No Excuses
Whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. –Titus 3:6&7
We have no excuses for not living out our faith, especially in our interactions with those we do not like. Our flaws are real. The anger that arises in our hearts is natural to that organ. But, that which we are within is not match for the power that comes to us from God. All three persons of the Trinity are involved in the work of sanctification. In verse 6 we are told that God the Father has poured out the Holy Spirit upon us through Jesus. All that is accomplished in our sanctification is based on our justification in the work of our Savior. If we are justified we will be sanctified. And that means we will be made to overcome our sin – even when we do not want to.
What Christ has purchased for his elect cannot be returned. We belong to him, and he will not allow us to remain as we are. We have already seen what lurks inside, especially in how we get along with each other, but in him there is the confident hope that we will not remain so. The envy or malice we feel now will be dealt with one way or another. Some of us have already confessed it and are seeking to be turned from it. For these saints there is the certain hope that this change will take place. It seldom does as quickly as we want it to, but because the instrument for change, the Holy Spirit, has already been implemented on the basis of what Jesus has done, the work of rooting our sin will be finished. Little by little, we will put off our sin – and more and more we will resemble him.
God’s promises are certain, and in this we must rejoice. However some saints, indeed all of us at certain times, do not desire to put off our anger. We do not want to love those we call brothers and sisters, let alone bear with our enemies when they sin against us. But, if we are given the promise of eternity, that means we will be made into creatures able to live with Jesus eternally. Whether we like it or not, Jesus will make us put off our sinful attitudes. Those who resist will be broken by him and driven to him in repentance. He will not allow us to prosper spiritually if we harbor sin in our lives. As saints we are either in the process of repentance, or about to be in the process of repentance. What Jesus purchased for us is too great to be missed. We might not like the immediate ramifications of his presence, especially regarding how it requires us to treat others. But as assuredly as he died and rose from the dead, we will be conformed to him, and experience the full riches of eternal life.