Titus: Jesus Is The Blessed Hope
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Titus: Jesus Is The Blessed Hope
Titus 2:11-15 (ESV)
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Everyone is desperately looking for hope, especially nowadays when there seems to be no end to all the troubles we are going through. With this Pandemic, for example, last year, with the push of the Covid vaccines, everybody was hoping that we would finally see the end of the Pandemic. But then, the different variants came, Delta, Omicron, and now IHU, which they discovered recently in France. And now, it feels as if we’re back where we started.
Of course, in addition to this, we are also experiencing some inflation of prices on oil, rent, cars, and other major commodities like meat, milk, eggs, and others. Many economists predict that we will probably see around 6-7 percent increases in almost all products during the first quarter of 2022.
Undoubtedly, life will be harder and harder, and we cannot look to the government and our politicians to give us the answers we need. No one except Jesus Christ can give us hope today. It may sound like a cliché to you already, but the Bible is quite evident in pointing at Jesus Christ as the only source of hope for us, especially during these last days.
As we move to our next book in the New Testament this morning, we will find the same emphasis being conveyed clearly by the apostle Paul to Titus and the church located in Crete. If you check the historical background of Titus and the church in Crete, Titus was a Gentile believer (Galatians 2:3) who came to know the Lord under the ministry of Paul (Titus 1:4). He became one of the trusted companions of Paul during his second missionary journey.
After Paul’s imprisonment in Rome (61-63AD), he, together with Titus, traveled on to Crete to preach the Gospel there. After a short period, Paul left Titus behind to help the new believers become more grounded in their faith and lead the new church in Crete. And so, Paul wrote this third Pastoral Letter to Titus to guide and assist him as he pastored the Cretan church. Bible scholars believe that Paul wrote this book around 64 AD.
To appreciate the representation of Jesus in the book as our blessed hope, we will specifically expound the text we read earlier and divide it into three major elements of hope:
I THE BEGINNING OF OUR HOPE (v.11)
When the apostle Paul started talking about this hope, which is found in Christ, he introduced it in verse 11, saying, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” Undoubtedly, this statement refers to the first coming of Jesus Christ into the world when He offered Himself on the cross to die for the sins of the world. There are great Scriptures that can support this declaration:
John 3:16-18 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 (ESV)
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
These two passages are critical Scriptural supports to what Paul declared in Titus 2:11. Why? The first text in John 3, which is quite familiar, reinforces two sections in Titus 2:11 statement:
A. The coming of Jesus Christ into the world is at the same time the appearance of God’s grace.
The apostle John was able to convey this truth by saying that the love of God was the compelling reason why Jesus was given to the world. It was not because the world is trying its best to please God, or there were extraordinary efforts from the world that merit such gift of God’s beloved Son to come and die for the sins of the world.
B. Jesus Christ came not to condemn but to save all people of the world.
It was for salvation, not condemnation that Jesus came to the world. With all the sins in the world, God could justify condemning the world. Yet, because of God’s willingness to extend favors, we don’t deserve (grace), He gave us salvation instead. Of course, John clearly establishes the condition of believing in Christ to be saved. However, we should appreciate that because He died for all people, everyone can be saved as long as we believe in Him.
Then, the third truth comes from 1 Timothy 2:5-6:
C. There is only one mediator between God and man who can truly save us.
The hope of salvation from sin can only come from the designated mediator between God and man, who is Christ Jesus. In the Bible, the word “mediator” refers to “someone who intervenes between two parties to resolve a conflict or ratify a covenant” (John MacArthur commentary). In other words, Jesus is our only “go-between” to be accepted by God. We should never attempt to go to God without His designated mediator because it won’t work. Our sins are such a great barrier between God and us, so we need the Holy Son of God to bring us to Him.
To appreciate this truth, allow me to use the story of the Good Samaritan:
Luke 10:30,33 (ESV)
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
In a way, our spiritual condition is like this wounded, helpless man lying on the road. We have been beaten and battered by sin, while Jesus can be likened to this Good Samaritan who saw us and, because of His compassion, came down from heaven to save us. He could have just passed us by, but He decided to care for us and deliver us from our miserable condition. Indeed, it is all about His grace towards us!
II THE BASIS OF OUR HOPE (v. 13)
The first coming of Jesus into the world, which provided us with salvation and eternal life, was certainly the first manifestation of hope for all of us. Paul mentioned this truth in Titus 3:7 (ESV)
7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Meaning, the salvation by grace that we received through Jesus Christ also gave us the hope of inheriting eternal life.
With this statement, we need to fully understand the meaning of “hope” whenever it is used in the Bible. You see, often, whenever we use the word “hope,” we are expressing a wish or a desire that it would happen, but without any certainty whatsoever. In contrast, the Bible's usage of hope always carries the confident expectation of something that will take place because it is based on God’s promises. Therefore, the promise of eternal life is not wishful thinking but a sure expectation because God promised it.
However, if you go back to verse 13 of chapter 2, there is another basis of hope that we should not take for granted – “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Based on these words, in addition to our hope of eternal life, we also have the blessed hope of Christ's second coming. I wonder how many of us are still excited waiting for the return of Jesus Christ?
If you notice, Paul used the word “blessed” in describing this hope that belongs to us today. The word “blessed” in the Scriptures is consistently used to mean “to be happy” or “to be joyful” because of the benefits we will receive from the Lord. Therefore, when this word is used to describe the second coming of Jesus Christ, it means that His return will be so amazing that we, as believers, will be blessed beyond measure.
Let’s think about this for a moment. I remember that during our Christmas service, I also emphasized the second coming of Jesus when we studied the 1 & 2 Thessalonians. So, this truth was a major topic during the first-century church, but I feel that it is something that we are losing in our churches today. I fear that we become so focused on surviving all the hardships and difficulties that we are going through that we forget that we are closer and closer to His return. However, such an attitude is unacceptable. If you look back to verse 13, the word “waiting” or “expectantly waiting” is in the present tense, which powerfully conveys what is to be the believer’s continual attitude in this present age.
The best way to illustrate this continual waiting is like a bride waiting for a military husband who has been serving in another country to arrive. Have you seen some of those welcome videos on the Internet? You see, Jesus is our Bridegroom, and we, the church, are His bride. So, we are waiting for Jesus to come because He is so precious to us. More than completing our salvation when He comes. He Himself will be our most significant gain! His coming is imminent. We don’t know exactly when He will be coming, but I guarantee you, He will surely come, and His coming is very soon.
Just a critical comment, though, about the Rapture of the church; I know there are Bible teachers who are saying that the church is going through the seven years Tribulation before Jesus comes again. However, this verse is one of the strongest verses that disprove it and support the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Why? First, if the church goes through the Tribulation period, then Christ’s 2nd coming would not be considered a “blessed hope” since we still have to go through all the troubles toward sin mentioned in the book of Revelation.
Second, the fact is that we are waiting for the coming of Christ and not the Anti-Christ. You see, if Jesus is coming after the Tribulation Period, then you can already anticipate that it would happen seven years after the reign of Anti-Christ. You see, the Tribulation Period will be exactly seven years according to the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27. Then, His second coming will no longer be like a thief in the night, which will happen suddenly and unannounced.
III THE BEHAVIOR OF OUR HOPE (vs. 12, 14)
Lastly, we should not forget the emphasis in the passage on how our hope should lead us to some appropriate behaviors on a day-to-day basis. This third element is the practical application of our hope in Christ.
As we have seen earlier, we have two kinds of hope: The first is the hope of eternal life; the second is the hope of Christ’s second coming. Well, if we examine our text, verse 12 is the application of the first hope, saying, “training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age;” While verse 14 is for the application of our hope on the second coming of Jesus Christ – “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
Can you see the apparent similarities between the two verses? Undeniably, the emphasis on the profound effect of our hope will be seen in how we live our lives today. Historically speaking, the people in Crete or the Cretans during Paul’s time were known to be rough people who were liars, lazy, gluttons, and loved to argue.
With this context of ministry in Crete, the apostle Paul helped them understand that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, though received by grace, should lead them to godliness and zealousness to good works.
Of course, this application is no different for all of us today! We who have experienced so much grace in the Lord Jesus should respond in godliness and good works. The Bible commentator, William MacDonald, wrote about this truth, saying:
“Many today who seem pleased with the doctrine of grace apparently have little interest in displaying it good works, or even godliness. Such an attitude is wrong and suggests a misapprehension of true grace.”
Let me ask you, “Have you already found hope in Jesus Christ? Is your hope in Christ affecting your daily behaviors? We are so blessed to have received this hope by grace in Jesus Christ. Yet, there are still so many people desperately looking for this hope. I trust that we will be more intentional in living for Jesus Christ to share our hope with other people around us. Let me close with this quote from Pastor Andy Stanley, saying:
“Jesus is the hope of the world and the local church is the vehicle of expressing that hope to the world.”
-Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana