Titus Series - Saved in Order To Do Good

 

Saved in Order To Do Good

Titus 3:1-7

In a world where the ground rules of societies and politics are to slander anyone and everyone who doesn’t agree with them, we as the body of Christ are not to be entangled in this foray of malificus behavior. I know how easy it is to speak words against the demonic by attaching it to the personhood of people who are in leadership or vying for leadership, or responsible for the malfeasance against us. I’m reminded of the traditional story of Peter and his wife in the arena of death in Rome. It is said that Peter told his wife to forgive those who were doing this to her and look to Christ in heaven’s throne room, to the One who also forgave those who  “yelled crucify '' him and to those who did the deadly act.

Paul too was accustomed to the persecution by the religious and the heathen, and in it all he told us to be subject to the authorities of this world. So let’s read the first portion of the text. “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”

Paul’s exhortation to Titus was to take the high road, Jesus’ narrow path. Titus was to set the example with his own life as well as remind the Cretans of what they had been taught. They were to be the witnesses of the Good News, of the miraculous working power of the Holy Spirit to change a person from the inside out through salvation in Jesus Christ. The evidence was a transformed life in the inward attitudes and actions of the heart and soul. Paul may have been reminded of Jesus’ words about what came from the mouth and speaks from the heart. “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” (Matt. 12:34-36 MSG) 

For Titus and Paul both understood it was only by the grace of God that they had been saved, for they weren’t much different from these rulers and authorities than they had been in their unregenerate lives. For the Cretan’s already knew how to be evil in their lives, it was the new life in Jesus and the regeneration by the Holy Spirit that was the good news of the Gospel that they needed to hear and receive. 

Application - My sons and I went to an MLS game in Seattle. The fans in our section were exceptionally rude and vulgar. I told my sons that as they saw and heard these fans to remember that we were no different than they were before we came to Christ for salvation and we were transformed into the likeness of Christ Jesus by the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit. This is the mission field into which Jesus came to save those who were lost. As well, I have had to repent of words and thoughts against the established political authorities' handling and the enacting of immoral laws that God disdains. But God is merciful as he reminded me of Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

The Word of God says that he establishes those in authority, for God gives us rulers that accorded to the  hearts of the people and to fulfill His will and purpose. As Paul stated in 1 Cor. 10:23, “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.” God permits the establishment of corrupt and immoral leaders so as to discipline the people he loves, because as God has said, “We desire what our hearts want, and the results of these desires are a reflection of these hearts.” (my summation)

If we are going to complain to God about leaders in a country, state, or cities, we must first ask ourselves and pray for a change in the hearts of the people and possibly ourselves. For just like Israel, their hearts and actions were a reflection of the kings and rulers that governed them after they had rejected God and His will and purpose.

 Next Paul lines out the process of salvation to Titus and the Cretans. For God’s will was the goodness of God, his love and kindness that sent His Son to save the world by believing in Him for salvation. So let’s look at the last portion of the text. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Paul knew the love of the Father through the Son (1 Cor. 13), but it was the enactment of this love in the life of a believer that really set them apart, the holiness and godliness that only come through the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit in the new life of a christian. It was the love, grace, and mercy of God for His creation that He longed for that restored relationship and fellowship that had been stripped away by sin. Titus was to remind and teach the Cretans the purpose and will of God the Father was to save and restore His creation to Himself by the generous workings of salvation by Jesus Christ on the cross. God is love, compassion, mercy, and many other attributes, but it is grace, His unmerited favor, that enabled the lost to be justified through the substitutionary work of Christ as the payment for the sins of all those who would come as believers and yield to the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In this way they would have eternal life and become heirs in the kingdom of God in heaven.

Application - I have to ask myself, how much do I really love? Is it like the Father, an agape love that loves regardless if those love me back? I reflect back to Ephesians 3, for it gives me the truth of how much God loves me and how I should love others like Him. And reflect back on the words in 1 John 3. “ For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another ... .This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us…Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 Jn. 3:11,16,18)

If we really love Jesus we will obey His words and they will be evidenced by our words and actions. 

God gave us His Holy Spirit to live in us, by the promise of Jesus to all who would believe in Him. It is in the Holy Spirit that we are transformed, made new by the regenerative work of the Spirit in us. Christ washes us clean of sin by His blood shed on the cross. “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!; “Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” (Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:2)

This is why Paul can tell us as he did Titus and the Cretans, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

In closing, I would like to ask everyone to pray for wisdom, understanding, discernment, and instruction from God in standing fast in the Truth of God Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. 

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. I’m adding answers each week to questions that pertain to our time today. Thank you http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com