In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. Titus 2:1

Kinda backtracking a little from previous posts…but scripture is so cool that every time you go back, you have infinite potential to go back and see something you didn’t really appreciate before.

Take a second to digest this single sentence.

So often, you hear the question, “Why would a loving God send people to hell?”

Answer: He doesn’t. People chose to go there.

OR

“If God is so loving, then why are there people suffering with cancer or starving?”Answer: We live in a fallen world.

Simple truths found in this scripture:

1. God CANNOT lie.

His word is truth.

2. God promised hope in eternal life before the world began.

This life that we know of is NOT God’s original design. It’s not the life he intended for us to live.

God’s intent for us before the world began was for us to live in eternity with Him. That was His plan.

What went wrong is that Adam and Eve used their free will to cross the ONE boundary that God set in place for them. That choice has affected every living person that followed after them.

TRUTH: God set specific, clear, and understandable boundaries for us to follow in order to receive His blessing. As people, we tend to want to push the envelope and very often step outside of those boundaries. Is there any wonder why we miss out on His blessing?

Final story: The San Diego Medical Examiner chaplain was on the scene were a young man had committed suicide. The young man’s gay boyfriend was there and upon seeing the chaplain, the boyfriend challenged the chaplain asking, “What is he doing here? If your God is real, then why would he let this happen?” Without flinching, the chaplain looked around the room and noticed the Satanic symbols along with other anti-God paraphernalia and answered with his own question: “Well judging from the things you keep in your home, God wasn’t a welcome influence here. Why would you blame him?”

Meditate on these truths today: God cannot lie and he has already promised us hope of eternal life. For those of us who are in Christ, we are ALREADY living in eternity. So let’s live like it.

“Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Titus 2:15

Let’s do a quick review. Paul starts off his epistle to Titus outlining the qualifications for elders. We know that, above all, godly leaders are to be blameless. They are to hold fast to sound doctrine, and thus be an example.

Why? Because there were believers in Crete who were out of line and causing problems. There were people spreading false teachings and causing disorder in the body.

 Paul contrasts this situation at the beginning of Chapter two saying, “But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine.” He then describes how a church should be, and qualifies it all as a response to God’s grace.

This brings us to today’s verse. Here Paul is reenforcing this idea of “speak these things”.

As I read this, I can’t help but think of some of the sad things that are going on in some, not all, churches today. Some “pastors” would rather tickle people’s ears than teach them sound doctrine. And while the church attendance climbs upwards, the spiritual condition of the flock is abysmal at best. You have church-goers, but not genuine believers who are grounded in the scriptures and actively deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.

This type of situation is unacceptable, and Paul makes it very clear to Titus that the unruliness in Crete needs to stop.

“Speak these things”. Don’t sugar coat it. Teach them God’s ways. Teach them what it means to be godly and righteous. Teach them to live soberly and blameless before God and men.  Teach them about God’s grace and how that should affect how we live our lives.

“exort”. The greek here is “parakaleo” and means to urge, beseech someone to pursue some course of conduct. The root of this word is the same as the word used in some texts to describe the Holy Spirit. There is this idea of coming alongside, not in a domineering way but with the intent of building them up and encouraging them.

“rebuke with all authority” The new testament has three verbs for the word “rebuke”. One of them is used simply as a means of pointing out one’s alleged wrongs whether deserved or not. The word used here “elencho ” is used as a means to convict someone clearly in the wrong. As a leader responsible for the church in Crete, Titus is called to correct those who are in obvious transgression. The authority comes in light of sound doctrine. It is inarguable and is done not to tear the offender down, but as explained before, to encourage and build up.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Titus 2:11-14

That’s quite a run-on sentence! Let’s break it down piece by piece.

But before that, let’s review what the word “For” indicates to us. Whenever you see the word “For” or “because”, it is important to look back at what was just said. Paul begins Titus 2 with an exhortation for a church to be blameless. In this piece of scripture, he explains “Why”.

Grace brings salvation: In very few words, verse 11 presents a tremendous piece of truth. Salvation is not something to be earned. It is a gift. The word grace describes unmerited favor. It’s something given freely. We also see here that this grace is available to ALL men. Whether or not a person CHOOSES to accept that grace is another story.

Grace influences how we live: A healthy understanding of God’s grace should effect a response from us. To deny ungodliness is to reject the things that are not of God and to disassociate ourselves from the things of our fallen world. To live soberly is to live with an accurate understanding of who we are and our position with God. We are sinners. He is holy. To be godly is to be righteous, because God is righteous. One key thing to understand here is that we are to live righteously and godly lives not to earn God’s favor, but as a response to the favor He has ALREADY given us.

We have hope in Jesus: If someone gave you an amazing gift, wouldn’t you be anxious to see them, to be able to say thank you face to face? What greater gift is there than salvation from eternal separation from God; something we all deserve. Jesus’s sacrifice redeemed us from everything we’ve done wrong and the hope of seeing him is what we are to look forward to us we continue life on this side of eternity. Let’s be honest, living a godly life isn’t easy. Sin is something we will always have to deal with until we die. But as we remember what Christ did for us and for the purifying work he has already done and continues to do in our lives, this should free us from any feelings of guilt we may have from sins past, present, or future. The freedom from that condemnation is what makes us zealous for good works, to share that grace given to us to other people.