Blessed hope

Titus 2:11-14 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.

I just love this 4 verses. The grace of God that bring salvation has appeared to all men, this is consistent with the whole theme of the bible, Heb 1:1-2 says “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” The main theme of the bible is Jesus Christ, and the grace of God is manifested through Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh. Everything Jesus done, his ministry, his death, his resurrection and his 2nd coming, speaks of God’s grace to an undeserving people.

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world, we don’t belong to this present world, verse 14 says we are to be peculiar people, we don’t think and reason like most people because we have to cultivate a heavenly mindset, which is contrary to an earthly mindset. So we should feel out of place, a misfit, in this world.
What is the earthly mindset? If you live long enough in this present world, you will know it is to enjoy and be merry, live life to the fullest, develop your fullest potential, fulfill your dreams, be enriched with wealth and health in this world, and for those who are perhaps more altruistic: lets unite everyone and bring heaven down to earth.

But the heavenly mindset is different, the bible says in 1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. The world, and its lusts, will soon pass way. There is another world coming, the heavenly mindset is to prepare ourselves for the coming new world, that is why we must be sober, righteous, and godly. A church elder once said “ heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people” We Christians are to prepare ourselves for the next world. Therefore take every trial and temptation you face, with the help of prayer, as an opportunity to train yourself for the new world.

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
The glorious 2nd coming of Jesus Christ will usher in the coming new world. It is a blessed hope, for this hope will keep us going, this hope will give us the strength to endure and be patient. This is the hope that we know all the wrong in this world will be made right and we will see Jesus face to face. This is the purifying hope that cause us to say no to the attractiveness of the world. This is the comforting hope that know God will one day wipe away all our tears (Rev 7:17).

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. He is our Savior, we love Him because He first love us. Love is about giving, and the greatest act of love is when God gave us His only begotten Son, and Christ Jesus willingly offered His life for us. So if Jesus gave Himself to us, lets remember as Christians when we interact with others, it is about showing the love of Jesus by our giving. Yes we should convict others by telling them what God says about sins, but we should not condemn others. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16