Speaker: Gary Peters

Passage: Titus 2:11-15

THE BOOK OF TITUS: TITUS 2:11-15

We’re going to be in the Book of Titus, chapter 2. I thought I was teaching on the 17th, to be moved to the 31st, and lo and behold, I’m here today. And I found that out on Wednesday. Thank God also for being faithful in the Word and continuing to read the Scripture and knowing that we’re in Titus, and I actually was hoping I would land here, and this is exactly where I’ve landed. 

And so, I think it’s God, and sometimes schedule mix-ups or somebody thinking one thing and then another. Like, I don’t know who that would have been, but part of it was me, but part of it wasn’t. But anyway, just be ready.

One thing Pastor Greg said when he hired me was, I want you to have a sermon in your back pocket in case I need to call you on a Saturday night where I can’t make it on Sunday. And after doing this as many years as I have, you can normally pull something out of the hat, hopefully it’s anointed. That’s not what this is, though, that’s not what this is. 

I want to remind you of the last few weeks. I opened up the Book of Titus on Father’s Day, and then I went on sabbatical, and I watched online. By the way, God bless online. It serves a purpose, but I don’t know how people think it substitutes for this. 

It’s a blessing, but I had to, many times, turn off the TV when it was over, or in a hotel room on my phone watching the live stream, and repent of some things. That’s not a bad thing. Repentance means just to change the direction. Putting feet to that faith is another thing. 

But Titus 2:1 says, “As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching.” Now, if I was going to write that under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I might have changed it differently, that you need right teaching to affect wholesome living. 

But actually, Paul says that you already know to promote the kind of living that backs up what you’ve been preaching. I mean, really, that’s what it’s saying, that sometimes we get the cart before the horse, and we’re trying to tell people how to live when we ourselves are not even living it. Follow me? 

And that’s really what Paul is saying in being the household of God. In chapter 2, he has provided the doctrine that instructed them how to become the households of God. We dealt with older men, younger men, older women, younger women. And Pastor Greg is going to come back and talk about the marketplace in a couple of weeks. 

And the one thing I realized is how much this teaching is counter culture, not only to Crete, but to us today, and that’s really the importance of Scripture. I heard a teacher one time say, “The Word of God is pregnant, constantly giving birth to new revelation.” 

I’ve never forgotten it, and that’s why you can read the Scripture, and I can read the Scripture, or eight hundred people on a Sunday morning in the three gatherings can hear the teaching, and each one gets something that God wants them to apply to their life. It’s pregnant. It’s giving birth to the revelation they need, or you need, or I need. 

So, that’s amazing, but hopefully, with proper understanding of this correct doctrine, it has adjusted the way we are living because we cannot– and that’s one of the things, the real theme that we realized when we first started looking at this book as a teaching team– that we cannot expect society and culture to be impacted if we aren’t living the Gospel in our homes. And it’s really important for us to realize. 

The church, all my life, has been great at pointing out sin but not instructing how to live without living it. The church is great at it, has been throughout society. 

Pastor Dustin and I share YouTube videos or Reels of crazy preachers sometimes, just like, Look at this, or, Look at this, or, God help us, don’t be this. And there was a guy complimenting his church for standing and reading the King James Bible only because that was the text that Paul preached out of. 

And then he’s ripping on people, for the guys, for the type of haircut they had. And I thought, God help us. That’s the state of the church. We’re worried about somebody reading the King James, but they have to have it high and tight. You can’t go to no beauty salon if you’re a dude. I’m like, Who goes to a beauty salon if they’re a dude?

But anyway, it’s just remarkable to me how we mix things up, and we put emphasis on behaviors and hemlines and makeup and no makeup and hair in buns and all of the things the church has stood for over the years, and we don’t stand for what it really means to walk in grace. 

Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensible, righteously, and Godly in this present age.” 

This is the New American Standard, which is the Bible I cut my teeth on. By the way, I can always tell what decade somebody got saved by what Bible they read. If you got saved when I got saved, you read the New American Standard, and then it went to the New King James, then it went to the NIV, then it went to the New Living, but anyway, I digress. 

But it says to live sensibly. Paul in Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your body as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable act of worship.” Or your rational act of worship. 

I think sometimes we think we get brownie points in Heaven because we are living Godly. Paul is saying it’s a no-brainer. Live Godly. Live Godly. That it’s, sensible, he tells Titus. “Righteously and in a Godly manner, in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself, a people for His own possession, eager for good works. These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” 

I want to look at these verse by verse, and now I’m going to shift to the New Living. “For the grace of God has appeared or been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. We are instructing them to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures, and we should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God.” 

GRACE

The first thing that jumps out at me is this word grace. How many good Baptists do we have here today? Or Church of Christ folks? I was raised in the Church of Christ. We kind of knew what grace meant, at least we got the definition. It meant unmerited favor. 

And I’m not picking on anybody that was taught that, but we stopped there. Matter of fact, every week, some churches all they talk about is unmerited favor and that you need to get saved every week. Matter of fact, if you sin real bad, you need to come forward and get saved again. 

I thank God for the unmerited favor. Unmerited favor means I don’t merit any favor from God. Noah found favor with the Lord before he started building the ark. Jesus, it says, in John chapter 1, is full of grace and mercy, another place that says He found favor. That’s the word, grace, unmerited favor. 

But it also means– and it’s so important that we understand this– because unmerited favor is the beginning of the walk. The second aspect of grace is the supernatural desire and power to do the will of God. 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m just like, I have no desire. Maybe you don’t. I do, and I’m a pastor. That’s a joke. I’m just saying I’m supposed to have desire. I get paid to have desire. And sometimes I don’t have desire, but I need supernatural grace to give me desire because with the desire, then will come the power to do what God’s asking. 

And you know how you get supernatural power and desire? Help! James and Peter both say that God gives what to the humble? Grace. And it’s not only unmerited favor, it’s the power and the desire to do the will of God. 

And when I’m not feeling like I have the desire or the power, what I need is, God help me, give me grace, pour grace into my life. And thank God, it’s easier than it used to be because it’s a walk of faith. 

GRACE APPEARED

The second thing that we see in this verse is it appeared. The grace of God did not evolve in history. It’s not evolving now. Society is not getting better. Society is the same. We just sanitize things like the murder of the unborn. 

You know what the Romans did? They would have a baby, if they didn’t want it, they would set it out on the street corner, out on the cobblestone, literally. Infanticide– kill the baby. You know who changed that culture? First-century Church started orphanages. 

Wherever the Gospel shows up, it elevates what society calls norm. It elevates women and children. It elevates education. That’s what the Gospel does. You look out throughout world history, since the beginning of the Gospel, the Church were the ones that started orphanages and hospitals and cared for the sick and people willing to lay their life down when there’s a plague and say, We’re going to stand with these people that are sick. 

That’s what the Church is supposed to be doing. It elevates society, but grace appeared. It didn’t just slowly evolve. You know how it appeared? Through Jesus. It’s the idea of the Epiphany. It’s the Greek word, Epiphany, where God shows up, born of a virgin. 

Galatians says, “In the fullness of time, He came,” and that’s when this grace appeared, it became visible. Its appearance was in the Incarnation and the Atonement. That is why it is important that we, as believers, understand the virgin birth. 

We understand the Incarnation that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and she had a child. We understand the Atonement of Christ and why that’s important. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah, is grace appearing. You say, Well, what did people do before that time? They had faith in God. 

Habakkuk says, “The just shall live by faith.” What happened? Abraham found favor with God because He had faith in God. God, in His forbearance, knew that there was a Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, and He was able to look past their offenses, it says, and look towards the cross. Before the cross, He always looked towards the cross. From the cross, He looks back towards the cross. That’s how people are redeemed. 

Humankind is not getting better. We can say we’re more civilized, but we’re not. There’s still murders, there’s still lying, there’s still cheating, there’s still adultery, there’s still all the Ten Commandments being violated. 

It’s not all of a sudden people get better because grace has shown up. Grace appeared, and it brought salvation to all people– not a select few, not people that go to my church, and the rest of you are excluded. 

I was raised in a church that was the Church of Christ. Why? Because we were the Christ-people. How foolish. Then I was in the Church of God. Why? Because we were the church of God. And I was in the Assemblies of God. Why? Because we were the assemblies of God. 

I’m not picking on denominations. I’m just saying we limit the grace of God coming to all people, not a select few. Salvation, it says, came to all people, which is now and available to everyone, and it means the freedom from enslavement to sin and selfish desire. 

GRACE THAT MATURES US

How many are glad that you’re not only saved from sin, but you’re saved from yourself? See, there’s two aspects of salvation. I’m saved from sin– by the way, once and for all, every sin ever committed was taken care of at the cross. Now, do you apply that? That is another thing, but every sin, every sin, every sin past, present, future. Every sin was taken care of at the cross. 

But the thing is, my body is called my soma. Paul says, in not my soma, but in my sarx– in my flesh– dwells no good thing. I need deliverance from myself. Because, as Pastor Greg says, and I’ve known him long enough to testify it’s true, he’s not a good human being without Jesus, but neither am I, and neither are you. 

This forgiveness of sin finds its fulfillment, finally, in eternity, when the body changes from decay to wholeness, from corruption into incorruption. But the second aspect of grace is not just salvation, it’s instruction. And the word literally means child rearing. 

One of the commentators I read said, “…and it’s rarely without pain.” Why do we avoid pain? Because it’s painful. But do we understand that it’s necessary in all aspects of life? 

When I used to run all the time. I didn’t start running a 10k my first day out when I got my new tennis shoes. Started out running a mile, then a mile and a half, then two miles, and three, four, five. Started putting in more miles, more time, got in shape. Same with my bike riding. I didn’t climb the hills that first spring day.

It literally means chastening and correcting behavior. Grace is not just given for salvation, but for maturing us. Salvation is instantaneous at the cross when we accept Jesus. By the way, everybody in this room, we all start at the same place. 

The starting line, the starting pistol, is the same place: it’s the foot of the cross. We have to come to Jesus, saying, I need a savior. Please forgive me of my sin. Nobody gets a head start. Everybody gets the same. We start there. 

Now, what do you do with that? Do you add to your faith? But the fact is, we start in the same place, but sanctification starts at the cross and ends with glorification when we see Him. Either we die, raptured– whatever you think– we see Him face to face, and that process goes on forever. 

I love Charles Finney, I told the first two gatherings, one of my heroes. I’ll tell you a little side story. Charles Finney, great evangelist, Great Awakening. Just move of God, and especially in upstate New York, New England. He got married, that afternoon, he left for a six-week crusade, left his bride. That’s stupid, but that’s Charles Finney. 

But he talked about a second act of grace. You know what the second act of grace would be? One day, I wake up, and I’m holy, I’m sanctified, I’m no longer the person I am. Sanctification, it’s not that. It’s a lifetime of learning. 

Grace teaches us to say no, to deny our flesh, live sober-minded, live in righteous, upright living, reverent, pious, holy, devout. Words that are all kind of religious, when you talk about pious and holy and devout. It’s like I have, you know, a little twitch when I hear those things. Why is that? Because they’ve been misused. Follow me? But they’re all Godly terms. 

When people come to my office, one of the hardest things as a pastor sometimes. And I don’t want it to be flippant because I know pain is real, and I don’t want you to think I’m not compassionate. But sometimes I just want to say, Stop it. You’re coming in and asking me to do something for you. You’re asking me to hear God for you. You’re asking me to change your circumstances. Quit making bad choices. Follow me? Just stop it. 

You say, Well, it’s not that easy. Then get therapy, but stop it. Find out why. Stop it. If you’re touching a hot stove and getting burned, stop touching the hot stove. Just say, No. Grace gives us that ability. 

I’m not saying grit your teeth and bear it. I’m saying get the grace of God, the supernatural desire and power to say no to sin. You can do it. I can do it. All of us can do it. And by the way, the more we stack those days on top of one another, the easier they get it. 

LIVING SOBER

Told the young men to live sober. We think of soberness as avoiding drugs and alcohol. You can’t be sober-minded if your heart’s full of bitterness and anger. You can pollute your mind and your heart with a lot of things that aren’t just drugs and alcohol. 

And there’s a lot of Christians that have no earthly value in the sense that they’re not impacting the Gospel for the Kingdom of God on earth because they haven’t walked soberly and forgiven somebody that’s hurt them twenty years ago. Follow me? 

I know none of you have ever felt that way. It’s just me and my wife. You know we’re the ones that have struggles with that at times. And so, the soberness is how to live upright before God. Verse 13: “While we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.” 

A couple of things here: this, I believe, is Paul talking about the deity of Christ. The Romans used to say the Caesar was god and savior of the Empire. It’s a play on words, but it’s also an understanding for us. 

You say, What’s the big deal about Jesus being God? Well, without Jesus being God, He’s not God, and He can’t be our Savior. Every cult, every false religion, attacks who Jesus is. Did you hear what I said? They’ll say He’s one of many. They’ll say He’s a lesser god. They’ll say that we don’t understand. 

How could He be God when He’s in John it says He prayed to His Father? How could He be God when He’s praying to His Father? Has that ever confused anybody? Well, you ought to understand Philippians 2. He emptied Himself of His godly attributes. He is praying in His humanity to a God that He knows can save Him. We’ve got to understand that. And every major cult and every major false religion will attack who Jesus is. 

Paul is saying, at this time, the major attack on the Church was who? The Romans. And he’s saying, “Our gracious God and Savior.” Who is He? Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. 

Then the second thing he says here is that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior will be revealed. It’s the same word used about grace being revealed. Now, he’s talking about the second coming of Christ will be revealed. 

How many are looking forward to the blessed hope? Thessalonians calls it the blessed hope. We are not those who grieve without hope. And I don’t know where you land on doctrine, even after Revelation, I don’t know where all of us land. 

The fact is, I do believe there’s going to be a catching up in the air, and I believe there’s going to be coming down when that happens. That’s up to you and your God to decide. But the fact is, we need to have expectant hope that He’s coming back for us. 

This planet is not our home. I say it all the time, and I’m talking about He’s going to restore and renew this planet. But as it is, in fallen nature, fallen humankind, this planet was never intended for me to live here in a fallen condition. 

I believe in the Second Coming. I believe this hope gives me the assurance and the understanding– and by the way, the older I get, the promise looks sweeter every day because you can get jaded by all the heartache, the pain, the situations you see. 

REDEMPTION

“He gave His life,” verse 14, “To free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people totally committed to doing good deeds.” 

If you only had one verse in the Scripture, verse 14 could be used as a proof text for the salvation of everybody and how we’re supposed to live. One verse. 

Number one, He gave His life for us, the sacrificial death of Jesus, substitution for my sin and yours. And then it says, to free us from every kind of sin. The word in the other translations and the word in the Greek is redemption. 

When I say redemption, what do you and I normally think of, much like grace? We think of being purchased, redeemed. My mother got my first baseball glove with S&H Green Stamps. She saved Green Stamps, put them in a booklet, took it in, and redeemed those coupons for a baseball glove for me. Still have it. Mickey Mantle endorsed. Still have that glove. It was redeemed for something else.

But redemption means more. John Stott, in his book called The Cross of Christ, he’s an InterVarsity Press author, great if you want to read any books by John Stott, read them. His book on the Sermon on the Mount is incredible, too. 

Anyway, he says that redemption is a threefold thing that takes place. Number one– and this is where the church normally lands– it’s to purchase us. They used to have stages much like this, and they would parade somebody up on and say, How much will you pay for this slave? And somebody would come forward and purchase that individual. 

Tragic. Every major society– study world history, every major society, not to justify it in America– but every society has had slave labor. Still happening today. Well, we were paraded because of our sin on the slave trade market, and Jesus stepped forward and purchased our sin. That’s redemption. 

The second thing redemption has, the second understanding, is to be set free. It’s like the opening of our prison doors. How many have ever been in jail? You don’t have to raise your hand. I’ve been there to witness only, and still freak me out. Jesus opens the door, and He sets us free. 

The passage of Scripture that He quoted in Luke 4 when he began his ministry, the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because God has anointed Me to open prison doors, to set the captive free, the recovery of sight to the blind, to give those that mourn gladness. Peter’s paraphrase, and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. 

It’s a part of His ministry. It’s part of what He does. So, He has purchased us, set us free. And by the way, the thing that’s so cool about being set free by Jesus is we can do whatever we want. Grace is scary. That’s why people don’t like Grace, because they want rules. 

I can follow rules. You tell me what to do, give me the parameters. I may get like, if that’s the parameter, I’m gonna get like this sometimes, but I’ll follow that parameter. Grace is this: the door is open. 

Paul says all things are lawful, not everything’s profitable. There’s a lot of things in your life that you can do, and you’ll still get to Heaven, but are you going to be profitable for the Kingdom? 

See, grace is a scary thing. It opens the prison doors and says, You’re free to go. You can do whatever. Remember, after the eat of my flesh, drink of my blood sermon, when all the crowds are leaving, Jesus, He challenged them with discipleship, and Peter’s like, Hey, they’re all leaving. He turns to Peter and the twelve, He says, Do you want to go, too? 

Every one of us in this room are going to have critical mass trials of faith, where we have the opportunity to say, I don’t know about this. But you know what? The longer I’ve walked with Him, the more I don’t want to be back on the slave market. I don’t want to be back in prison. 

The thing that’s beautiful about Christ, the more you get to know Him, the more it’s like, I don’t have any place else to go. And sometimes, I can scratch my head and go, I don’t get it. I don’t like it. It’s not fun. This doesn’t seem like it’s even Biblical. But I’m going to trust You, God, because where else can I go? Where else? Everything else is death, You’re life. 

I’ve had parents come and say, My son’s in a crisis of faith. I go, Well, might not be the worst thing for him because we’ve got to choose to stay. We’ve got to say, Okay, I don’t even want to be close to the line. I got the prison doors open. I’m not going back in there. That’s redemption. 

And the third part of redemption that we really miss is redemption means you can never be put back on the slave market by the Lord. He’s never going to say, Oh, you messed up. Get your life right. You’re back on the market. We’ll see the highest bidder. 

Now, I do believe there’s a line for every one of us in this room where we can choose to get back on the slave market. But it’s not God’s doing. It’s your choice, my choice. Redemption is purchase, redemption is the opening of the prison doors, and redemption is you can never be put back on there. 

He says to redeem us, to cleanse us. Anybody ever need cleansing? Remember the prodigal son? He probably came back barely clothed at all, tattered clothing. First thing the father says, Get him a new robe, get him new shoes. 

Read Zechariah 3 this week. Two guys, Zerubbabel and Joshua, high priest, were supposed to be building the Temple, they dropped the ball. Joshua was standing before God, Satan’s accusing him before God. 

See it in Job. We see it in Peter, the enemy has asked permission to sift you like wheat. And it says the accuser was there. God doesn’t even address him. He says, Put a clean turban on his head. Put a new robe on him. That’s the cleansing that takes place. 

“Do you not realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? And it does not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a price.” What’s the price? The blood of Jesus, Peter says. So, you must honor God with your body. 

This beautiful exchange purity for what was contaminated, the stain of accusation, for the forgiveness and acceptance. 

GOD’S SPECIAL PEOPLE

The third thing that happens is He makes us his special people. Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s masterpiece, workmanship, handywork.” It’s like a master craftsman making something. Everybody look at me for a second. Nobody has your fingerprint. Nobody has your DNA. Nobody has your retina scan. Think about it. 

I remember one time when we lived in Washington, Mount Baker, which is one of the northern volcanoes north of Rainier, got something like twenty-five feet of snow in one snowstorm. And I’m thinking, Not one of those snowflakes is the same. Is that amazing? Twenty-five feet of snow, and not one snowflake is the same? 

I don’t know who studies this stuff. I got a book on snowflakes. It is amazing. I literally do. I bought a coffee table book on snowflakes, and it’s just flipping through, it’s like, That might be me, that might be you, that might be somebody else I don’t even know. 

It’s so amazing. We are God’s special treasure. He doesn’t make junk. He loves you with an everlasting love. God didn’t wake up angry today. He’s not ticked off. He doesn’t not like you. May not like sin, but He doesn’t not like you. You are so special, He says, He redeemed you, He purified you. That would be good enough, but He says, You’re mine. You’re My special treasure. 

I believe right now, He leans over the portals of Heaven, says, Angels, come here. See that guy right there? That’s Gary Peters. He’s a farm kid from Illinois, but I love him, and he’s My special child. Not because I’m a pastor, but because I’m His. That’s the understanding in Titus. 

So, guys, when you’re like, I’m failing at home. I’m not being a good dad. I am a terrible employer. Stop it. Change direction. But realize you can’t just grit your teeth. It’s Grace that’s got to come. That’s the end of chapter 2. Ladies, if you feel like a failure, you’re not the wife or the woman you’re supposed to be, grace is on your life. You’re special to God. You’re so incredible. We’ve got to get this understanding.

Everybody wants, I’m good and you’re good. No, we’re all terrible. You’re not okay, and I’m not okay. But the fact is, with Jesus, we’re okay, He’s provided. Not only does God make the rules, He brought the solution to the rules. His name is Jesus. He brought the rules, and He brings the solution. So, when somebody matches those two, then they’re okay. 

You know, I always hear athletes, You got to believe in yourself. You got to believe in yourself. Got to believe in yourself. I quit believing in myself because I’m not a good human being without Jesus. Now, there’s nothing wrong with looking back on life and taking pride for what you do. There’s nothing wrong with that unless I get my value from everything I’ve done. 

And then it says these works. You ever seen an apple tree produce an apple? You know what happens to a fruit tree? They’re real beautiful in the spring, they have these beautiful blossoms. Guess what happens? They fall off. It’s the only way fruit is produced. When you’re attached to the vine, when you’ve got your roots down into Him, you will produce fruit. He’s ordained good works for you already to walk in. 

Then He says to Titus, “Speak these things, exhort, rebuke with all authority, for no one is to disregard you.” Two of the last books he wrote were Titus, and then 2 Timothy. Last two books he wrote to his sons in the faith, he says, don’t be discouraged, don’t let anybody look down on you. Why is that? Because they felt discouraged and they felt looked down upon. Timothy was a kid, really. Thirty years old, probably. Don’t let him despise your youth. Be an example. 

You know, one of the most insecure people on the planet are preachers. You know why? Because people think they hear God better than you do. When people come up and say, Will you hear God for me? I’m like, Will you hear God for me? It’s the truth. 

Paul tells the Corinthians, when I came to you, I was cotton-mouthed, scared spitless. Peter’s paraphrase, but he said, I learned that my adequacy is not of myself, but of Him who raised the dead. That’s the thing that Titus is struggling with here is I can’t do this on my own. 

LIVING TITUS 2

It’s the end of chapter 2, all of the hard stuff. And he says, Titus, be encouraged. Don’t let anybody look down on you, do these three things: teach, exhort, rebuke. And every one of our lives– everybody in this room– can teach this Scripture by living it, can bring encouragement when somebody’s down, and can bring correction in a proper way when somebody needs it. That’s the message of Titus 2. 

I’m so glad that the Word is not always exhortation and edification. I’d be so puffed up. I’m glad sometimes the Word, as Pastor Greg says, hits us between the eyes. Sometimes we need this Book to correct our behavior. Sometimes we do. 

And thank God, the longer you walk with Him, it’s not major course correction. It’s not like He’s rechanneling the river. It’s like a little bend needs to be moved. This needs to change a little bit. I mean, things I struggled with years ago, thank God I’m not struggling with them now, but I have a new set of stuff. But it’s not major course correction. It’s, Gary, do this. Gary, you act different towards your spouse. Gary, love people differently. 

My motivational gift is that I’m an exhorter. I love where Paul tells the Thessalonians, You’re doing a great job, let’s excel still more. That’s the message today, Vintage. You’re doing a good job. Let’s excel still more. 

Let’s press in to know Him. Let’s press in to know Him more. Let’s be more like Jesus. Let’s keep doing what we’re supposed to be doing, and don’t give in to ungodliness and works of the flesh. That’s the challenge. But the fact is, there’s encouragement: you don’t have to, and I don’t have to. 

Are you leaning into and applying the grace of God? At Bible study, we do table discussions. This is your table discussion for this week. Are you leaning into and applying the grace of God in your life? 

And as I was typing that, I felt like the Holy Spirit says, Gary, you don’t get a hall pass. Like, oh, okay. Grace doesn’t give you a pass. Grace gives you the power to say no to sin. And by the way, ladies, when you were pregnant and that baby was four weeks old, how pregnant were you? One hundred percent pregnant. 

When you’re a Christian, everything you do is one hundred percent. Everything you do. You don’t have to be obnoxious on the job, but everything you do, and I do, has spiritual overtones, has the understanding of the Gospel. Everything we do.

Will that change our behavior? It should. Are you walking in all aspects of redemption? Are you purchased, set free, never again to be enslaved, and are you understanding the purpose of being a special treasure? 

And the third thing, are you intimidated by Titus 2? It should intimidate us a little bit. I haven’t always been the best dad. Haven’t been the best husband. There’s room for improvement. 

Titus should intimidate us a little bit, but the fact is, by grace, we can do what Titus is calling us to. Walk in humble authority. Because see, the thing that’s so incredible is God says to Titus, you have the authority. When we do what God’s asking, guess who backs us with His authority? 

See, people that are under authority aren’t obnoxious dictators. People that don’t know authority, man, it can corrupt and just destroy. Some of us have been really messed up by people in authority that aren’t under authority. 

But when you’re under authority, guess what happens? You can receive authority. We had some dumb rules when I was in Bible college, just stupid, stupid rules. But the Lord spoke to me very early in that whole equation. He says, Gary, the law is for the lawless. When you have a heart to follow, you don’t have to worry about it. 

It’s truth. Didn’t like it, still dumb rules. They were dumb– what you could do, what you couldn’t do. If you were really going to go to school here, you had to do this and that. God help people. But guess what? Then I pastored a church, and I had a bunch of dumb rules. 

Put your hand over your heart. In your own way, whatever God dialed up for you, just right now, take it to Him. Father, we surrender, we say, Help. We humble ourselves and say, We need Your grace. We need Your unmerited favor, and we need Your desire and power. Thank You for Your faithfulness to us. 

God, help us to be salt and light in a flavorless dark world. Let us be people like You want us to be, starting with our homes. We thank You, Father, for Your faithfulness again and again and again. Jesus’ name, amen.