Showing posts with label good works. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good works. Show all posts

23 October 2019

A Few Thoughts on the Epistle of Titus Part 10

Titus 3:12-15 Final Greetings


Final Greetings

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have determined to winter there.
13 Help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos in any way you can, so that they are lacking nothing.
14 Also, let ours learn to keep up good works for essential needs, so that they won’t be unfruitful.
15 All that are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Notes
B1 Paul doesn’t mind asking for assistance. Asking God for assistance is the first thing we do, but asking help from fellow believers is good and right.
C1 Acts 18:27 NIV When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
C2 It is fellowship.
D1 God desires fellowship: 1 John 1:3 NLT We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
D2 United into one family: 1 Corinthians 10:16-18 NLT When we bless the cup at the Lord's Table, aren't we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren't we sharing in the body of Christ? 17 And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body. 18 Think about the people of Israel. Weren't they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar?
D3 The whole church: Philippians 4:14-15 NLT Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. 15 As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this.
D4 In suffering: Hebrews 10:33-34 NLT Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.
D5 In hospitality: 1 Peter 4:9 NLT Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
D6 In prison: Colossians 4:10 NLT Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas's cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way.
D7 Financially: 1 Timothy 6:17-18 NLT Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.
D8 Brothers and sisters in the congregation: 1 Corinthians 14:26 NLT Well, my brothers and sisters, let's summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.
D9 Help when tempted, in sin, and/or other burdens (spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, financial, etc.): Galatians 6:1-2 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
D10 We need each other: Romans 1:12 NLT When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
D11 Our brother or sister should be a very high concern:
E1 1 Corinthians 10:24 NLT Don't be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.
E2 Philippians 2:1-4 CSB If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
D12 Praying for one another. Many, many of our brothers and sisters are suffering in every area of the world. Come, Lord Jesus: James 5:14-16 CSB Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.
B2 Verse 13 is to help our brothers and sisters in any ministry they have:
C1 Acts 18:27 CSB When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
C2 Romans 16:1-2 WEL I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea, 2 So you may welcome her in the Lord in a worthy manner as saints and assist her in whatever matter she has need of you, for she has been a helper to many including me.
B3 Verse 14 Encourages us to not quit doing good works to honor God.
C1 Matthew 5:16 CSB In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
C2 Praying for each other that God will encourage and strengthen us to do them: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 CSB May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.
C3 God’s grace enables, provides, and strengthens us: 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
C4 We do these because we love our God and our brothers and sisters: Hebrews 6:9-10 CSB Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.
B4 Verse 15 deals with greeting one another and encouraging in the faith.
C1 When we meet in a foreign place or a familiar place, let us greet one another and assist as needed.
C2 In the faith is the Gospel, doctrine, and life God wishes for us to be consistent. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 CSB Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 14 Do everything in love.

19 October 2019

A Few Thoughts on the Epistle of Titus Part 8

Titus 3:3-8 What We Were, and How God Changed Us


What We Were and How God Changed Us

3 We ourselves were also at one time foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various evil desires and pleasures, passing our time being spiteful, envious, obnoxious, and hating one another.
4 But as soon as the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared,
5 He saved us, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 Which he abundantly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 That having been justified by means of his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on them, so that those who believe in God might be conscientious to keep up good works. These things are right and beneficial to people.

Notes
B1 Before we believed the Gospel
C1 Sin is defined as
D1 Transgressing God’s law 1 John 3:4 NIV Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
D2 Unrighteousness 1 John 5:17 NIV All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
D3 Knowing what is right, but refusing to do: James 4:17 NIV If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.
D4 Anything not of faith (believing God): Romans 14:23 GNB But if they have doubts about what they eat, God condemns them when they eat it, because their action is not based on faith. And anything that is not based on faith is sin.
D5 Foolish plans as here: Proverbs 24:9 GNB Any scheme a fool thinks up is sinful. People hate a person who has nothing but scorn for others.
C2 Penalty and punishment are necessary
C3 All humans are addicted to sin. We are enslaved. John 8:34, Romans 6:12-20, Titus 3:3
C4 The characteristics of the human addicted to sin
D1 Pride
D2 The lie of believing ourselves to be good
D3 The lie that we can overcome sin on our own strength
D4 Blind and in darkness to truth and the reality of our condition
D5 The free will is hindered because of our addiction to sin
D6 We are addicted to what is pleasurable to us
D7 We do the opposite of the Ten Commandments
E1 We have other gods, namely ourselves
E2 We have idols of some type of material or imagination
E3 We blaspheme God’s character
E4 We don’t rest from anything to worship the creator, the King of the Universe (and beyond).
E5 We don’t honor our parents
E6 We commit sexual sins
E7 We steal
E8 We murder
E9 We lie
E10 We covet
D8 If we sin 10 times a day, then in one year, we break God’s law 3,650 times every year. Each sin will receive the death penalty. Some protest that it is not fair to suffer for eternity for committing one lie, but they forget or are ignorant that God, the King of the Universe, warns them that one sin will receive this penalty. James 2:10 NLT For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws.
D9 The penalty (and God warns us) is death. Death is spiritual and physical. The spiritual death of the unconverted is spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical resulting in physical death and eventually eternal death of torment in fire.
E1 Genesis 2:17 CSB but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.
E2 We earn something for what we work for. The wages of sin in death. Romans 6:23 CSB For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
E3 Works count, but all have sinned. Punishment is eternal: Revelation 20:12, 14-15 CSB I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. ... 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
E4 Matthew 25:46 NLT And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.
D10 All these sins are done in thoughts, desires, words, and/or deeds. Matthew 5:28 NLT But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
D11 People have different levels of how evil they are. Some are more evil than others.
D12 We show our sin by actions. People live the way they believe. What they say is not necessarily what anyone really believes. Some of these actions are shown in our passage. ... foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various evil desires and pleasures, passing our time being spiteful, envious, obnoxious, and hating one another.
D13 We do not and we can not seek God. We are enslaved to our sins.
E1 Romans 3:11 WEL There is no one who is understanding, there is no one seeking for God. (See Romans 3:10-18).
E2 John 8:34 NLT Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
D14 All are sinning.
D15 All will be judged.
D16 All will be found guilty.
D17 All will die.
D18 All will be sentenced to eternity suffering as our punishment.
D19 The salvation that is offered is because God is kind and loves us enough to genuinely offer it.
B2 After we believed the Gospel
C1 What God does
D1 God initiates salvation. If God does not, then no one will be saved. John 16:8 and John 6:44
D2 God in His sovereign power frees the will from darkness, blindness, ignorance, etc. to understand our sin and God’s punishment. Acts 16:14
D3 Having a freed will, God presents the Gospel through the preaching of it. 1 Corinthians 1:21
D4 One can then believe or not believe, resist or not resist, comply or refuse the Holy Spirit of God. God has freed our will, that is, given us the ability to make a choice or contrary choice. Acts 7:51, Isaiah 63:10, Isaiah 1:20
D5 If one believes, then God gives new life (regeneration), the earnest of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, etc. 2 Corinthians 5:17
D6 All sin must be punished. Romans 6:23 and Romans 1:18
D7 Either I can be punished or someone else.
D8 If someone else is chosen, they must be sinless. Otherwise, they are being punished for their own sin.
D9 Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, is sinless. 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Hebrews 4:15
D10 Jesus is the Passover Lamb. He did this only one time. 1 Corinthians 5:7 and Hebrews 9:28
D11 The blood of Jesus paid penalty. 1 Peter 1:2, Hebrews 12:24, Ephesians 1:7
D12 Jesus suffered for our sins bearing the wrath of God. 1 Peter 2:24 and 1 Peter 3:18
D12 Salvation is not something earned. Our passage shows this. Faith is not a work.
D13 Jesus raised from the dead proving He is God, He is sinless, and He has paid that penalty successfully. Romans 1:3-4
D14 Jesus lives forever to make intercession for believers. Hebrews 7:25
D15 If we drift and finally and forever deny Jesus Christ, we will be apostate and go to eternal punishment. It is rare but does happen. When it happens? Only God knows. Let us stay in the grace of God. Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-31
C2 Characteristics of the regenerated
D1 Fruit of the Spirit. These are not something is ourselves but a fruit of the Holy Spirit working in our life. Galatians 5:22-23
D2 We are sanctified. We are separated from addiction and slavery to sin to be separated to God for serving Him, His kingdom, and His will.
E1 Instant and completed sanctification when believing is justification. Acts 26:18, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews 10:26
E2 The Holy Spirit's continuous teaching and convicting is a ongoing work of sanctification. This is progressive sanctification. 2 Corinthians 7:1 and 1 Thessalonians 4:3
E3 Instant and completed sanctification after physical death is glorification. Romans 8:30, Philippians 3:20-21
D3 God frees us from our sins. Romans 6:7
D4 His grace gives us the grace and power to know His will and do it. Philippians 2:13
D5 The gift of the Holy Spirit who works in our lives Romans 8:7-9
B3 Verse 5 He saved us, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
C1 Works of righteousness do not save us from God’s wrath. Isaiah 64:6
C2 Faith is not works. The Scripture states it so: Romans 4:2-4 LEB For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness." 4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited according to grace, but according to his due.
C3 Mercy is receiving what we do not deserve. We deserve the wrath of God, but the Lord Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, received God’s wrath for us.
C4 Washing of regeneration and renewal
D1 These are the work of the Holy Spirit John 1:12-13, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans 6:3-9 (baptism does not make one saved, it is the result of being saved and then identified with Jesus Christ).
D2 Renewal. What was dead in now alive. Colossians 3:10, Psalm 51:10, Ephesians 2:4-7
B4 Verse 6 Which he abundantly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior,
C1 Not just a little but much
C2 Done in love, wisdom, and holiness
B5 Verse 7 That having been justified by means of his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
C1 Justification is instant sanctification accomplished entirely by God for those who believe in His son Jesus Christ.
C2 It is God’s grace, not our work
C3 God made us heirs of a heavenly kingdom Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29, Ephesians 3:6
B6 Verse 8 This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on them, so that those who believe in God might be conscientious to keep up good works. These things are right and beneficial to people.
C1 Good works glorify God. So the works we do must be works that are approved by Go. Stealing to help the poor would not qualify as a good work.
C2 The good works we do are first for our family, then for our local brothers and sisters, then for our other brothers and sisters worldwide, and finally as a witness to those who do not believe.
C3 It must be a work that we can do. Some can give money, food, clothes, necessities. Some can give in labor as cleaning, repairing, running errands, etc. All can pray, but for some that is all they are able to do.
B7 Philippians 1:9-11 GNB I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment, 10 so that you will be able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ. 11 Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.