Is The Church Set Apart? Practical Application
Titus 2:11-14, ESV For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 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.
The word training includes teaching, correcting and disciplining. It is a process that begins at salvation and continues until we go home to the Lord. But, note that grace does not mean, live any way you like and God is ok with that . Grace trains, disciplines, and instructs us in godly living. Paul mentions in these verses, three ways that grace trains us:
Secondly how to talk, act, show respect and reverence to God and is this easily seen by the world around us. Can they tell that we are different or set apart. The Church today for the large part, no longer has a fear of God. The fear of God is not only a motivation for holiness; is should be a powerful one. The expression the fear of God has been so toned down that it means nothing more than respect or reverence.
Even when we come to Church to worship, how often we show up with attire that is immodest, tacky, and downright shameful. To the outsider coming in, they would view us as having no respect or reverence for God. We worship with our lips, but show a total lack of reverence. In some Churches the gospel is there but the teaching of daily living for Chist with practical examples is almost non existent. Do we feel motivated to good works; are we convicted by the messages to live Godly lives. Though God knows our heart and does not care about our outward appearance; we need to consider these things; to help the world know that we really are set apart.
Gal 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Rom 14:11~12 For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Psalms 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
Church is were we go each week to give ourselves to corporate worship, time to fellowship with each other and to build each other up. Church should be a place where we go to be fed by God s word; where we are taught doctrine, worship our Lord and how to live Godly in this world. The question is, how well does this really happen? It is up to us as we are individually accountable to God to become the Church God has set us out to be. We need to be in our Bibles daily, have a daily devotional time with God and spend regular time in prayer alone with Him. We need to nurture our relationship with Him and learn to love Him, first.
The corporate Churches primary function is for believers, not unbelievers. We would always welcome encourage and invite non-believers to attend, but the primary focus of the Church is to teach and encourage believers to grow and live Godly lives. This is the place where we should be uplifted, where we can worship God and fellowship together
In our Church services there is often lack of teaching on practical living in today s world, in ways pleasing to God. Where is the teaching on subjects like anxiety, depression, and anger, sex outside marriage, alcohol, drugs, proper use of social media, internet, TV, movies, immodesty, and dressing to show reverence to God, etc? Along with teaching on practical subjects there needs to be examples that bring these subjects home and convict us a Church to want to grow.
Malachi 1:6 "A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, In what way have we despised Your name?
The Church should not skip over areas that may offend; as long as it is in alignment with God s word. The Church should not use worldly methods and water down its teaching just to make outsides comfortable in coming; nor does the teaching need to be legalistic in nature, even when talking about such topics.
When outsiders do attend our services, they need to see us worshipping our Lord in a way that shows reverence to Him. They need to see a people set apart and experience a work taking place that lifts God up; certainly not us not us or the world.
Titus 2:7,8 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
Is your Church teaching on all areas that pertain to Godly living, is it skipping over some subjects, watering down the word; so it does not offend? To keep from loosing people and making the outside world uncomfortable has the Church compromised. I would be interested in hearing your views.
3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.
Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Grace does not give us a license to live any way you like and that God is ok with it. Grace actually instructs us in Godly living.
If you are in a Church that does not seem to promote Christ and practical messages on how to live Godly in this world; I would like to here from you. Depending on volume of responses, I may be only able to answer a few back.