July 16, 2016 LIVING BEYOND REPROACH
Titus 2:7-8: “in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
The book of Titus goes into great detail concerning how our day-to-day lives are to be lived and it makes it clear that the motivation for living such lives is based on the fact that Christ gave Himself for us, redeemed us, and made us His own possession. Once we understand that we have been redeemed and that we are His possession, life takes on new meaning, and we have a different motivation for doing what we do; our focus shifts from living for self to living for Him. The book of Titus is not a list of rules we must keep in order to please God, but a book that portrays the life of a believer who is living according to his or her new identity in Christ. Some may do “good deeds” in order to impress others, to earn “brownie-points,” to make themselves feel good about themselves, or as a way of earning the approval of God or of others. When our heart is pure and we understand the true gospel, good deeds become a natural expression of the life of God in us. It is amazing, but the fact that we have the Holy Spirit at work in us, our speech can be beyond reproach. Many, and most likely each of us, have spoken words we later regretted, or have been ensnared by our words; but we now have the power to speak words that build up, encourage, exhort, admonish, and words that produce good fruit. It is not an unreal possibility, nor an impossible lofty thought, but we can live our lives in such a way that our “opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.” Our motivation for living in such a way is not to impress others, or to take pride in how we live, but it is because God is at work in us making us expressions of His nature. Actually, to realize that God is desiring to express Himself through us is a humbling awareness. No matter how we have or have not lived in the past, we can start today living our lives in such a way that we reflect the very nature of God who indwells us.
Psalms 37:3: “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”
James 3:13: “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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