Titus 2:11-15

Titus 2:11-15 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 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. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

When we read scriptures such as these and yesterday's passage, people sometimes become confused with two seemingly contradictory ideas: grace and works. How can God's undeserved grace be tied up with works? Which one of those concepts makes us right with God? Paul says, God's undeserved grace teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions. In other words, God's marvelous grace leads us to work: to clean up our lives and to testify of him to the world. One who desires to continue in sin does not know God's grace. If you love someone and take his name as your own, you have an obligation to him. Your uniqueness is still honored, but your lifestyle and your attitude must fit into God's will for all his children. As we study his Word, we learn that He desires for us to take on the nature of his family. Jesus Christ came to increase God's intimate family. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13)

To accomplish this endeavor, Jesus died for us, made us right before God by purifying us through his sacrifice. We are now new creatures, hidden in him, God's children through Christ. But, we are still in the world. Therefore, we display God's family to the world by bringing our fleshly selves under his control. We no longer allow ourselves to harbor hatred, anger, bitterness, nastiness, selfishness, lustfulness, jealousies, and other fleshly desires within our hearts and minds. We continually, in season and out of season, pray to God to deal with our natural sinful characteristics. With the Holy Spirit's help, we put feet to our attitudes by doing good to others, by dealing with others in positive ways. We do not let ourselves become like the servant with one talent, who hides it. No, we become testimonies, representatives of God, by doing what is good. James said, I show you my salvation by what I do. A real belief in God is a transformining one, a consuming one. On God's side we are his children, we are perfect because Jesus Christ is perfect. He alone is the one who purifies us. But, as his servants here, we are to carry out the mission of changing lives, ours and others. We are doing God's will here on Earth as it is in heaven. We follow Paul's admonition when he wrote, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5)

Too many Christians think a Christian life pertains to going to church. Of course, a Christian worships in a collective venue. But, a Christian's life displays God to the world, much like a male peacock displays himself before a female. We want to attract people to the "good news," the glorious colors of God's beauty. Ministers such as Titus keep reminding us of our responsibility to attract people to God. With love, they also tell us how to have a beautiful display of the gospel story ever emanating from our very beings. They remind us of the works we should not participate in, and they inspire us with the Word to be living testimonies of God's grace and love. They function much like the coach who is giving a halftime talk in the locker room. He reminds his players how their lives should be played out on the playing field. It is not the game we talk that counts, it is the game we play. He also individually and collectively relates what the players are doing wrong and what they are doing right. He corrects and encourages, for he is the coach.

Titus is the coach in Crete. As we have seen in the previous breakfast and in this passage, Paul is reminding Titus to teach Christians how they should live and act. He wants Titus to encourage and rebuke with all authority from God as a trustworthy and faithful overseerer of this group of people. He is responsible for them, and it his sacred duty as well as his joy to shepherd them. Each of us must tend our own gardens well. We are not to judge or try to pull the weeds from the gardens of others, but we do well to encourage our brothers and sisters as we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 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.