"We Should Live Soberly..."

Tit. 2:12-14

  1. ...we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
  2. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
  3. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Commentary

When God called the nation of Israel out of Egypt, He made it clear that they were to be his special people, separate and different from other nations, a light in a fallen world (Ex. 19:5-6). Gentile believers, who are grafted into Abraham's tree through faith in Christ, are called with the same calling, and empowered by God's Holy Spirit to fulfil it in a way that Israel of old could not. Why then do we sometimes act as though redemption through Jesus Christ is nothing more than a ticket to Heaven, leaving us free to live our lives as we choose?

Paul makes it clear that the essence of salvation is that we are changed into new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17). If we do not feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit when we stray into sin, perhaps we haven't experienced true conversion at all. Jesus said that no man can serve two masters; we must decide if we want to love the Father or love the world, for we cannot do both (1 Jn. 2:15). Only if we are walking in obedience to Him, with all our treasures laid up in Heaven, will we be able to truly live in earnest expectation of his glorious appearing.


All Scripture references from KJV. Commentary ©2011 Hitchcock Family Ministry. Unaltered text may be reproduced freely without financial gain. Original commentary and Scripture song available at http://www.freescripturesongs.org/we-should-live-soberly.