May 19, 2024 INSTRUCTING US
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
These verses make a great statement of purpose for believers; they are our marching orders; they are to be our mode of operation. We live in a fallen world; a kingdom of darkness where Satan currently rules. All though we live in a fallen world, we are not a part of it; we have been transferred to the kingdom of light-the kingdom of God. The obvious big point is that the people of God are called to live not according to the world system, but to live according to ways of the kingdom of God. We can live according to the ways of God only because we have been born into the kingdom of God and because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Before our coming to know Christ as our Savior, all we knew was the ways of the world; we needed and we got a drastic retraining-a remaking. The word of God is our new manual, our new instruction book. The word of God is not a book of rules we must keep to gain God’s approval; rather, it is a book showing us who we are in Christ; it reveals our new identity. To live life as children of God is not automatic-there is a learning curve. We are called to grow in the knowledge of God and to grow in the faith. It’s a ‘both-and;’ we have been made new and we can live as unto Him right now, but we are also to grow spiritually. Do not miss the first few words of the verses above; ‘the grace of God has appeared;’ God sent His Son to redeem us-to save us, and He came instructing us in living. Life in His kingdom is unlike living in the kingdom of the world; we live differently-in a good way. There are many words that paint a picture of the life we are called to live-compassion, love, forgiveness, kindness, honesty, gracious, preferring others, and the list goes on. A good summary of how to live life is to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live godly-God like. The Holy Spirt in us enables us to live righteously and godly in this present age. The world would like to squeeze us into it’s mold; but we have been set free from the power of sin, have been made new and we have the Spirit of God at work in us enabling us to live not as the world lives, but to live life on it’s highest plane, experiencing the abundant life that Jesus gives. So, let us always be aligning our lives according to the word of God that has been given to us.
John 14:23 “Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’”
Blessings, Buddy
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
These verses make a great statement of purpose for believers; they are our marching orders; they are to be our mode of operation. We live in a fallen world; a kingdom of darkness where Satan currently rules. All though we live in a fallen world, we are not a part of it; we have been transferred to the kingdom of light-the kingdom of God. The obvious big point is that the people of God are called to live not according to the world system, but to live according to ways of the kingdom of God. We can live according to the ways of God only because we have been born into the kingdom of God and because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Before our coming to know Christ as our Savior, all we knew was the ways of the world; we needed and we got a drastic retraining-a remaking. The word of God is our new manual, our new instruction book. The word of God is not a book of rules we must keep to gain God’s approval; rather, it is a book showing us who we are in Christ; it reveals our new identity. To live life as children of God is not automatic-there is a learning curve. We are called to grow in the knowledge of God and to grow in the faith. It’s a ‘both-and;’ we have been made new and we can live as unto Him right now, but we are also to grow spiritually. Do not miss the first few words of the verses above; ‘the grace of God has appeared;’ God sent His Son to redeem us-to save us, and He came instructing us in living. Life in His kingdom is unlike living in the kingdom of the world; we live differently-in a good way. There are many words that paint a picture of the life we are called to live-compassion, love, forgiveness, kindness, honesty, gracious, preferring others, and the list goes on. A good summary of how to live life is to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live godly-God like. The Holy Spirt in us enables us to live righteously and godly in this present age. The world would like to squeeze us into it’s mold; but we have been set free from the power of sin, have been made new and we have the Spirit of God at work in us enabling us to live not as the world lives, but to live life on it’s highest plane, experiencing the abundant life that Jesus gives. So, let us always be aligning our lives according to the word of God that has been given to us.
John 14:23 “Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’”
Blessings, Buddy
RSS Feed