Recently, my wife and I have been reading through John Piper’s book Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die. It goes through Scripture and highlights what the death of Christ on the cross accomplished for us. So far it has been very beneficial to both of us in reminding us of a lot of the meaning behind the cross that we sometimes skim over without realizing it.
Since beginning this book it has changed my personal Bible reading. It seems now that as I read my mind is naturally drawn to those different reasons that Christ came to die. Today, while sitting in the morning service at my church, was no different. Our pastor was preaching from Titus 2:11-14, highlighting for us the work of grace as it came to earth from God. The sermon was used to direct our minds toward the cross as we would later be partaking in the Lord’s Supper, but as he read through the passage, verse 14 stuck out to me. Speaking of Jesus Christ, verse 14 reads, “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
In this verse we see two specific reasons that Jesus came to die. Those reasons were (1) “to redeem us from all lawlessness and (2) to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
The book of Titus as a whole is essentially a call to holiness based on the work and authority of Christ. Paul in verses 11-14 outlines the gospel basis for this call to holiness and provides for his readers one of the purposes for which Christ died (“gave himself”). The first of these two reasons closely parallels Ephesians 1:4 where Paul says, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” That is to say that God chose us in Christ before creation and the purpose of that choosing was that we should be holy and blameless before him. It was this purpose that the death of Christ was to fulfill by redeeming us from lawlessness (or sinfulness). I find it necessary to note that it does not say that it was to redeem us from the punishment of lawlessness but to redeem us from lawlessness itself. Some claim that one can be saved from the punishment of sin by believing in Christ, but that there does not necessarily need to be a change in behavior. I believe that to be a false claim and I believe that this passage clearly indicates the opposite. If Christ died to save us from lawlessness itself then it does not make sense that we, being saved from it, should remain in a state of continual lawlessness. If we have truly been saved then we have been saved from it and saved to the opposite of it. The opposite, in this case, is godliness (2:12).
The second of the purposes of the cross listed in verse 14 is “to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” This was part of the purpose of the cross and as such it was fulfilled on the cross. In the translation from Greek into English, the first part of that phrase loses some of its emphasis. The phrase “a people for his own possession” indicates that this people were to be his (God’s) treasured possession. This idea goes back to OT times when God told Israel that they would be a peculiar or special people. Now, the same idea is made in reference to the Church. Those who are in Christ are being purified as a special, treasured people set apart for God himself. This setting apart is accompanied by a descriptive phrase referring to those who are set apart. Paul says that they are a people “who are zealous for good works.” The ESV Study Bible adds this note; “[S]o again redemption is tied specifically to living in a godly manner. There is no room for claiming to be redeemed while providing no evidence of practical transformation.” Some would take offense to this saying that it is adding works to salvation. Can I say that this objection is the farthest thing from the truth? It is not that works are done in order to gain salvation, but that works are done as evidence of true salvation. Let me ask a question. Can the purpose of God be frustrated? If the almighty God designs something to be a certain way, can finite man thwart his plan? Absolutely not! If God says, as he does here in Titus, that Christ died (gave himself) to “purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” does it not necessarily follow that he will accomplish that? Some try to separate the “people for his own possession” from the “zealous for good works”, but it is impossible to do so without compromising the integrity of Scripture. God’s purpose in the death of Christ will be fulfilled in those who are in Christ.
Can I exhort you with the words of Paul as he writes to Titus in chapter 3 verse 8? “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.”
Because of the death of Christ, seek to live in a godly manner being zealous for good works!
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