Well, let's turn in our Bibles to Titus chapter 2 and verse 6. Titus 2.6. And let us begin with the word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for Your mercy and grace to us in and through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is real, it's effectual, it affects us, it changes us, sets us in a new path, a new direction. Otherwise, Lord, we would not be here today. Anxious to worship You and anxious to study Your Word, to call upon You, to fellowship in Your name. We do thank You, Lord, for changing us so. And now we ask as we begin this day that Your presence would be with us, that we would enjoy Your communion, that we would enjoy looking upon You and thinking upon You. Might it be truly a time of joy for us. Now we ask that You would bless us in this hour and give us a good understanding of Your Word. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Titus 2 and verse 6. We began the chapter last Lord's Day. In contrast to the behavior prevalent in the Cretan culture described in chapter 1 and verse 12 where it says the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and slow bellies, And also in contrast to his description of some in Crete, there in verse 16, that in works they profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. In contrast to those things, Paul in this chapter, chapter 2, is describing the behavior that the Gospel is to produce. And he includes things he deems especially relevant to specific groups in the church, much as he had done there in 1 Timothy chapters 5 and 6. We considered last time things concerning aged men, aged women, and young women." And we pick up now in verse 6 where he says, "...young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded." Now this is a brief instruction for young men, but it probably is more inclusive than its brevity suggests. Young men, as with the three preceding groups, has reference to physical age, Now, we've not attempted to assess actual ages for these groups, but I believe from the context we could at least divide them generally into two groups, young adults and older adults. And there's something here for everyone with understanding. Young men have their peculiar liabilities, we might say. But rather than enumerate and address all these liabilities that young men are prone to have, Paul mentions something here that is paramount, something that is to govern all that young men think and say and do. So he says, likewise exhort. Likewise is a favorite word with Paul when drawing parallels between groups. He uses it four times in 1 Timothy and he uses it twice here. And it's also translated, in like manner, even so. And thus we see here there is to be a parallel with what Paul has for young men and for what he has instructed concerning these other groups. Exhort is an emphatic word. It means to appeal to, to urge strongly. And so this speaks of the importance of them both hearing and heeding this instruction. Exhort them. To be sober-minded is what he wants them to be. And this is from that word group that we have seen before. In this very context of chapter 2, it is used four times, translated differently, but from the same word group. In verse 2, it's temperate. In verse 4, it's sober. In verse 5, it's discreet. And the main idea is self-control. And the repetition of this tells us how important self-control is to faithfully holding forth the gospel. Self-control would come to bear on both speech and actions, behavior in general, a self-controlled behavior. And as we've already pointed out, self-control was something many of the Cretans did not have. They were excessive in lies. They were excessive in being fierce. They were excessive in indulgence that the slow bellies indicates. So, in contrast to that, Paul says you need to have self-control. We might be justified in following those commentators who believe that the words, in all things, following there in verse 7, modify the self-control young men are to have. They are to be sober-minded. They are to exercise self-control in all things. Not just in this thing and that thing, but in all things. And some writers point out that the virtue of self-control was taught by Greek philosophers and highly valued by the Greek culture. And so one might legitimately ask, what was so specific about this for Christians? Or we might translate that to those today who lead very self-controlled and moral lives, disciplined lives, who have nothing to do with Christianity at all. What is the difference? And I'll briefly suggest two things. And the first is, for the Christian, the motive is different. It is to glorify God. For the moralist, it's for self-glory, self-advancement. And secondly, for the Christian, it's something that should produce humility. For such as this comes only by the grace of God. True self-control comes only by the grace of God. But what happens with the moralists? Well, it produces pride. For he or she thinks they have attained this high moral standard on their own. So there's at least two differences between what the world might attain and what Christians attain and what the difference is. In the last part of verse 7 and verse 8, Well, I didn't read the first part of verse 7, I don't think. Let me read it. In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. And of course, he turns his attention here to Titus personally. And it is possible grammatically to see the words there, in all things. in connection with that which applies to Timothy. We said it could apply to that which is to be true of young men, but looking at it the other way, it would be legitimate to apply this to Timothy and all things that Paul is going to say to Timothy. He says, showing thyself a pattern of good works. Titus is to be an example to others. And this, of course, is vital to any spiritual leader, one who teaches doctrine. Of all people must live it out before others. Peter says that elders are to lead in such a way as to be, he says, in samples or examples to the flock. Mounce quotes Chrysostom as saying, Let the luster of thy life be a common school of instruction, a pattern of virtue to all. So, Titus was to live it out. But of course we don't restrict this just to religious leaders, do we? All Christians should be shining examples of good works. And good works, as we pointed out before, are a prominent concern in the pastoral epistles, being mentioned nine times. And again, this relates primarily to behavior and to conduct. Good works, defined, would include all that God approves of and commands us to do. Or in a negative sense, things He commands us not to do. It's all inclusive. Most of the things that he mentions in this chapter are examples of good works, the things he addresses to aged men, aged women, young women, are examples or exemplify in some way good works. But he goes on and he says, a pattern of good works in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity. Doctrine or teaching probably refers to the act or the performance of teaching rather than to the content of the teaching. There is a proper way to go about teaching. And so Titus must perform his teaching with uncorruptness. He must do it with soundness of mind and heart. He must do it with gravity. The word meaning with dignity and with reverence. You know, the pulpit is a sacred place, and a man ought to view it that way before he ever steps into it. It is the place from which God's Word goes forth and sounded forth in the assembly of the saints, and it must be done with dignity and reverence. And this then requires what he calls sincerity. And here I believe relating to the purity of heart, a pure motive for teaching. The motive must be to glorify God and to edify God's people. And of course, sincerity or purity of heart is a requirement for each one of us here when we approach to worship. It's essential. He goes on and he says, sound speech that cannot be condemned. Healthy words, in other words. Healthy teaching that is beyond reproach. And I think this relates to the content of the teaching that Timothy is to hold forth. Sound speech is teaching that is according to the truth of the Gospel. And it's consistent with the Gospel. It is the apostolic teaching that comes ultimately from Christ. That is sound speech, sound teaching. And it says that cannot be condemned. This obviously means that no justifiable charge can be brought against the gospel and the teaching of the gospel. And this points to how carefully, how carefully the truth must be handled. It cannot be handled in a sloppy way. It can't be condemned. Well, no, we do need to acknowledge that this does not say the Gospel in any case will be without reproach. Ungodly people will find a way to criticize it. The point is that we should not give a just occasion for them to do so. So what we say, what we teach should be carefully thought out, studied, carefully weighed. I like what William Mount says here. He says, quote, Indeed, all people who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted, and the gospel that stands in judgment of sin will always be condemned by a sinful world. In fact, and this is the point to bring out here, in fact, it can be argued that if the gospel is not condemned by sinners, then it's not the apostolic gospel. So there's a positive side to this being condemned and attacked. Satan has no problem with the false gospel. The lost have no problem with the false gospel. But they do with the true gospel of sin and salvation in Christ. Well, he goes on and he says that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed of having no evil thing to say of you. And again, that little word, that, it's so important. It represents that purpose clause, in order that. Do all of the above in order that, he that is of the contrary part, may be ashamed, and so forth. He that is of the contrary part refers obviously to the opponents to the truth that is to be taught. And in this context, Paul is probably referring to the opponents in the church who were teaching Jewish fables and commandments of men that he mentioned back in chapter 1 and verse 14. But in a broader context, it would include those outside the church who would be looking for opportunities to condemn the truth. The behavior that Paul insists upon is to be such that any opponents in or out of the church will be put to shame because they don't have a legitimate case against them. And as we already pointed out, opponents to the truth will find reasons to blaspheme and condemn the truth, but they should not have a justifiable reason for doing so. Not a justifiable reason. And then he says, having no evil thing to say of you. The behavior that Paul commends will leave the adversaries, whoever they are, inside, outside, without this justifiable cause to condemn them, and therefore, no justifiable case to condemn the Gospel. They go together. Well, we sense here that this is what gainsayers desire. You get the idea here that they're going to be out to do this. They desire to find reason to condemn, but their desires are to be frustrated. And we should note that Paul uses the plural pronoun, you, or us, here, which indicates that Titus' behavior would reflect on the church as a whole. And it indicates that the behavior of one member of the church will reflect upon the church as a whole. Well, we live before opponents to the truth. We do. And they observe us. So let us always be mindful of that fact. They may be family members. They may be neighbors. They are just casual contacts. But whoever they are, if they know that we are serious Christians, they will be observing for excuses not to take us seriously. Not to take the gospel seriously. We have a great duty put upon us to make sure we reflect the gospel and live consistent with it. In verses 9 and 10, Paul addresses slaves then. Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters and to please them well in all things, not answering again, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. We have the parallel to this in 1 Timothy 6, 1 and 2, where slaves there were one of the groups that Paul addressed in the church. We're reminded once again that slavery was widespread in the Roman Empire. It was inevitable that the Gospel would come to slaves as much as to anyone else. And so there were saved slaves. And so it saves slaves that Paul addresses here. And his prominent thought is that slaves are to be faithful in their particular situation, in their servitude, in order that the gospel be not blasphemed. We discussed in dealing with 1 Timothy 6, 1 and 2, that becoming a Christian did not necessarily change one's vocation. Most often it did not. And so with slaves, if a slave were saved, it did not guarantee emancipation. Well, the governing thought is at the beginning of the chapter. It kind of governs the whole chapter. But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine, or which are consistent with sound doctrine. So these instructions to slaves Paul is going to give are consistent with the truth and adorn the truth. And so servants or slaves are to be obedient to their own masters. Though saved, they are to remain in this condition of servitude. They still have earthly masters. Inobedient here is the same word used for the submission of the wife to the husband in Ephesians 5.22 and Colossians 3.18. And as we pointed out last week, this goes beyond just a rote obedience. The me boss you not concept. No, it is a heart submission of the wife to her husband in obedience to Christ. And so that's the kind of obedience that the Christian slaves are to have to their master. A heart's submission. And this emphasis on their own masters conveys the idea of a relationship. A relationship that the slave recognizes that he has. An ongoing relationship. Well, Paul next lists four things that would be involved in this being obedient or submissive to their own masters. And I would note that the term all, rendered here all things, again may grammatically go with the preceding clause, obedient to masters in all things, or it can go with that which follows, to please them well in all things. And I really don't see a great deal of difference which way you use it. And so first, he says, to please them well. To be pleasing to them. Now think about this. A slave desiring to be pleasing to his master. This term, well-pleasing, or acceptable is used in reference to God in every other place it is used in the New Testament. And it seems that this thought must be the foundation even here in this place. This is the thought there in Ephesians 6, 6 and 7, and Colossians 3, 22. Let's just read that quickly, Ephesians 6, 6 and 7. where he says, again speaking to slaves here, "...not with thy service as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men." And then there in Colossians 3.22, similarly, Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God." So the ultimate one that is to be pleased, the reason for slaves doing this is to be pleasing to God, to be well-pleasing to God. If that's the aim, it would assure the servant pleasing his earthly master, especially if his earthly master was a Christian. Well, we can never do another human, mastered or otherwise, an injustice if we strive to please God. We can do no man wrong if we're striving to please God, and that is the idea here, I think. And this is a very selfless spirit. Think about this. A slave giving himself wholly to his master. How difficult it is not only to desire to, but to actually please others before ourselves. Isn't this rather difficult? But it is what we are saved in order to do. Philippians 2.4, not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. What a tall order. But grace accomplishes that. And the slave is a wonderful example of that. It certainly is a challenge to our fallen natures though, isn't it? But grace makes the way. Grace makes the way, albeit responsible effort is involved. He says, not answering again. That is, not to speak against, gainsay, or contradict. When the Master expresses His will, or something he would like done, just simply means no talking back, no back talk, or further, not to talk about them behind their backs, or grumble under your breath while you're doing it. And again, think about this. What a wonderful testimony this is. It's just the opposite to the way of the world. Back talk, if not directly, at least behind their back, and slander concerning those who are over them. Did you ever work anywhere where everybody loved the boss with a pure heart? More often you hear them talking about him behind their back. So we could apply this then to the workplace today. The principle is still valid. He says, not purloining. That is, not stealing or embezzling. Not dipping into the master's till. Oftentimes, slaves had control over much of their master's affairs. And they had opportunities for lining their own pockets. This seemed to be rather prevalent. Some writings of the time tell us that dishonest slaves were the norm. So what a contrast would this Christian slave be? When I think of a faithful slave or servant, I always think of Abraham's faithful slave or servant that he sent into Mesopotamia to get Isaac a wife. What a model of servitude that man was. Again, this is a bright testimony that the Gospel is to be adorned with. In our day, our faithful management of whatever we are made stewards of is a testimony to the grace of God in our lives. Everything that we've been given to do is an opportunity to glorify God, no matter how mundane, In and of itself undesirable it is, it's an opportunity to glorify God. And we need to look at it that way. In the area of employment, employers ought to be able to trust Christian employees to fully and faithfully handle their assets and to look to their interests. I'll just mention one area. One of the most common thefts of employees is time. Our employers buy our time. And it's his while we are on the clock, so to speak. And we have no excuses to abuse it. If we're caught abusing it and he knows that we're professing Christians, it's a blight, a blot upon our testimony and upon the Gospel. He says, but showing all good fidelity rather than to be untrustworthy, Christian slaves would be completely faithful to their masters in everything. Their masters ought to be able to trust them, to walk away and trust them to faithfully manage and do whatever it is it was their responsibility to do. And again, this applies to us all in whatever stewardship God gives us. We all have a stewardship. And we must be faithful in it. And now we see the great reason for such faithfulness, that, here again, that little word, in order that, they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Here's that repeated concern, that the behavior of Christians be that which accords with the truth of the gospel. And he says that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. Adorn here has the idea of an arrangement of jewels and a manner to set off their full beauty. If it's in a piece of jewelry, they're set in such a way as to enhance the beauty of the whole. And so the faithful behavior of slaves, Paul has just described here, this behavior are the jewels that make the effects of the gospel shine brightly. And he says, adorn the doctrine or the teaching, which again refers to the gospel of salvation. in Christ. And again, to repeat myself, but this is the drumbeat all through these epistles, the Gospel is to produce noticeable results in those who are saved. Noticeable results. The term, God our Savior, is a unique phrase found only in the pastoral epistles with the exception of Jude, Verse 25. And this points to the ultimate source of salvation. The ultimate source of what is to take place, in other words, in our lives. It is God Himself. God's salvation is a miraculous and a noticeable salvation. What a simple truth that is, unthought of it seems to be in modern Christianity. God's salvation is a miraculous and noticeable salvation. It's the results of changing a heart of stone into a heart of flesh, isn't it? Well, this phrase brings to light Again, what a marvelous thing that Paul is insisting upon here. Now think about this. The lowliest among mankind, slaves, are made by the grace of the God of heaven to reflect some of His glory. He chooses the lowly to reflect His glory, the glory of His salvation. It's an example of God choosing the foolish, the weak, the base and the despised things of the world, as he says there in 1 Corinthians 1, to choose those things to display His mighty power, His mighty grace. And I would emphasize again, in all things, God's salvation is comprehensive and it claims the whole life and all that we do. There are no areas that are fenced off that He doesn't own. All things. All of these things Paul mentions can be done, as I've already said, to some extent by those who are not Christians. Such conduct we call common grace. But for a Christian, the difference is the heart. And it is a heart to please God, a desire to please God and to glorify God and adorn the Gospel of Christ. If we are noticed for these things, we need to do our best to make sure others know what our motive is and that in and of ourselves, we could in no way do what we're doing in a pleasing way to God. If we receive any compliments or accolades for our behavior, we need to do our best that others know it's the grace of God in us that has produced that behavior and enables us to do what we do. Well, that's the practical. things in the chapter. And now Paul lays out the theological foundation for this behavior that he insists upon. And we are made to see here the connection between sound theology and sound practice or behavior. And let's read this, verses 11 through 15. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. looking for that blessed hope in the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." What a statement that is! There's a lot of time we could spend on these verses and the elements in them, but we can't do that in the allotted time. I hope we at least will see the main point here. He says, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. And we notice the tie back to verse 10 where he uses the term, God our Savior. And he's spoken here in verse 11 as the God that bringeth salvation. And one of the most basic things we can take from this again is that God is the source of this salvation of which Paul is insisting upon. He is the source. And it is the grace of God that's mentioned here that hath appeared to all men. God's grace is the moving cause of salvation. He is the source. His grace is the cause. And this salvation he is speaking of we see is a heart-changing, life-changing salvation that the following verses, verses 12 and 13, are going to emphasize. It's not just, I believe today and I'm on my merry way to heaven. No, salvation is life-changing, heart-changing. He says, this salvation hath appeared, this is where we get our word epiphany from, hath appeared to all men by the proclamation of the Gospel. That's how it is made known. It's revealed. In other words, this salvation is brought to light. It's made known by the Gospel. That is the only way light comes to a darkened world, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And we note here that this salvation extends to all sorts or groups of people and is effectual as seen in the lives of all men, all sorts of people. Paul has just considered slaves. Yes, this Gospel has appeared even to slaves. And I think we have the same idea of all sorts of men that this little term means. It's all men in 1 Timothy 2, 1-4. We won't go through that again. But it's all sorts of men that this salvation becomes effectual in. It's broadcast at large, but it's effectual in all sorts of men And he goes on saying, teaching us that. Teaching us that. And here's the point I want to make. The grace of God does not stop at reconciling us to God. It's something that has been done. The word denying does not simply mean that we refrain from something. It means that we have a total distaste or disregard for it. But let me back up. I skipped over too quickly the thought that the grace of God does not stop at reconciling us to God. Again, it teaches us how to live. Teaching us that. Grace continues to teach. And teaching may indicate both education and discipline or training. And now coming to these subsequent words, we see here that we are taught both the negative results of grace and the positive results of grace. And we see with the negative that we are to deny or reject something, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. And the word denying here is an aorist participle. And it's best translated as having denied. It's something, there's a juncture there where there's a turning, a change. It's something that has been done. The word denying does not simply mean that we refrain from something, however. It means that we have been given a total distaste or disregard for it. That's what denying implies. It's distasteful to us now. Denying ungodliness. That is all and anything that is opposed to God. Grace causes us to reject and hear this. Grace causes us to reject all that is opposed to God and to living godly lives. And he says, worldly lusts, that is, passions or desires that a sinful world has. You just cannot help but comment on the fact that it seems like Modern Christianity is trying to make peace with worldliness and with those who are saved from sin. There is no peace. We deny, we reject that which makes the world tick. Passions or desires that they have. And these worldly lusts may include things that are in and of themselves sinful, or things even that are legitimate when we have an inordinate desire for them and use them excessively as ends in themselves. Listen, we need to stand firm on this. No person should claim to be saved without these things being a reality in their lives. This all relates to that self-control that Christians are to have, doesn't it? Well, the positive side, there's that which we deny. The positive side which grace teaches us is that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. We should live. And this introduces again that change that has taken place And we just need to emphasize the word live. Grace affects our lives, the way we live in a positive way. And these three adverbs describe this life we have as Christians, soberly. Back to that predominating characteristic mentioned through the chapter, self-controlled. And I would suggest that we could describe this Rather than being ruled by fleshly passion, we are ruled by a Spirit that brings all things into subjection to Christ. Everything in our lives into subjection to Christ, that sort of control. Righteously, this is ethical behavior that is consistent with salvation. I don't think it indicates justification here. Rather, it indicates the behavior that accompanies justification or follows justification. But it's behavior that we're talking about here. Godliness, to be reverent toward God, respecting His person, respecting His law. And it says, in this present world, in this present world, Salvation is not just pie in the sky. It affects us now in this present world. And again, nothing is indifferent. Well, hurrying on here, verse 13, I apologize for hurrying through such a glorious passage, but I want to finish this chapter at least in a summary way. Verse 13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. The way that's translated does convey the general idea, but I believe the word order in the original gives us a little clearer idea of what is being emphasized here. Here's the way I believe it is best translated. which is waiting or expecting, looking for the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. This emphasizes that the glory of God and of Christ will be revealed at His second coming. When He appears, it will be with an astounding, universal display of His glory, and no one will miss it. No one will miss it. And so while we bide our time in faithful obedience and daily living, we do so with the expectation that the glory of God is going to burst upon this world with the second coming of Christ. And this is an invigorating, motivating, life-sustaining expectation that we are to live with. One of these days, And we wait for it. We desire it. But when Christ does come, it will be with a brightness of glory that only His people can endure because we're told that the lost will be destroyed with this brightness, this glory of His coming. 2 Thessalonians 2. Now, there's great debate over whether two persons of the Godhead are intended here in this verse, verse 13, God the Father and God the Son, or is this all a reference to Christ alone? Well, the arguments on each side are technical, they're detailed, they're rather lengthy in some cases, and so I'm not going to attempt to take you there in this lesson. But to just say this, if both Father and Son are intended here, it points to the unity of essence and the unity of purpose in salvation. It shows that they share the same purpose and they share the same glory. And it shows that salvation is indeed a Trinitarian salvation. But if the Son alone is intended here, It also shows us the deity of Christ and His special role in salvation. Whichever of these two are intended in this verse, we know that both of those are theologically sound. And to zero in on this appearing here, if we consider the appearing itself, I would simply say, that the One that shall be seen at the second coming of Christ is Jesus Christ. But in Him, in His appearance, we will see the glory of the eternal triune God displayed in a way that's never been displayed before. And then he says, "...who gave Himself for us." that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Oh, there's so much that could be said here, more than we can say, but the point I want to emphasize this morning is this. It is God's purpose in Christ that those He saves are to live unto Him. That's the simple point. And again, that's been the message all through the chapter with each group He addresses. We are saved. He has done what He has done in order for us to show forth God's glory and change in obedient lives. But just to briefly break this down, who gave Himself for us? Here's that remarkable display of humility and love of Christ for His people, humbling Himself and voluntarily giving His life up for us in order that we might live and be made free. And this phrase, gave Himself, is used four times that I see in the New Testament. And each of those times, it has the same major point. He gave Himself for us to do something for us. To save us, to put it simply. And he goes on, he says then, that He might redeem us from all iniquity. And here again is that little word, that. He did this in order that. He did this with a purpose. And the purpose is what he talks about here. Being redeemed. from all iniquity. Paul uses this ransom terminology here. He had the grand design of redeeming or liberating us from sin with a ransom. It cost him something. That's a major point here. It cost him something. He invested himself in it to redeem us from all iniquity. Iniquity is unrighteousness and lawlessness. And so this is to be seen as a positive, effectual redemption. That's another major point. It is to be seen as effectual. It's not just what He wanted to do. It's what He has done. It's what He has assured will be done in those that He saves. The completion of His design is to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." And of course, sanctification, I think, is in view here. But this is language that's borrowed from Exodus 19.5 and also described in Deuteronomy 7.6. The Israelites, in being delivered from bondage to the Egyptians, were turned unto the Lord, became His special people, holy unto Him, dedicated to living unto Him according to His law. And so, likewise here, those whom Christ has redeemed from sin, He takes unto Himself. He takes unto Himself to live unto Him and to obey Him in all things. Our lives are to exemplify Him. Our lives are to be in holy obedience to Him in all things. And again, you cannot emphasize enough, this is not just what He wanted to do. This is not what He hopes will happen. This is what He has accomplished and will be accomplished. and all of His people. He will purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." We're going to have to break it off here. I did not quite finish the chapter, but right there is the theological foundation for all that Paul tells Titus he should teach and expects these in Crete to do.