“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Titus 2:11-14
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” Revelation 1:5b-7
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
We Serve Others
"We have been both secured* by Jesus’ service to us and equipped with spiritual gifts, that we might freely serve both the church and the world. Our members are called to pour themselves out in a variety of ways, as well as to consider their entire lives to be spiritual acts of service." ECBC Values
1. The road to productive kingdom living: The grace has been fully revealed in Jesus Christ (v.11).
"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." Titus 3:5
“An unbalanced stress on auxiliary (extra-biblical?) methods of assurance– testing one’s life by the inspection of works and searching for the internal witness of the Spirit –obscured Luther’s teaching on assurance to salvation through naked reliance on the work of Christ.” Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, pg.100
2. We are always in training (v.12).
A disciple is a forgiven sinner who is constantly learning Jesus in repentance and faith.
We operate on the cycle of moving from need to nourishment/danger to deliverance.
3. An expectant/forward focus of faith: waiting for the blessed hope (the best is yet to be as we live in the “already but not yet”) (v.13).
4. The present day joy producing an emotionally healthy focus: sound in the faith (1:13) sound in daily living (faith, love and steadfastness)(2:2), sound in speech/relationships (2:8).
Therefore, we are free to be zealous for good works (v.14).
“Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ; and that they may be enabled thereunto, besides the graces they have already received, there is necessary an actual influence of the same Holy Spirit, to work in them to will and to do of his good pleasure; yet are they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if they were not bound to perform any duty, unless upon a special motion of the Spirit, but they ought to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.” 1689 London Confession of Faith, Chapter 16-3
APPLICATIONS:
1. When the grace of the cross is continually transfixing, it leads to secured disciples to serve freely.
2. For every one look at your sin (which leads to repentance), take 25 trips to the cross which produces joy and hope (Malachi 4:2-3).
3. A non-repenting, non-fruit producing “faith” is not saving faith (Matthew 7:21-23, 25:40).
4. Sound in faith → Sound daily living
→ Sound in relationships
5. Secured servants understand the secret of replenishment.
“If you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:10-11
“They went to church, full of beautiful expectancy of spirit - their souls were on the outlook for God, and they returned from church, ready and even anxious to exchange ideas as to what they had heard and received of the things of life.” John G. Patton (missionary to the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific)