Now I would remind you, brothers,  of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared…

…Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

(ESV)

“What is a faithful man of God?”

Good question. In short, I would say it is a man who knows what it means to receive and partake of God’s Priceless Grace.

I believe that a faithful man of God is a man who is fully occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ, a man who knows, in a deep way, not only who the Lord Jesus is, what He has done and continues to do and what that means, but also a man who is Spirit led and therefore in living relationship with the True Word of God.

I believe that what made men like Paul, John, Peter, etc…, the faithful men that they were, was just exactly that. These men had a personal experience (regardless of their imperfections and weakness’), genuine relationship, and true revelation of and with the Lord Jesus Christ.

I don’t know how else to say it other than, “They knew the Truth, and therefore, the Truth set them free”.

For them, in their genuine experience with the Lord Jesus, they knew that He alone had the words of Life, and that to go any other way was a pathway to death.

If, when we know the truth, and know it to be the truth indeed, and turn another way, what can we expect other than a worse situation than before?
So then our faithfulness is a matter of aligning ourselves with the truth.

The first question at hand then is,

“With what truth must we become aligned?”

Too often this pursuit is attempted from a ‘legal’ perspective. In other words, “So what laws and principles do I need to follow in order to be a righteous and good Christian?”.

The Pharisees (Paul included) and so many others tried this with Torah, and it resulted only in ‘death’. Likewise, many ‘Christians’ today do the same thing with the bible, trying to apply it as a set of rules and regulations which, if followed properly, will make and keep us ‘right’ with God.

All too prevalent in Christian circles is the mindset which in effect says,

“Okay, now that you have been ’saved’, now that you have said the sinners prayer, I’m going to introduce to you the blueprint for living the Christian life…

It’s called the bible”.

Well you may be in for a shock. ‘Blueprints’ are not the key to ’successful Christian living’. No, The Key is a Person named Jesus. That said, let’s take a second look at the place of scripture in the life of the believer through the lens of scripture itself.

The Blueprints? The Scriptures (Your Bible)

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

This resonates perfectly with something that Jesus said to the Pharisees in His own day:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

The scriptures here, which Jesus are referring to, are the collection of writings now known as the ‘Old Testament’.

They have absolutely no life giving properties in themselves other than the fact that they speak of and point to the revelation of the Messiah, the One True Lord of the world who would come to, ultimately, set everything right in New Creation.

” All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Again, Paul is primarily referring to the old testament here, although, no doubt He did also understand his own writings (and likewise the writings of his ‘born again’, apostolic brothers and contemporaries) to be Divinely inspired as well. But that is all still beside the point.

So if scriptures are not the “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”, how then can they, as Paul says, teach, reprove, correct or train?

Paul said that the Torah was like a tutor who had custody over Israel until the appearing of faith in Christ. While establishing that the Law (Old Testament scripture) is good, he also explains that the Law makes sin “come alive”. Read on:

“Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin…”

Now we can see that the effect of Torah (Old Testament Law), was to make sin be shown for what it was. This would then prepare the hearts of the people for the coming Messiah who would bring reconciliation between God and man.

In another place Paul elaborates more on the old testament and it’s contrast to the New:

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted,

because only through Christ is it taken away.

Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Taking these words of Paul into consideration, coupled with the general thrust of the New Testament writings, I am 100% certain that the reason that Paul wanted Titus (or anyone else) to continue reading the Old Testament was simply so that he would discover more of the Person of Jesus Christ and NOT to become obedient followers of Torah.

The scriptures teach you to Christ, reprove you to Christ, correct you to Christ and train you to Christ!

It is in this way that we approach and utilize the Holy Scriptures and so it is with Christ that we are to become aligned.

“So then, how do we align ourselves with Christ?”

Again, all scripture points to Christ and Christ embodies the grace of God toward mankind. I’ll let Paul explain the rest…

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior 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.

Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

There you have it. It is the grace of God which trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. In other words, it is the grace of God in us which provides the fruit of the Spirit.

“So, where does it all start?”

” May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire”.

Okay, so first thing is first.

It is

His

divine power which has

granted

to us

all things

that pertain to life and godliness.

The first thing that we must realize is that this is not a matter of our own will power. No. It is a matter of HIS DIVINE POWER. The second thing to realize is that it is not a power which we must, in any way earn. No.

It is GRANTED.

But how is it granted, how is it conveyed to us?

through the

(precise and correct)

knowledge of Him.

We have the knowledge which belongs to those who have gone before us, those who, through the gospel message and the receiving of the Holy Spirit have had their own experiences in and with Christ. This includes primarily those who penned the New Testament and, after that, those who have lived since then.

We also have the experiential knowledge of His Spirit dwelling with and in us as ‘re-birthed’ children of God. This second category also includes our experience of fellowshipping and interacting with other Spirit dwelt brothers and sisters in Christ.

“So what are some of these ‘precious and very great promises’?”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have eternal Life…”

“It is the love of God which brings men to repentance…”

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…”

“…when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless…”

“Okay, I know that it starts with Gods gracious love, but what sustains us and empowers us unto the end?”

“I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength

to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions…”

” As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love…”

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us…”

“We love Him, because He first loved us…“

Apprehending the unfathomable love and faithfulness of Christ is not only “the beginning”, but it is also the middle and the end.

Jesus Christ is not only the truth, but He is the life and the way as well.

It is sad that this is considered to be ‘cheap grace’ by so many. It’s not cheap. It’s totally free.
And that is what makes it priceless.

“But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Lord is good.

I am learning, more and more, to draw upon His grace and His mercy.

It is vital.

The hunger is satisfied by His flesh.

The thirst is quenched by His blood.

Don’t be offended.

Partake.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.