all right to Titus and his epistle
In chapter 2, verse 11, with these words, For the grace of
God that bringeth salvation have appeared to all men, teaching
us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, looking
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar
people zealous of good works. These things speak and exhort
and rebuke with all authority, let no man despise thee. put
them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to
obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak
evil of no man, to be no brawlers but gentle, showing all meekness
unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after
that, the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us, and by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by his grace,
We should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
After that, the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward
man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly,
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Abundantly. Abundantly. Such is God's great love and
mercy towards his people. His great love and mercy towards
those for whom Christ gave himself. that he might redeem them from
iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of
good works such is God's great love for this people for whom
Christ died that God has shed his love his kindness his mercy
abundantly upon them He has washed them through regeneration. He has renewed them by the Holy
Ghost, and He has shed on them abundantly the love, the mercy,
the grace of God through the Holy Ghost, quickening them unto
life in Christ Jesus, abundantly. O believer, do you know the abundance
of God's grace, mercy and love to you? That God was willing
and God purposed and God chose to send His Son into the darkness
and the evil of this world for you. That He came, that Christ
came into this place. That He came unto us who were
once foolish and disobedient. He came unto us in the darkness
and He took our sin. He took our foolishness. He took
our disobedience. He took our deception. He took
our malice and envy. He took our hatred. and he bore
it as his own, and he suffered and died under the wrath of God
that he might deliver his people from their sins. O believer,
do you know this grace, this love, and this abundance that
God has set upon you and his people in Christ? If you do,
then you know something of the power of the gospel, the magnificence
of the gospel, the grace of the gospel, which Paul preached,
and which Paul exhorted his son in the faith, Titus, to preach,
and declare, and defend, and stand fast for. For this message
of grace, that salvation is not by works of righteousness which
we have done, not by our own efforts, not by our own merit,
not by something that we have done, but according to God's
mercy. That salvation is entirely of
grace. This message of free and sovereign
grace in Jesus Christ is that which Paul exhorts Titus to preach,
to defend, and to contend for. Because it's this message which
is constantly, repetitively, ferociously opposed, not just
by sinful man, not just by the world, but in the so-called churches,
in religion, There are constantly those in the midst of God's people
who contend against the gospel of free and sovereign grace.
Paul knew this in his own ministry. We read of it in the scriptures,
in the epistles. Paul wrote a whole epistle to
the church at Galatia to contend against that great error which
was brought in by the Judaizers to mix law and grace, to contend
for keeping the law of Moses, to insist that believers were
circumcised like the Jews of old. He contends in other scriptures,
in Corinthians, Romans elsewhere throughout the epistles constantly
there is this exhortation never to mix law and grace never to
mix works with faith because constantly everywhere in every
place this is the contention and the deception which comes
in to try to erode and attack and undermine the gospel and
the power of God in the gospel. James, in his epistle as we've
seen, contended for the same things. So often there is this
attack in every age. In every generation, in every
place, it is the continual gravity, as it were, against which the
preacher of Christ contends. And yet, whatever man in religion
may say, Whatever attempt he may make to bring the works and
the will of man back in to the pathway. Whatever attempts he
may make to bind the child of God back to the law. Back to
glorying in something that he does. Whatever attempt he may
make to direct the gaze of faith away from Christ alone. and direct
it to something that we do or something that we must achieve
or to direct our attention to our pathway and our walk and
how we shall live and how we shall do this and do that and
away from Christ who causes us to follow him and causes us to
look under him alone. Whatever attempt man may make
To oppose this gospel, the truth remains from beginning to end
that salvation is of the Lord. That the grace of God that bringeth
salvation have appeared to all men. Salvation is by grace from
start to finish in Christ alone. without works of righteousness
which we have done, ever. It is all of grace. And yet,
Paul has to pick up the pen to write to Titus, this young preacher,
his son after the common faith, to exhort him to stand fast and
preach this message, despite all the opposition of man, that
Titus would endure. In chapter 1 we see this, Paul
opens, Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ
according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of
the truth which is after godliness in hope of eternal life which
God that cannot lie promised before the world began but hath
in due times manifested his word through preaching which is committed
unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior. to Titus,
my known son after the common faith, grace, mercy and peace
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. For
this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou should set in order
the things that I wanted, and ordain elders in every city as
I had appointed thee. If any be blameless, the husband
of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot
or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless
as the steward of God, not self-willed not soon angry, not given to
wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre, but a lover of
hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate,
holding fast the faithful word as he have been taught, that
he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince
the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and
vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the circumcision, whose
mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things
which they ought not for filthy lucre's sake. One of themselves,
even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretans are always
liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore
rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, not
giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men that
turn from the truth. unto the pure all things are
pure but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure
but even their mind and conscience is defiled they profess that
they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and
disobedient and unto every good work reprobate yes it exhorts
Titus to preach and contend for the gospel for grace holding
fast the faithful word as you've been taught that by sound doctrine
we may be able to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. Because
there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially
they of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped. They
come in and they subvert whole houses. They lead people beguiled
and bewitched as we see in Galatians. They bewitched people with their
use of the scriptures. and their fine words and their
argument that well God gave the scriptures, God gave the law,
God gave us these commandments and traditions, we must live
by them. And yet they show in their own
conduct that they resist and they fight against the grace
of God. They demonstrate in their own
character, their own pride, and their own motives. They profess
that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable,
disobedient, unto every good work reprobate. Behind what they
say that sounds so true lies a barrenness. Because if they
knew the grace of God that Paul knew, that Titus knew, they'd
never contend for such things. If they knew themselves to have
been sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating
one another, if they'd been there and knew that, And God had shown
them what they were, and then God appeared unto them in Jesus
Christ. If the kindness and the love
of God our Savior toward man appeared unto them, and demonstrated
unto them that they are not saved by their works of righteousness,
they're not justified by the law, They're not perfected by
the law, they're not sanctified by the law, they're just always
condemned by it. If they'd seen that it's God's
mercy alone, His washing of regeneration, His renewing by the Holy Ghost
which saved them. If God's love and mercy and grace
had been shed on them abundantly as it was on Paul and as it was
on Titus, they'd never contend. for what they contend. Thus Paul
goes on in chapter two, speak thou the things which become
sound doctrine. that the aged men be sober, grave,
temperate, sound in faith, in charity and patience. The aged
women, likewise, that they be in behavior as become, if holiness,
not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good
things, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love
their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste,
keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the
word of God be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to
be sober-minded, in all things showing thyself a pattern of
good works, in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity. Sound speech that cannot be condemned,
that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no
evil thing to say of you. Exhort servants to be obedient
unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things,
not answering again, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity,
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. For the grace of God, that bringeth
salvation, hath appeared to all men. teaching us that denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously
and godly in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us
from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people
zealous of good works. These things speak and exhort
and rebuke with all authority let no man despise thee. So in exhorting to stand fast
against the influence of those who would bring in their Jewish
fables and commandments of men and bind believers back under
law Those who would deceive whole houses and teach things that
they ought not. Those who would cause chaos and
trouble and confusion amongst the people of God. Paul brings
Titus to the reason and the cause for the gospel. and what he should
be standing for in contrast to these errors. That we should
look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us. The Gospel finds us all, religious
or irreligious, as vile sinners. inwardly whatever the outward
appearance may be before men inwardly we are foolish disobedient
deceived serving diverse lusts and pleasures living in malice
and envy hateful and hating one another and such a people by
this gospel are led to look unto Christ who gave himself for us
that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto
himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. These things speak
and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise
thee. This message of Christ who gave
himself for his own who gave himself for us is the message
that Paul preached, that Titus preached, and for which we too
content. Which is why Paul, in those exhortations
in chapter two regarding the aged men, the women, the young
men, servants, exhorts in the way he does. Because the believer
who's been brought by the work of the Spirit to see what he
is by nature, to see the nature of his sin, that it is rebellion
at heart against the rule and authority of God, The believer
is brought, when they know the grace and the mercy of God, to
love to serve God, to love to bow down before Him. They don't
fight against God's authority. They don't fight against God's
sovereign rule over them. They bow down and worship. And if they bow down and worship
their God, They will not fight and resist the authority of those
men that God puts over them. Servants saved by grace will
happily work hard for their masters. Wives saved by grace will love
their husbands and obey them. Husbands saved by grace will
love their wives. Those saved by grace will be
obedient unto those given the rule over them, whether it be
in the church or whether it be in the world. Hence Paul goes
on in chapter 3 to say, For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. Why does
he exhort such and why does he flow from this exhortation to
put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers,
to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. Why does
he flow from that to then describing ourselves that we were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures?
Because this test is that which exposes whether somebody is still
living by their own works and their own will for their own
glory or whether they have truly known and tasted the grace of
God. Those who would trouble the churches,
as Paul knew in Galatia, those who caused trouble in the churches
over which Titus was given rule, those whom Titus was preaching
the gospel unto, and whom Paul exhorts that the mouths of those
who would bring in such deception must be stopped. These who would
cause trouble, who would contend, who would bind the believer back
under law are the very ones who would fight against all authority,
because that's the nature of sin within us. By nature, we
oppose all authority. When Adam fell, the heart of
his rebellion against God was a rebellion against the rule
and authority of God over him. We in Adam want to be our own
master. We want to rule. We want to choose
our own destiny. We want to have the glory. And
what we want to do as sinners by nature, professors in religion
bring into the church. They say they follow Christ. They say they believe the gospel. And yet at heart they still want
to be in control. They still live according to
their own will. They still bring their own works
before God as though there should be some pleasure. As though God
should have some pleasure in what they've done. As though
there's some merit in something they've done. They still compare
themselves one against another. They still like the brother of
the prodigal son. When the prodigal who had gone
astray and had been disobedient in every way was brought to his
right mind and was welcomed back by his father and his father
welcomed him in showing him love and grace and mercy. The other
brother looked on in envy and contention. saying I've always
been with you father, I've always been obedient, I've always been
faithful and he gets this. As though our obedience and our
faithfulness makes us better than the other. By nature this
is what we're like. We come unto God with our own
obedience, our own glory and think that we are better than
another, think that we are more deserving. and though we may
say that well Christ died for our sins though we may declare
outwardly a belief that we're not perfect and that we needed
to be saved ultimately we come with a heart that says but I'm
not as bad as that and I've been obedient and I've walked right
Paul writes in chapter 1, they profess that they know God, but
in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient and
unto every good work reprobate. Now outwardly, these people are
those who advocated the law. Outwardly, these are those who
advocated their good works. Outwardly, these are those who
said that they were living a moral life and an upright life, they
were being obedient to the precepts of the scriptures. Outwardly
these are those who said we should live like this and they exhorted
others to do the same and they condemned those that didn't.
Outwardly these are those who thought they were being obedient
to the law of God and insisting that as believers they should
live accordingly. They professed that they knew
God but in their works they denied him. because they resisted those
that were given the rule over them. They resisted Titus and
his message of grace. They resisted the gospel. They
contended against it. They questioned it. They said,
yes, but, but surely we should do this. Yes, we know we're saved
by grace. We know we're justified by grace. but we must live righteously. They would hear Paul's very words
in this epistle where Paul exhorts that we should live soberly,
righteously and godly in this present world and say well that's
what we're saying. That's what we're saying, that's
what we're trying to do. But Paul's exhortation is an
exhortation that comes through looking unto Christ. There is none that will live
soberly, righteously and godly in this present world who looks
unto the law or looks unto himself or strives by his own efforts
to live right. Those who live soberly, righteously
and godly in any manner are only those who are slain in Jesus
Christ, who are crucified with him, who own themselves to be
nothing, and own Christ alone to be their righteousness. None
of their deeds are righteous. None of their works are godly. they see nothing in themselves
nothing in themselves that they can bring before a holy God they
see themselves as wretched and they fall down before God crying
out for mercy and they broken hearted they
knowing the grace of God which has been shed on them abundantly
show forth that meekness and gentleness of which Paul exhorts
at the beginning of chapter three. But until you're brought there,
if in any sense we're looking unto our own works, our own strength,
our own will and our own understanding, we will not bow to authority. we will contend against the authority
of the gospel. We will contend against those
men who come preaching this gospel and question it and contend against
it and argue against them and say we shouldn't follow them.
They would lead us unto licentiousness. They'd lead us away from the
law. They're preaching of grace so it will lead to sin. They'll
contend in every way. They'll find fault in the preacher.
And they'll no more bow to their authority than they would bow
willingly to the authority of those magistrates, principalities
and powers which God has placed over them. These, though they
may be servants, grumble against their masters. These, though
they may be husbands, find fault with their wives. Though they
be children, they disobey their parents. Their hearts betray
what they are. Whereas the broken child of God,
taught of God what he is by nature, knows the abundance of God's
grace. We ourselves also are sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived. deceived like they are deceived. We were the same. We were as
disobedient as they are. We could not understand how our
efforts to live righteously before God were utter unrighteousness. We fought like they fought, that
we should live this way, we should be zealous of the law, we should
do these things, and we fought like they did, that we should
exhort others to. Paul knew it. He, as a Pharisee
of the Pharisees, considered himself blameless under the law. So much so that he persecuted
the church. Because when he heard this message
of grace and salvation by Jesus Christ, he thought it was set
against all that he knew and believed. He thought this gospel
was a lie. And he hated it. Living in malice
and envy, hateful and hating one another. Whatever his religion
may be, It brought him to hate and despise Jesus Christ and
his people. He was just like they were. And
yet God met him. God appeared unto him and showed
him the kindness and love of God our Saviour. Showed him his
grace and shed it upon him abundantly. This is where the gospel finds
us in our sin. Not just as sinners in the world
that we may think of as sinners that know not God, that never
read the scriptures, that never consider God, that live for their
own ends in all sorts of vileness, but the religious are just as
wicked, more wicked, because they've painted the outwards
Veneer, they've presented themselves as being something better than
others. They profess themselves to know
God, but in their works they deny him. Inwardly, they're abominable,
disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Paul knew that,
he'd been there. And that's where this gospel
found him, in his sin. Is it where it's found you? What
a description of mankind we have here of ourselves. Foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice
and envy, hateful and hating one another. That's each and
every one of us if we but knew it. Oh, that we might be brought
of God to really understand it, to know it of ourselves, to own
it, to recognize that in our hearts, to say, yes, I'm vile. I'm the chief of sinners. How we would treat our brethren
if that's truly what we thought of ourselves. If we recognize
our own pride, our own arrogance, how kind and gracious we would
be towards those like us who have known the grace and love
of God, though we're far off. How we would esteem each other
better than ourselves, and how broken we would be How
slow to anger. How swift to show love to those
that stumble. But after this, after that the
kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared. What an appearance. What an appearance
this is. of God in the darkness of this
world. This is Paul writing this. There
was a day when he was journeying to Damascus. In the zeal of his
religion, according to his understanding of the scriptures, according
to his conscious, conscientious belief, his sincere belief, he
was doing that which he thought was serving God. And he was travelling
to Damascus to persecute these troublemakers in Israel. To persecute
this sect, this cult, this dangerous teaching which had arisen. He
went there to put things right. And on the way, the Lord Jesus
Christ, in a great light from heaven, appeared unto him. But after that, the kindness
and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared. What an appearance
unto Paul. What kindness and love was made
known unto him. Until that day, he was in absolute
darkness. All his religion, all his zeal,
all his law-keeping, all his knowledge of the scriptures,
left him in darkness. Because his knowledge of Christ
and the gospel, until that day, had set him hatefully against
him. And only when Christ appeared
unto him on the way to Damascus and made himself known unto him
and showed Paul inwardly what he was, only then did Paul know
the grace, the mercy, and the love of God. Yes, Christ appeared
unto him, But Christ also appeared by coming into this world, into
the darkness, the light of God, to suffer and to die for each
and every one of his people. He gave himself for us that he
might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar
people zealous of good works. He came to appear unto us. He
came to us. He appeared. We never sought
Him. We never found Him. We never
truly looked for Him. He appeared unto us. He came
into the darkness of this world. The light shone in the darkness. He came unto us. He came to sinners. He came to the lost sheep of
Israel. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am chief, Paul wrote. He appeared. But after that the
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour. Until God sheds the Holy Ghost
upon you abundantly Until through the Holy Ghost He makes you to
know His love, His grace, His mercy. Until He regenerates you
and quickens you and causes you to live and renews you by His
mighty power, until He appears unto you, you're in darkness. And all your efforts to reach
God, if you are inclined to, all your efforts to save yourself,
are entirely works of righteousness, which you attempt to do. But
as soon as Christ appeared unto Paul this day, he knew that every
work of righteousness he'd ever done was a filthy work of iniquity. a work designed to glorify himself
a work designed to bring pride unto himself something which
would bring him the glory everything he had done was a denial of God
a denial of the character of God a denial of Christ all that
he had done he counted it as done He counted it as that which
kept him from God. He writes in Philippians. It
was all lost to him. All his works of righteousness
which he hath done were all filthy rags. And all his hope was in
the mercy of God which saved him. All his hope was in Christ
alone. All his hope was in God, his
saviour. He was washed by the regeneration
of the Holy Ghost. He was renewed by the Holy Ghost. God in his spirit came unto him
and made this dead man, this dead man in religion, he made
this dead man's soul live and become Paul. And until God appears
unto us, in the gospel. That's exactly where we are,
we're dead. Absolutely dead. We must, we
must be born again. We must be quickened unto life. God must speak unto us and cause
us to live. We can hear a thousand messages
of the gospel. We can read the scriptures from
cover to cover hundreds of times. We can spend our whole lives
in religion and never know Him. We're dead. We're in the darkness. We're blind. And for all our
profession to serve God, for all that we might profess that
we know God, In our works we deny Him. In our hearts we're
abominable. We're disobedient within. We've
never bowed the knee to Him. We don't know Him. We have a
notion of who God is in our heads. We have a notion of what He wants
from us. We may teach others what we think
of Him, but we don't know Him. We're blind. Paul was a Pharisee
of the Pharisees, he was a leader in Israel. He taught others the
ways of God and he never knew God. He was blind, he was dead,
like you and I. And he needed to be born again. And when God appeared under him
that day, he lived. Yes, we must, we must be born
again. Oh that God would appear unto
us in his gospel and quicken us unto life and deliver us from
all that contends against Christ and his truth. All this contention
of man. All these Jewish fables and commandments
of men that turn from the truth, all our wisdom in religion that
would set us arguing and contending and resisting and turning from
Christ and Christ alone. Oh that He would bring us under
Him, that He would shed on us abundantly His grace, His love,
His mercy and the Holy Ghost. that he would shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Oh, the abounding grace, the
abundant grace that Paul knew. But it's an abundance that God
gave unto him that came at such a cost to his own son. looking for that blessed hope
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour,
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people. Christ gave himself. He was slain. He died. Our salvation cost him. It cost him his life. It cost
him his blood. It cost him all. He came into
this world, he came unto the Jews and the Jews received him
not. They cast him out, they cried
away with this man. He came unto Saul and Saul said
away with this man, crucify him, crucify him. Saul in his religion
put Christ to death. And yet Christ having died for
him, having been rejected by him, having been slain and beaten
and bruised and spat upon by Saul and all like him, you and
I included, Christ then rose again. He rose. having taken away his people's
sins, having borne them, having borne their iniquity, having
redeemed them from all iniquity, having suffered the wrath of
God and the judgment of the law against every sin of every one
of his people, he arose from the grave, he arose victorious,
he arose mighty, a mighty victor from the grave, he arose And
from that risen and ascended state, he appeared unto Saul
on the road to Damascus, as he appeared unto you. He appeared
unto Titus. He appeared unto the apostle
John. who in Revelation 19 writes this, And I saw heaven opened,
and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns,
and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself, and
he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And his name
is called the Word of God. John saw, he saw his Saviour,
risen, victorious, riding upon a white horse. His name was faithful
and true. In righteousness doth he judge.
His eyes are as a flame of fire. On his head are many crowns.
and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. The salvation
of his people, a rebellious people, a foolish people, a disobedient
people, a hateful people, a dead people. The salvation of his
people cost him. But having paid the price, having
given his life, having given Himself for us, that He might
redeem us. He rose victoriously and He lives
and reigns today in glory to declare His salvation, to declare
His righteousness, to declare His gospel, to declare eternal
life. This gospel, this Saviour, this
Christ was Paul's hope It's Titus' hope. Is it your hope? He shed this on us abundantly,
that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. Here's Paul's hope, eternal life
in Christ. He mentions this at the start
of the epistle, he returns to it in more than one place, looking
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. That we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. He looks unto Christ and
eternal life in him. Oh what a hope he had, a sure
and a certain hope, because this Saviour appeared under him in
the darkness of his sin and made him live, and delivered him from
all his blindness, all his blindness in religion, all his waywardness,
and made known his everlasting grace unto him. Oh for what are
you hoping? What do you hope for in your
life? What are you hoping for tomorrow,
this week, this year? What are you looking for? Do
you look for peace in this world? Do you look for riches, for pleasure,
for prosperity, for comfort? Is that what you look for? Is
that your only hope? when your life is so brief and
so fleeting, such a temporary desire. It will be gone in a
moment, whatever you may gain, whatever you may seek after and
get hold of in this few brief years in this world, it's soon
gone. And you stand on the brink of
death and what then? What of your hopes then? What do you hope for then? And
on what do you base that hope? when death comes your way and
eternity awaits, what will you hope for? Eternal life? Forgiveness of God for your sins? Why should he? On what do you base your hope?
If we live our lives shutting our ears to the gospel, in what
do we hope? If we live our lives Perhaps
in religion seeking our own glory, living by our own works and will,
in our own pride. Where's our hope? Do we hope
that what we've done will satisfy God when his standards are so
high, when he's so pure, so righteous? Don't we know how vile and wretched
we are? Our hopes will soon be shattered.
Our hopes will soon be shattered. Will we come before God in that
day and say, Lord, Lord, I've done this in thy name and that
in thy name. I've been so zealous for your
ways. And will he turn around to us
and say, depart from me, I never knew you, you worker of iniquity. He thought you serve God in your
religion with your works. But I never knew you, and your
works were works of iniquity, because you never knew my Son,
and you never knew His grace, and you always trusted in something
of your own. Where's your hope? Paul's hope
was eternal. He looked for eternal life. He
looked for Christ. His hope was Christ alone. His
hope was sure and certain, never to be taken away. He had a sure
and a certain hope in Christ. He knew where he was headed.
He knew with whom he would dwell forevermore. Why? Because the love of God, the
mercy of God, The grace of God, the spirit of God, had been shed
on him in Jesus Christ abundantly. Abundantly. What of you? Amen.