraced (2:1-10).
We now come to the climax
of this little letter in 2:11-15. It provides the theological basis for the practical
instructions given in vv.1-10, as the
apostle Paul affirms his conviction concerning the ability and the power of the gospel to save
and to change all kinds of people (even the worst[3])
for good: “11 For the grace of God has
appeared, bringing salvation for all people,12 training us to renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and
godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing
of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ[4],
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for
himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
SALVATION : The Grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people (v.11)
Follow the logic of Scripture now as we pursue this text. Why can
people change? How can older men, older women, younger men and younger
women, caught in the vicious patterns of sin – how can they change? How can
they not be slaves to sin? How can they be free from sin? It all
begins with this great truth that "the Grace of God has
appeared . What is this Grace of God? It is
not a magic wand; it is not a formula; it is not a thing. The grace of God has appeared in the form of a person, a Saviour. His Name is Jesus Christ.
In the next chapter, in 3:4-7 this powerful experience of God’s grace is clearly explained. The work of salvation
is applied to us by the Triune God: The Father (2:11),
the Son(2:13;3:4), the Holy Spirit (3:5).
But to whom is the
grace applied?
This part of the text needs to be understood in its context
i.e. following the logic of 2:1-10.
This text does not teach that all people will be saved. There is, of course a sense in which the church is called to
proclaim the grace of God in the hope that all will be saved. But Paul is not teaching universal salvation here.
The better translation (in context) is probably, “the
grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation to all kinds of people… i.e. the grace of God comes to all kinds of people irrespective of, gender, race (yes , even
Cretans can be saved!), age or social
class. In heaven we will find a ransomed people for God from every tribe and language
and people and nation (Rev. 5:10; 7:9).
Not all will be saved, but God will have for Himself a chosen people from all
kinds of people.
Grace for Living
Now that Paul has established the doctrine of salvation for a
chosen people of God, he goes on to explain how that salvation ( the
act of having been justified by grace cf. 3:7) now expresses itself in an ability to please God through
sanctified living…
12 training us to
renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the present age 13 waiting for our blessed hope,
the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, 14
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for
himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Here we see that the grace God not only saves (and justifies) all kinds
of people from sin, but we also see that the grace of God is involved in our sanctification. The grace that has appeared does not leave us as we are, but it also trains us (Gr.paideuō –instructing, educating). This word is most often applied to children, and
so it means to train by the use of discipline. It
sometimes has the force of chastisement. Hebrews 12:5-11 best conveys the idea of God’s grace-based training. So, grace is our teacher. Grace is our
instructor. What does the grace-based
training of God teach us?
·
To
renounce ungodliness and worldly passions (negative)
·
To
live self -controlled (note 2:2,5,6), upright and godly lives (positive)
·
Redeem
us from all lawlessness
·
Purify
us
Paul affirms that those who have become
recipients of the grace of God are
trained (this can be a challenging experience)
by God in this present age. This training means that we
are developing the ability to persevere,
endure, discern (i) what is not good and
(ii) what is good, by way of contrast. We are trained to love the world and the
things of this world less. We are trained
to control ourselves in all aspects of living, and thus we can live godly lives in this present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing
of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ…”.
It is very important that we keep the goal in view. Many people give up on the Christian faith,
(i) because they do not train and
(ii) they do
not keep the end in view.
It is questionable
that such people (notwithstanding the fact that many appear to be greatly gifted) had received
saving grace in the first place.
I want you to see that true salvation is a package
deal. When you are saved, you persevere. That is the logic of our text. While training and perseverance are words that
speak of personal commitment, we need to remember that they are preceded by the
grace of God - by enablement.
I can train for this
Christian race, I can run in this Christian race, I can endure this Christian race, BECAUSE I am graciously enabled to do that. Not
everyone endures (just as not everyone endures the Namib desert dash or a marathon). We see this in the pastoral
epistles. Phygelus and Hermogenes turned
away from Paul (2 Tim. 1:15) Hymeneaus
deserted Paul ( 2 Tim. 4:9) and Alexander the coppersmith
did the cause of God great harm ( 2 Tim.
4: 14,15). One of my constant prayers is that I may endure, that I may run
and finish the race by the grace of God.
I believe that it is a prayer that God
hears and answers. Careless
Christians beware!
By means of enduring this training, by means of living a God –
centered life, while waiting for Christ’s coming ( whether by our death or by His
visible appearing) we become
a people “purified for His own
possession, who are zealous for good works.” Our sanctification, the work of God in our souls leads to
purification. But it is ultimately all by His grace. Grace is the
Christians starting point, and he ends the race by grace. We enter heaven being entirely purified by the shed blood of
Christ.
THE THREEFOLD TASK OF THE PASTOR- TEACHER (Titus 2:15)
15 Declare these
things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Here Paul lays before Titus the
threefold task of the Christian pastor and preacher.
·
Speak these things! (Gr. tauta
lalei) It is a task of proclamation.
There are some things about which
argument is not possible and on which discussion is not relevant. There are times
when the preacher must say: "Thus says
the Lord." When it comes to the doctrine of salvation, this is what your preacher must declare to you.
·
Exhort! (Gr. parakaleō) Offer encouragement.
Any preacher who reduces his
audience to bleak despair has failed in his task. Men must be convicted of
their sin, yes, but they must be helped to see that their case is not hopeless; they must be led to the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that grace which is greater than all their sin.
·
Rebuke! Use conviction. The eyes of the sinner must be opened to his
sin. The Christian message is not a drug to send men to sleep; it is rather the
blinding light which shows men themselves as they are and God as he is.
Do all this with a
sense of your delegated authority. Paul
says to Titus, “Remember that this
message is not yours. It is God’s Word.” Don’t tone the message down. It is after
all a message of hope for those who will
hear. They must hear. Their eternal destiny
is at stake.
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