TITUS 2:11-14 – PART 2

Titus 2:11-14 – Part 2
So, in about two months or so, we will begin a series in the book of Revelation.  I’ve been doing a fair amount of study, so let me give you a sneak preview – actually I guess I should call it a spoiler alert – are you ready?  Jesus is coming back.  So again, I ask, are you ready?  I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but it is how the Book ends.  If you’re one of those people who read the last page or chapter of a novel before reading it – here you go – Jesus wins.  Which means we win. 
Years ago, the movie Braveheart aired on TV.  We didn’t watch it at the theater, but with such wide acclaim, we wanted to watch it.  But we weren’t available when it aired over two nights.  No problem, I just recorded it – but it took two video tapes.  The night finally came we had enough time to watch the movie, so popcorn in hand, we got ready for a three-hour event. I plugged in the tape.  About halfway through, I thought, wow, they sure expect you to know a lot. We get to the end of tape, and William Wallace, the hero, died!  I jerked the tape out and realized I had put in the wrong one – the second tape – end of the story when the hero dies.  We never went back to watch the first tape.  Who wants to watch a movie when the hero dies?
Well, in our book, the story of all stories, the hero dies, all according to God’s plan.  But He was raised again the third day.  And before ascending to heaven, Jesus promised to come back.  He told them, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself.”  When He ascended at the Mount of Olives, the disciples stood gazing up into the sky, dumbfounded.  Two angels appeared and said, umm, what are you doing?  He told you He was going, and He told you He was coming back.  “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?  This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go.” 
Now, I know it’s become popular to mock the Christian faith, and even scoff at any idea of His return.  Just like Peter said, in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking – don’t miss this – following their own lusts.  Do you see the connection?  They will mock, because they want to live in their sin.  You see, if you want to be the lord of your life, you must deny the Lord of the universe.  They will say, “Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”  Sounds like a scientific argument to me.  Peter then reminded them of a couple important things they were overlooking – that escaped their notice.  You want to go to science?  Fine.  First, God created everything that is out of nothing; and in judgment, He once destroyed the earth with a flood – meaning, He can and will judge the earth again.  Listen, if you are questioning the Christian faith and starting to doubt, wondering if He’ll ever come back – peel back the layers – you’ll find in the depth of your heart, the desire to live after your sinful flesh. 
Jesus is coming back.  And, if His coming is closer now than when we first believed – it is even closer now.  And will be closer at the end of this sermon, this day, this week, this month, this year.  And at some point, the last person to be saved will be saved, the trumpet will sound, and Jesus will come back.  So we should eagerly anticipate and prepare for His return.
Because then, the dead will be raised.  I did a funeral a week ago Friday – I have another one this Saturday.  They’re not hard if the person was a believer, because we have a hope.  Those who have believed in Jesus, to whom we say goodbye – for a time – will be raised.  There is coming a day when all those in the grave will hear His voice and come out.
Which leads to the second one, death will be defeated, and be no more.  No Covid, no cancer, no heart disease.  Paul said the last enemy to be destroyed is death.  We will no longer pray for sick people; we will no longer grieve those we’ve buried.  There will no longer be any sickness or death – not even tears.  He will wipe away all tears from our eyes.  We will enter the joy of our Master.
And then, third, all that is wrong will be made right.  I’m sure you’ve noticed – we live in a broken world.  Spend a couple minutes on social media or your favorite news station or website, and you will be quickly reminded – our world does not work right.  Even creation groans having been subjected to futility.  There’s a reason there are tsunamis and hurricanes and tornados and supernovas and colliding galaxies.  The world doesn’t work rightly, and even creation itself is waiting for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed.  All will be made right.  Interesting, last week was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  I suppose brothers and sisters around the world are looking for their redemption.
Next, we will no longer struggle with sin in these fallen bodies in this fallen world, facing the enemy of our souls.  The devil himself and his minions will be cast into the lake of fire.  We will finally know the ultimate victory of Christ over sin – our sin.
Fifth, not only will we receive new bodies, but we’ll receive a new home – the new heaven and new earth.  There will be no sun there because God Himself will be the light.  It will be perfect – no longer any natural disasters or famine or peril or sword or politics – which means you won’t need social media either.  Christ will be King – God will be all in all.
Sixth, we will finally do what we were created to do – worship God through unhindered glorious relationship – unimpeded by sin.  Have you ever had those times of special intimacy with the Lord – a time of worship, time in the Word, prayer when you saw God do amazing things?  Have you ever had those dry times – when you doubted, and wondered where God was?  When Jesus comes back, we will never doubt again.
You see, seventh, then will we know, even as we are known.  All those why questions to which there are seemingly no answers – we will know.  I am reminded of C. S. Lewis who once suggested – when we get to heaven, as we enter the gates, we will take one look around, and the first words to escape our mouths will be, of course.
Eighth and ultimately, we get Jesus, our greatest treasure.  If Jesus is your greatest treasure, you will look for, long for, and prepare for His return.
God’s Grace in Justification (11) – in the past.God’s Grace in Sanctification (12) – in the present.God’s Grace in Glorification (13-14) – in the future.
Past, present and future terms.  We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved.  We have been saved in the past by grace through faith in the Gospel.  We are being saved in the present by grace through faith as we are transformed into a people for God’s own possession.  And we will be saved in the future when Christ returns to get us – so we long for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.
Now again, we normally think of salvation in past terms.  When were you saved?  When did you come to faith in Jesus?  When were you born again?  And all that is true – they are appropriate questions.  We were saved when we were born again – when we were justified – sins removed and received the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.  That’s what verse 11 says – For the grace of God has appeared (past tense), bringing salvation to all men.  Jesus appeared, and in His first coming, He was bringing rescue – salvation.  He did that through His incarnation – becoming the God-man – through His perfect, sinless life and His substitutionary death on a cross for sinners. 
Which then brings us to the second point or the second room – the classroom.  We go from having been saved, to being saved – from justification to sanctification.  The process of being made more holy.  And by the way, those are inseparable.  You see, if there is no growth in Christlikeness, you were stillborn.  You can’t say you were saved if it does not change your life.  There’s got to be an upward trajectory – a growth in holiness. 
For the grace of God, which is the subject of this long sentence, has appeared, verse 11.  Verse 12, the grace of God, having brought salvation, is also instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly passions – meaning we live differently.  If there is no difference in the way you live – if you are still pursuing ungodly and worldly desires, then you have not experienced the grace of God.
Because His grace is instructing us to deny ungodliness.  Ungodliness is just that – it is ungodly – godless thoughts and actions.  (Romans 1)  Don’t think yourself ok because you prayed a prayer.  Yes, that is what saved you in the past, but it must also be saving you in the present.  Jesus must be both Savior and Lord of your life.  His grace is instructing us to say no to any thought, word or deed that is inconsistent with His character – that is ungodly.
By the way, the word instructing is different from the normal word teaching.  It’s the word from which we get our pedagogy, and speaks of strict instruction, training, encouragement, admonition, correction, and discipline.  That’s what the grace of God does, you see.  Yes, God’s grace saved you, but the work of grace is not finished.  It goes on to instruct, train, correct and discipline us for the purpose of godliness.  That is, to say no to ungodliness and worldly desires.  Worldly desires are what this world pursues, especially as it relates to sensual desires.  We are living in a world of unmitigated sexual desire and sin.  The grace of God instructs us to say no.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?  [that’s what water baptism is a picture of – the baptistry is a coffin in which we died, but were raised again]
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; [before we were saved, we were slaves to sin – sin we must – but no more – God’s continuing grace instructs us to say no]
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Do you see – sin is no longer your master.  You’ve died to sin – you have a new master.  You are no longer under law and the slave master of sin, you are under grace.  Christ saved you, redeemed you from the slave market of sin – and He has given you His Spirit by which we live.
Which brings us to the third room – the waiting room – in verses 13 and 14.  We were saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved.  We have been justified, we are being sanctified, and we will be glorified.  When?  When Jesus returns, and it is for His return the Christian longs.  I’ve asked you this question before, but when is the last time you looked up and longed for the return of Jesus?  As I suggested, most of us like our lives just fine – so we don’t look toward the sky.  Our attitude is, I want you to come Jesus, just not yet.  But when we remember what awaits, and what we leave, it becomes our longing. 
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Number 17 – Resolved, that I will live so as I wish I had done when I come to die.
Number 19 – Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.  (In other words – everything I do, I’m going to keep the second coming of Christ in mind.  I’m going to live with that hope.) 
Number 50 – Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world.  (There’s the future look again.)
Having mentioned our great God and Savior, Paul reminds us of the gospel in verse 14 – “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Proclaiming His excellencies are the good works we are zealous to do, that were prepared in advance for us to do – to proclaim Jesus to others as our great God and Savior – who has saved us, brought us to life, and is purifying us.  And you, too, can become part of His people – a people for God’s own possession – by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  Last week in Ephesians 1, Michael pointed out the stunning truth that we are God’s inheritance.  This week, we see as such, we are a purified people for God’s own possession. 
“we are compassed about, behind and before, with the appearings of our Lord.  Behind us is our trust; before us is our hope.  Behind us is the Son of God in humiliation; before us is the great God and Saviour in His glory.”  And so we long to hear these words of Jesus, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.