“Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago” (Tit. 1:1f.).
The Christian life enjoys many distinctives. Paul inventories several of Christianity’s characteristics:
- A faith common to God’s chosen people
- A body of truth originating in and radiating from God’s personality
- An attribute of life eternal in duration
God has chosen a common people to possess an uncommon trust in His holy Christ. You have received a faith of the same class and usefulness as the apostles (II Pe. 1:1). Your responsibility is to grow in the grace and knowledge of God’s truth (II Pe. 3:18).
God’s truth possesses a godly character thereby leading to godliness. You know you are a Christian when godliness becomes your primary characteristic. As you mature in your trust, you become godlier because you more fully resemble Christ.
The Fall in the Garden of Eden was the most ruinous event in the history of mankind. It was worse than Hiroshima and the Nazi death chambers, for Adam’s fall affected every person who has ever lived and shall ever live.
God promised eternal life long ages ago. Christians live eternally due solely to the relationship they have with God through their Lord Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, your eternity has already begun and you do not want anything to spoil the eternity you are going to enjoy with your holy God. God’s chosen people refuse all enticements to live like unchosen people. You know that you have as many gods as you do lusts. Therefore, you hold fast to Peter’s admonition: “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles” (I Pe. 2:11f.).
Examine yourself closely – test yourself to see if you are in the faith (II Cor. 13:5). You can be torn in your old Adam desire to hold fast to the world and your last Adam desire to be transformed from glory to glory into Christlikeness (II Cor. 3:18). You can be convicted of sin without being converted to righteousness. You can be merely hearing the word of God and yet deceive yourself into believing you are keeping the word of God.
Cherish the trust you have in common with God’s people. Grow in your knowledge of God’s godly truth. Live your life now approximating the way you are going to live when you are absent from the body and at home with the Lord (II Cor. 5:8).
“According to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless” (II Pe. 3:13f.).
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