If you back into a car (any car, but especially a police car) be sure you do not leave without reporting it so that you will not be charged with a crime.
We all know the use of these two words: so that. Every day we function through the cause and effect reality of life. The sentences above are real life illustrations I learned many years ago about cause and effect. I learned them the hard way (btw I could have been charged with a crime but the police officer extended grace to me).
Throughout life I make cause and effect choices:
I'll go to bed on time so that I can get up early to meet with God.
I will call my mother today so that she doesn't think I've forgotten her (and because I love her and want to hear her voice).
I need to eat less and exercise more so that I will lose the pounds gained through the winter.
You get the idea.
In the three short chapters of the letter to Titus there are fourteen different cause and effect phrases. That's right. Fourteen!!! As we learned a couple of weeks ago, in this book there are 24 references to the gospel. That means more than half of all the verses in Titus are gospel related, and about one-third are cause and effect. Hmmm. Should this be significant? I think so!!
The gospel has a God-ordained purpose for our lives. It's there in order to do something in us and to us. And, living out of the gospel has an effect: it proclaims the beauty and power of the gospel.
The Apostle Paul (along with Titus) had taken the gospel to the people living on the island of Crete. He left Titus there to establish churches, appoint leaders, and instruct men and women how to live in a manner consistent with the gospel they had received. Paul gives us an inside look into how challenging this must have been for Titus. Paul's description of the Creten culture sounds very much like 21st century American culture. The Cretens were: "liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." Along with that there seems to have been doctrinal deception in the church involving legalism and myths (not unlike "religion" in America).
In Paul's letter to Titus, Paul is giving believers (then and now) powerful motivation for living the "Gospel centered life" (C.J. Mahaney). Think about it with me, will you? The design for women that scripture lays out for us is completely counter-cultural, and counter-intuitive. With the sin that remains in us and the powerful influence of world, we simply cannot do biblical womanhood on our own. We need the gospel to do this.
Here's what I mean:
The gospel encourages me to rest in my righteous standing with God, a standing which Christ Himself has accomplished and always maintains for me. (Romans 5:1; 1 John 2:1) I never have to do a moment's labor to gain or maintain my justified status before God! (Romans 4:5; Hebrews 4:3; Matthew 11:28) Freed from the burden of such a task, I now can put my energies into enjoying God, pursuing holiness, and ministering God's amazing grace to others. (Romans 5:18,19)
The gospel also reminds me that my righteous standing with God always holds firm regardless of my performance, because my standing is based solely on the work of Jesus and not mine. On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God's unrelenting grace toward me. (Romans 5:21, 6:1; 1 John 2:1,2) On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keep me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus' righteousness and not mine (Milton Vincent, The Gospel Primer).
Through the grace and power of the gospel, we can live God's way as women. When we do, God tells us we validate (support the truth of) the gospel (Titus 2:5,7,10).
More specifics on this next week. Until then, I am wondering if you would want to read Titus and find these 14 phrases. The words you will be looking for are: "so that, since, therefore, that they, by, and so, for, so as." I think you will find it interesting.
I leave you with this staggering cause and effect statement: "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9,10).
5 comments:
Thank you Gayline for the reminder of that wonderful truth! That is one of my favorite pieces written in the gospel primer. Standing in the righteousness of Jesus and oh what a Savior!!! I don't ever have to base my relationship with God the Father on my performance if I did I would be in BIG trouble! Oh but the saving grace of Jesus Christ truly amazing!This and many other gospel truths can only bring us to truly worship HIM and HIM ALONE!
Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
I long for nothing more than I long for purity and holiness within my members.
In addition, I eagerly await the clear understanding you have for women as laid out in the Gospel regarding my "role" my "place" as a woman. For far too, long I feel it has been communicated as a burden that was never intended in the Gospel.
Off and on throughout the years I have enjoyed the freedom in my role, my coveted role as my husbands wife and my childrens mother.
At the same time, there have been and are moments when I feel like a huge failure because I don't fit the mold spoken of so often in the church.
For example, to hear a pastor to say that "theology is for everyone,especially God's male children, offends me and then my heart aches because I am offended.
Woe is me...and still I thank God and with joy I feed on His faithfulness, knowing that it alone with sustain and keep this broken vessel saved by His extravagent, amazing, enduring, sufficient GRACE!!
To anonymous,
My heart aches for your ache, and for the way that statements about such things are either mis-spoken or mis-heard (I know I've been guilty of both!).
Whatever the statement about theology being for God's "male children", I would hope that it was not meant to exclude His female children.
I know that I would long for every one of God's children to be God-entranched theologians; men and women who know their God in truth and in love. This has been the heart cry of my ministry for decades.
Of course men--being called to lead and teach in home and church--simply cannot fulfill their roles unless they are good theologians. But that must never be taken to mean that theology is for men only.
The sweet truth is that theology is for everyone, for we cannot know God, love God, serve God, or proclaim God unless we study God in all His beauty and glory!
So study on dear sister and know your God--and therein you will find your rest!
Dear Anonymous,
I am so sorry your experience of hearing teaching regarding the biblical role of womanhood has been different than mine. I'm sorry you've heard it is a burden to be a woman.
I am blessed to be a part of a body where the women are honored and where our pastors encourage the development and exercise of their spiritual gifts and talents.
I am also blessed to be a part of a body where women are students of the Word. My co-bloggers are testimony to that truth!!
I hope that you will continue to find joy in who you are in Christ and I hope you will join us as we read, "Dug Down Deep".
I have begun reading the book and what I know for sure is God has a plan for me...for all of us in it. I just started it last night and something deep within me is stirring and I know that healing is on the way for a part of my heart which has been in the dark for far to long.
Thank you both for your tender care of my soul and spirit.
Soon I will come out of the dark!!
The Gospel heart that beats within me is reaching upward and higher!!
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