Sermon for 12/26/21 12 Minutes "Words To Live By"

Titus 2:11-14

This morning I'll be reading Titus chapter 2 verses 11 through 14. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Titus 2:11-14 These verses are part of a letter that Paul wrote to Titus to instruct him in ways that the church was supposed to function. Titus was a Gentile convert who had served and traveled with Paul (Gal. 2:1–3).(1) Titus 2:11–14 (HCSB) 11 For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- It’s hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already.

We’ve spent the last 4 weeks in anticipation,,, looking forward to the celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ,,, our Lord and Savior.

Christmas may have come and gone,,, but the “Hope”,,, “Faith”,,, “Joy”,,, and “Peace” we learned about,,, are still with us,,, and will be with us forever.

The same anticipation that we experienced while we waited for Christmas day,,, are still with us as we wait on the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.

At that time Jesus will return,,, but not as the meek and helpless baby like He came before,,, when hardly anyone knew He was here,,, instead,,, this time,,, He will come in like a roaring lion,,, that everyone will see,,, and every knee will bow before Him,,, even those that haven’t believed in the past.

In the meantime,,, we must continue our study to learn as much as possible so that we can strengthen our relationship with God.

This morning we will look at these verses in Titus and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 11 says: 11 For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people,

Paul had been talking about Godly living which is demanded by God’s truth,,, and now he changes focus to explore the reason why we must live Godly lives,,, and why we are able to live Godly lives,,, and that is “grace”.

When the grace of God is fully understood we see that God has brought grace to all.(1)

That doesn’t mean that “all” will be saved,,, but it does mean that the “opportunity” to be saved is available to “all”.

God is gracious and gives us much more than we deserve,,, that’s why His grace is available to all of us,,, even while we are sinners.

But there is a choice that must be made,,, and once that choice is made,,, there must be a change in our life if we listen to the Holy Spirit like we should.

Which doesn’t mean that all will be saved as some say,,, just that the opportunity is there for all.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 12 says: 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,

The same grace that saves us,,, also trains us,,, in the school of holiness.

There are “No-No’s” in that school which we must learn to renounce.

The first is ungodliness,,, or a lack of religious belief.

The second is worldly lusts,,, and not just sexual sins,,, but also the lust for wealth,,, power,,, pleasure,,, fame,,, or anything else that is essentially worldly.

On the positive side,,, grace teaches us to live sensibly,,, righteously toward others,,, and godly in the pure light of His presence.

These are the virtues that should characterize us in this world,,, where everything about us is going to be dissolved.

Because we are just passing through,,, this is not our final home.(2)

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 13 says: 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Since we are just passing through this world,,, we must wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Of course this could mean the rapture,,, when Christ appears in glory to the church and conveys it to heaven,,, which is mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.

Or it could refer to Christ’s coming to reign,,, when He appears in glory to the world,,, puts down His foes,,, and sets up His kingdom,,, found in Revelation 19:11–16.

Basically we believe Paul is speaking of the first—Christ’s coming for His bride,,, the church.

But whether it is His coming as Bridegroom,,, or,,, as King,,, we must be prepared,,, we must be ready either way.(3)

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 14 says: 14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works.

As we await Jesus’ return,,, we must not forget the reason that He came to earth the first time,,, which was to not only save us from the guilt and penalty of sin,,, but to redeem us,,, so that we can have that relationship with God and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us so that sin will not have a hold on us any longer.(4)

The King James version says “peculiar people” instead of “a people”,,, and it says that because we are,,, or should be,,, “a peculiar people” but not as an odd or strange people,,, but instead people who belong to Him,,, in a special way,,, in another words,,, not to the world or to ourselves,,, but to God.(5)

And He gave Himself for us that we might be eager to do good works.

We should have enthusiasm to perform acts of kindness in His name and for His glory.

When we think of the passion that so many have for sports, politics, and business,,, we should be willing to set an example and at the very least display the same enthusiasm for Christ and the work that He has for us to do.(6)

----------------------------------------------------------- So today as we begin,,, already I’m sure for some of us,,, looking forward to next Christmas,,, we must remember these verses going forward and the things that Christ has done for us.

Things that we could never have accomplished by ourselves,,, or paid the price that was required for the sins that we commit.

And Jesus paid it in full,,, all freely available for us to receive,,, if we just accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Paul wrote this letter to Titus but the words are still guiding us today if we just take the time to study them and learn from them.

“Words To Live by” written almost 2000 years ago,,, but still useful today.

And hopefully we can use them to help us in our walk with God this week as we begin a new journey,,, already looking forward to the next celebration of Christ’s birth,,, and also His 2nd coming,,, just as we do,,, every year.

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- 1- Litfin, A. Duane. “Titus.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 761. Print. 2- MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Ed. Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. Print.

3- MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Ed. Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. Print.

4- MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Ed. Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. Print.

5- MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Ed. Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. Print.

6- MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Ed. Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. Print. -----------------------------------------------------------