The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;

14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

The theme of Paul’s letter to Titus is “God’s Ideal.” Earlier in his letter, Paul laid down the principles of righteousness that were required of those who were to hold leading positions in the Church. Here in these verses he sums up how all believers are to live, what they are to do, and why they are to do it. Paul does not take for granted that all believers live as they ought to live, but cites how we are to be to the praise and glory of the LORD Jesus Christ.

It is by God’s grace alone that we have (or can have) salvation. Once saved, we must then turn 180 degrees away from all ungodliness and worldliness and live to the pattern of Christ Jesus Himself. “But it’s hard,” you say. Yes, it is; but it is not impossible! Keep “looking for the blessed hope,” the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ. He died as the Sacrifice for our sins –something He alone could do! Trusting Him to forgive us, He then redeems us (literally, buys us back) and purifies us for Himself. We then become His personal possession, and we become excited to be and live zealously the

way the LORD desires.

It should be said here that the Cretans were arguably the toughest and most ungodly people on Earth at that time. Titus was charged with a monumental task. His abilities alone were not enough. He needed to rely fully and completely on the LORD for his strength and wisdom. So it is with us. We live in a tough and ungodly era of life. We have problems that world leaders seem impossible to solve. Only those who know and live as born-again believers in Christ are capable of turning our world around. Keep your eyes on the LORD! Listen to the indwelling Holy Spirit. And charge ahead with the confidence the LORD is ever and always with you. He never fails!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”