Titus 2:11-15 The remedy to the poison of religion: Grace I gave a teaching on the verses above this week

and would like to share a devotional summary of the main points made as they will be useful from a pastoral perspective when dealing with believers who are living in legalism or have been damaged by legalism. When Paul wrote to Titus on Crete the heresy of the Judaizing teaching was taking a hold. This teaching states that you have to add something onto believing in Jesus to be saved. In Titus time this would have involved adding circumcision to believing in Jesus. In todays church it could be believing in Jesus + baptism, arminianism, speaking in tongues etc to be saved. Unfortunately just as the judaizing teaching (legalism) was rife in Crete it is also today in the church and many believers are having their faith ship-wrecked because of it. In Titus 2:11-15 Paul lays down some truths around the central Christian doctrine that God is our saviour. They are as follows: God saves by the grace brought in Jesus death and resurrection which is available to all people through faith. V11 God changes born again believers through the process of sanctification in His grace. V12 God establishes born again believers to have the right priorities, assurance of salvation and a zeal for good works through His grace. V13-14

Gods grace is one of His attributes where he brings into favour a human who is justly out of favour. Essentially God saves, changes and establishes humans into righteousness through His favour upon them. All we have to do is cooperate with what He is doing through faith. We can never be right with God based what we can do in and of ourselves. As well as laying these truths down Paul also gives us tools in these verses to help believers who are being poisoned by legalism: If a believer is walking in legalism they need to be taken back to what they first believed.

Paul had that in mind when he wrote V11 as he reminded Titus of the message he first preached on Crete about Jesus being the manifestation of Gods grace. What Paul was essentially saying to Titus was for him to go to the legalists and remind them of the message they first believed through Paul that Jesus alone saves and that hopefully this would result in them seeing the futility of adding anything to faith in Christ for salvation and they themselves become sound in faith again. This is what we have to do if we know a brother or sister who is walking in legalism. We need to gently but sharply rebuke them about legalism that they may see the grace in Jesus clearly again by going back to the beginning when they first believed. Not only can believers walk in legalism but once having turned from legalism damage from its teaching can have taken route. This can lead to confusion about sanctification, assurance of salvation and what ones walk with Jesus should look like. Again the remedy is the same. We need to gently but directly point these brothers and sisters to the power of Gods grace to fuel their sanctification, their assurance of salvation and their walk with Jesus.

Jesus let us be vessels for your remedy to legalism: GRACE! God bless Adam Maggio 2013