Not mixed with faith

 

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. – Hebrews 4.1-2

 

There cannot be much sadder words that ‘not mixed with faith.’ The folks Hebrews addresses here are people who had some knowledge of God’s word. They were probably a part of the visible assembly.

 

When the writer spoke of rest he said that sadly some professors who looked like they had it all we going to fail because they had not mixed the word of God with faith.

 

The Bible is a helpful book for all. Following its teachings and trying to follow the principles that Jesus taught will produce a better life.

 

But that’s all it does unless it is mixed with faith. If there is not faith mixed with all that knowledge a better life on earth is where it is going to end. Without faith, we know, it is impossible to please God.

 

So unless I have faith all the Bible I read and all the good I do as decent a chap I might be I am going to miss the rest that God has promised those who trust Him.

 

We all know ‘good people.’ But even good people need true faith in Christ. Religion will always fall short, unless mixed with faith.

Today!

 

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. – Hebrews 3.12-13

 If there ever was a day that required mutual exhortation it is today. An awful lot of folks are down, discouraged, despaired, and maybe even feeling defeated.

 And you could blame them/us? We just can’t see m to get out of this thing. Somehow it just keeps going on. I am not going to argue about the merits or demerits of all of this, but here we are.

 It can be tough these days even to keep on keeping on,

 But we should not ever have to do this alone. We have each other and part of our job is to keep exhorting and encouraging each other day after day after day.

 1 Corinthians 14.26 says that we should strive to do everything is such a way that the brethren will be edified.

 While it is today – of course that means every day because when today gets here it is today and today is the day to exhort each other. It’s too late for yesterday and we don’t know what tomorrow brings so we need to use every today to exhort each other.

 Don’t wait to exhort. Who knows what might happen tonight and that chance will be forever lost? When God lays it on your heart to encourage someone – just do it – TODAY.

 

Heart of unbelief

 

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. – Hebrews 3.12-13

 Following on from yesterday we see where a hard heart leads. If we don’t deal with our hard hearts it can lead to an ‘evil heart of unbelief.’

 It only makes sense in a way, if our hard hearts have turned us away from God, have made us put down our Bibles, stopped us from going to church, and prevented our prayers it seems obvious that the next step is to turn away from God in disbelief.

 This disbelief does not necessarily mean that we turn away from God, it may just mean that we stop seeing Him as relevant. We stop involving Him in our lives. As a friend told me one day, he had just gotten used to living without God.

 And that’s when evil can step in. When we shift God to the side we allow evil in to take Hs place and then it is next to impossible to tell whether there ever was a proper relationship with God.

 We could avoid all to this if we just could keep our hearts soft and pliable and we let Him use testings to conform us to His image instead of getting cheesed off with God and letting a hard cold heart develop and then watch that develop into an evil heart that is not believing Him. Today, don’t let sin harden your heart and develop into a heart of sin.

Hard hearts

 

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

In the day of trial in the wilderness, - Hebrews 3.7-8

 

In just a few verses here we read about two kinds of hearts. First, we read of the need to not to harden our hearts.

 It is more than tragic when we let a hard heart dwell in us. How do we allow this hard heart to develop?  It is a progression. We start by just simply taking God lightly. Something happens to put us off God and we start to turn from God and the things of God. Going to church means less and less so we ‘get nothing out of it.’ We stop praying because it doesn’t go our way. We stop reading our Bibles because it starts to seem lifeless and boring. 

The harder our hearts get the less we do about it and the hardness just gets harder and harder and harder. It’s a terrible vicious cycle and the longer we let it go the worse it gets.

 That’s why we need to strive to always have hearts that are soft and pliable so that they can be moulded and brought into conformity to the image of God. 

We keep pour hearts soft and usable as we spend time in His word and in prayer and in fellowship with each other.

His house

 

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. – Hebrews 3.1-6

 One of the greatest names for the church is ‘the house of God.’  In the Old Testament God dwelt in the Temple. Only the high priest could approach Him. He dwelt in the Holy of Holies.

 Now though the veil that separated man from God has been torn in two. It was God’s work as it was torn from top to bottom. After that God’s house is His church.

 That doesn’t mean that when we go to church the building is His house.  We are His house and we gather together in a building. When Immanuel came He indeed came as God with us.

 We are the House of God. Jesus built us and is building His house.

 What that should mean is that the church should reflect its owner and the One who dwells there.

 How does Jesus look if He is judged by the appearance of His house? How does the church look to the outside? Sometimes it doesn’t look, according to Andrew Peterson, ‘the second coming of the Pharisees.’ God’s house gets dirty and sullied and it looks like any other street on the block. We get involved in all kinds of things that we should not be involved in a no one wants to some into the house. The church in many ways is at the point where is scares people off instead of inviting them in.

 God’s house ought to reflect Him and His glory. What part are you and I doing to make that so?

Became like us

 

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. - Hebrews 2:17-18

 

Jesus was made like us so that His death would defeat our death. In order to beat death He had to die and order to die He had the leave heaven, become a man, take on the form of a servant, and to be obedient to the plan even to the point of death on the cross.

 

In so doing, because He was the perfect and unique God/man the shedding of His blood provided a covering for our sin.

 

This is truly an awesome thought.

 

But it goes even deeper. He didn’t just become like us to save us, but He came to help us in this life. He endured all that we endure. He suffered, He was tempted, He went through trials. He did all that so He help us through our own trials and sufferings and temptations.

 

He came to die for me. He came to help me through this life. What a wonderful Saviour.

Through death

Not ashamed

 

For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, - Hebrews 2:11

 

There are a lot of titles for Jesus. He is our Master and our Saviour and our Hope and the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God and the Light of the World and Immanuel and so so many more.

 

But there is one name that is kind of special in a personal way Jesus is our brother.

 

Isn’t that something. We are His brothers and even more than that He says He is not ashamed to call us His brethren.

 

Can you imagine that?  Here the Bible says that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters. I am sure I have given my brothers and sisters more than cause to be ashamed of me throughout my life. I have done plenty to earn it.

 

But despite all of my failings Jesus is not ashamed to call me his brother.

Captain. My Captain

 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. – Hebrews 2.10

 

This is one of those phrases that really excites my soul. Jesus is called the Captain of our Salvation.

 Walt Whitman wrote an amazing poem called ‘Oh Captain, My Captain.’ The first stanza reads like this –

 O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

                         But O heart! heart! heart!

                            O the bleeding drops of red,

                               Where on the deck my Captain lies,

                                  Fallen cold and dead.

 The poem tells of a sailor and of the death of his captain. It tells of the journey and the things they have shared. It’s a wonderful story of someone who had mentored and led for life, my now lies silent in death on the deck.

 Here in Hebrews we have a different tale. We read of the Captain of our souls who captained us to salvation and captains us through life. Unlike Whitman’s captain though our Captain does not lie fallen, cold, and dead. Our Captain has conquered death and because He has conquered death we have conquered death as well.

 Our Captain still captains our souls all the way to our eternal salvation.

But we see Jesus

 

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. – Hebrews 2.9

 It is easy enough to get our eyes out of focus when things get hard. So many things distract, and the storms of life assail us so that we, like Peter, start to fall beneath the waves.

 Later in Hebrews we read about the race we are in. We are to lay aside all the sins and things that weigh us down. We are run to race with patience that path that He has laid out for us.

 That race is no 100 metre sprint. It is an marathon, an ironman triathlon even. It goes on and on and one. It’s a hard race.

 But at the end of the race, on the finish line, we see Jesus – the Author and the Finisher of our faith. We can’t get caught up in all the mess going outside the race. Everything is trying to distract us from the race. If we get distracted we are going to fail.

 But, we see Jesus. We see Jesus who, by the grace of God tested death for all of us. Even when everything else fails we can keep our eyes on Him and keep plugging away

How shall we escape?

 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation… - Hebrews 2:2-3

The Great Escape is one of my favourite war films. It is just a classic. Loosely based on a true story it tells of a group of Allied prisoners in a Nazi prison camp in World War 2. It tells of all the plans for the escape. When the time comes to carry it out it was their one and only chance to pull it off. If they missed this escape chance they were doomed. 

I think we can see a picture here of the world and the people in it. We are all captive to sin. The guys in the film working like crazy to dig a tunnel and timed everything perfectly to plan their escape and they pulled it off. 

Our problem is that despite our best efforts and getting out we will fail every time. The tunnel is going to collapse or some other tragedy will ruin our efforts. Even if we got to the very end and lifted that tuft of earth to climb our sin would catch us. All of us would fall short. 

But wonderfully, graciously, mercifully, lovingly, and freely Jesus provides a provides an escape. He walks right to the gate, opens it, and says here is the way of salvation. I’ve paid the debt, the conflict is over, the enemy is vanquished, all who have to do is trust me and walk thought the gate.  

The problem is that some prisoners are balking at the offer. They think they have to do something or that they are not good enough or they think it will be okay in the prison sin or they think ‘maybe I’ll go tomorrow.’ 

The question is how are they going to escape if they neglect this offer? They offer is there but someday it is going to be too late. God is mercifully holding the door open but day it will be shut and destruction will come. 

Folks are foolish to keep waiting – for there is no great escape once the door is closed/

Lest we drift

 

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.- Hebrews 2:1

 

Drifting away is a terrible threat. Drifting is a natural thing though. We don’t actively pursue and participate it is easy to just gradually fall away. A lot of us have been out of church for so long that I feel like many people are still drifting away.

 

Likewise, if we don’t stay attuned to God’s word we are likely to drift away from its truths.

 

So we are told to take ‘earnest heed’ to the things we have heard. Casually listening to a message on a Sunday morning is good, but it is not enough. It is not enough to have a quick look at the scriptures. We must make an effort and earnestly and sincerely pay attention to the truth.

 

If we are not taking heed to the word of God we are going to be taking heed to something else, and probably not the better things.

 

 

Too many times in my own lives my life has slowly drifted away. I’ve seen too many friends ruined as they drifted slowly and then in a major way. When we don’t pay earnest heed we will drift.

 

Stay close, go to church, read your Bible, pray. That’s the only way to keep from drifting

He remains

 

You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

They will perish, but You remain;

And they will all grow old like a garment;

Like a cloak You will fold them up,

And they will be changed.

But You are the same,

And Your years will not fail.” – Hebrews 1.10-12

 

This old world is falling apart. You can almost feel it. The heavens will one day perish

They will be folded up like an old piece of clothing. They will wear out.

 

All that is true but God will remain and He will not change. One day things are going to change. The all merciful all loving all gracious and all patient God is also all just and all righteous and one day He will act in His justice and in His wrath over sin. One day it will all be over. Heaven and earth will pass away.

 

But despite the constant state of flux and change and decay there is one thing that we can cling on to because one thing will remain, and one thing will not change.

 

Jesus will remain. Not only that He will not change. He is the same yesterday and today and forever. He is the same Jesus who created the world and all that is in it. He has not lost one gram of power.

 

So in the midst of great times of change like we are going now it is of great comfort to remember that we have the same Jesus we had back before all this started. Nothing has taken Him by surprise. He is not weakened by this in the slightest.

He remains. He will not change. What confidence and assurance that can give us.

Upholds all things

who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. – Hebrews 1.3-4

 

There are days when this old world seems like it is about to fall apart. It seems to be tearing apart at the seams. The broken world is certainly broken. What is holding it all together?

 

The answer is clear – Jesus will. He is the brightness of God’s glory and the perfect image of God. He upholds all things by His power. He has purged our sins and He now site on the right hand of our Father. He is far and above any other celestial or heavenly being.

 

How blessed we are to know that there is a God who is in control. This can only go so far. The God who is slow to anger and abounding in mercy is going to hold this world together as long as possible to give everyone a chance to be saved.

 

The word that created the world upholds and sustains it today.

  

Now He speaks through His Son

 

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; - Hebrews 1:1-2

 

As we enter the book of Hebrews we enter a true treasure trove of Bible teaching it is almost like a mini theology book.

 

The book starts with the foundation for everything else. In the times of old God spoke through His prophets. In the Old Testament God told the prophets what to say and they said it to the people.

 

But now, God speaks to His people directly through His Son.

 

Think about that – the very Son of God, God in the flesh came to earth to talk to you and me.

 

What would lead God to send His Son – why would God take on human flesh to talk to us? What could motivate Him to do that?

 

God loves His creation. Through man turned from God, God chose to bring His message to man. Not only that, after He presented the way back to God, and then He gave Himself on the cross to fulfill the requirements.

 

He has certainly earned the right to speak with authority.

The wonderful story of Onesimus

 

I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:

Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? – Philemon 1.10-16

 

This is one of the great stories of scripture. It is the story of a man named Onesimus. He was a servant in Philemon’s house. Chances are he was an indentured servant with a status not much better than a slave.

 

Philemon sent him off to spend time with and help his friend Paul. While there helping Paul he was great help. This most important thing that happened though is that Paul led Onesimus to Christ.

 

Now Onesimus was going back to Philemon. Onesimus had been so helpful that Paul would have like to have kept him there as a helper, but he did the right thing and sent him back home.

 

When Paul wrote to Philemon, he had a request. ‘Stop treating him as a servant. Release him from that obligation and treat him as your brother in Christ.’

 

The cross is the great leveller. Princes and paupers, masters and servants, high class and low, rich and poor, man and woman, English, Irish, Dutch, and Jew. All are level at the foot of the cross.

 

Philemon and Onesimus, master and servant, brothers in Christ – only Jesus could do a work like that.

Refreshing hearts

 

For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. Philemon 1.7

 

I love the guys who are talked about as refreshers. Being around Philemon made the saints feel refreshed and rested. They were energised to go on for Christ. People felt better after being with Philemon. These were tough days for the church, but ‘the hearts of the saints’ were always refreshed by Philemon’s spirit.

 

Philemon’s love for brethren caused Paul great comfort and consoled him that God was blessing his ministry by being a great comforter and a refresher of the saints.

 

That’s a character aspect that I long for. I really want people to feel better for spending time with me. I don’t want people to feed seeing me. I don’t want to drag people down. I want people to always be lifted up.

 

The only way for me to lift others up is if I am being constantly refreshed by God’s Holy Spirit. The only way I can be refreshed by the Holy Spirit is by spending time in His word.

 

My devotions are not just for me. My desire is to use what I get to bless others.

Love and faith for God and tbe saints

hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, - Philemon 1.5

Philemon is a blessing. Though not well ln he still has a character that was well known he was well spoken of. 

I like the twin traits mention here, that play out as four separate things. 

He loved the Lord

He was faithful to he Lord

He loved the saints

He was faithful to the saints

That kind of looks like the summary of the Law doesn’t it? Love God and love other. 

The best way to prove that I love God is by loving others. I can say I love God all I want, but if I don’t love others I prove myself a liar. The best way to prove my faith in God is to be ever faithful to others.  My love and faith and love for others should reflect my relationship with Jesus. 

Always making mention

 

I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, - Philemon 1:4

 

I have been deeply challenged by Paul’s prayer life. In nearly every letter he writes, be it to a church or a person he says that he mentions them in his prayers. I can’t even imagine the size of his prayer list. What kind of prayer life he must have had.

 

He sets a pattern for us. Our prayers should be more than just ‘Lord, bless our church folks and bless our missionaries and take care of the sick. Paul says that when he prayed he mentioned Philemon by name. He says the same thing in other letters to churches individuals.

 

I wonder how personal our prayers are.

 

Do you mention people by name in our prayers? Do we mention their specific needs?

 

This in one of the reasons that keeping a prayer list is important. I can’t remember all of the needs of my family and church alone, much less others who have specific needs.  

 

I think a lot of us are sorely lacking in this ministry of prayer. May we commit that we God’s help we will be more faithful at always making mention of others in our prayers.

Meet needs, bear fruit

 

And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful. - Titus 3:14

 

There is a lot of simple and practical advice here. Remember Paul is advising a young church planting pastor of things he needs to teach the church.

 

Here says two good works here. He says remind them to:

 

Do good works

Bear fruit

 

The nice thing is that the two of these go hand in hand. If we do good works we are going to bear fruit. Jesus laid the principle down when He said ‘let your light so shine before men that they may see your goods and glorify your Father who is in heaven.’ People see our good works, God is glorified, and people are drawn to Him.

 

In fact, it looks here like the only way to bear fruit is to meet people’s needs. He our day and time we, to a great extent, have left that up to the state. There is nothing wrong with paying taxes so that people can survive in society. We can’t be aware of every need so there has to be a basic protection.

 

But is not their job really. It is our job to feed the poor and destitute. It is our job to protect the weak and the suffering. Before we condemn the state we must ask ourselves what we are doing about it.

 

Meeting peoples need, physical and spiritual, is the way to bring them to Jesus.

Avoid division

But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.  Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. - Titus 3:9-11

Nothing hurts the church like division. Satan likes nothing better to divide God’s people. Far too often these divisions come over the most petty things. A wedge gets in and is driven wider.

It doesn’t take much to cause division. A little quirk, a foolish word, a silly Facebook post, a misinterpreted look, and so many other things can take root. The virus and all the reactions to it have everyone on edge. It doesn’t take much to start a row.

The reason it is so easy for rows break out is that because we can be so proud that we don’t want to give in. The sad thing is that far too often it is the stupid stuff that causes the worst divisions. I’ve seen churches fight over moving a piece of furniture, the colour of the carpet, closing an entrance to a car park, and many other things just as silly.

Christians can almost seem to think that their way is the only way and anyone who doesn’t do it their way and don’t do it their way they are doing in wrong and if they are doing it wrong someone needs to point it out and a fight ensues and people are hurt and the cause of Christ.

We’ve got to get this sorted. Different does not mean wrong unless it violates scripture – then we must stand for the truth. There are things people do that I don’t like. It’s not my place to point it out.

At much as it is up to you live at peace with all men.

Heirs

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. – Titus 3.3-7

Despite all that we were – foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving our own lusts, and so on we now, due toe kindness and love of the Saviour, justified by Him, have become heirs of eternal life. 

Having an inheritance of any kind is a great blessing. I have received two smallish inheritances in my lifetime. Nothing major and both were deflated by lawyers fees and taxes and those kind of things.

But here we are told that we are heirs to the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Saved and preserved and full of the Holy Spirit as He has been poured out on us and seal our inheritance forever.

It’s mind boggling that me, born a child of the world and a child of sin could be adopted into God’s family. I am a son of God with all the benefits of sonship. My inheritance is pure and spotless and it can’t be frittered away and it is preserved in heaven for me.

My eternal life is already preserved. That being the case how can anyone think they could lose it?

According to His mercy

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. – Titus 3.3-7

In Paul’s time many people thought, as they think today, that surely there something I can do in order to earn my way to heaven. What people forget though is just how wicked man is and just how serious a breach is between God and man – it is a gulf that no man can cross no matter how hard he tries. That in itself is an act of pride. Without humility we won’t see ourselves as in need of kindness and mercy.

God’s mercies are an endless supply – they can never run put. They are new every morning. Mercy flows from God like an abundant river overflowing its banks. I am grateful that God’s mercy bank does not run dry.

Psalm 103.8 tells us that God is merciful and gracious and slow to anger and He overflows in mercy.

If not for God’s mercy it would all have been over in the Garden of Eden. If it were not for His mercy He would have struck me dead the first time I consciously sinned. If not for His mercy He would not continue to delay His judgement. This world certainly looks like we deserve judgement today – but God continues to abound and overflow in His mercy.

God is patient. He is slow in mercy. He is holding off on His wrath. But one day the time will come for judgement. It is my task in the meantime to point folks to the mercy of God in salvation.

The kindness of God

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. – Titus 3.3-7

We don’t tend to think much about the kindness of God. We talk His love and His power and righteousness and holiness and His eternality and His grace.

But what about kindness? This work speaks of God being a help, doing acts that are profitable for us, helping us in our need. It is God’s kindness that moves Him to grace and mercy. He is the all kind God.

Kindness moves someone to do good works for someone to profit them. Kindness moves is the do little things that open a door or stop and pick something up that a person drops or goes out of our way for someone in need.

But God’s kindness goes a lot further that the little things because His kindness is perfect. There is a world that is helpless and hopeless and needs some kindness to do something about it. God cares enough that He acts in kindness to save us and He acts His kindness as He blesses us day by day. 

To be humble

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. – Titus 3.1-2

Humility. It seems like it turns up on every page of the Bible doesn’t it?

In this context we are to:

Be in subjection to authorities

Obey authorities

To do good works

To speak evil of no one

To be peaceable and gentle

Does that sound like how we tend to behave? I know that as I look at that list I have failed in many areas.

The only way that we can do those things is by walking in humility. Jesus of course set the prime example:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. - Philippians 2:5-8

We must have the mind of Christ and the mind of Christ was a humble man. So humble that He did not cling on to His place in heaven, but came to earth as a man and took on the form of a servant and humbled Himself all the way to His death on the cross.

When I read that how can I ever cling on to my own foolish pride?

Let us all be reminded of the need for humility and let it be seen in our lives daily.

Speak evil of no one

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. – Titus 3.1-2

Speaking evil of others. It is something we have all grown accustomed to see. It is everywhere and social media has made it so much worse. The vicious things that Christians say about other people surely cannot please God when He says to ‘speak evil of no one.’

Even worse is that the context here is rulers and authorities. That is one group of people that seem to be special targets for evil speaking – even among believers.

This is a tough row to hoe, isn’t it? To not speak evil of others? How are we even supposed to do that? Surely this command comes with a few exceptions.

But no, simply speak evil of no man. We might attack their theories policies or ideas or whatever, but we are told to speak evil of no one.

Why is that, do you think? 

Everyone, even the most evil examples of humanity, are people Jesus died for. He loves them. They are His creation. He gave His life to provide salvation.

That doesn’t mean we ignore their sin or their evil. It means that we see them as souls who need Jesus and we show God’s love to all.

Remember, when Paul wrote this passage about authorities Nero was king.

Ready for good works

Remind them to be ready for good work

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. – Titus 3.1-2

Good works must be part and parcel of our Christian walk. It is a hard issue to broach sometimes. Good works can be confused with works salvation or legalism.

But here they are again. Be ready to do every good work.

We have to be reminded of good works because works are the key evidence of salvation. James says that if we are hearers of the word and not doers of it we are deceiving ourselves. J.C. Ryle describes those who do nothing with their faith this way ‘They are like those whom Ezekiel describes, who liked his preaching, but never practised what he preached:—"They come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them....’

Without good works how will anyone know what sets us apart. Ephesians 2 says that we are not saved by works, but that ordained before the world even began that we are to walk in them because we are His workmanship and without works people will not see what God can do in His people.

We can have good hearts and good thoughts all we want – but no one can see that. Jesus said ‘let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.’

Our words are not enough. Our walk must back our talk or our talk is useless.  

Remind them to obey authority

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. – Titus 3.1-2

I guess we must be pretty thick. We have to be reminded over and over again to be subject to authorities. Here we are told the attitude we are supposed to do it with. We are to be ready to good, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, and show humility to all men.

That means that we can’t submit with a sorry attitude of grumbling and despair. We can’t do it and tell everyone how unfair it is. We keep doing good, we don’t speak evil of the rulers, we need to encourage peace, and we need to abide in humility.

These are areas to look at over the next couple of days. The context of all these is how we respond to authority.

It can be hard, really hard, to obey authority at times. Let’s be honest, it can be hard to even respect those in authority and if we can’t respect them how can we obey them? That is where we are called on to act by faith and not sight. We don't have to like or admire them or understand why they do what they do. We don’t have to like their politics. We do need to honour them, not speak evil of them, obey them, and pray for them.