God’s Book of Titus for Lent Wednesday of Lent 5 Devoted to Good Works Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In the reading, God says that His dear Christians must be “careful to devote themselves to good works.” Dear Christian friends, God says two other things before He says “devote themselves to good works.” Both of these things will help explain the meaning of these Words. First, the reading began with the Words, “This is a trustworthy saying.” What is a trustworthy saying? The saying you heard last week—the saying about Baptism—is the trustworthy saying. It is absolutely reliable that God saved us according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, etc. (Titus 3:5-7) That saying is so trustworthy, so dependable, that you can build every aspect of your entire life upon this one verse in God’s Bible. Second, God also says He WANTS you to build your life upon the security and the trustworthiness of your Baptism. That is why it is written here, in verse eight, “I want you to insist upon these things.” It is as if God says, “Titus, I want you and all pastors to preach Baptism obsessively in your congregation. I want you continually to remind your Christians that I wash them clean and renew them on a daily basis (2 Corinthians 4:6). Your incessant of Baptism will make My Christians confident; they will know that they can face and do the things I require of them, all by the power of My baptismal Word to them. The trustworthy saying about Baptism will make them feel secure in their person, no matter where their office(s) might take them. The trustworthy saying will assure them that they shall lose nothing in their person, no matter how much their office requires of them. The trustworthy saying about Baptism will relieve their fears concerning their person, so that they may be “careful to devote themselves to good works.” · When God says to you, “I saved you by the washing of regeneration and renewal,” He is speaking about your person. · When God says to you, “careful to devote themselves to good works,” He is speaking about your office(s). · God holds your person ahead of your office. God holds your person complete and secure in the strength of His grace. God says, “I saved you.” This is a trustworthy saying, and God says it to you so that you will no longer worry about your person. · Whereas God holds your person ahead of your office, He gives you the power and the freedom to hold your office head of your person. The power given to your person for the sake of your office is new every day. It is “the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.” · God never wants you to run out of strength and desire to do good works for your neighbor through your office. That is why God has grabbed your pastor by the collar and said, “I want you to insist upon these things.” · God says that His dear Christians must be “careful to devote themselves to good works.” In view of all that has gone before these Words, perhaps we should think of them less of a command and more of an assurance of everything that God Himself will continue to do for us and in us. We have come to the end of God’s Book of Titus. Unfortunately, there are many things written here that we have needed ignore and bypass. Perhaps we will return to them on another day. To use the analogy of a cow, I have spent our Lenten season squeezing hard on the two teets of person and office. If any milk has squirted into your cup, it should be credited to God alone. “Grace be with you all.” _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
