Such were some of me...

9/16/2012 – Evening Service - 5pm

Where We Came From

(Titus 3:3)

[3] For we ourselves

“Such were some of you.”

“Judge not, lest you be judged”

“Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think”

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

“Have mercy on me O God, according to your abundant mercy.”

But also... “Repent, and believe the gospel.”

We need to be honest about where we came from. This is a necessary component of gospel sanctification.

were once foolish, disobedient, led astray,

Do we see foolishness in others? We were once foolish, disobedient, led astray. Who can understand his secret faults? Who can see the nature of the battle against sin the way that Jesus saw the fight against the adversary who tempted Him in the wilderness. But then Paul says, “We are not ignorant of his devices.”

We don't want to glory in our past as if it is some badge of recommendation to a world that does not love holiness. But we also do not want to deny the truth and present ourselves as inherently holy and end up negating the cross.

There is a spirit that enters into the brothers of the Old Testament Joseph, delighted to strip him of his special clothing to bring him down a notch. We don't want that spirit in us. Nor do we want the spirit of hypocrisy that is quick to excuse in ourselves what we condemn in others.

slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

We don't want to be servants of Satan, or servants of our own eager desires. We don't want to be filled with malice, envy, or hatred for people we disagree with. We don't want to make it too easy for others to hate us by being unreasonable people.

What this means is that the way for us is love. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Take another look at this verse and consider the mess that Jesus took on Himself.

Remember where we came from. It was not a pretty picture. What was it that motivated our Lord to go to the cross when He had no sin in Him?

1. The glory of His Father.
2. The glory that was set before Him.
3. The glory of His character, which is not only holiness, but also love.