[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/jinson-new-sermon-2.mp3″]
Good morning church! Two of the most important questions in any person’s life is: Who am I and what am I supposed to do on earth? Wouldn’t you agree that these are two very important questions every person is looking to answer. It’s is true that people have very different answers to these questions. What we will look to do in the next half hour is to see how the gospel perfectly answers and fulfils the purpose of our existence. If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to come and discuss with me and Saju after the Gathering.
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
In today’s passage, I believe Paul is telling Titus who is overseeing the church at Crete to remind them of a few things. Why do we need to be reminded? I mean if we’ve already heard it once, shouldn’t that be enough for the church? That’s because we are “professional forgetters”. We may be smart and clever but let me tell you it’s not difficult for us to forget the gospel when we are facing times of trouble, persecution, temptations, comfort and suffering. And what we truly believe in those moments are revealed by our actions. It’s important for us to first admit that we are forgetful in order to receive help. We need each other to be reminded of the gospel – that’s why we stress on community. And we also need elders and leaders to constantly “remind and help us recollect” the gospel day in and day out. If you’ve been following our messages closely over the last two years, you’ll see one common thread and one common message throughout. In fact it is the same message that we continue to preach and teach every week on our Sunday Gatherings and GC’s. And it’s not because we cannot make new creative messages. We want to stay true to what God has called us to do as elders which is to “remind people of the gospel”.
So we are going to be reminded this morning about four important questions:
- What are we supposed to do?
- Who were we?
- What has God done in Christ?
- Who are we now?
What are we supposed to do?
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. (v1-2)
We are commanded and urged to submit to our earthly rulers and authorities specifically referring to the government who is ruling over your country/nation. The Word tells us to be obedient to the people who rule over us. It doesn’t matter if the political party is for Christians or against Christians, we are still called to obey them. Now if the government tells us to bow down to an idol or forces us to do something illegal or immoral, we have every right to disobey because our allegiance and loyalty remains toward Christ. However, barring this exception of sinning against the Lord, in every other case we need to submit to them out of our honor to God. Let’s remember the context. Emperor Nero was the king of the Roman empire at the time. Christians were being burnt alive and tortured. It was the most unpopular time to be a Christian. It wasn’t cool at all because a person would most likely face a death threat as soon as he decided to follow Jesus. I find it interesting that Paul would still tell the church to submit to the rulers and authorities.
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves (Rom 13:1,2)
Also, what is the type of behavior that we should have among unbelievers? We should be always prepared to do acts and deeds which will benefit others. We should not criticize abusively and in anger insult others. We should not be people who always get into arguments. In fact, we should be known for our mild temperament and being polite and gentle to all people. If your work colleagues, college mates, neighbours and other acquaintances were to rate you on your behavior, what would they say? Would they say that you’re always ready to do good work? Would they say that you speak evil of no one? Would they say that you don’t quarrel but are gentle and courteous toward everyone? Would the people who spend 40+ hours with you each week say that you are known for your gentleness and good deeds?
And this isn’t a moral science class! Christ doesn’t call you to do these things just because these are good things to do in life. He tells us to do these things in the light of the next three points:
Who we were earlier?
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (v3)
You know many times parents tend to tell their kids about how they had a tough life earlier. How they grew up in humble circumstances…why do they do that? So that the kids will appreciate and value what they have right now. Similarly, in v3 we are being reminded of our past identity. The purpose is not to be sad and disappointed thinking about our past but to appreciate what has been done by God. It says that we were foolish (we had no understanding of what was right for our life), disobedient (we weren’t willing to listen and obey to anything that God wanted us to do), led astray (we were deceived by our sins, taken away…pulled astray), we were in bondage to serve many kinds of forbidden desires, spending our time and energy hurting other people and being hurt in the same process.
When we look at the list, do we like what we see there? I’m sure we don’t. We wouldn’t allow our family to be around anyone who claims to have these qualities and yet this is a description of our own lives. Would you put this up on your Facebook profile? Would you put this on your resume? It’s something that is shameful, right? What I want us to realize is…that our old self separated from God was a terrible place! It wasn’t something to be proud of because we were on the fast lane to destruction. That’s why the Bible accurately portrays it as “spiritual death” – we were dead! (Eph 2:1)
What has God done in Christ?
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, (v4-6)
Brothers and sisters, Here is the good news…the amazing news! What we deserved was judgment, condemnation and death for our thoughts, words and actions. An illustration could be imagine you were driving a car rashly and lose control of the brakes and fall off a steep hill. What do we deserve because of our rash driving? Death. Now think about v4…but God our Savior (he delivers) showed his goodness and loving kindness to us by protecting you and me from perishing. God rescued you from the wrath that comes upon everyone who sins! God’s goodness and kindness is shown by the fact that even though we lived a reckless and disastrous life, he wants to and keeps us safe from final judgment and eternal separation from Him! And why does He do that? Is it because you or me are talented? Is it because you or me are smart and capable? Is it because we are good people? Is it because we prayed a prayer? Is it because we are knowledgeable in the Bible? Absolutely not! We just saw in the previous point how bad our condition is. If God judged us without giving us any hope for salvation, He would still be just and wise. No one can approach God and say “He is unjust by not providing another way”! Because we are utterly sinful people who deserve total condemnation. So if God does not save us due to our background, qualifications, money, talents, intelligence and good works…then on what basis does he save us? According to his mercy. God saves people out of His mercy!
How does He do it? by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. The term washing means “bathing”. The Holy Spirit cleanses and purifies you. “Regeneration and renewal” means “spiritual renovation”. Have you ever seen a renovated flat? Does it look the same as an old flat? Everything from the painting to the interiors have been changed. It’s brand new. It’s as good as buying a brand new flat in a new building. If we as humans know how to renovate an old flat and make it new…do you think the powerful Spirit of God doesn’t know how to make a dead person’s life alive and brand new?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[b] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor 5:17,18)
When you believed in Jesus, it’s not just your thoughts that changed that day. A miracle took place due to which your life became spiritually renovated! Immediately your affections, your desires, your will, your thought patterns, your pleasures changed, your mission changed! Miraculously you were given affections for Christ, desires for Christ, a will to please Christ, thoughts to magnify Christ, pleasures in Christ and love for the people in Christ and a burden for those not in Christ! And this was done how: it was poured abundantly on us through Jesus Christ. God’s only Son had to be crucified for your sins and mine to make full payment for the punishment deserving of sins. You want to know how bad was our condition? Look at the amount that was paid as ransom. If something happens to your phone, when do you know that the damage is quite bad? When you have to pay a huge amount for the repairs. Jesus willingly shed his blood to meet God’s justice and bring God to us. It wasn’t gold or silver but the precious blood of the Son of God who became our Saviour.
Who are we now?
so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (v7)
Brothers and sisters, it’s something we must not just today but continuously remind ourselves of this identity! We are declared righteous before God. We are fully accepted by Him. By what? His grace – his unmerited favor through Jesus Christ. For what purpose? So that we might become “heirs”. Whose an heir? A person who inherits something from someone. Usually it is the child of the owner. And we know that by repenting and trusting in the finished work of Jesus, we are adopted as His very own. So we are heirs according to the hope of eternal life! You know Christian biblical hope is not just being positive. It is a confident and joyful expectation in God fulfilling His promise to give us everlasting life. Eternal life as John 17:3 says And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Knowing Jesus, becoming like Jesus in every way to the extent of getting a glorified body like His (1 John 3:2) and finally being with Jesus forever (John 14:3)!
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