well I want to turn your attention
to the epistle of Titus to the second chapter and especially
to the fourteenth verse this morning a peculiar people purified
a peculiar people purified now Titus chapter two which we read
earlier is yet another one of the many New Testament passages
that exhorts God's people to godly living, to living in accordance,
a pattern of likeness, to the gospel which we proclaim to believe.
And look in verse 11, Verse 11, for the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men, it doesn't mean every man
that ever lived, it means all of his elect, teaching us, his
people, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
You see what it says? It's the grace of God that teaches
us. It isn't the law that teaches
us to live like that. it's the grace of God that teaches
us to live like that that teaches God's people to live soberly
that doesn't mean without ever laughing but it means to treat
life seriously and not as a flippant laugh, there are those these
days, you hear it all the time, what do you want out of life?
I just want to have a laugh, that's all I want to have well
that's a very very very shallow existence it's on a very broad
way that leads to destruction But God's people are exhorted
to live soberly, with seriousness, righteously, not in open sin,
godly in this present world. Godly means that godliness, it's
a word, it's a scriptural word, live godly, live in a way that
reflects the gospel that we believe and the nature and character
of the God whom we seek to serve. And it's grace, the grace of
God that teaches us that. And look at verse 10 back even
further, or perhaps verse 9, you know, he's exhorting different
groups of people, old men, old women, young men, young women,
etc. But servants, in verse 9, he
exhorts to be obedient to their, he doesn't exhort them to strive
to escape, he doesn't exhort them to civil unrest, he exhorts
them to be obedient to their own masters, to please them well
in all things, not answering again, not answering back, not
complaining, not purloining, not stealing things that belong
to the master, but showing all good fidelity, honesty, truthfulness. And what's the result of living
like that if you're a servant? That you may adorn, you may make
attractive, you may decorate the doctrine of God our Saviour
in all things. A life that is godly decorates
the doctrine of our God and Saviour in all things. JC Philpott wrote
this, the strongest argument you could present to the unbelieving
world in favor of the doctrines which you profess is a godly
life. it's undeniably true we remain
sinners as long as we're in the flesh as Paul said he didn't
think himself fit to be numbered amongst the apostles and then
he said he was the least of the apostles and then he said he
was the chief of sinners the more he lived in this flesh the
more he knew that he was a sinner nevertheless as we present ourselves
to the world knowing what we are in the flesh by nature the
exaltation of scripture is to adorn the doctrines that we believe. And the strongest argument, as
Philpott says, in favor of those doctrines is a godly life. Take
the example, I've mentioned him before, but the example of John
Kershaw, preaching in the 1800s in Rochdale. That man, that the
others, the other religions, the other denominations around,
they hated his doctrine. they hated his doctrine of sovereign
grace but I tell you they couldn't deny their testimony the civil
leaders in Rochdale their testimony was we don't like what he preaches
but you have to confess that man is a godly man that man lives
what he preaches that man is generous spirited is honest in
everything to his own hurt that man is a godly man and so it
is My experience, if you've been in the Christian faith some time,
your experience will be like mine. The more that the utter
depravity of human nature of the flesh is preached and felt
by the people, the more I know I'm a sinner, the more I know
that in me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good thing, and
the more in contrast that the Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up
as the righteousness of his people, of the sanctification of his
people, of the redemption of his people, of the knowledge
of God that his people have, in him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, the more he is lifted up and proclaimed,
the more God's free and sovereign grace is set forth, as the means
of salvation not of works lest any man should boast but the
gift of God is the grace of God and through faith that not of
yourselves it's the gift of God the more that is set forth the
more that the sinners hearing it manifest true godly living
I tell you when you know I'm sure if people listen to this
and they hear particular names they think oh I wish he wouldn't
mention names but I'm going to do when Henry Mahan was preaching
that gospel of sovereign grace in Ashland for fifty years and
more and Evelyn will testify to this, the people in 13th Street
Ashland where Henry was preaching were the godliest most Christ-like
people you are ever going to meet on this planet. Their open-handed
liberality and just basic good works was just unrivaled and
yet Whenever we've been in legalism, whenever we've been in churches
which major on the law, you've never seen such hypocrisy on
those that thought they'd made it. You've never seen such despair
on the part of those who knew the truth as to what they were
and how in the flesh they could never ever get there. No. It's
the gospel of Christ. worked in the heart by the Holy
Spirit that is the motivator of such living and a godly life
he says the grace of God teaches us to live a godly life in this
present world how? look at verse thirteen looking
for that blessed hope it's a life of looking looking for that blessed
hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Not two separate beings, one
being in two persons. Our great God, who is, throughout
the Old Testament, God our Saviour. God is the Saviour of his people.
He calls himself again and again, God our Saviour. Our great God
and our Saviour who is manifested in and through our Lord Jesus
Christ. It's in Him. Show us the Father,
show us God, our Saviour. Philip, have I been so long with
you and yet you have not known me? He who has seen me, said
Jesus, has seen the Father. So, He's our great God and our
Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's looking to Him. It's that
hope of the appearing of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
For these things, this world, this situation does not go on
forever. God has made it clear that this
is all going to be brought to an end. he's going to do it in
his time in a time known only to God not to us but we're to
watch and wait and be prepared looking for that appearing when
will it come maybe it will be today I think I've told you before
it was some some great teacher said to his class of ministry
students pastoral ministry students and he said to them he said Which
of you think that the Lord Jesus Christ will come today? And he
went round the room and they all said, no, I don't think it
will be today. He said, that's interesting, he said, because
our Lord Jesus Christ said this, in the day when men don't think
he's going to come is the day when he's going to come. Always
think today might be the day when he comes again, looking
for it. And so in verse 14, we get great motivation. for living
this godly life because looking to our saviour, our God and saviour
Jesus Christ this is what he says about him, who our Lord
Jesus Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from
all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous
of good works. That's what I want to focus on
this morning, the gift its purpose, its effect, and its outcome,
very briefly at the end. The gift, first of all. Christ,
our Saviour, our God and our Saviour, gave Himself for us. The gift. The gift of God is
His Son. He gave Himself for His people. The us is His people. It's the
Israel of God that we were thinking of last week. He gave Himself
for us. It's the gift of Christ for a
purpose, to redeem his people. And the fact that he says it's
Christ who came that he might redeem us, it implies a previous
relationship. The idea of redemption implies
a previous relationship. Let me explain what I mean. Imagine,
well the story used to be told, and I think it's a good illustration,
whether there was ever any actual literal truth in it I don't know,
but it doesn't matter, but it's a good illustration. There was
a boy who made himself a model boat. The boy made himself a
model boat, carved it out of wood and you know, used his dad's
tools and he made this lovely little yacht out of wood and
he put a sail on it and he used to go down to the boating park
and he'd sail it on the lake and this was his model and he
loved this model boat that he'd made and he had this relationship
with his boat, it was his boat and one day he thought, I'll
try sailing it on the river and he did and it went and he couldn't
get it back and it went down the river and he lost it and
that was it, his lovely boat that was his, he'd lost it and
somebody found it sometime later and somebody took it to a second-hand
shop cleaned it up, put it into a second-hand shop and that boy
one day, might have been many months later, he was walking
down the street came to this second-hand shop and he looked
in the window there's his boat it's his boat it always was his
boat before it was lost it was his boat but he can't have it
what does he have to do he has to go and redeem it from the
shop he has to go and buy it from the shop he has to go and
buy that which was always his he has to go and buy it, is that
not a lovely illustration of what Christ has done in the gospel.
His people, as we sung in that first hymn, were always his.
Before the beginning of time, his people were always his. We
were justified, as John Gill says, from all eternity. Religionists
take that doctrine. They say, oh, no, it's a dangerous
doctrine. It's going to get people to live immoral lives and licentious
lives. What rubbish. That's the truth
of scripture. God says he loved his people
with a, what? Everlasting love. He loved his
people with an everlasting love. There was this previous relationship
that Christ had with his people before the beginning of time,
before the fall into sin. God the Father loved his elect. Christ married his elect before
the fall. We're justified in Christ from
before the beginning of time. Just like Eve and Adam, when
were they married? After the fall? Or before the
fall? Before the fall. They were married
before the fall. The people of Christ were married
to him in all eternity before the fall. And so, you know these
scriptures well, Ephesians 1 verse 4. He chose us, his people, in
him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world. So that Jesus says
when he's preaching in Matthew 25, 34, he says, this is what
will be said on that last day. He says he will say to the sheep,
to the people of God, come ye blessed of my father. Inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from when? From the foundation
of the world. Before there ever was a world,
that kingdom was prepared for you. In John 17, before he goes
to the cross, he's praying to his father. he says I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world thine
they were and thou gavest them me they were God the fathers
by sovereign grace by just sheer love he loved his people with
an everlasting love and he gave them to his son for that purpose
of redeeming them he gave them to his son to be the bride of
the son who was the groom he says all mine are thine that
thou gavest to me all mine are thine and thine are mine and
I am glorified in them keep through thine own name those whom thou
hast given me father I will that they also whom thou hast given
me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which
thou hast given me for thou loves me before the foundation of the
world There was a relationship with Christ and his people before
the foundation of the world, a marriage relationship, a relationship
of being justified in him, of being wed to him, in perfection
which is pictured in the marriage of Adam and Eve before the fall.
But then the fall came. Then the fall came, sin entered,
and with it all the curses of God upon sin. God hates sin. God cannot abide sin. He is of
purer eyes than to behold iniquity and cannot look upon sin, meaning
he cannot look upon sin with with indifference, he must, his
law cries out against sin and he curses the sin of man, he
says to Adam and Eve in the garden when they fell that the ground,
the creation is cursed on your account because of sin and the
issue is this, how to restore that pre-fall relationship between
Christ and his people, how to restore that and more than that,
because in the pre-fall relationship there was always the possibility
that they would fall. But how to restore that relationship
without the possibility of the fall? Christ must come. This is what must happen. Christ
must come and bear all the curses of the law. You know what it
says in the books of Moses and it's quoted in Galatians 3.10?
Cursed is everyone Who does that include? You? Me? Yes all of
us. Cursed is everyone that does
not continue meaning all the time without stopping ever that
does not continue in all things written in the book of the law
to do them. And John Warburton writing his
testimony in his book The Mercies of a Covenant God he says how
that verse drilled into his very soul and convicted him cursed
is everyone that does not continue in all things written in the
book of the law to do them for there is a day of reckoning coming
there is a day of judgment coming and all those curses must be
dealt with Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law
how being made that curse for us, bearing it in the place of
his people in his own body, on the tree, until the law and the
justice of God is satisfied. How much did he suffer? How much
did he undergo? Enough until the law said, that's
enough. he's punished enough the debt
is paid you know it's a lovely thing when you owe some money
when you owe money to pay a mortgage and it's one of the nicest letters
you will ever receive is when you get that written confirmation
from the bank or whoever it is you borrowed the money from to
say your debt is cleared you don't owe anything anymore it's
cleared it's done it's finished so it is with what Christ accomplished
for his people the law that which was the one that was offended
against whom there was the debt the law says enough the debt
is paid it's cleared for Christ has done all that was necessary
and so the scripture cries out 2nd Corinthians 9.15 Thanks be
to God for his unspeakable gift. We've tried speaking of it. You
never ever do it justice. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable
gift. He gave himself for us. Now,
it's purpose. Secondly, it's purpose. What's
its purpose? That he might redeem us from
all iniquity. That God might redeem his people
from all iniquity. The word redeem is a word which
means to buy back. As I mentioned with that illustration
of the boy with his little boat that he'd made, and he, even
though it was his, he still had to redeem it in the shop, he
had to pay the price, the ticket price for it to get back that
which was his. Redeem speaks of paying a ransom
in order to procure liberty to procure release somebody's in
prison or somebody's a slave, imagine you know thankfully we
don't have slavery well not overtly anymore like they did a couple
of hundred years ago until it was abolished in most of the
western countries but you know there'd be the slave market people would come to buy slaves
and you might get the situation where a rich benefactor would
come and he'd see a slave there bound in chains and destined
to be sold into hard labor and he would redeem that slave and
let that slave go free. It's talking about procuring
the liberty of that one, redeeming them, to let them go free. This
is what God did in sending Christ. He gave himself for us that he
might redeem us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and
purify to himself a peculiar people. Do you think that if
God could have found any other way of making his people right
with himself, other than the terrible things that Christ had
to go through, do you think he would have done this if there'd
been any other way? If there'd been any other way,
surely God would have found it and done it, but there wasn't.
And there isn't. And Christ had to come. He had
to come. He had to go to the cross. That's
why he set his face as a flint. For he who was God in flesh knew
that there was no other way to redeem his people. If he could
have spared his own son, the father would. But we read in
Romans 8, 32, he that spared not his own son, delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us
all things? And he did it because it was the only way to answer
all of the curse of God against sin. Christ had to come and do
this. This is what we remember when
we partake of bread and wine, that it was at such cost, it
was the broken body and the shed blood of the innocent, infinite
Lamb of God for His people, on behalf of His people, satisfying
the curses of the law against sin for His people, that His
people might be restored, redeemed, to that situation that they were
in before the beginning of time yet without the possibility of
ever falling again this is what he did Christ's fallen bride
was in captivity to sin we were slaves of sin were told in Romans
but Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made
a curse for us so that Isaiah 61 verse 1 Why did Christ come? He quoted
this in the synagogue at Nazareth. These words, he read these words
out. He came to proclaim liberty. Redemption. Freedom. Freedom
from slavery. Redemption. Liberty to the captives. The opening of the prison to
them that are bound. Who's bound? Sinners. What's
the prison? The prison of sin. Why are we
bound in it? Because of the flesh. We cannot
do other than what sin dictates. but in Christ he came to proclaim
liberty to the captives the opening of the prison to them that abound
that full payment has been made and so his people's debt he who
knew no sin was made sin for his people that they might be
made the righteousness of God in him Jeremiah 33 verse 16 he's
speaking of his people this is the name wherewith she shall
be called. In Jeremiah 23 it says this is
the name wherewith he shall be called, speaking of Christ, the
Lord, our righteousness. This is the name wherewith she
shall be, who's she? It's his people, it's his bride,
there's a marriage, yeah? I'll embarrass Stephen and Sam,
there used to be a girl called Sam Maltby and there was a day
when she married Stephen Jellett and she became Sam Jellett because
she took his name. It's a picture, it's a lovely
picture of Christ and this is the name wherewith she, his people,
shall be called. His people, who was his church?
you and me if we're amongst those who trust Christ this is the
name with which we shall be called sinners sinners I in my flesh
there dwells no good thing will be called the Lord our righteousness
we've taken his name his surname it's our name now redemption
is accomplished and it's accomplished either with the payment of the
full price to procure the release or by someone taking the place.
There's the picture, you know, when Joseph goes to get his brethren
and his dad Jacob to come down to Egypt. and that there's all
the issue of Benjamin who he particularly wanted to see and
Jacob says I've lost Joseph and now I'm going to lose Benjamin
and Judah says I will stand surety for him I'll go in his place
I will be the one that becomes prisoner in the place of him
so that he is preserved for you it's either redemption is either
by just paying the full price or taking the place but Christ
both took his people's place and he fully discharged the debt
to the law that was against their sin bearing all the curses of
the fall in the place of his people so we read in 1st Peter
chapter 1 verses 18 and 19 for as much as ye know that you were
not redeemed, bought, purchased with corruptible things as silver
and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
father, that's talking about your sinful state as natural
men and women how were you redeemed then? but with the precious blood
of Christ that's what paid the price the precious blood of Christ
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot and therefore
says Paul to the Corinthians 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20 you
are not your own I want to do what I want to do you know this
is the philosophy of modern life isn't it you know you stand up
for your rights and you make a stand on this to the believer
The Spirit of God says this, you are not your own, you are
bought with a price. You've been purchased, you the
bride of Christ have been purchased with the precious blood of the
Son of God. And it was, it was, and it could
only ever be deity that could pay that price. You know, it
couldn't be an angel that could pay that price. It could only
be God in flesh. Only God is sufficiently great,
infinite to be able to do that. Only he has blood which is of
such value that it pays the price of the sins of all of his people
none other as that old hymn says there was no other good enough
could pay the price of sin no other only could ever be deity
that paid that price and so Paul again speaking to the elders
of the church at Ephesus in Acts 20 verse 28 he tells them to
care for the church of God and this is how he describes the
church of God which he God hath purchased with his, God's, own
blood. God's purchased his church with
his own blood. In the person of his son, for
in his son dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And Christ
came and paid the debt to the law. He perfectly established
righteousness in the earth. He was righteous by very nature
of who he is and what he is but by coming made of a woman made
under the law to redeem those who are under the law he made
himself subject to the law that all righteousness he said it
again and again why was he baptized why did he do these things that
righteousness he was circumcised the eighth day according to the
law that righteousness might be fulfilled that of course he
did it he was the righteousness of God and he makes his people
the righteousness of God but in so doing in his time as a
man from baby to when he ascended back to glory he perfectly kept
the law of God in every single respect he perfectly did that
he redeemed his people from look what it says here all iniquity
all. There are those that will preach
a gospel that says God has only dealt with the sins that you've
committed up to the time that you believe and then from then
on you're responsible on your own. That's not what the scriptures
say. He will redeem us from all iniquity so that good old hymn's
got it right. My sin of the bliss of this glorious
thought my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to his cross
and I bear it no more. What is it that he's born for
us? He's born the guilt of sin the filth of sin, the power of
sin, and let's confess it in the flesh, the love of sin, the
practice of sin, the things that I would not, those are the things
that I do, and the things that I don't want to do, those are
the things that I do do. he's cleansed his people from
all iniquity he's redeemed his people from all iniquity from
one that is much stronger Jeremiah 31 verse 11 the Lord hath redeemed
Jacob Jacob a name for his people Jacob who he makes Israel, princes
with God. The Lord hath redeemed Jacob
and ransomed him, paid the ransom for his release from the hand
of him that was stronger than he. Who is that? That is Satan. The Lord hath redeemed Jacob.
This was written hundreds of years before Christ came and
actually went to the cross and shed his blood, but nevertheless
It's there in the scriptures because the Holy Spirit inspired
it all. The Lord hath redeemed Jacob
and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than
he. How do you value something? You know, we see all these antiques
programs and I don't know, sometimes I look at something and I think,
why on earth does somebody want to pay that much money for that?
And it's just because of the numbers of people that want it,
how they value it. You know, you go and visit a
stately home and you see various treasures. and they maybe don't
affect you very much because you're looking around this room
you see all sorts of things but then the person that's giving
the guided tour will say now I want you to look at this particular
one and they'll tell you a story about how the lord of the manor
was on some journey somewhere and some remarkable account happened
and when you know that about that object it becomes so much
more precious, doesn't it? You know the cost that was incurred
in order to procure that thing. Well, is it not so? As the believer
looks more and more at the price of their redemption, of what
it cost the Godhead to procure the redemption of his people,
how you're purchased with such a great price, what it cost for
the Son of God to have his father turn away his face when he was
made sin, to bear that sin, that cup, that dreadful cup of the
wrath of God, to drink it every last drop, to drain that cup
of the wrath of God against sin, what cost there was. When you
see what it incurred Does it not make it so much more valuable?
What a precious thing it is, the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot. So then, thirdly,
what's its effect? that he might redeem us from
all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous
of good works this is what it was for to purify a peculiar
people now I know non-christians think christians are peculiar
well that's fine that's always going to be the case you know
oddballs who think funny things that's always going to be the
case But it doesn't mean that in the sense that the world thinks
it. The word peculiar here is the word for dwelling alone. a people that dwells alone they're
separate Psalm 135 verse 4 the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself
and Israel for his peculiar treasure his dwelling alone treasure his
treasure that's like nobody else these are ones on their own he's
talking about a distinctive relationship God loves you and has a wonderful
plan for your life is not in the scripture God loves Jacob
is in the scripture God distinctively loves the people whom he chose
in Christ before the foundation of the world Christ came not
to pay the price for every sin ever committed as some of the
hymns in the more modern books say but as we know he came and
paid the price particularly of the sins of his people. He paid
that debt. When he said, it is finished,
it was every single sin, every single curse, everything, satisfied. And therefore, it's effectual.
When you go to pay a debt at the bank, you don't just go and
say, well here's some money randomly, I know there's debts in the bank,
but here's some money randomly. No, you go to pay your debt.
And the bank says, right, that money counts against that debt,
therefore that debt is clear. That's what Christ did in his
redemption on the cross, and that's why it's effectual. That's
why his salvation of his people, when you come to believe the
gospel of grace, you know that it is true. What does God do? to these people, what does he
do for these distinctive people? It says that he purifies them. He purifies unto himself a peculiar,
a distinctive people. What is it to purify? There's
a lot in the scriptures, in the Old Testament scriptures there's
a lot about purification. Read in the books of Moses, you'll
read a lot about ceremonial purification. In the Old Testament temple in
the priesthood, in the purification that was needed to make the typical
ordinances of the sacrifices of the animals, to make them
valid in spiritual terms. There was purification that was
needed. And there are typically four ways in which purification
is accomplished. There's purification by fire,
there's purification by oil, there's purification by blood,
and there's purification by water. Purification by fire Numbers
31 23 ye shall make it go through the fire and it shall be clean
Isaiah chapter 4 verse 4 the Lord shall have purged purified
the blood the blood guiltiness of Jerusalem by the spirit of
burning there's this sense of you know when you want to purify
a metal you know the jeweler puts it in a crucible and heats
it to a very high temperature The idea being that the pure
gold is not affected by that high temperature other than to
melt it, but the impurities are burned off. The fire purifies
the gold. It makes it higher purity. It
purifies. So it removes the dross, it purges
the dirt out of it. You know, you get a scum and
you scrape the scum off and gradually there's purification by fire. There's purification by oil.
You'll see instances of oil being applied to the ear and to the
hand. And oil in the scriptures is
always typical of the Holy Spirit. You see in Revelation the olive
trees and it's typical of the Holy Spirit's outpouring into
the church. The oil applied to the ear and hand is typical of
Holy Spirit sanctifying the person or the thing or whatever it is.
Then there's blood. There's blood purification. Blood
purification. Exodus 29 verse 20. kill the
ram and take off his blood and put it on the tip of the right
ear of Aaron. See, it's a purification thing.
If it wasn't done, Aaron wouldn't be pure to do that role that
he had as a high priest. there's purification by blood
and the New Testament Hebrews chapter 9 explains it to us it
says this how much more those animal sacrifices had a symbolical
purification that was only symbolical how much more shall the blood
of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to God he alone could do that how much more shall he purge,
purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God
almost all things are by the law purged, purified with blood
and without the shedding of blood there is no remission, there
is no forgiveness, there is no taking away of sin in chapter
12 of Hebrews verse 24 there we read about the people of God
coming to various things and the climax of it is and to Jesus
the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling
this is where we come the blood of sprinkling it speaks the priest
would sprinkle the people with blood and it speaks of the purification
that that sacrifice had achieved, and a blood of sprinkling which
speaketh better things than that of Abel. What's that all about?
Abel was murdered, the first man murdered, he was murdered
by his brother Cain And Abel's blood spoke. What did Abel's
blood speak? Abel's blood screamed out for
justice. Abel's blood screamed out to
the law of God for justice, for Cain had murdered his brother.
But the blood of sprinkling of Christ speaks better things. Yes, it was right that Abel's
blood should speak for justice, but the blood of Christ speaks
forgiveness. The blood of Christ speaks forgiveness
of sin, cleansing. The shed blood of Christ purifies
the conscience, the affections, what we desire, the speech and
the actions, and then the water. the ceremonial washings, Leviticus
16 and 24, I won't be much longer don't worry, he shall wash his
flesh with water in the holy place and put on his, there was
the laver at the temple where the priest had to wash And Ephesians
5.26 says this, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, his
church, his people, with the washing of water, symbolized
by that laver at the temple, with the washing of water by
the word, by the word. Look at chapter 3 of Titus, verses
5 and 6. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. Listen. by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. This is talking about gospel
redemption. You know when the spear pierced
the side of our Lord Jesus Christ, what came out? Blood and water. Blood, blood to deal with the
sin debt, and water to sanctify, to make clean. The washing of
water by the word, blood and water. This is talking about
gospel redemption. The gospel, redeeming his people,
purifying his people as a result of the gospel. The purification
is in thought, in affection, in prayer. The prayers of his
people are purified by these things, by gospel redemption. Prayer, sorrows, joys, hopes,
expectations, in all of these things, inwardly and outwardly,
there's purification by the gospel. Hence the exhortation to adorn
the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. And how is it
manifested outwardly? In honesty, in integrity, in
uprightness before this world, in liberality, generous spiritedness,
in kindness, in, oh this is so important these days where we
see such selfishness on every side, a denial of self. And the outcome of it? a peculiar
people who are zealous of good works. Zealous of good works. This is a zeal, not as the Jews
who had a zeal for God but not according to knowledge, nor the
zeal of religious fanatics or jihadists as we hear so much
of today, but a zeal for good works. Not serving God grudgingly,
slavishly, in conformance to some standard but enthusiastically
motivated to bear Christ's image in this fallen world it's zeal
to reflect the character of God who has saved us we remain sinners
as long as we're in this flesh but the gospel motivates to godly
living how much more effective is grace than law we remember
his grace in the taking of bread and of wine as we remember the
cost. Think, you know? Imagine the
illustration I gave before of looking in that stately home
and you see some artifact and it means nothing to you until
somebody explains how that was obtained. And you think, wow,
wow. Think how was, you know, these
are just symbols, these are just artifacts, symbolical artifacts
to remind us. Remember, how was it obtained?
at the precious, precious, infinite cost of the Son of God, His body
broken, His blood shed, that His people might be redeemed.