The Educating Power Of Grace And Glory

I want to read the whole passage, Titus 2:11-15, to allow the glory of this passage to just sink into your hearts. I want you to follow with me in your Bible. Paul says, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,” or chosen people, “zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”

With this marvelous passage, we actually come to the heart of the epistle to Titus. We come to the very heart of this epistle. Paul has been encouraging each member of the church (we covered it last week)—the aged men and women, the young women and men, Titus himself, and then the slaves or the servants—that they (notice in verse 10) live in such a way as to adorn the doctrine of God. That’s what starts us into this next section that you should live in such a way to adorn the doctrine of God—your lives should beautify the Bible. What Paul does now is tells us what that doctrine is (verses 11-15). He tells us that our lives should be lived beautifully and now tells us the doctrine on which our lives are to be based when we live that life of adorning the doctrine of God. Paul moves from the mundane duties in the home and in the marriage to the sublime doctrines.

Charles Erdman has written a series of beautiful little commentaries on the New Testament, and he said this about this passage. He said, “Paul bases all the exhortations of the chapter upon a summary of gospel truth which for beauty and depth and significance is possibly unsurpassed.” I would agree with that. For its beauty, for its depth, and for its significance, this passage here in Titus is unsurpassed. What is the doctrine that Paul basis our holy living upon, our living beautiful lives to adorn the doctrine? He basis it on the two comings of Christ. We know that Christ came into the world. It’s called the first advent or the coming of the Lord. We celebrate it at Christmas, but sometimes we forget that there’s a second advent and that the Lord is coming again. Isn’t that exciting to think that God came and entered humanity through the womb of the virgin Mary, took on flesh, He lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, and rose from the dead, but after that He ascended back to heaven. Amen? The angels told the disciples, “…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” How did He go? He came visibly, physically, in glory. “…he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” Jesus is going to return again. We live between these two events. We could be living when we see the Lord return.

Sunday morning we talked in detail about the rapture of the church where Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:51 said, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,” or die, but some of us, “shall all be changed,” and it’s going to happen, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality…then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” We talked about the Lord coming to take us home, but the Lord will come also and establish His Kingdom on the earth seven years later. It’s called the Second Coming. The rapture is not really a coming. The Second Coming is when the Lord returns, and He will return in power and glory. He came with grace; He’s coming with glory. I want you to catch that—He came with grace, but He’s coming with glory. He came to bring us the grace of God, but He’s coming back to demonstrate the glory of God.

Here, Paul calls His two comings in verse 11. Look at it with me. He says, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” and then notice in verse 13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” The same word in verse 11 appears in verse 13. It’s a key word. It’s the word epiphaneia, and the word means a coming into view of what has been previously concealed. Christ, at His first appearing, came to save us from sin’s penalty. The first advent, or the first coming of Jesus into the world, was an epiphany—God was unveiled, He came into the world. At the Second Coming He will save us from sin’s presence. He came to save us from sin’s penalty—He died on the cross to save us from the penalty of sin, which is death—and He’s coming again to save us from sin’s presence—we’ll be glorified and won’t have to deal with sin—but it’s not over yet. Between the two appearings, between the two epiphanies of Christ, He saves us from sin’s power.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shared with you that salvation has the three tenses, right? You know them well, now—we’ve been saved, we’re being saved, we will be saved. Well, this is what we have in this text. He came to bring the grace of God to save us from sin’s penalty. Right now He’s in heaven interceding for us and empowering us by His Spirit, and we’re being saved, present tense, from sin’s power. As a believer, as you walk in the Spirit, you find that you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh and that sin no longer has power over you, but there’s coming a day—and what a day that’s going to be—a future day, (the study this evening kind of just ties right in with what we covered Sunday morning) when the Lord will come in glory and we will be delivered and saved from sin’s presence altogether. The key to living holy lives now is to look back at His epiphany of grace and to look forward at His epiphany of glory. Did you get that? The key to living a holy life is to keep your eyes on the cross and also to remember His coming—to remember Jesus died for my sins and that Jesus is coming again in power and glory.

I’m going to have my points on the screen for you so you can track with me a little better tonight, but there are two main sections. The first is verses 11-12. It’s the first division of the appearing of grace—Jesus came to bring the grace of God. Let’s go back and read those verses. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared,” epiphany, “to all men, 12 Teaching us,” this is the educating influence or power of grace, teaches us something. I was so struck by that term “teaches us.” God’s grace appearing in Christ teaches us something. What does it teach us? It teaches that we should, “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,” and that we should live a certain way, “we should live soberly, righteously, and godly,” right now, right here, “in this present world.” When I read that, I added a few words and kind of gave it a little fill-in there, but this is the appearing of grace.

Now, of course, grace did not come into existence when Christ came. God has always been a God of grace. Sometimes we mistakenly think that the New Testament is the grace of God and the Old Testament is the wrath of God, but in the Old Testament God is kind and merciful, compassionate, full of mercy and lovingkindness. There aren’t two Gods, by the way, there’s not the Old Testament God that if you get out of line He’ll strike you with a lightening bolt. He’s a God of judgment and wrath and, “Boy, you’d better not mess with Him,” and “I’m kind of into the New Testament God because He’s a nice guy and brings grace and mercy and love.” One God, amen? Same God. The same God that gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai was the God who sent His Son into the world that whoever believes in Him would never perish but have everlasting life. Grace did appear visibly, it was incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ. Think about that. At Christmas I like to think about the statement that God wrapped His love in flesh and blood and sent it down to man. Not only did He wrap His love in flesh and blood, the incarnation of Christ, but He wrapped His grace in flesh and blood and sent it down to man.

There are two verses you ought to write down. The first is John 1:14, that prologue to John’s gospel. It reads like this, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)” the only chosen unique Son of the Father,”full of grace and truth.” The Word became flesh, literally He pitched His tent among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father. He was full of grace and truth. How marvelous that is! When Jesus came in His incarnation, He brought to us the grace of God.

The second passage is in the same chapter, verse 17. It says, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” again, the statement that God’s grace came personified in the Person of Jesus Christ. The law came by Moses, and the law brings condemnation and judgment because we are sinners, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ or grace upon grace. That imagery there, “grace and truth came by Jesus” means grace upon grace, that God’s grace just kept coming and coming and coming.

One of the most amazing illustrations that I could ever think about for me, that is, is being in the ocean. There’s no place I love to be more than in the ocean, in the waves, and when the waves just keep coming and coming and coming and coming and coming. Have you ever been in the ocean and you’re swimming or surfing (for me I’m trying to paddle out on my board) and the waves just keep coming and coming and coming and coming. Sometimes they’re so consistent and so big and strong, I just kind of have to turn around and go to the beach and say, “I can’t get out,” especially when there’s a wind swell and the waves are really strong and just keeps breaking over you. It’s so relentless and doesn’t stop. That is the picture of the grace of God. God’s grace just keeps crashing over you, and when you think it’s over, another one crashes over you, and another one crashes over you. God just keeps demonstrating His grace all the way through your life. David described it in Psalm 23. He said, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me,” for how long? “…all the days of my life,” it won’t stop. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” what a marvelous truth that is!

There are four things about the appearing or epiphany of grace that I want to point out from this text. The first is that it’s a sovereign grace. Notice it in verse 11. It’s the grace of God. Its source is God. It’s not man. It’s not motivated by man. It’s not precipitated by man. God’s grace is shown to us because God is a God of grace. The grace of God is unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor—nothing that we do to merit or deserve or earn the grace of God. Sometimes God’s grace puts the least deserving in a place of higher favor. Now, you don’t go out and sin so that God’s grace will abound, but if you are a sinner—and we are sinners—then you are a candidate for God’s grace. If you’re thinking, I would like to experience the grace of God, but I’m not good enough, or I’m not holy enough, or I’m not a good enough person, then you’re thinking wrong. God’s grace is for the undeserving—that’s me, that’s you—it’s for the candidates who have sinned against God and don’t deserve anything. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve—we deserve judgment, hell, and wrath. God’s grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve—the love, forgiveness, and the kindness of God our Saviour. Make a clear note of that. It’s God’s grace, which means that it’s sovereign because it emanates from God and pours out from the heart of the Eternal Author of the universe, and because of that, no power on earth or in hell can frustrate it. Think about that. If it’s God’s grace, nothing can hinder it, nothing can thwart it, nothing can get in the way of it. If you’re feeling kind of beat up tonight, just realize that God is gracious. God forgives us and sustains us and blesses us by His grace.

In the context here, it’s the saving grace. That’s my second point about this grace. It’s not only a sovereign grace, but it is a saving grace. Notice it in verse 11. It says, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation,” stop right there. It is God’s grace, and it brings salvation. Grace is unearned, unmerited favor. It’s getting something we don’t deserve, so the guilty sinner is saved by God’s grace. I know you’re all familiar with it, but write down Ephesians 2:8-9. Every Christian should memorize Ephesians 2:8-9. What does it say? “For by grace are ye saved,” say it with me if you know it, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” You can’t brag, okay? No bragging about being a Christian, no bragging about salvation, and when we get to heaven there’ll be no bragging going on. It’ll be all praise, glory, and honor to God. You won’t be bragging about all the doors you knocked on and all the things you did and how much money you gave to get there. You’re saved by God’s grace. How? By the cross.

The cross is the substitutionary death of Christ, and He saves us by the merits of Christ, by the works of Christ. Jesus died on the cross as what theologians call to be our propitiation. It’s an important New Testament word. It means He satisfied the demands of God the Father—the law that had been broken is satisfied and paid for. It’s what I like to call the death of Jesus Christ Godward. Jesus didn’t only die on the cross for sinners, He died on the cross for the Father—to pay the penalty for man’s sin so he could be saved by God’s grace. That’s why we can’t earn, work, or deserve it. You know, there’s an important lesson in the cross, that is, you can’t save yourself. You can’t save yourself. You can’t be good enough to get to heaven. If you could be good enough to get to heaven, then Jesus died in vain. If you could do something to get to heaven, no need for God the Son to give His life upon the cross.

It is the sovereign grace, the saving grace, and thirdly (verse 11), it’s the sufficient grace. I love this. “…hath appeared to all men,” so it’s a sufficient grace. Now, it does not mean that all men will be saved. It’s not teaching universal salvation. That is not taught in the Bible. Don’t ever ever let anyone convince you that in the end everybody’s going to go to heaven, that in the end some even say even the devil will be redeemed, fallen angels will be redeemed, sinners will be brought to heaven, and it will just be one big happy family. It’s called Universalism, and it’s really unbiblical, unscriptural, and a lie from the pit of hell. Again, why would God the Son die on the cross if God was just going to save everyone apart from repentance and faith and being regenerated by the Holy Spirit? It wouldn’t make any sense—no need for Jesus to die. There are some who will be saved and some who will be lost, but what does this phrase mean, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men”? I believe it means that the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ is sufficient for redemption of all, but it is efficient only for those who believe, trust in, and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

This is the opposite of what is called limited atonement. I don’t intentionally or purposefully try to get technical with you, but I think it’s important for you to understand this doctrine. There are some who actually teach within Christianity that when Jesus died on the cross, He only paid the penalty for the sins of those that God had elected or God had chosen. I know we could talk for weeks on this subject and it’s vast, but I’m cutting to the chase here with you. I don’t personally believe that’s the case. I believe that in the Bible we have a “whosoever will” gospel, and by that it means anyone who wants to believe and repent will be saved. I realize that you might say, “Well, only the elect will believe, and they’ll only be the ones that will believe, repent, and be saved; so He only died for the sins of the elect,” but the Bible indicates that anyone who wants to believe, anyone who wants to repent, anyone who wants to trust in Jesus can be saved. We don’t know who the elect are; we don’t know who the non-elect are. We can’t go around…Charles Spurgeon used to say, “I can’t go around lifting people’s shirts to see if there’s a mark on their back. I just preach the gospel to anyone and whosoever believes, they can be saved.” I believe in a “whosoever” gospel.

When Paul says, “…that bringeth salvation…to all men,” in very simple terms what I believe is that he’s saying that the cross provides salvation for anyone. It’s sufficient for anyone—whoever wants to believe. Let me just give you two verses, very simple standout verses. The first is John 3:16. You all know it. “For God so loved the world,” I mean, stop right there. God so loved the world, I believe this is the world of sinful humanity. He so loved the world, “that he gave his only begotten,” unique, “Son,” and here’s the next key word, “that whosoever,” do you know what that word means in the Greek? It means whosoever. Isn’t that profound? We used to sing a song, Whosoever surely meaneth me. I’ve been a real wretched sinner, but whosever means me. I can come and I can believe in Jesus Christ, “That whosoever believeth in him,” and, that is, that you put your faith and trust in Christ, “should not perish, but have,” present possession, “everlasting life.” I know all the different ways people will try to interpret that to accommodate their theology or their doctrine, but I think it’s pretty simple—when the plain sense makes good sense, seek no other sense—but the whosoever means whosoever and that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I believe that He hath appeared for all men.

Write down Romans 10:13. It says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Again, there’s a “whosoever” verse. Whosoever means me, means you. If you call on the name of the Lord, He’s going to say, “Ah, sorry, you’re not chosen. Ah, sorry, you’re not one of the elect.” “But, Lord, please save me!” “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Now, let’s move on. Fourthly and lastly, I want you to notice that this is the transforming grace (verse 12). It says there not only has grace appeared, but grace appeals, “Teaching us that,” we should, “deny,” notice that phrase, “Teaching us…denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” What an amazing statement. God’s sovereign grace, God’s saving grace is actually teaching us something. It’s teaching us that we need to live holy lives, that we need to live dedicated lives. What does grace teach us? Two important lessons, negatively to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, verse 12. If you have truly experienced God’s grace, it will motivate you to live a holy, godly life. It’s not going to motivate you to presume on God’s grace, it’s going to motivate you to live a holy and godly life. Someone called it the acid test of true conversion.

If you claim that you’ve been born again—you claim you’ve been converted—but you don’t have a hunger for holiness and you don’t have a desire to live in godliness, I only have one thing, that is, I question have you been really born again. I’m not saying you’re going to be perfect. I’m not saying you’re going to have victory over all sin and temptation, but I’m saying that you’re going to struggle with it. You’re going to hate it. You’re going to want to live a godly life. Legalism will save no one. Legalism will sanctify no one, but God’s grace saves us and sanctifies us. When you truly come to understand that you’re saved by God’s grace, you’re kept by God’s grace, and “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” I want to live for Him. I want to love and serve Him. I want to live a godly life. I want to live a holy life. When John Newton wrote his song “Amazing Grace,” he has this stanza, ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear, The hour I first believed. I wonder if he didn’t get the idea from Titus 2:12, teaching us. God’s grace is teaching us. It’s educating us. How important that is. God’s law cannot save me, but God’s amazing grace can.

Notice the second lesson, positively, so there’s the negative—I need to deny ungodliness and worldly passions—but, secondly, I need to live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life in this present age. It tells us there in verse 12 that “we should live soberly, righteously, and godly,” like God, “in this present world,” so you are in the world, and the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It’s your passions, your position, and your pride; but we need to live contrary to that because this world is not our home. God’s grace changes us and teaches us to live holy lives in this present world.

There’s another commentator that I’d like to read. His name is John Phillips, and he makes this statement about this point. He says, “This present world refers to the present age in the world as the system organized by men in opposition to God. The world as the arena in which the ungodly can express their lust, their lostness, and their lawlessness. The Old Testament type of this word is in the sense included in Egypt as the epitome of the world’s culture.” In the Old Testament, Egypt kind of symbolized the idea of the world’s culture. “The nation of Assyria, in the Old Testament, the embodiment of the world’s cruelty; and Babylon, the source of the world’s creeds. The world, with its pride, prejudice, pleasures, pastimes, its precepts, its principles, its policies, its passion, and its perceptions challenged the Christian when he tries to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.”

We have three enemies. We have the flesh—our sinful nature—the devil, and the world. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” You need to be careful as a Christian that you don’t love the world, “neither the things that are in the world…for all that is in the world…is not of the Father, but is of the world.” What is the world? It’s the evil world system apart from God. If you want to see the world, go to Las Vegas. If you want to see the world, go to Hollywood. Now, it doesn’t mean everybody in Hollywood, everyone in Las Vegas, is a wicked, horrible sinner, but you want to see the world? You go to Wall Street, you go to banks, wherever you might go you see the world. You see people…the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. All these things in the world are constantly bombarding you, that’s why Paul in Romans says, “Don’t let the world press you into its mold.”

It’s so easy for a Christian to start thinking like the world, acting like the world, talking like the world, and you let the world press you into its mold. This is not an encouragement to put on sackcloth, sit on a hill somewhere, live in a monastery, and drop out of culture; and you can’t wear makeup, can’t wear nice clothes, can’t drive a car, and you can’t live in a house—you’ve gotta go sleep in the dirt, you know, be an ascetic. You’ve gotta get rid of your dog—dogs of the world—and you can’t have a cat. You can’t do anything like that. It’s talking about your heart. When you see the world, does it grieve you? When you see the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, does it sicken you? When you see the materialism, the hatred for God, the immorality, the greed, and the breakdown in our culture of the world, does it sicken you? If you long for heaven, it’s an indication you’re a child of God.

God’s will for us isn’t to come out of the world. God’s will is for us to be in the world but not of the world, so we need to connect with the world, be a part of the world, reach the world, but not be contaminated by the world. It’s like a boat out on the water. It’s doing fine as long as the water doesn’t get in the boat. A boat is good on the water as long as the water doesn’t get in the boat. When the boat has water get in it, it starts to sink. A Christian in the world is okay, but when the world gets in the Christian, then the Christian starts to sink. That’s what he’s telling us, that God’s grace that appeared should motivate us to live holy, godly lives. Remember that you are not at home in this world—its values, its philosophies, its language, its priorities are not yours—you’re a child of God, and you should be free from sin’s power.

The last section, the second section (verses 13-15) is the appearing of the glory of God’s coming. We’re “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,” it means a chosen people, “zealous of good works. 15 These things,” Titus, “speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” John Stott said, “He who appeared briefly on the stage of history and disappeared will one day reappear.” I like that. He who appeared on the stage of history will one day reappear. He appeared, He disappeared, He’s going to reappear.

Here we have that classic passage, Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” What do you say about a verse like that? Awesome that it is the blessed hope of the believer—your hope. Now, a Christian hope isn’t you cross your fingers and hope it’s going to happen. Christian hope is a settled confident assurance. We know and we are confident that Christ is coming again.

The question is, and I won’t tarry on it, is this blessed hope a reference to the rapture or is it a reference to the Second Coming? If I were going to guess of which of the two, my guess would be it’s the Second Coming, but we certainly look for the coming of the Lord for the church. Amen? We look for the Lord to catch us up to heaven and to meet Him in the air. That’s a blessed hope that we won’t be here for the tribulation, that we’ll be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We won’t see the antichrist or we won’t be here for the wrath of God being poured out on a Christ-rejecting world, but I think that it has more of an application to the epiphany, the manifestation or the unveiling of Christ, for the world when He comes in His glory. Jesus described it in Matthew 24. It’s known as the Olivet Discourse. He says, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” The Bible says every eye will see Him. Read Revelation 1 when it describes His glory, “…his hairs were white like wool…and his eyes were as a flame of fire…and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword. And his feet like unto fine brass,” it describes in figurative speech and kind of language that is hard to convey, the glory, the majesty, and the splendor of His epiphany.

When He came the first time, He came veiled in flesh. When He comes the second time, it’s going to be revealed to all who He is. Who is He? Look at the passage. He is, “…the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” I believe that it should read that way. I don’t believe he’s talking about God the Father and Jesus being separate here. I believe that this is a reference to the deity of Christ, that he’s saying Jesus is coming and He’s the great God. He is our Saviour Jesus Christ. It’s a reference to the deity of Christ—that Jesus Christ is God—and all the world will see that. This is when we have what’s called the manifestation of the sons of God. The whole world will realize Jesus Christ is God, and they will realize that He saved us, the church, and what a glorious manifestation that will be!

Write down 1 John 3:3. It says, “And every man that hath this hope,” what? The blessed hope of the coming of the Lord, “purifieth himself, even as he is pure,” so we need to make sure that we do not lose our hope. If you believe it, understand it, then it should change the way that you behave. This is the motivating influence—the teaching influence—of the glory of God. God’s grace teaches us what? To live holy lives. God’s glory teaches us what? To live holy lives, that we should live in such a way to honor Him when He comes. Now, between the two appearings, remember Jesus died for us (verse 14), “Who gave himself for us,” that’s His first coming. Notice it was voluntary and substitutionary. He gave Himself for us. Why? “that he might redeem us,” one of the greatest words in all the Bible, “redeemed.” It means purchased or bought and to be set free. God bought you. He purchased you. He set you free. The imagery here of our salvation is all taken from the Old Testament.

Remember when the children of Israel came out of the Exodus in Egypt and they had the Passover and they came out? That’s a picture of redemption. The blood applied to their houses, the angel passed over their homes, they were brought out, the Red Sea parted, they went across dry land, Miriam takes her tambourine and does a little celebration, and they were celebrating He redeemed us. It’s a picture of what happed to us. We were living in Egypt in the bondage of sin. We were slaves to sin. Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross, God’s wrath not poured out on us so that we’re set free and no longer slaves. We’re baptized unto Christ, identified with Him, and we’re redeemed.

As I’m preaching and studying, I’m always thinking of the blessed hymns I grew up with at church. We used to sing, Redeemed, redeemed, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed, redeemed, His child, and forever, I am. We used to sing “Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it.” How marvelous is that, that God would redeem me. I was lost and I was dead in my sins, and He bought me and took me out and set me free. What a marvelous verse, verse 14 is. Why did He do that? To purify us “…from all iniquity,” that we would become His chosen, special, unique people. The old King James Bible that I’m reading from says, “peculiar people.” Sometimes Christians fulfill that by being really weird. Please don’t be a weird Christian. Being saved doesn’t make you weird, okay? Some people get saved and they just get weird. Don’t let that happen to you. Peculiar means special, chosen, and as we gather tonight we’re the saints of God, we’re the children of God, we’re the family of God. We’re His own peculiar treasure. Here’s what we need to be, “…zealous of good works,” isn’t that great? Remember Ephesians 2:8-9? Guess what verse 10 says. It says, “For we are his workmanship,” you are His poiema, His work of art. God saved you by His grace, to work in your heart to make you His own peculiar people, so that you might be His workmanship.

Paul then closes in verse 15 by speaking directly to Pastor Titus. You might say this is a pastor’s duty and responsibility, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” When he says, “these things,” what things? Verses 11-14. Titus, you take these things and you speak them, exhort them, encourage them, and rebuke them. You do it with all authority. That “all authority” is based on what we know today as this Book, the B-I-B-L-E, the Bible. A preacher has no authority apart from this (holding up Bible). The Pope has no authority apart from this (holding up Bible), a priest or bishop has no authority apart from this. This (the Bible) is the authority. When a preacher preaches, by the way, his only authority is this Book. When a preacher preaches and you share and witness and you tell people about God, your only authority is “Thus saith the Lord,” this is what the Bible says. It’s not what I think. It’s not what I want to say. It’s not my ideas. It’s what does the Bible say?