Charles Lewis gave an a tongue in cheek warning this week: "To my atheist brothers and sisters: Greetings! This is a reminder of the sinister period we are moving into. It is the time of the year we should all be preparing ourselves for the difficult road ahead. Be vigilant! As you know — or should know if you have been reading your AtheistWeekly newsletters — that this Sunday is the start of what Christians call Advent".
Providing a tongue in cheek translation, Lewis continued: "This is the period in which religious people will prepare for Christmas (aka the HOLIDAY SEASON) This is a particularly dangerous time for secularism. Many of these religious people will often feel a renewed zeal for their faith. Be especially suspect if anyone in your family wants to bring in an Advent Calendar. These cardboard devices count down to Christmas by opening a little window each day. The little pictures look harmless but are actually secret signals sent to Christians instructing them on such practices as praying, reading the Bible and speaking about religion in public. The latter is meant to undermine the secular order. Remember the aim of anyone religious who dares to speak out loud or want “their place in the public square” is actually working towards a theocracy. Blinking Holiday Season lights are also not as harmless as they might appear. If you know how to read them, see AtheistWeekly issue #12, you can read the signals that these lights are sending out. These help co-ordinate subversive Christian activity on a street by street basis.
Finally, Lewis concluded: "Of course, please be prepared to correct anyone who greets you with “Merry Christmas.” It is not only intrusive but insensitive in that it presupposes we share these same backwards beliefs. But be gentle. They cannot help their ignorance and it is your job to help them move up the rung of evolution (http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/11/22/my-atheist-brothers-and-sisters-be-prepared-for-advent-and-the-rough-road-ahead/).
To someone not familiar with the purpose of Christ’s coming in the plan of God, all the fuss can be strange, as the preceding tonue in cheek interpretion of Advnet was ment to be. Far from a time of secret codes in lights or happy catchphrases, the coming of Christ is an event of hope which brings salvation. Not willing that the people of earth should remain in darkness, the gracious God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, sent is Son to deal with sin. For those who place their faith in Him, they no longer have to fear the eternal consequences of sin; they no longer are under sin’s dominion; they no longer have to be controlled by sin and can lead lives of hope.
In Titus 2:11–14, Paul condenses the eternal plan of God in Christ by grace. He gives four aspects, or realities, of God’s redemptive grace: "The Blessed Hope" through the coming of Christ is shown through salvation from: 1) The Penalty (Titus 2:11), 2) The Power (Titus 2:12), 3) The Presence (Titus 2:13), and 4) The Possession (Titus 2:14) of sin.
1) Salvation From the Penalty of Sin (Titus 2:11),
Titus 2:11b [11] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, (ESV)
Paul wanted to reinforce this central reality of redemptive purpose and therefore culminates this practical instruction with a monumental section about the saving work of God. He begins where we should always begin—with the grace of God. God’s grace is His unmerited favor toward wicked, unworthy sinners, by which He delivers them from condemnation and death. God’s grace is his active favor bestowing the greatest gift upon those who have deserved the greatest punishment. But the grace of God is more than a divine attribute; it is a divine Person, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ not only was God incarnate but was grace incarnate. He Himself personifies and expresses the grace of God, the sovereign, eternal, and unmerited divine gift.
This grace has penetrated our moral and spiritual darkness. It “has appeared.” The verb used in the original is related to the noun epiphany, that is, appearing or manifestation (for example, of the sun at sunrise). Upon those sitting in the darkness and in the shadow of death the grace of God had suddenly dawned (see also Mal. 4:2; Luke 1:79; Acts 27:20; and Titus 3:4). It had arisen when Jesus was born, when words of life and beauty issued from his lips, when he healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons, raised the dead, suffered for man’s sins, and laid down his life for the sheep in order to take it again on resurrection-morning. Thus, grace had “shed on the world Christ’s holy light” and had “chased the dark night of sin away.” The sun of righteousness had arisen (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 4: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles. New Testament Commentary (370). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
Please turn to 2 Tim. 1
Has appeared is from epiphainō, which carries the meaning of coming to light, especially that of becoming manifest in a way that previously was unseen. Jesus brought God’s saving purpose out of the shadows, as it were, into full light.
Paul reminded Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:8-10 [8]Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, [9]who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, [10]and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, (ESV)
Quote: Speaking of the incarnation, the noted German theologian Erich Sauer wrote: “Of all times it is the turning point, of all love it is the highest point, of all worship it is the central point, of all salvation it is the starting point.”
That Christ appeared "bringing salvation for all people". This does not teach universal salvation. “All people” refers to humanity in general, as a category, not to every individual (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19; 2 Pet. 3:9). Paul understood that the gospel message was offered universally to all types of people, regardless of their religious background, race, age, gender, or station in life (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus. Life application Bible commentary (276). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.).
Jesus Christ made a sufficient sacrifice to cover every sin of every one who believes (John 3:16–18; 1 Tim. 2:5,6; 4:10; 1 John 2:2). Paul makes clear in the opening words of this letter to Titus that salvation becomes effective/efficient only through “the faith of God’s elect” (1:1)... (cf. John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24,38,40; 6:40; 10:9; Rom. 10:9–17) (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Tt 2:11). Nashville: Word Pub.).
God brings "salvation for all people" in the sense of delaying their deserved judgment for sin and of granting them countless temporal blessings that they do not deserve but nevertheless receive because of His gracious love.
Quote: In his book The Five Points of Calvinism, R. L. Dabney writes: “Christ’s sacrifice has certainly purchased for the whole human race a merciful postponement of the doom incurred by our sins, including all the temporal blessings of our earthly life, all the gospel restraints upon human depravity, and the sincere offer of heaven to all. For, but for Christ, man’s doom would have followed instantly after his sin, as that of the fallen angels did” (The Five Points of Calvinism, R. L. Dabney. Harrisburg, Pa.: Sprinkle Publications, 1992], p. 62).
Please turn to John 3
The coming of Christ is as a light, the blessed hope of humanity, yet this hope will turn to a curse if rejected. In the context of the greatest known offer of salvation is also the consequence of rejecting it:
John 3:14-20 [14]And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15]that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. [16]"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17]For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18]Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19]And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [20]For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (ESV)
• In the incarnation or first coming of Christ: "the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people". This appearing of Christ is `The Blessed Hope` for all humanity: Whoever believes in Him regardless of who or where they are will be saved from the wrath of God which will be poured out on unbelieving humanity at Christ’s second coming.
Illustration; 5424 Ol’ Man Kline
A certain Mr. Kline, discouraged, defeated, and convinced that life just wasn’t worth living because no one cared for him, walked past a church one Sunday evening when services were in progress. As the congregation sang he caught the strains of that familiar hymn: “Saved by grace alone, this is all my plea. Jesus died for all mankind, and Jesus died for me.” His hearing, however, was not very good, so when the congregation came to the words, “Jesus died for all mankind,” he thought they sang, “Jesus died for ol’ man Kline.” “Why”, he said, “that’s me!” Stopping in his tracks, he turned and entered the small auditorium. There he heard the simple message of the Gospel as the minister presented the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Mr. Kline believed and was saved (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.).
2) Salvation From the Power of Sin (Titus 2:12)
Titus 2:12 [12]training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (ESV)
As ultimately important as salvation from the penalty of sin is, Paul’s major emphasis in this passage is on salvation from its power. In Jesus Christ, God’s redeeming grace breaks sin’s power and dominion in our lives and gives us a new nature that desires holiness.
Training/instructing is from paideuō, which carries the closely related meanings of teaching, discipling, educating, and nurturing. It is the term from which we get pedagagy. A pedagogue leads children step by step. Thus, grace, too, gently leads and guides... Grace trains by teaching (Acts 7:22; 22:3), chastening (I Tim. 1:20; II Tim. 2:25; then Luke 23:16, 22; I Cor. 11:32; II Cor. 6:9; Heb. 12:6–11; Rev. 3:19), counseling, comforting, encouraging, admonishing, guiding, convicting, rewarding, restraining, etc. (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 4: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles. New Testament Commentary (371). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
The present participle (“Training/instructing”) and its object (“us”) combine to describe, as an ongoing activity, the intention or result of the appearance of God’s grace....Thus the past appearance of God’s grace is seen to be presently effective in the human sphere in an educative sense (Towner, P. H. (2006). The Letters to Timothy and Titus. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (747). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
The subject of training/instructing is “the grace of God,” which, as has been pointed out, is personified in Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God’s grace, who has appeared and brought salvation (v. 11). Because sanctification is both negative and positive, separating believers from sin and to righteousness, so, therefore, is Christ’s gracious training/instructing of believers.
Negatively, the Lord instructs us to renounce/deny ungodliness and worldly passions/desires. Christ’s own power, through the work of His indwelling Holy Spirit, not only warns us about but enables us to resist and renounce sin. “The true learning of heaven must begin with the unlearning and laying off of all which stands in the way of the development of the new (person in Christ) (Lea, T. D., & Griffin, H. P. (2001). Vol. 34: 1, 2 Timothy, Titus (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (311). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
To renounce/deny carries the idea of a conscious, purposeful action of the will. It means to say no. It is to confess and consciously turn away from that which is sinful and destructive and to move toward that which is good and godly. It includes the commitment a believer makes when he first acknowledges his sin and receives Christ as Savior and Lord as well as the countless other decisions one makes to renounce/deny and forsake the ungodliness and worldly passions/desires that continue to find their way back into his life. Ungodliness is to live as if there were no God.
• This raises that interesting question to those of us who readily and regularly profess faith in God. In what specific ways are our lives being lived differently than they would be if we did not believe in God? Or, as it has been stated, “If you were on trial for believing in God, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” (Demarest, G. W., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1984). Vol. 32: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 32 : 1, 2 Thessalonians / 1, 2 Timothy / Titus. The Preacher’s Commentary series (329). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.)
Please turn to 1 John 3
Christians do not habitually and continually practice sin, because when a person genuinely believes in Jesus Christ, there is a divinely empowered separation from ungodliness and worldly passions/desires. Ungodliness translates asebeia, which here refers to lack of true reverence for and devotion to God. It is “against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven” (Rom. 1:18). A person whose life is characterized by ungodliness cannot be truly saved, no matter how vocal and orthodox his profession of Christ may be.
The apostle John warns:
1 John 3:7-10 [7]Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. [8]Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. [9]No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. [10]By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (ESV)
• Christ was born to enable our rebirth to be one of hope and light. We no longer are enslaved to darkness and sin, but spiritually enabled to practice and live righteously.
Worldly passions/desires refers to sins that, although we may not actually have committed, we nevertheless long to commit. These passions/desires include all of the countless sinful lusts and cravings that characterize the unredeemed person. They include “youthful lusts” (2 Tim. 2:22), “fleshly lusts” (1 Pet. 2:11), and all other “foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Tim. 6:9). When we “walk by the Spirit, [we] will not carry out” the worldly passions/desires “of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
On the positive side, Christ graciously instructs us to live self-controlled/sensibly, upright/righteously and godly lives in the present age. Having been declared and made righteous by our justification through Christ, and made capable of righteous behavior by our confession and God’s forgiveness of sin, we therefore are to practice righteousness in our sanctification.
People must not only renounce ungodliness and worldly passions; they must also replace those desires with positive characteristics.
• To fight against lust, we must say no to temptation, but we must also say yes to active service for Christ (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus. Life application Bible commentary (277). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.).
Self-controlled/sensibly translates the adverb sōphronōs, which carries the basic idea of having a sound mind. Paul has used other forms of that word four previous times in this letter in referring to a quality that should characterize elders/overseers (1:8), older men (2:2), young women (2:5), and young men (2:6). The Christian who lives self-controlled/sensibly has control over the issues of life. This individual does not allow circumstances or the irresponsible influence of others to distract him or affect his own judgment.
He not only is careful not to become involved in things that are immoral or unspiritual, but also avoids things that are simply trivial and unproductive. By the enablement and power of the Holy Spirit in his redeemed inner person, he brings the unredeemed flesh under control.
Christ also graciously instructs us to live upright/righteously, faithfully obeying the Word of God, the divine standard of what is right, without reservation. And Christ graciously instructs us to live godly, which has the obvious meaning of close fellowship with our heavenly Father.
Our gracious instruction could be seen as three dimensional. The first, living self-controlled/sensibly could relate to the divine and continuing change within us. The second, living upright/righteously connects with our changed relationship toward others, both saved and unsaved. We will conduct ourselves with fairness,” honesty, justice, integrity in dealing with others (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 4: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles. New Testament Commentary (372). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
The third, living godly, may refer to our changed relationship to God Himself. We are no longer His enemies but His children. We no longer ignore Him, blaspheme Him, or use His name in vain but instead honor Him in reverent adoration, praise, and worship.
All three of those changes, individually and collectively, give distinct evidence in the present age of our spiritual rebirth. They are living and powerful testimony, within the church and before the world, of the saving and transforming power of Jesus Christ. The time reference in the present age focuses readers’ attention on the now. Salvation may not be complete (or completely realizable) until the return of Christ; but it has made possible a new quality of life in the present age. With the Christian possibility goes Christian responsibility to live fully engaged in this world (Towner, P. (1994). Vol. 14: 1-2 Timothy & Titus. The IVP New Testament commentary series (Tt 2:12). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.)
Illustration: 5709 Augustine’s Improving Prayer
In the early days of his struggle toward the truth, Augustine made a prayer, “Lord, save me from my sins, but not quite yet.” Then sometime after that he prayed, “Lord, save me from all my sins, except one.” And then came the final prayer, “Lord, save me from all my sins, and save me now!” It was when he made that final (turn from) evil that the victory was his. There is no joy and strength and, for that matter, no peace, like that which visits the soul which has taken an unconquerable resolve against that which is evil (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.).
3) Salvation From the Presence of Sin (Titus 2:13)
Titus 2:13 [13]waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (ESV)
Waiting/looking for translates a participle form of prosdechomai, which carries the meanings of longing, eager and certain expectation. This is a PRESENT MIDDLE which refers to a continual personal expectation of Christ’s return (Utley, R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 9: Paul’s Fourth Missionary Journey: I Timothy, Titus, II Timothy. Study Guide Commentary Series (118). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.).
Hope translates elpis, which, like prosdechomai, includes the connotation of confident certainty. It is an especially blessed, or happy, hope of believers because Paul is not speaking about a fond human wish but about a divinely promised certitude. That certitude is the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. It is for that reason that the apostle calls it, and that Christians throughout the centuries have called it, the blessed hope, the hope that is above all other hopes. The "blessed hope” is a way of describing Jesus Christ as the very embodiment of hope’s fulfillment (Towner, P. H. (2006). The Letters to Timothy and Titus. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (751). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Appearing is from epiphaneia, which has the root ideas of uncovering, unveiling, and disclosing. The description of this event as the appearing of the glory is a more accurate rendering than that of the KJV (“the glorious appearing”). In this context, glory, like “grace” (2:11), “kindness,” and “love” (3:4) is not simply a description of Christ but also a personification. In his incarnation, His first appearing, Christ was grace personified. In His second appearing, He will be glory personified. He will be the blazing Shekinah glory that Peter, James, and John saw partially revealed at Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–8).
Please turn to 2 Timothy 4
Paul uses the term of Christ’s appearing of both of Jesus’ first and second comings. At the first “appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,” He “abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). At His second appearing, He will “judge the living and the dead” and establish His earthly kingdom
2 Timothy 4:1-8 [4:1]I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2]preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3]For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4]and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5]As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. [6]For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. [7]I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. [8]Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (ESV)
• Until Christ comes again: His people are to “keep the commandment without stain or reproach until [that second] appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 6:14, emphasis added) and are to rejoice that “in the future there is laid up for [them] the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award … to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).
Our great God and Savior is one of the many plain declarations in Scripture of the deity of Jesus Christ (see, e.g., John 1:1–18; Rom. 9:5; Heb. 1:1–3) θεοῦ, “God,” and σωτῆρος, “Savior,” are both governed by the same article, and according to Granville Sharp’s rule they therefore refer to the same person (Robertson, Grammar, 785–89; Zerwick, Biblical Greek, 59–60; Harris, “Titus 2:13,” 267–69; Wallace, Greek Grammar, 270–90). (Mounce, W. D. (2002). Vol. 46: Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary (426). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
The Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point (Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Tt 2:13). Biblical Studies Press.).
There are several reasons why this refers to Christ alone. First, there is but one definite article (the, tou), appearing, which indicates the singularity and identity of God and Savior. Second, both of the singular pronouns in the following verse (“who,” hos; and “Himself,” heauton) refer back to a single person. And, although the Old Testament makes countless references to God the Father as great, in the New Testament that description is used only of God the Son (see, e.g., Matt. 5:35; Luke 1:32; 7:16; Heb. 10:21;13:20). Perhaps most importantly, the New Testament nowhere speaks of the appearing or Second Coming of God the Father but only of the Son.
Quote: The importance of the deity of Jesus Christ, as claimed by Jesus himself and the apostles, cannot be ignored. The ultimate significance of this claim for every person is vividly expressed in C. S. Lewis’s often-quoted statement: “I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to" (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan, 1960), 56.) .
4) Salvation From Possession by Sin (Titus 2:14)
Titus 2:14 [14]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. (ESV)
Fourth, and finally, salvation delivers us permanently from sin’s possession. The unregenerate person is in total bondage to sin. Our gracious Lord "gave Himself for us"... The key elements are a verb of “gave,” the reflexive pronoun “himself” that stresses the self-sacrifice in the action. He gave himself for us... The prepositional phrase “for us” emphasizes an important theological duality in Jesus’ sacrificial death: Jesus died as a representative and a substitute. The preposition “for” (hyper) occurs frequently to show how Jesus’ actions affected others (cf. Mark 14:24; Luke 22:19; John 10:11; Rom 5:6; 8:32) (M. J. Harris, NIDNTT 3:1196–97; H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:507–516.).
In such uses, it depicted Jesus as exhibiting a complete sense of solidarity with the intended “us.” But more specifically Jesus did this by means of representing humanity in this act and standing in as a substitute for humanity’s benefit (cf. 1 Tim 2:6) (Towner, P. H. (2006). The Letters to Timothy and Titus. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (760). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
The intent of Christ’s sacrifice is specified: to redeem us from our bondage to sin, delivering us from all lawlessness/every lawless deed. We will examine this bondage to sin in a moment.
Here, the "redeem" is from lutroō, which refers to the releasing of someone held captive, such as a prisoner or a slave, on receipt of a ransom payment.
Paul first speaks negatively, focusing on Christ’s redeeming us from all lawlessness/every lawless deed. This would include “fleshly lusts, which,” as Peter declares, “wage war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11).
Positively, Christ also redeems His people in order to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.
Why are these purchased called "a people:
1 Peter 2:9 [9]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. (ESV) (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19–20).
Please turn to Romans 6
Since these purchased people are no longer possessed by sin, and are freed from the bondage of sin, why then should they be zealous for good works.
Paul explains that marvelous truth more fully in his letter to the church at Rome.
Romans 6:17-22 [17]But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, [18]and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. [19]I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. [20]For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. [21]But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. [22]But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (ESV)
Titus 2:11–14 teaches us that the reason why every member of the family should live a life of self-mastery, fairness, and devotion is that the grace of God in Christ has penetrated our moral and spiritual darkness and has brought salvation...; that this grace is also our Great Pedagogue who leads us away from ungodliness and worldly passions and guides us along the path of holiness; that it is the Effective Preparer who causes us to look forward with eagerness to the Appearing in glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 4: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles. New Testament Commentary (377). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1996). Titus (103–123). Chicago: Moody Press..)
