Text: Titus 1:5-16
There were times, after attending a Christian university where there were well-intentioned rules for everything, I tried to walk a tightrope of moral righteousness and totally missed out on the idea of the Gospel. I didn’t preach the Gospel to myself every day or pursue sanctification from the position of my own lack, desperately needing Jesus. I mostly just tried to do things right on my own terms and in my own strength. My striving to be above reproach started to look more like striving for God-approval, devoid of the Gospel of grace.
I pranced around like a tiny Pharisee, measuring just how far above reproach other people were. I was the picture of leadership, naturally playing the good girl and brushing over my propensity for self-importance. I appeared tidy and shiny and above reproach on the outside, but my heart was hard and prideful. I understood very little about what Jesus’ work actually meant.
Jesus’ death (and resurrection!) means that while we abide in the Lord, His Spirit will sanctify us making us more like Him. It means that I shouldn’t spend more effort avoiding doing wrong than I do getting to know my Father. It means that my striving to be above reproach should not come before my striving to be in communion with the Lord. If I abide in the Father, the work is already done.
Appearing to be above reproach is not enough. If there is pride hiding in your heart, it matters not that you look like a fine, upstanding citizen. If you’ve got anger holding the court of your emotions, you need to do work with the Lord. Being above reproach in light of the Gospel is more than not doing the visibly bad things. It is about yielding your heart to God and letting Him excise all the things that are more of this world than of Him.
There are things we can mess up if we put them in the wrong order. If we misunderstand our identity and position in Christ, we will forever be striving to be good enough, far enough above reproach. That’s an exhausting way to live. If we stay tenderhearted and open to God’s refinement, always listening for the Spirit, we will become more like Jesus. We will be above reproach because we are hidden in Him, not because we are operating on our own strength or our own terms.
Let us seek first to know our Father, then abide in Him and be sanctified. This is the only way to be above reproach.
You have literally summed up my life in Christ so far. I started out much the same as you… striving to do everything right, to be above reproach, focusing on what NOT to do. Every single day, every single moment, I am thankful that the Father has shown me a richer, deeper, free-er way to live and grow in Him. Relaxing into His goodness and grace, but also into the struggles and trials of life has brought more peace than I ever imagined was possible.
Thank you for this post. It has resonated so, so deeply.
So – This is a compilation of the last few days- But I feel like I am hitting a theme with Titus. And it is to "be a branch". Day 1: I felt like the Lord really highlighted that Titus' dedication to the gospel, looked like comfort. What a great reminder that my dedication to the gospel is going to look different in each season, and not always in a way that screams ministry. When I am tapped into the gospel, which is Jesus, then the gospel is activated through the simple things I do – even like comforting. Day 2: "We receive our faith as a gift from God, and he is the tie that binds us together." "We are all living one life – HIS!" The key points of this being that it is all resting on him – Do I have to make the effort to stay connected? Absolutely! But its HIS life and HIS being that ties us together. My success, my calling, my…anything, is MUCH more relient on him then it is on me…and the cool thing about that is he is EXTREMELY reliable. Day 3:"We will be above reproach because we are hidden in him". "If I abide in the Father, the work is already done." All he is asking is for us to be the branch. It reminds me of a song we used to sing in kids church. "I wanna be like a tree, planted by the water, trusting in the Father to help me grow" – Or something like that. :P Anyway – My goal is to rest in being a branch with this study. :)
I know this is random, but whose photos are these? Are they on instagram! I'd love to follow – @helenmariebowerman
Helen, you might check the link for Jones design
This post is some yummy good fruit that fills my spiritual belly right up!!! I have to be fully committed to living for God's approval and not that of man. If I abide in Him the Spirit will direct me on living above reproach. *walks off mumbling* "Just abide abide abide abide abide abide…"
I am reminded of John 15:4-5:
"“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
I am to abide in Him and he will produce the fruit. Nothing I do – or try to do- of my own accord will produce the fruit He desires.
How gracious is our God!
Ah! Yes! This is the verse I was looking for. EXACTLY what has been standing out to me too Bethany!
"It means that I shouldn’t spend more effort avoiding doing wrong than I do getting to know my Father. It means that my striving to be above reproach should not come before my striving to be in communion with the Lord. If I abide in the Father, the work is already done."
What an absolutely freeing and comforting truth! This is the sustaining truth of the Gospel ~ that we do not work our way to Heaven through our own accomplishments, but that we turn our backs on everything we once were and turn instead to Christ whose perfect work has accomplished it all.
What an encouragement!
This spoke so deeply to my heart today! I read a passage like this one in Titus and it makes me feel all nervous because I don't know how to measure up to that kind of living–a kind of life that others would want to imitate, as my Bible commentary says. Hearing those words activates that voice that has been so strong in my head for far too long that I need to strive to be good enough, that my actions earn God's approval. Only recently have I really been able to trace that train of thought and see how deeply it is has influenced my life and my relationship with God over the years. I want to live a life that is above approach, but one that also has an accurate understanding of God's grace as I do so.
So I cringed a little when I read this passage today. And then I read these words that went along with it and they were like soothing water to the soul. It is not about me being good enough because God is good enough. I just have to remain in Him!
Today's post and comments were so relevant to questions I've had lately about how to balance pleasing the Lord and living in freedom with pleasing other people. Hayley's words taught me that it's not a matter of a venn diagram–where there's a perfect happy middle that contains both of these. Instead, it's an if/then relationship. IF we commune with God, THEN we don't have to worry about outward appearances. A blameless reputation will be a natural outflow of pure, sincere commitment to Christ. In the event that someone does speak against you, your conscience will still be clear because you know you are striving towards the Lord.