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you had an older bro<strong>the</strong>r or an older sister or you had a very famous fa<strong>the</strong>r<br />
or famous mo<strong>the</strong>r and your whole life was lived in <strong>the</strong> shadow of someone<br />
else. There are verses in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bible</strong> like that. When you think of Titus 2, you<br />
probably think of verse 13, looking for that blessed hope. What a powerful<br />
verse that is. There's a <strong>to</strong>wer right <strong>the</strong>re. But you know what? The next<br />
verse lives in its shadow and it's probably more important.<br />
Let me go back and read a few verses before that. Let's start at verse 11 so<br />
we can get <strong>the</strong> context: "For <strong>the</strong> grace of God that brings salvation has<br />
appeared <strong>to</strong> all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly<br />
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in <strong>the</strong> present age,<br />
looking for <strong>the</strong> blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and<br />
Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, [now watch this—two reasons]<br />
that He might redeem us from every lawless deed [that's number 1] and [2]<br />
purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (verses<br />
11-14).<br />
May I just pry a little bit in<strong>to</strong> your personal life? If I were <strong>to</strong> ask how many<br />
times you have heard a message on Christ dying <strong>to</strong> redeem us, all of our<br />
hands would go up. And if I ask you, Was it often a frequently repeated<br />
message? a lot of hands would go up <strong>to</strong>o.<br />
But Christ died for two reasons. I wonder when was <strong>the</strong> last time we heard a<br />
message on <strong>the</strong> second reason? He not only died <strong>to</strong> redeem us, He died <strong>to</strong><br />
purify us—that's <strong>to</strong> live holy lives. The second reason why Jesus died is so<br />
we can live for <strong>the</strong> very reason He died.<br />
We couldn't go <strong>to</strong> Him, so He came <strong>to</strong> us. He paid a debt He didn't owe<br />
because we owed a debt we couldn't pay. He died so we could live. And one<br />
of <strong>the</strong> reasons why (according <strong>to</strong> verse 14 in Titus 2) Jesus died, <strong>the</strong> second<br />
reason, is <strong>to</strong> prepare a holy people, a unique, separate, distinct people.<br />
For those of us who are happy about <strong>the</strong> first and ignorant about <strong>the</strong> second,<br />
relief is here. We have a <strong>Bible</strong> in front of us. We can see exactly what God<br />
said <strong>to</strong> us.<br />
I want you <strong>to</strong> think about <strong>the</strong> tendency we have <strong>to</strong> ignore <strong>the</strong> second half of<br />
that verse. I say "we" because we all have that tendency. I do as well as<br />
you.<br />
A. J. Gordon said: "I gravely fear that many Christians make <strong>the</strong> apostle's<br />
word, 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,' <strong>the</strong> unconscious<br />
justification for a low standard of Christian living. It were almost better <strong>to</strong><br />
overstate <strong>the</strong> possibilities of sanctification in an eager grasp after holiness,<br />
2