THE FAITH THAT BINDS – Titus 3:15
Titus 3:15 All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Paul is finishing up his letter of instruction to Titus. In finishing his letter, he did a typical salutation in that he said, everyone over here says hi. In addition, he told Titus to tell everyone who was around him that was a Christian that Paul and his comrades in the faith say hello. Paul then finished his letter by blessing Titus by asking that grace be with him.
Paul did not pray that Titus would have prosperity because Paul understood that prosperity is only temporary. Paul did not pray that Titus would receive no trials because Paul understood that trials help produce the character of Christ. Instead, Paul pronounced a blessing of grace, the divine influence upon the heart. It is by God’s grace that Titus was saved, it is by God’s grace that Titus was able to do God’s will, and it was by God’s grace that Titus would be able to be grateful for the trials that God brought into his life.
Paul did not expect just Titus to read this letter and then destroy it. Paul ended this letter by recognizing those who appreciated Paul’s ministry. Those who appreciated Paul’s ministry because they had the same faith in the Lord Jesus Christ would also appreciate the message that Paul was sharing with Titus.
Your faith in Christ makes you a member of the family of God. By your faith, you should obtain an appetite for spiritual things. Your faith in God should develop in you a love of righteousness and a hatred for all things evil. Your faith should cause you to have a Christian love for all those who are out in the field doing the service of God. It should create in you a desire to pray for and to support those who are serving God.
If you were working all day with your hands, at the end of the day, you would not think twice about spending some extra time on your hands to ensure that they were going to be able to work the next day. The same attention that you spend on your own body to the parts that are working, so too should you spend extra attention to ensure that those who are doing the work of God are well attended too and are able to continue to serve God.
Your faith in God is more then just a personal relationship with God. Your faith in God is the power that you need to overcome the temptations that face you in this world. Your faith has put you in the family of God.
Have you learned to love the things of God? Do you yearn to talk with God about your problems? Do you look forward to the time when you can open up HIS’ words and read what HE has to say to you? Do you anxiously await those times when you can receive spiritual instruction as you forsake not the gathering of HIS saints? Your faith should have made a difference in you; you should be a new creature in Christ.
Paul had killed many Christians, yet now by the grace of God, Christians could love him and his ministry because both served the same God. Christians were able to love Paul and his ministry not because natural instinct says that they should, but because their faith in God gave them the power to forgive Paul for his past transgressions. Your faith in God gives you power to do things you never imagined. Your faith in God enables you to put the things of God first in your life.