“1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: 2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 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. 9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; 10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee” (Titus 2:1-15).

     Here, we want to focus on verses 13 and 14 of Titus chapter two. We continue in the context of “the grace of God” from verse 11. God’s grace was embodied in the incarnation of the Son of God in the Person of Jesus Christ. Today, God’s grace is embodied in all believers in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

     The “dispensation of the grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2) refers to the stewardship, management or administration of a household. This household refers to the believer’s body as the Temple of God and the life of the believer as a testimony to God’s indwelling presence. As we bring that truth back to Titus 2:11-15, the utilization, stewardship, management or administration of God’s indwelling enabling grace in the life of a believer works in three directions; inward, outward and upward. The stewardship of grace is the stewardship of a life “born again” of the Spirit of God and lived in the power of the Spirit.

     In the last study, we looked at the inward and outward. We saw that God’s grace refers to the enabling power of God in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The administration or stewardship of God’s grace inwardly is directing God’s enabling power to say no to the carnal desires we all possess because we are sinners by nature, not just by actions.

     The administration or stewardship of God’s grace outwardly is directing God’s enabling power to enable the yielded believer to live “soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world.” Apart from God’s enabling power (grace), these three things will never take place in a believer’s life.

     However, the central motivating factor in a believer’s life involves the believer’s upward vision of reality. It is what Christians for centuries have called the “blessed hope.” The “blessed hope” refers to the return of Jesus for His saints. It refers to the rapture of the Church when the dead in Christ rise from their graves and the living believers are translated. The “blessed hope” is the sure expectation that both the dead and living believers of the Church Age will receive glorified bodies and return with the Lord at His second coming to the earth to establish His 1,000 year Kingdom on earth.
The “blessed hope” takes the believer’s vision of reality beyond the few fleeting years of life he may have in this temporal world. The person who really believes in the “blessed hope” will not live his life chasing after this world’s riches and hopeless promises of happiness through fame and fortune. The person who believes in the “blessed hope” will live his life “looking for” it. He will live his life in the any moment expectation of the trumpet call of Jesus for the full and final assembly of the Church in glory.

     Most Christians talk about the “blessed hope.” They profess they are looking forward to the “blessed hope.” However, most people do not live like they believe in the “blessed hope.” If a person really believed that at any given moment in time he could instantly be standing before the Judgment Seat of Christ, how do you think he would live that moment?

     If a person really believed that any moment might be his last moment on earth or his last opportunity to do something for the Lord, how would he live that moment? A person who really believes in the “blessed hope” will not spend much time planning for the future (he may spend some time, but not much time). The person who really believes in the “blessed hope” will live each moment of the day with a sense of urgency. There may not be another opportunity to win your father, mother, brother, sister, loved one, friend or neighbor to Christ.

     Besides living our lives with a sense of urgency, the Christian who really believes in the “blessed hope” realizes that at any moment he might be standing before the Judgment Seat of Christ having to give an answer for every thing he did in this life.

“8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences” (II Corinthians 5:8-11).

     There is a “terror” involved in this judgment. The word “terror” in II Corinthians 5:11 is from the Greek word phobos (fob'-os). It refers to something dreaded or something that generates terror or fear. We know that the Judgment Seat of Christ is not about if we are going to Heaven or Hell. The matter of salvation must be taken care of in this life. We know that the Judgment Seat of Christ is not about the judgment of our sins, because the judgment of our sins (death) was paid for in the body of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.

“23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:23-24).

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (I Peter 3:18).

     The one thing that should generate terror in the heart of every Christian is the fact that we will have to answer to Jesus Christ for every wasted opportunity to witness and for every moment of apathy and indifference. We will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ as God allows us to see the eternal impact of our lives on the wide screen of eternity. We will see the eternal consequences of that moment of sin when God intended to use us as a vehicle of His grace. Instead, we will see the eternal results from being defeated by temptation and from that one soul who did not hear the message of redemption God intended us to share. Because we were not a clean vessel, God could not use us or bless us.

     Perhaps He will show us what might have been. Perhaps God will show us the thousands of souls that ended up in Hell because of that one moment we said no to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we will see the hopelessness of the millions who were dependent upon us to tell them of Christ. Perhaps we will finally understand the frustration of missionaries around the world who waited for us to give sacrificially so they could take the message of God’s wonderful grace to every part of the world.

     What must God do to move us to compassion? What must He do in our lives to get our eyes off of the things of this world? God wants willing partners. He does not want to shackle us to His yoke. He wants us to willingly, lovingly volunteer to join Him in reaching the world with His message of redemption.

“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

     That is why He saved us. He “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). The word “purify” in Titus 2:14 is from the Greek word katharizo (kath-ar-id'-zo). It means to cleanse by fire.

     From the day we got saved God has been working in our lives through every means available to get us to clean up our lives; to abandon worldliness and worldly pursuits (to be “peculiar people”) and to get us to be “zealous of good works.” Before anything else, God has to “purify” us.” God cannot use a dirty vessel to be a channel for His holy work. How many of us would want to drink water from a sewage pipe.

“11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean” (Haggai 2:11-14).

     Right after warning the carnal Corinthian believers about the Judgment Seat of Christ, Paul reminds them of their mutual obligation to live their lives for the Lord.

“14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (II Corinthians 5:14-15).

     We are to be a purified, peculiar people. The word “peculiar” is from the Greek word periousios (per-ee-oo'-see-os). It refers to a personal possession. From a theological perspective, it refers to a people selected by God from the other nations for his own possession. It refers to all believers living distinctively different and uniquely separated unto serving God by doing what He would do if He were here in our place. The reality is that we are here in His place.

“18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (II Corinthians 5:18-20).

     We are not just supposed to be a purified and peculiar people, we are supposed to be a purified and peculiar people with a purpose. We are purified and set apart by God to be a people “zealous of good works.” God has a purpose for our lives. Being pure from sin, worldly lusts and being distinctively set apart from the world is not why God works so diligently in our lives. He does so to prepare us to be used of Him.

     To be “zealous” means to be a person with boiling passion to be like Christ. God is working to start a fire within us. When God’s enabling power is activated in our lives, it will generate a passion for the Word of God, a passion for holiness and a passion for souls. The “good works” referred to is the “work of the ministry.”

     The majority of the ministry of most local churches today is consumed on trying to get nominal Christians to give up carnal practices and worldly pursuits so they might somehow work into their busy schedules a little time for the “work of the ministry.” How much lower can we set our spiritual goals and still maintain a pure conscience? How much more can we cheapen God’s grace? God has given us a gift of immeasurable value in the gift of our salvation. We know its value is immeasurable because of the price it cost Him to give it to us. We cheapen it before the world by our lack of passion for His work.