Hello dear friends,
Grace and peace to you in the liberating name of Jesus,
What a joy it was last Sunday for me to return to one service and experience the joy and energy of our church worshipping together. There was excitement in the room. We had things to celebrate like the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions; completing our Mission 2033 offering; and preparing for Vacation Bible School. We are also looking forward to our first “in person” Grace Family Council and Potluck in nearly 2 years on the 25th. I’m hoping that you can be part of that! Grace Baptist will provide Hamburgers and Hot Dogs with all the trimmings and you can bring whatever you like to complement them. Fellowshipping together will be a joyous occasion too! Please remember when you come that we are starting at 10:00 am on Sundays for the summer!
Now we have been through a lot this past year and a half. At every turn it feels like our country and government are out of control. It’s becoming common place to hear people talking against all kinds of things. But as Christians we are to live on a higher standard. We are to live with joy and gladness in the kingdom of God knowing that we serve a King and kingdom that will never end. We should know that our service in the Lord is not in vain—but that it counts for all eternity. If we were to compare our circumstances with our brothers and sisters of the first century we would count ourselves most fortunate indeed. Let’s count our many blessings we have in Christ. In Titus chapter 3 the Apostle Paul reminds us how we are to live as Christ-followers…
“1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. 3 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.” Titus 3:1-3 (NIV2011)
So here is our reminder that we are to be subject to “rulers and authorities.” Yes, God has established all these authorities Romans 13 says. So we are to be subject to them as unto the Lord. It may rub us the wrong way at times, (and it did me during the pandemic) but ultimately we are to obey them. The exception is when we are told to do something that violates the clear instructions of the Lord. Often times, in our flesh, we like to take the law in our own hands and pass judgments on others. This is not right. God says, “Be obedient and be ready to do whatever is good.” Good as defined by the Lord and not by whatever we feel like at the moment. We are to do good deeds. Why? God had created us to do good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do. See Eph. 2:10.
In verse 2 the Apostle helps us understand a little more about our obedience. He says that we should “slander no one, be peaceable and considerate, always to be gentle toward everyone.” Slander is making false and damaging statements that damage a person’s reputation. This doesn’t mean that we can make damaging statements if they are true (or if we believe they are true) because we are also told to be considerate and peaceable toward everyone. That means as Christ-followers we don’t get to pick and choose who we can be nice to and who we can talk bad about. We are to be considerate of everyone. Why? Because we were redeemed to display our Savior’s character in this world. This is what living in The Kingdom of God looks like. It shouldn’t look like how those in the world live.
Verse 3 reminds us what we were saved from when we were still lost and in our sins. We were foolish. Amen! I can identify with that. I disobeyed God too. At one time we were all deceived (thinking we were correct of course), and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. This is simply addictive behavior… whether it is some form of substance abuse, or some other form of addictive self-serving behavior. The point is we were once enslaved to something that took our life from us, but now we are set free so that we can serve our King who gives us life. Do you remember how life was before you became a Christ-follower? We all lived in malice, which is the desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another. Malice is the result of living for one’s self in a world where you are hated and you hate those who hate you. It is the complete opposite of the life we are called to live in Christ Jesus. How sad. But that’s how we all lived to one extent or another before Christ saved us.
We would all be living in that same self-destructive pattern if it wasn’t for Jesus. In verse 4 Paul teaches us that it wasn’t by our own good works or self-efforts that we were saved. Jesus appeared and He saved us. Listen to verses 4-7…
“4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 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, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
Jesus appeared and demonstrated the “kindness and love of God.” “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” Rom. 5:8. If you think that you somehow deserve salvation because of your exemplary life—think again. God says that “He saved us, NOT because of righteous things we had done.” Our righteous deeds don’t count for salvation because the Bible tells us that “All our righteousness is like filthy rags,” Isaiah 64:6. It doesn’t count. We want it to count because we are typically so proud of our accomplishments. But it doesn’t. Why? Because if we could earn our salvation through our own merits, then Jesus would never have needed to die for us. His death would have been in vain, see Galatians 2:21.
We are saved because of God’s mercy. Mercy at its core is forgiveness. It means that God has withheld from us what we really deserved. What did we deserve? Death! God says that “the wages (our earnings) for sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” see Romans 6:23. So we are not saved by what we have done, but because of God’s mercy. It is about what He has done. How are we saved? The Bible says that it was through two things: #1. We are saved through the washing of rebirth. We were dead in our sins and trespasses but God made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, Ephesians 2:5 says. The washing of rebirth conveys the idea of a resurrected life. Washed of our sins, (forgiven) and made new in Christ (reborn). We are given a new heritage and nature. #2. We were given renewal by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit now resides in those who were reborn. He brings truth, enlightenment, and makes real the life of Christ in us. He is our Heavenly Counselor who teaches the things of Christ. Notice that Paul says that we didn’t get just a little bit of the Spirit… hoping to get a little more later on. No, the Holy Spirit has been (past tense) poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. Our new life and walk in the Kingdom of God is aided by this Holy Spirit. Paul says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength,” Phil. 4:13. It is the Spirit who strengthens us for all things… including being obedient and being ready to do whatever is good as a Child of God. (vs. 1)
God’s purpose for us being reborn and renewed by the Spirit is so that we can experience 2 things listed in verse 7. #1. We can have the assurance of God’s justification by grace. You see, if salvation was up to us and all about our efforts… how would we ever truly know whether we had done enough good works? How could we ever know if having accomplished enough to earn salvation in the first place we could then keep our salvation if we “messed up?” If it was up to us, we could never rest or be certain that we had done enough. We would be on an eternal “Hamster wheel” of good works. And #2. Having assurance of our salvation based on God’s grace we are now certain that we are heirs with Christ. That means that we can have the hope of eternal life. Hope meaning: This is a certainty. It’s a done deal. We have a hope and faith that is based on what God has done for us rather than what we we’re hoping to accomplish in the flesh. This is a living hope that never leaves us.
The Apostle Paul sums all this up in verse 8 saying:
“8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” Titus 3:8 (NIV2011)
First of all, Paul says that we can trust in the things that he just said. Hence his words are trustworthy. What it meant for Titus is that he could have confidence in instructing the people of his church in these matters. This is how people are to live in the midst of a pagan society. (In Titus 2 Paul gives instructions on how believers are to live in relation to other believers.) We have to keep in mind how we “once were” apart from Christ so that we don’t resent others who are “not yet” in Christ. Paul stresses this to Titus, and now to us. We are to be grateful for what the Lord Jesus did for us.
Last Sunday I preached on Luke 7:36-50. It contains the story of the sinful woman who anoints Jesus’ feet with her tears and wipes his feet with her hair. She kisses His feet, and anoints Him with perfume. Simon the Pharisee looked on and condemned Jesus for not being a prophet or even a rabbi because Jesus allowed it. Jesus responded by telling a parable about two debtors. Because neither debtor was able to repay, the banker forgave the debt of both of them. The debt was different: for one man owed 50 denarii while the other owed 10 times that amount. Jesus asked Simon, “Which do you suppose will love him more?” The answer of course is, “The one who was forgiven much loves much.” Jesus then pointed to the woman who was “forgiven much” and her actions reflected her great love. She sacrificed for Jesus her dignity (kneeling at His feet, weeping and wiping them with her hair). She also sacrificed her wealth (anointing His feet with expensive perfume). She served Jesus out of her love for Him since she was forgiven much. In the same way we are to serve Him out of our love for Him. We can sacrifice our dignity when we need to “turn the other cheek.” We can sacrifice our wealth by using our time and money to do good deeds for others. We can sacrifice our opinions by not slandering others we disagree with, but instead live peaceably and considerately, always ready to be gentle toward everyone.
God says that those who have trusted in Him are to “devote” (a worship term) themselves to doing what is good. Why? Because of our love for Jesus. He forgave us much. Don’t forget how much He forgave you. We don’t have Christ’s physical feet to weep over or anoint today… But He did say, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” Matthew 25:40. Let’s devote ourselves to serving Jesus in this fashion until He comes for us. Why? Because Paul says that “These things are excellent and profitable for everyone,” meaning all the brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s also profitable for God’s work in the world. We await our Lord’s return and reward.
It’s not the amount of sin in our lives—but the awareness of our sin and how much we have been forgiven that transforms our attitude into gratitude in all that we do.
Benediction:
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21
Pastor Russ Hilsinger,
Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, OR
P.S. I hope you will join us this coming Lord’s Day at 10:00am at the Grace Place!