In the ancient Roman world, a barbarian was anyone who was not Roman. To be Roman was to be civilized, to be part of the broader culture. There was a general sense of shared values and a shared language. To be outside of this accepted norm was to be barbaric. A barbarian could become Roman by being taught the Roman way of being, and therefore embracing a thoroughly Roman perspective on the world. Culture is taught. In Acts 7, for example, Stephen tells us that Moses “was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22). This instruction or training was all-encompassing. It included language and history and religion and warfare and governance and all the things necessary for him to be thoroughly Egyptian. He was taught the Egyptian way of being.

Paul uses that same word—translated “instructed” in Acts 7:22—in his letter to Titus.

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 ESV

He begins by pointing out that God’s grace brings salvation “for all people,” which means all people without distinction. It is not limited to a particular people group, whether tribe or language or people or nation, or even socio-economic group or political party or sex or educational achievement. Those categories are irrelevant when it comes to the grace of God bringing salvation. The grace of God brings salvation to all who will receive it.

Notice what this means. This salvation that comes with God’s grace trains us. It instructs us. It enculturates us. The grace of God that brings salvation trains us to embrace a new way of living. It does not change our culture in the sense that we cease being 21st-century Americans who love tacos and pizza. It causes us to embrace a completely new set of values. Specifically, it trains us “to renounce ungodliness and world passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”

This training happens as we wait for the return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. We wait for him because of what he has done for us. Paul says he gave himself for us in order “to redeem us from lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession.” As John wrote, we love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).

Notice that it is God who does these things. God caused his grace to appear and to bring salvation for all people. We didn’t do that; he did. God’s grace is what trains us to renounce ungodliness and our worldly passions. We don’t do that; he does. God’s grace trains us to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. We don’t do that; God does. While we do wait for his appearing, it is because he gave himself for us to redeem us and to purify us for himself. We don’t do that; he does that.

Whenever we begin to look closely at our lives we easily recognize we do not measure up. We want to come up with ways to fight against sin. This impulse is good. We should not place ourselves in situations where temptation might overcome us. A recovering alcoholic may be unwise to hang out in a brewery after work and one who struggles with lust may be unwise to browse the internet when home alone. We can take active steps to avoid sin, but when it comes right down to it, we must look elsewhere for the power to live godly lives. The power to do so is not in us. That power is the grace of God that has appeared, that is actively training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, that is actively training us to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.

Whenever we’re filled with doubt about our salvation or we’re feeling defeated about our very real inability to overcome sin and to live in a way that honors God completely, we’re looking in the wrong place. Our salvation was never dependent on us. Our salvation—including our on-going, daily rescue from sin!—was never dependent on us. We must look to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who redeems us and purifies us for himself.

As we pray today, let’s pray for one another to look to Jesus to overcome temptation. Let’s pray for one another to rest in him, to find our identity in who he is and in what he has done and is doing in us. Salvation is his work from beginning to end, so let’s look to him for it. He will thoroughly train us to live for him.

Years ago my wife and I decided to start a family. She left the regular workforce and began volunteering with Project Literacy to fill her time. One Sunday we visited a church and also visited a class for young married couples. I’ll never forget this particular woman who walked up to us, full of confidence and even swagger, reached out her hand to shake my wife’s hand, and introduced herself—to my wife. When my wife introduced herself the woman immediately asked, “What sort of work do you do?” “I’m a homemaker,” my wife eagerly said, with all the excitement of a young woman preparing for motherhood. The woman responded tersely: “Oh. I’m an attorney.” She then pursed her lips and immediately spun on her heel and left.

We place so much emphasis on job titles and careers. Blue collar vs. white collar. Skilled labor vs. unskilled labor. Those who wear ties often look down on those who wear steel-toed boots and those who wear steel-toed boots often look down on those who wear ties. When we hear what a person does to earn a living, we assume we know so much about that person, as if that person were summed up by his or her 9-5 or 3-11 or some twelve-hour shift. We often assume that a job that requires formal education is more important, or at least more impressive, than one that entails on-the-job education. (I’m quite convinced that a construction worker receives more hours of education en route to a builder’s license than some college degrees!)

How much greater would it be if we recognized how much we need doctors and construction workers, custodians and engineers, restaurant staff and medical researchers, factory workers and office administrators. Still greater, what if we recognized that every job is a holy calling, and every life is to be lived in ministry? Consider the apostle Paul:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Acts 18:1–4 ESV

A tentmaker reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade Jews and non-Jews that Jesus is the Christ, the one who can save from sin and death. A tentmaker did this!

The simple truth is that a person’s job or career does not define him or her. A person’s job may well be how the bills get paid, yet each person has a calling that far exceeds a job title. Each one of us is called by God to represent Jesus Christ, to demonstrate through our lives—including how we do our jobs!—and to proclaim with our words the greatness of our God and Savior.

As we pray today, let’s pray for one another to represent Jesus well. Let’s pray for those who work, to do well in their assigned tasks, to work hard and with integrity. Let’s pray for those who are unemployed or underemployed, asking God to provide work for them. Pray for those who are looking for better work. Pray specifically that we will not define our value by our job titles, but that we will recognize the holy work our Lord has given us, for we are his people.

In the small college I attended, a professor nearly universally adored would often offer hilarious one-liners. If he saw a student distracted and not doing what he or she should be doing he might say, “Don’t just do something; stand there!” One of my favorite lines is—and yes, I have completely and forever stolen this from him—”If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a billion times: don’t exaggerate!”

We all tend to exaggerate our lives. We tend to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think by minimizing our flaws. We tend to think less of others than we ought to think by exaggerating their flaws. We exaggerate our circumstances, thinking that no one before us has ever suffered as we have or has ever had to endure a boss like we have or has ever been so rudely treated by the overworked cashier in the grocer store who has no control over whether toilet paper is in stock yet is harangued by an endless stream of angry customers as we have. (How dare she not greet me with a friendly smile!)

While the current state of America is difficult, we tend to exaggerate even this. Consider how many times “unprecedented” has been used to describe this version of coronavirus (the very fact that this is a version of coronavirus suggests precedence). The Spanish flu in 1918 might argue precedence. So, too, might the Black Death that killed about a third of Europeans in the 1300s, and even interrupted war between England and France and ended Viking exploration of North America. There was the Justinian Plague that started in AD 541. It began in northern Africa and within a couple hundred years (how long have we been in quarantine?) had killed 50,000,000—fifty million!—people, which was one-fourth of the world’s population at the time.

The reason we exaggerate our current struggle is because our vision becomes myopic; we cannot see much beyond our immediate selves. Into this myopia God offers us corrective lenses. When we read the Prophets we sometimes are given a glimpse of something that corrects our faulty vision. Consider the prophet Joel.

Joel begins his prophecy by describing invasion in terms of a series of locusts (Joel 1:2–12). The land is devastated and famine is the result. The people are then called to repentance, for the invasion is judgment from the Lord (Joel 1:13–20). He goes on to describe “the day of the Lord” (Joel 2:1–11). Then we read a remarkable offer from the Lord.

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?

Joel 2:12–14

In the midst of a terrifying proclamation of coming judgment God offers his people mercy. If they would repent and return to him he would relent from the coming destruction. Notice closely what Joel says about this. He acknowledges that God is above human comprehension and then he adds that it’s not too late for the Lord to “leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God.”

In chapter 1 the fields were destroyed. The grain and the wine are non-existent since there was no harvest. The grain offering and the drink offering are “cut off from the house of the LORD.” God offers to relent from disaster and thereby enable the people to worship him.

What had led to this impending disaster was the people’s self-centeredness. Rather than worship the one true God who is worthy of worship, they chose to worship gods of their own design, which are no gods at all. They worshiped gods—idols—that they thought would bring blessing and prosperity (crops!) yet could do nothing for them. God says that if they will worship him he will enable them to worship him by providing the necessary grain and wine for their offerings.

Worshiping God forces us to look beyond ourselves. This does not mean we overlook ourselves; it means that we are not the center of the world, let alone the universe. We must work and rest and serve others and yes, care for ourselves, but all the while we must worship God. By worshiping him we focus on what is truly important in this world, and this worship of him orients our lives correctly. We cease being the center of everything we do and our focus is correctly centered on God. Through this proper focus we are better able to love others and show kindness, even when the unprecedented disaster happens and we have to wait another day to rebuild our stock of toilet paper.

As we spend time in prayer today, let’s refocus our attention on God. Let’s acknowledge that he has given us the grain and wine necessary to worship him, for he has given us his Spirit. Let’s pray for one another, that we might be able to look beyond ourselves to find ways to demonstrate to others God’s love to us in Christ in tangible ways, ways that reveal that we are not the center of everything that happens. Let us never forget there is one thing that cannot be exaggerated, that cannot be stated too strongly: God is worthy of worship. Let’s worship him today, with all of our life.

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.”

Isaiah 65:17–19

Let’s worship our mighty God together, even as we are his #scatteredassembly. Wherever you are, follow along—sing along! Pray, praise, give, celebrate. Our God is great and greatly to be praised.

As part of our regular worship we give financially to support the church. We do not give out of mere duty or obligation. We give in response to God’s kindness to us in Christ—we give out of gratitude. We praise God for his on-going generosity during this time we are prevented from assembling together. The simple reality is that the more like him we become, the more generous we become, for who is as generous as our God?

Last week’s offering was $4,974.54, bringing our Fiscal Year-to-Date total to $101,914.18, against a budgeted need of $100,212.00.

If you’d like to give, you may scroll up and click on “GIVE”.

Be sure to join us for the all-church Zoom video call at 10:30AM. Details were emailed to the church mailing list.

We’ve all heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were three Jews who were taken to Babylon in exile. King Nebuchadnezzar foolishly issued a law that required everyone to bow down and worship his image whenever music was played for that purpose. Being worshipers of the one true God, these men refused. The penalty for this was to be cast into a fiery furnace. Their bravery—their faith—enabled them to meet their fate while refusing to dishonor God. Three men were cast in, yet everyone looking into the furnace could see four men walking around. The fourth was none other than the Son of God, rescuing his people. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were allowed to come out, they were unharmed—not a hair was burnt! In response to this King Nebuchadnezzar issued the following public proclamation:

King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are his signs how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

Daniel 4:1–3 ESV

It seems inconceivable that a ruler, a public official, would demand worship of himself to begin with, yet this is at the core of our culture’s celebrity worship, whether the celebrity is an athlete, a wealthy businessman, a musician or musical performer, or a politician. Selfishness and self-centeredness and a lust for power and fame drive many to what appears to be success, which is frequently accompanied by a look-at-me attitude.

What led to Nebuchadnezzar’s change, to him publicly glorifying the God of Israel? He saw God sustain his people in a crisis. He saw the faith of three men as they faced a terrible fate, and then as they went into the fire and endured that fate. While God does not always rescue from the fire—and they were not sure if he would! (see Daniel 3:16–18)—people watch faith in action. Unbelievers see the faith of Christians as they go through a crisis, whether the crisis is direct oppression through persecution or financial ruin or disease or suffering along with everyone else in a huge economic downturn.

What this means is we have an incredible opportunity. By living in faith we can point others to God. By showing the worth and value of our God, worth that is demonstrated in our implicit faith in him no matter what comes our way, even proud and arrogant kings can be moved to worship God.

Let’s pray today for God to move in the hearts of “kings”. Pray for Mayor Bliss and for Governor Whitmer and for Representative Amash and for Senators Stabenow and Peters and for President Trump. Pray for each of them to recognize the one true God, to repent and believe in him. Pray for one another. Pray for our faith to be strong in whatever crisis we may be facing, whether it is oppression or financial ruin or disease. Pray that each one of us would face the fire the way Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced it:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Daniel 3:16–18 ESV