Month: October 2025

 

Titus 2:14   who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works

For people who lived during the time of Jesus, the cross was not a cute piece of jewelry or a decoration to hang in their home. Rather, it was a barbaric instrument of torture and execution.

The cross was intended to not just bring agony and death, but to do so in such an obscene, traumatic, humiliating, and public fashion that everybody knew the punishment they would receive should they disobey Rome. No one, and I mean no one, wanted to end up on a cross.

As I consider the cross of Jesus Christ, I’m often tempted to ask: Why would Jesus submit to being rejected, beaten, ridiculed, and crucified on my behalf?

This question often leads me to Paul’s letter to Titus. In Titus 2:14, Paul writes of Jesus: “… who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

This short passage encompasses incredible truths about Christ’s great sacrifice on our behalf.

First, we see that Jesus died because of His deep love for us. He showed the depths of this love when He “… gave Himself for us” (2:14a). It wasn’t Pilate, the religious leaders, or even the Romans who ultimately took His life. No, Jesus voluntarily laid down His own life on our behalf. 1 John 3:16a says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.”

Second, we see that Jesus died so that He could redeem us. Redemption means to buy back at a price. The term has been used in relation to the slave market, when a slave would be redeemed out of bondage and set free. And since we were slaves to sin and under sin’s control (see John 8:34, for instance), Jesus died in order to purchase our true and lasting freedom.

Why did He have to give His life? Because that was the price. Leviticus 17:11 states, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” The only way for Christ to purchase us was to die for us and shed His own blood.

Finally, we see that Jesus died so that He could purify us. This means that we are in a process of being made holy and set apart for God as we draw ever closer to Him. He died so that we could be freed from the power of the bondage of sin. Now we are His!

Jesus went to the cross because of His deep love for us, in order that He may redeem and purify us for His good works. He took away our sins and placed them on Himself, and in return He gave us His righteousness and salvation. This is how we can be assured of eternity in heaven, not because of anything we’ve done, but because of what Jesus did for us.

At the cross, Jesus offered you the gift of eternal life. If you have not yet accepted that gift and surrendered to Him as your Savior, I encourage you to do that today.

 

 

Revelation 2:19    know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

The natural order in all creation is growth: Seeds become plants, infants become adults, calves become cows, acorns become oaks, and minnows become fish. When something doesn’t grow, it is a cause for concern; something abnormal is happening. Growth is also the expected progression in the spiritual life: Babes in Christ grow into mature followers of Christ.

When the apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Corinth, he addressed their lack of spiritual growth (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Instead of acting like mature spiritual adults, they were acting like carnal infants. He could not address them as mature adults because they had not grown in their faith. Such was not the case with the church in the city of Thyatira. When Christ addressed this church, He commended them for their spiritual growth. They were displaying greater spiritual works in the present than they had in the past—a sure sign of increasing maturity (Revelation 2:19).

Take a moment to assess your spiritual growth. Is it increasing? Declining? Has it plateaued? Ask God to show you areas in which you can focus your growth in the future.  (Jeremiah)

 

 

Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

–Hebrews 11:6

God desires for each of us to have a heart that is obedient to Him. But our lives will never be characterized by consistent obedience to God until we learn to trust Him.

The Bible uses “trust” as a synonym for “faith.” When we talk about trust, we’re really talking about faith. For example, in Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.”

If we’re going to have the kind of faith God wants from us, we have to know what faith is and what it isn’t.

First, faith is not the ability to predict the future. Somebody might say, “I’m trusting that God will give me this job,” or, “I’m trusting that God will heal me.” Unless God has given you a specific word that He is going to do those things, that is not faith; that is presumption.

Second, faith is not the absence of doubt. Years ago, I took a group to Turkey and Greece to retrace the missionary steps of the apostle Paul. However, my wife and kids were not able to go with me. So before I left, I called a friend and said, “In case something happens, I want you to make sure Amy and the girls are taken care of.” Now, I had enough faith to take the trip. I believed our transportation would go smoothly. But my belief was not enough to erase all doubt. I had just enough faith to take action.

Faith is believing that God is going to do what He promised to do and acting accordingly. It’s not the quantity of our faith that matters but the object of our faith. Remember, Jesus said a teeny-tiny amount of faith is enough to move a mountain. Think about Abraham. He had just enough faith in God’s promise that he was willing to move to a country he had not seen. I imagine he had a few doubts, but he had just enough faith to move his family. Or think about Noah. He had just enough faith that God was going to destroy the world by a flood that he was willing to build a boat. I imagine he had doubts, but he had just enough faith to do what God told him to do. That’s what God wants from us too.  (Jeffress)

 

 

 Luke 12:47-48     And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.  But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

 Matthew 11:20-24    Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.  “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.  And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

 Hebrews 12:25   See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

 1 Peter 2:8    and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

 Galatians 3:1    O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

 Galatians 5:7    You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

 2 Thessalonians 1:8   in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

 Heb 2:1-4  Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,  how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,  while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

 

 

 1 Peter 4:17     For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

 Isaiah 3:8     For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.

 Jeremiah 13:17-18    But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears

 James 4:14     yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

 Jeremiah 25:29   For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.’

 Malachi 3:5    “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

 Matthew 3:9-10     And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

 

 

 Isaiah 20:6    And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”

 Jeremiah 22:22-23   The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity; then you will be ashamed and confounded because of all your evil.  O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you

 Lamentations 1:9    Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible;

 Ezekiel 22:14     Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.

 Zephaniah 2:2-3    before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the LORD, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the LORD.  Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

 Isaiah 47:7    You said, “I shall be mistress forever,” so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end.

 

 

 Zephaniah 1:18     Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

 Psalms 50:2-3     Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.  Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.

 Hosea 5:14-15   For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.  I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.

 Micah 1:3-4     For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.

 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10    and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels  in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,  when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

 

 

 Isaiah 26:21     For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.

 Hosea 9:7    The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come;

 Luke 19:44     and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

 1 Peter 2:12      Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

 Isaiah 30:1    “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

 Isaiah 5:14      Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure,

 Psalms 49:16-17      Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.  For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

 Proverbs 11:4    Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

 

 

 Luke 16:22-25    The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried,  and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.  And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’  But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

 Isaiah 33:14    The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”

 Job 31:14      what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

 Ezekiel 24:14    I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord GOD.”

 Revelation 6:15-16    Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,  calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

 

 

 Ezekiel 8:6    And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

Deu 32:28-29  “For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

 Isaiah 10:3     What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?

 Jeremiah 5:31    the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

 Jeremiah 17:11  Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.

 Isaiah 48:18-19    Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;  your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.”

 Luke 12:20    But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’