by Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
sermon Delivered October 1, 2006

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:11-14

Review

1. Salvation From The Penalty of Sin – v. 11b

We have seen that Christ died on the Cross of Calvary paying the price for ALL of our sins. Because of that the believer will never be condemned to Hell (see Titus 2:14 & John 5:24). Secondly we have see that God’s redemptive grace is responsible for the believers…

2. Salvation From The Power of Sin v.12

The believer has the God given power to live a godly life! He can "put off" the old man (our old sinful nature) and "put on" the new nature (our new Christ-like nature). Grace, as Titus 2:12 teaches believers to say no to ungodliness and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, righteous and godly lives before the unsaved world.

The third facet of God’s Redemptive Grace is…

3. Salvation From The Presence of Sin – v.13

At the Rapture, we will be removed from the presence of sin. Satan is the God of this world. We will be removed from his presence. We will also receive a glorified body and our sin nature will be gone.

Today we will zero in on the last facet of God’s Redemptive Grace…

4. Salvation From The Possession of Sin – v. 14

"Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

Before we are saved we are in total bondage to sin. We are possessed by sin. Sin owns us. We are in the devil’s dominion and cannot get ourselves out. Verse 14 begins by saying Christ "gave himself for us," which means Christ became our substitute.

Before I go on to talk more about substitution I want to give you a brief theological definition of substitution. Substitution maintains that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. God imputed the guilt of our sins to Christ, and he, in our place, bore the punishment that we deserve. This was a full payment for sins, which satisfied both the wrath and the righteousness of God, so that He could forgive sinners without compromising His own holy standard. The question is, "How can the death of one person accomplish the release of many?" The answer is, "It cannot, if the representing substitute were of the same nature, or quality of the sinner; but He is not. Christ is sinless, and Christ is God!" Therefore He is a substitute the God has accepted. Turn with me to I Peter 2:24a "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree…." It is the sinner that should suffered. It is the sinner that should died. It is the sinner that should be condemned to Hell. But God sent His Son to be our substitute. We read the prophetic statement of this in Isaiah 53:5 "But he [Christ] was wounded for our transgressions, he [Christ] was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him [Christ]; and with his [Christ’s] stripes we are healed." Our sinless Savior stepped up and became our substitute. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For he [God] hath made him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Praise God for Christ!

Now look back at Titus 2:14, the second phrase – "that he might redeem us from all iniquity…." The purpose of the Son of God coming into the world is revealed in Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

The word redeem in Titus 2:14 and ransom in Mark 10:45 are the same Greek word – Lutroo. It means to loose and set free! More specifically it refers to the releasing of someone who is being held captive upon the payment if a ransom. So, what was the ransom? Turn to Galatians 3:13 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:" Christ gave himself! Even more specifically, what he gave was his life’s blood – "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed (lutroo) with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" 1 Peter 1:18-19

What did Christ’s giving his life’s blood accomplish for us" reread the phrase - "that he might redeem us from all iniquity…." Iniquity means lawlessness. In our lost condition before we are saved, we were rebels against God’s law. But once you are save, that all changes. By Christ’s death, (the shedding of his blood), He met the just demands of God’s holy law, so that God in His grace could forgive and free all those who believe on Christ.

Next, we come to the next phrase in Titus 2:14c – "and purify unto himself a peculiar people…. "Remember, before we were saved, sin possessed us. Like the Pharisees, our father was the devil (John 8:44). But, PRAISE GOD! Once we have been redeemed, we are saved from the possession of sin! We are translated into the kingdom of Christ. Turn to Colossians 1:12-13 "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:" Ponder for a moment what that means. If believers are no longer the possession of sin and the devil, who are they the possession of? We see the answer in Titus 2:14c - "and purify unto himself…." We are the possession for the Lord Jesus Christ for all of eternity!

One preacher put it this way: "Just as we formerly were possessed and enslaved by sin, now we are possessed by and enslaved to Jesus Christ. His possession of His people in not temporary but permanent." Believers are the permanent possession of the Lord! I am not possessed by sin, but, Christ possesses me! Glory!!!

John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

John 10:27-29 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

What about you? Are you possessed by sin or by Christ?