TITUS
1:1-2:10 - How are we to
live? We are not to be ‘empty talkers’, people who ‘profess to know
God’ and ‘deny Him by their deeds’ (1:10,16). We must give no one the
opportunity to ‘speak evil of God’s Word’. We must be ‘a model of good
deeds’, showing ‘the beauty of the teachings about God our Saviour in
everything we do’ (2:5,7,10). When we live in a Christlike way, ‘those
who oppose’ Christ and His Gospel will be ‘put to shame, having nothing
evil to say of us’ (2:8). This is how we are to live. How do
we live? This is a question for all of us. It is a question which will
make us feel uncomfortable. We don’t find it easy to look closely at the
way we live our lives. We won’t get away with glossing over things. God
calls us to pray, ‘Search me, O God... Cleanse me from every sin...’
(Psalm 139:23-24; Mission Praise, 587).
2:11-3:15 - We read in 2:11,13 of Christ’s coming in grace - ‘the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all people’ - and His coming in glory
- ‘we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great
God and Saviour, Jesus Christ’. From grace to glory - This is the
journey from Christ’s first coming to His Second Coming. It is also the
journey of our life of faith. We begin with the forgiveness of our sins.
Our final destination is glory, heavenly and eternal glory, the glory
of God. We live by the grace of God. We look forward to the glory of
God. God wants us to live as ‘a people of His own who are zealous for
good deeds’ (2:14). If we are to be ‘zealous for good deeds’, we must
first be zealous for Jesus Christ. Do good - but never forget, ‘He saved us - not because of deeds done by us...’ (3:8,4-6).
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PHILEMON
‘He
was useless... now he has become useful’(11). This is the story of
Onesimus (the name means ‘useful’). A runaway ‘slave’, he became ‘a
beloved brother... in the Lord’(16). It appears that Onesimus had stolen
from his master, Philemon (18-19). He landed up in prison - and there,
he was converted! This is what Paul is telling us when he speaks of
‘Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment’(10). Why did
God allow Paul, His faithful servant, to land up in prison - for the
sake of the Gospel? Part of the reason was Onesimus. God wanted Paul to
meet Onesimus. Paul was to lead Onesimus to Christ. Sometimes, our
difficult circumstances may feel like a prison sentence. You want to get
out, but you can’t - until God has fulfilled His purpose: the ‘useless’
becomes ‘useful’- in the service of God.
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