Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Saturday after the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: Titus 2:15—3:3 (NKJV)

2:15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

Devotion

You have heard, hopefully, that all men are sinners. That “all” includes you, too. It also includes all those outside the Christian faith. The difference between you and an unbeliever is that in faith you live in penitence of your sin; striving to lead a holy life according to the Ten Commandments, and trusting in the Lord Jesus’ forgiveness won on the cross. The unbeliever has no such impenitence.

St. Paul tells St. Titus to remind his hearers that they are sinners. So that they should “be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men” for his hearers (us as well) were also once “foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” before we were brought into the faith through our Holy Baptism. In other words, remember that you too are still a sinner, so be gentle to other sinners, just as you would want people to be to you when your sins are uncovered.

For this reason, live daily in your Holy Baptism, confessing your sins daily to the Lord Jesus, and clinging to Him in faith that by His shed blood and suffering and death your sins are forgiven you. In fact, go tell your sins to your pastor in private confession, and he will remind you that yes, you are a sinner, but the Lord has redeemed you and won forgiveness for you, and will impart that forgiveness to you.

We pray: Keep, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy Church with Thy perpetual mercy; and because the frailty of man without Thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by Thy help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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