DECEMBER 14
To Rid the World of All Sin
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.
Titus 2:11-14
Sin carries with it guilt and shame. It is the reminder that we are not who we are supposed to be. It is the reason that relationships suffer. God didn’t create rules just to see if we could obey, he created the framework for human flourishing. Yet every day we fail to uphold it. Then we become trapped in it. Many of us are arrested by guilt and some by the idea that our succumbing will never end. Will this sin always dominate my life?
Paul’s letter to Titus encourages us by saying God is dealing with sin. That because of Jesus we are redeemed. Sin no longer has any claim on us. Not only does it have no claim, but it is being weeded out. Every day of surrender to the Holy Spirit and the acknowledgment of what Jesus has done is another day that the hand of God forces its way into the dirt of our soul. He has his mind on finding the roots and pulling out the filth. Not only can we begin to say ‘no’ to sin now, but we are assured that, in Jesus returning, he will take all the sin from our lives. We will be completely transformed into his image so that we can live in right relationship with him and others.