Our Father, we thank You for another opportunity to come together to worship You. Lord, we come thankful for the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. Thank You for saving us from the condemnation of our sins, and thank You for the process of saving us from the practice of our sins. And we pray, Lord, that this day might be useful to those ends of appreciating what you have done and appropriating to ourselves yet the things that you have done for our lives. Now we ask, Lord, that you would be with us in this hour, that you would give us understanding of your truth, of your word, for it is that which keeps us and sustains us as we travel through this world of darkness and sin. It is a light to our path and we thank you so much for it. Might we ever give our attention to it. We pray also this day for all your people throughout this earth who call upon your name in truth and ask, Father, that you would bear them up, that you would give them strength for whatever they face, wherever they are. Now, we again thank you for this opportunity to come together, and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. We were wrapping up chapter 2 last time and did not quite finish it, but we were looking at the theological foundation for the practical things that Titus is to encourage the people of Crete in. And we left off talking in verse 14 about Christ giving Himself for us. Really, they're the atonement and the design of the atonement to redeem us from all iniquity and purify Him to Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. And I was going to spend some time speaking of the great value or price of the atonement, but that was just an additional thing I was going to do. So we'll go on and just look at this last verse in chapter 2 where He says, These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. We see that Titus had a duty to perform. Paul encourages him to this duty as much as he had exhorted Timothy regarding his duties. Both men, Titus and Timothy, were faithful men, but the task that each one of them had was very demanding. And Paul well knew from his own experience what would be required to make the Grecian churches what they ought to be. And therefore he says, these things speak, and this probably refers to the routine teaching that Titus was to do, an ongoing discipline of teaching, doctrine, truth. And then he says, exhort. This means that he was to encourage and to help both in a personal, one-on-one way and at a corporate level. Exhortation is an important part of administering the Word of God to the people of God. Encouraging, helping. And then he says, rebuke with all authority. And this indicates, obviously, that he was going to encounter opposition and would have to deal with it. He was to exercise the authority that Paul had delegated to him. And the implication, of course, is that the authority ultimately came from Christ Himself. He was not to back down or lay aside this authority that he was invested with. Well, this is rather unique, of course, but it lays out somewhat of a pattern for the duties of religious leaders. They are very demanding duties. And we need to be sensitive to the arrangement God has ordained in the church. A pastor is in his legitimate bounds to teach, to encourage or exhort, when necessary to rebuke. That's all within his domain. And then Paul says, let no man despise, that is, disregard thee. And Paul had similarly told Timothy not to let anyone despise his youth. 1 Timothy 4.12. And again, this indicates that there will be some opponents that would disregard the authority given to him. And they would have to be stood up to. And how was this to be done? Well, we recall that Timothy's weapon against opposition, first and foremost, was good and faithful conduct. Surely that would hold true for Titus as well. But there seems to be here also the idea to stand up to those that disregarded his authority. He was not to cower. Well, there's some application here for all of us. Our best defense against opposition is our conduct, upright conduct. We don't have the sort of authority that Titus was invested with, but we can stand firm on the truth and we can adorn it with good works. That is to be our defense. We can overcome evil with good. So we pass on now into chapter 3. Hopefully this morning we can cover verses 1-7. In chapter 3, verses 1-7, we have a parallel to what we saw there in chapter 2. And we might frame the thoughts of each section like this. In both sections, we're shown what is required of us, and then we're shown what makes it possible for us to do what is required of us. We notice in chapter 2, verses 1-13, some things that are required of us. And then chapter 2 and verse 14 tells us what makes it possible for us to do what is required of us. It is the grace of God in Jesus Christ. And likewise, here in chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, show us what is required of us as Christians. Verse 3 shows us what we are on our own, but then verses 4-7 show us what makes it possible for us to do what is required of us. It is the grace of God in Jesus Christ. We might rephrase this to be a little theological for a moment. We might rephrase this by reversing this order and stating it like this. We are completely dependent upon God to make it possible for us to please Him. And second, we must fulfill our obligation to Him once we are saved. Think with me on this a moment. In reality, man before the fall was dependent upon God and had an obligation to Him. We see that there in the opening chapters of Genesis. These two things are inherent in man as God created him. Adam and Eve had a perfect dependence on their Creator. and it was an inherent dependence, and they also had an inherent obligation to Him. And no doubt they fulfilled these things perfectly. They perfectly trusted in God, depended on Him, and they perfectly fulfilled their obligations until the fall. But then, of course, that was all marred by the fall. However, the fall did not remove these realities, these requirements. What the fall did was produce various perversions of these fundamental realities. Man has perverted to a great degree his dependence on God and switched things around a lot. He has perverted his obligations to God and switched that all around. But those basic obligations are still there. They are religious duties. Well, what we have here in verses 1 and 2 are some of our obligations to God as redeemed men and women, redeemed from our iniquities in our own way. by virtue of our fall into sin. Verses 1 and 2, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and to powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. Here are our obligations, some of our obligations as redeemed people. And so he begins with, Put them in mind. Remind them. And this indicates that they, that he refers to here are them, the Cretans, had already been taught these things. It indicates there had been some work done there in Crete, we don't know for how long, but they had learned some things and they needed to be reminded of them. And of course, we always are in need of reminders no matter how well we know something. From time to time, we need to be reminded of it. We sometimes let important matters slip or sometimes fail to remember to do what we know we ought to do. And so what does he remind them of? First of all, to be subject to principalities and powers. Now, principalities and powers normally refer to spiritual entities. Here, however, the context would require us to see this as referring to earthly principalities and powers, earthly rulers. Our submission to Christ as our King does not mean that we are not to be subject to earthly rulers as long as conscience is not is undermined, is not compromised. The term subject to is the same word used for servants to be obedient to their masters back there in chapter 2 and verse 9. And as we emphasize, it's a heart submission. Not necessarily here because earthly rulers are really worthy in and of themselves, rather it is a heart submission because it is ultimately submission to God who requires it. I pointed out in our last lesson that the submission of slaves to their masters was accomplished by being in heart submission to God and doing their service to God, as unto Him. So their ultimate obligation was to God, and the same idea applies here. You know, Christians sometimes walk a fine line in this regard, because most, I guess I could accurately say, most earthly rulers are set against God. But inasmuch as they uphold God's law, wittingly or unwittingly, we are to be subject to them. This is an obligation we have as redeemed people. We're certainly to pray for them as we're instructed in 1 Timothy 2. We are not to be. set against and cause great problems for earthly rulers. We are to be subject to them, a heart's submission as unto God. Next we see that the Cretans and we by transfer are to be obedient. Obedient here, you notice, does not have an object. It just says that we're to be obedient. To whom are we to be obedient? Well, this may also relate to civil authorities, as apparently our translators thought, but it would seem to be branching out to a more general obedience. Christians are not to be high-minded and rebellious in any relationship. Now, it does not mean that we do not have any backbone and that we're not to stand unwavering on the truth. But we do not use the truth as an excuse to be high-minded and rebellious. You ever see professing Christians beat people up with their Bibles when they don't have obedient hearts themselves? I think we've seen that. But we are, in fact, to be servants to all men. Obedient in general. Servants to all men in the cause of Christ. 1 Corinthians 9.19, For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all that I might gain the more. And again, we've seen glaring examples of some that profess Christ to assert themselves in a way that is quite contrary to this obligation. So let us be agreeable to others insofar as we do not disobey God in doing so. That's our obligation. The next obligation we have as Christians is to be ready to every good work. And this is a very broad statement. It starts with an attitude. We are to be of a mind, of a readiness to do good. It should come from the heart. And good works, as we've emphasized, is a constant theme and requirement of those who are saved. Again, good works, if we could define it, is doing that which is pleasing to God and that which is truly good for others. That kind of summarizes good works. And just to follow the trail here in Titus, in chapter 2 and verse 7, he says, "...and all things showing thyself," Titus himself, "...a pattern of good works." And then we just saw in the verse we just mentioned in chapter 2, verse 14, "...Christ gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous..." Zealous of good works. And then we'll see later on in this chapter, verse 8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. Well, I don't think we can question that matter, can we? It's very much emphasized. And we notice it's to be a comprehensive obligation. He says, every good work. Just think about that. Every good work. That's to be the controlling factor of our conduct. It requires a constant readiness and a watchful eye as we go about our lives. It's a great obligation that is put upon us here. As I've already mentioned, everything that Adam did before he fell was a good work, pleasing to God. And so our restoration in Christ is to bring us back to that creation obligation, to please God in everything, to be ready to every good work. Next we are to speak evil of no man. We have an obligation to govern our tongues and to guard our hearts against malicious thoughts. To speak evil is to blaspheme. To blaspheme is to speak reproachfully, or to rail at, or to revile, or to columniate slander, That's to blaspheme. And our fallen natures make us prone to think and speak evil of others more so than to speak good of them. It's interesting to observe people. See how many more remarks there are along this line than remarks that are encouraging and good. It's astounding. And even in our own selves. My first inclination is to be cynical. That's the first thing that comes to me. But that's not the way we are to be. We are to get a handle on that. And of course, it must be from the heart, so we seek grace to do it. Christians are obligated to better conduct and to speak evil. And of course, there are some people of which little good can be said. And we are to be careful about the way we speak about them and speak of them to others. Now, this does not preclude the duty of addressing evil and evil people in the right way. We are to carefully evaluate what people say and do, yes. And Paul has just instructed Titus to do just that. He describes these opponents in very pointed terms there in chapter 1, verses 10-16. But you know, there's a difference in a spirit that just criticizes and puts down and degrades everything and everyone as a means of exalting oneself There's a difference between that and speaking honestly and straightforwardly in an attempt to squelch evil and help those that we would otherwise condemn. How often do we think of helping someone rather than condemning them, even though their conduct is detestable? They need help. Well, we have an obligation to God to carefully weigh what we say about others and to examine our motive for saying what we say. Next, we are obliged to be no-brawlers. In other words, we're not to be contentious or quarrelsome or worse. Sometimes a quarrel can end up in a fisticuff, can't it? Well, what's at the root of this? It's the sin of pride, almost always. It's the spirit behind contention and being quarrelsome. We're not going to be bested. Our spirit will rise up. In our fallen natures, we just don't want to be bested, do we? But being saved from sin ought to have an effect on this tendency. This, as with all these obligations, of course, is a discipline. But it's a discipline that requires grace, grace reigning in the heart. Well, we need to be quick to hear and slow to speak. And if we are confident that we are right in a matter, We will not necessarily win the moment for the truth just by being contentious about it and getting into a verbal brawl over it. And as with the previous obligations, however, there are times when we must stand our ground on what is right and true. But this does not mean that we have to have the last word. It doesn't mean we have to fight to the end. Because in the end, truth can stand on its own two feet without us adding our blows to it. In the end, God will have the last word. Let us not be like this. Next, we're obliged to be gentle. Bauer Art and English defines this as yielding, kind, and gentle. This is a strong inclination to be gracious to other people. It's an obligation to be gracious to other people. We're not to be domineering and demanding. And again, this is not the way we are in our fallen natures, in our fallen state. We want to domineer, we want to have our way. And that's the way the world is around us, isn't it? That's the world we live in. Everybody's got to have their way. And of course, if we act like this, if we are gentle in this sense, the world's going to look at such an expression as being weak and having no backbone. But we need to remember the reality of that is quite the opposite. The expression of the self-control that we are to have is a strength, a great strength. As Proverbs 16.32 says, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. There is strength in being gentle. Never let the world put their definition on strength. Living in the realm of grace, there's confidence. There's great confidence in being able to yield where we can. There's great confidence in being gentle and to be kind. It's not weakness. It is a strength. Of course, we can think of no better example of these things than our Lord Jesus Christ. Who was gentler than Him? No one. And yet, there was never a more confident person that ever walked the face of the earth. Well, when we look at ourselves in the mirror each morning, let us look to see a gentle spirit there that's going to take us through the day. Might there be a gentle spirit looking back at us? And if there isn't, let's have a talk with ourselves. How are we going to look as we go about our day? Are we just going to ramble roughshod through it? Or are we going to govern ourselves to be gentle and kind and gracious? We don't always succeed, but it is our obligation by grace to do so. And finally, our lives are to be marked by showing all meekness to all men. And this, of course, would be synonymous with gentle here above, but perhaps with a little bit of a fuller expression. Mounce describes it as denoting a humility, a courtesy, a consideration of others without being servile. And we notice it's a comprehensive obligation. It is all. or complete meekness to all men. All sorts of men, saved and lost. Showing all meekness to all men. Well, again, this is an abandonment of ourselves, isn't it? It's an abandonment of our self-interest and a look to the good of others. And again, I want to emphasize, this takes strength. This is not a weakness, it's a strength. And of course, it's a strength that only grace can supply. But because the grace has been supplied and will be supplied, I am obligated to pursue this sort of conduct in the world in which I live. I'm obligated, first of all, to God, and secondly, I'm obligated to all men to be like this, to show all meekness unto all men. Going on to verse 3, he says, "...for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." Well, the standards that Paul sets in verses 1 and 2 might seem too high for such people as the Cretans as they were described there in chapter 1. Liars. Evil beasts, slow bellies. This might be a standard a little too high for them, but no. Paul reminds Titus of the pit of sin from which Titus had been dug, which Paul himself had been dug, which all believers have been dug. For we ourselves were at one time And then the list follows. And the sins listed here are very similar to other places in the New Testament that describe the nature and conduct of fallen men in general. Romans 1, 29-31. 1 Corinthians 6, 9 and 10. Galatians 5, 19-21. Ephesians 4, 17-24. We won't read those, but these are lists of sins that are characteristic of the fallen man, of the fallen nature. And he has the list here then. And what we have here in this list is a very sad picture, a very sad description What could save us from that? Grace. Paul reminds Titus, that's the way we were. But briefly, we notice these sins here. Foolish, without spiritual understanding. Darkened hearts and minds. Blinded by sin. Having turned away from God. Totally given over to self. And so on we could go in describing what it is to be foolish in biblical terms. And then disobedient. That's rebellious toward God and His law. Rebellion. is not what ought to be part of us now, but surely was part of us at one time. In rebellion, Samuel told Saul, is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. There's nothing pretty about the rebellion that we were once in. Deceiving. That is, being led astray. This is a passive participle. Being led astray. Being led into error and sin. But it's not an innocent being led astray, but a complicity in it. Willing to be led astray, of course. Willing to be deceived. Willing to depart from God. Willing to depart from the truth. Serving diverse lusts and pleasures. That is, being slaves to sinful desires and pleasures rather than being slaves to God and His law. The word for pleasures here is hedonai, from which we get our word hedonist or hedonism. Now there are legitimate desires and pleasures. And there are desires and pleasures, on the other hand, that are outright sinful, or at a minimum, they displace God and His kingdom as the ultimate desire and pleasure. Anything that takes us away from God or violates His law would be unlawful lust and pleasure, Then living in malice and envy. Both words describe a malignant heart. Malignancy. It's just there and growing and bubbling away. Having ill will towards others and coveting what is theirs. Oh, this is our world, isn't it? Living in malice and envy. It's all around us, but it was our way outside of grace, wasn't it? We were just like this. Hateful, that is odious or detestable and hating one another. A social condition that is the fruit of self-seeking and self-centeredness. Hateful, hating one another. The me-syndrome, me-only syndrome. Don't step on my half-acre or else, you know, that kind of thing. It's the way the world is, it's the way we once were, and it's what we are to be thankful that we are delivered from. Maybe not all overnight, but surely God is delivering us from these things if we are His. Well, many people would shrink back from this description of fallen mankind, but an honest person can hardly disagree with it. It's God's own description of us as He looks on our heart. Some of these things maybe never came out in overt ways, but they were in the heart. And again, I think we've seen these things at least in the heart, in our own selves, if the Spirit of God has enlightened us. And we certainly see it around us. Well, this is the pit then from which we've been dug. Now what uses can we make of this? Well, first, thankfulness. We ought to be thankful for deliverance from bondage to such as this. There's one big word we could put over this whole verse. Misery. Misery. Thank God for His mercy that has saved us from that misery. And the second use we could make of it is to realize that if God saved such as us, if He saved such as me, He can save anyone. And if you have a loved one that you yearn for and weep over, or a friend, don't give up. He saved you. He can save them. Of course, another use we could make of this is how to humble us. It should humble us. But for the grace of God, here we are. The grace of God makes things different. And he goes on then, similar to chapter 2, in verses 4-7, and gives the theological basis or reason for this great change that is made in us. This is a theological backdrop Now let's read verses 4-7. But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Well, there's a big mouthful there, and we won't do justice to it by any means. But one thing I want to point out here, the emphasis here in these verses is on God and what God has done for us in salvation. The focus here is on God's actions. And we're going to see here in these verses a Trinitarian salvation. We have all three Persons of the Trinity either alluded to or mentioned here. And so he says in verse 4, "...but after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared." Let's just think about this wonderful little but again. But indicates that the black picture that we see in verse 3 is not the end of the matter. There is a but. But God did something about it. What did He do? Well, here we have a reference, I think, in verse 4, to God the Father who planned and initiated His plan of salvation. Salvation, and we need not say it, I think, in our group, but we will. Salvation is all God's initiative, conceived as it were in eternity past, His goodness and his benevolence moved him, as it were, to put this plan in motion, to conceive of it and put it in motion. There was nothing outside of himself that moved him to do this. There was no reason in us to compel him to do this, to be good and benevolent toward us, nothing at all. As Romans 5.8 says, but God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And if we had time, we'd read Ephesians 2 verses 3-5. But the reason is all to be found within Himself. Nothing in us. And the appearance here or where it says appeared, or the Greek is epiphany, would seem to refer to Christ's first coming to fulfill His work of redemption. And of course, nowhere is God's love, benevolence, goodness towards sinners more on display than in the earthly sufferings of Christ for us. And thus we see the second Person of the Trinity implied here in this verse. We've had the Father, the Son, and we go on in verse 5, the beginning of verse 5. He says, "...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." And again, it sympathizes that what God did for us was completely Gratuitous and effectual. It wasn't just what he wanted to accomplish, it's what he would accomplish. And again, it was gratuitous because we contributed nothing to it, not by works of righteousness, which we have done. We could contribute nothing to it. Why? Because we're dead in trespasses and sins, as Ephesians 2, 1 and 5 tells us. And thus it must have been and was according to His mercy He saved us. He showed pity on the miserable, on those who could not help themselves, on those who were ensnared and trapped in this pit of sin and could not extricate themselves by any means. He saved us from such sins as He mentions there in verse 3. Sins that led us only into misery and condemnation. And so in the last part of verse 5, he says he did this by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. And now we see here the agency of the Holy Spirit in this Trinitarian salvation. And what does He do? Well, there are two things mentioned here. And again, we're not going to plumb the depths of this in any means, but we're going to give what I think is a general idea. But there's two things mentioned here. Of course, regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Now there's a question immediately that we are faced with. Are these two things one and the same? just different terms to describe it, or are they two different but related aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit in sinners? Well, both views, both looks at it would be grammatically possible. They could be one and the same, or they could be two different aspects, two different things. Certainly, regeneration and renewal are similar terms. But first note the word washing. The other place the noun washing is used in the New Testament is Ephesians 5.26. He's talking about what Christ did for the church, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. That's the other place that the noun is used. Now, while the verb form of the Word is used in the New Testament in reference to both physical washing and spiritual washing. I think these two places where the noun form is used, it is obviously pointing to a spiritual cleansing. It is something done in a person in a spiritual way. It is a spiritual washing or cleansing. Now the two terms that follow. We're well acquainted with the word regeneration. We use it constantly in our talking about salvation. The noun form of the Word as we have it here is used only here and in Matthew 19, 28, where He uses it in reference to all things, the cosmos, being renewed in Christ. And the verb form translated, born again, in three places, John 3, 3, 3, 7, and 1 Peter 1, 23, is in reference to spiritual realities. The usage of both the noun form and the verb form indicates that something is done in a spiritual way. Something is done in the soul. A spiritual rebirth in which we are made alive unto God. We who are sometimes dead in trespasses and sins are made alive unto God. As Paul says in Romans 6.11, Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We have been given a new birth, a new life. It's a spiritual reality. And he says we also have here the word renewing in relation to this work of the Holy Spirit. The other place this is used in the New Testament is Romans 12, verse 2. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." So again, there is a work done in us, this renewing that puts within us a desire to be conformed to God and to His will rather than our own. Regeneration, renewing. And again, this is just tapping the surface of these great truths, but we don't have time to delve more deeply into them. But let me just say this, I don't believe either of these terms, regeneration and renewing, refer directly to practical sanctification. which is also, of course, the work of the Holy Spirit. But I think we might rather refer then to positional sanctification. That certainly puts us into a spiritual condition that works toward practical sanctification and is vital to it. The idea here is taking us and putting us into a different relationship, a different life, a different way than we were before. If there's any intended difference or nuance between these two terms, regeneration and renewal, it might be described as Donald Guthrie states it, and I'll just quote him. Regeneration, he says, accords with the idea of the new creation that's mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5.17, each believer being conceived of as a possessor of powers previously unknown. There's been a change. And the renewing of the Holy Ghost specifies the resultant renovation accompanying the regeneration. And he clarifies that this way. The one, that is regeneration, points to the act of entering, while the other marks the quality of the new life. And I'll just have to leave it at that. Again, I hope I don't leave you in more confusion than help. But the main idea is we have been changed. We have been put into a different position. We have been given through the Holy Spirit a new life and a new quest. As it says in 2 Corinthians, a new creation. All things are new. Well, the great question for every professor of Christianity is this, has there been a change in me? Have old things passed away and all things become new? Am I a new creature in Christ? That's the great question. And then he says, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. And this is an explanation of the place of the Holy Spirit in relation to His Word. The word, which, here would be better translated, who. It's a person. Who He shed on us abundantly, referring back to the Holy Spirit. He says He shed on us, and that could be translated poured out. Now, he could refer directly to God, the Father, but as I think we'll see, it ultimately includes God the Son, that they both poured out the Holy Spirit. And poured out abundantly probably has reference to the day of Pentecost in which there was the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church Peter's explanation of that event employs the very same term as is here. Acts 2.33, "...therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He has shed forth or poured out this which ye now see and hear." And the context there in Acts shows us that it is the exalted Christ who pours out the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the will and the promise of the Father. And as we see here, it is through Jesus Christ our Savior. And so, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the shedding forth, is based on Christ's finished work and His enthronement in Heaven. Now, I believe that we must see here that the term poured out can be narrowed down to every individual saint when God regenerates and renews them by the Holy Spirit. But please don't confuse that statement with any sort of second blessing. That's not what I'm saying. Just as the Holy Spirit was poured out once and for all on the church, the Holy Spirit is given once and for all to each individual at regeneration and renewal. And of course, there can be seasons of greater influence, I guess we could say, in both a corporate level and an individual level, but the fact is the Holy Spirit through the work of Christ has been poured out on us. Verse 7, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. And here we come to God's ultimate purpose again in His doing for us, that being justified by His grace, or it should say, having been justified by His grace. Justification has not been specifically mentioned up to this point. And without attempting to explain the logical order of all that God does for us in salvation, we see here that justification is foundational. It's foundational for all the other benefits to be received by us. We must be made right with God before we enjoy any other benefits. He does not mention the faith here through which we are justified. He emphasizes the grace, because it is grace that is foundational in justification. Faith is the means that it comes to us. And therefore, he says, having been justified by His grace, we can be assured that we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." And here we come to that great ultimate end. He said, we should be made. This again reflects the gracious work of God. We should be made. He acts upon us. We are heirs according to His grace and what He has done for us. And heirs here, of course, is used of believers in the New Testament in several places. And then according to the hope of eternal life. This is God's ultimate plan. This is what God ultimately does for us. Living forever with God and with Christ. Living forever free from sin and all of its miseries. That's what God has done for us. This hope, of course, is the sure confidence that we have because God, who cannot lie, has promised it. It's a sure thing. Well, there's much again that we could say about all this, and I fear I've not done it justice, even in a brief way, but let me just leave this lesson with one thought. And this is all through the pastoral epistles. There's an inseparable connection between being changed by the grace of God and eternal life. There is a chain of God's work here that cannot be broken. All the links must go together. No person should expect the last link in the chain, eternal life, if it is not linked with the change in us by the work of the Holy Spirit, by the work of God in our souls. You cannot separate them. You cannot have this eternal life unless He has done this work for you here. Never ever allow yourself to separate those things in any way.