The Christ of Our Past, Present and Future

Order of Service

• Preservice Announcements
• Prelude
• Call to Worship — Psalm 95:1-7
• Hymn — How Beautiful
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Martin Luther's Small Catechism, Second Article
• Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 5:1-25
• Pastoral Prayer
• Hymn — In Christ Alone
• Sermon
• Hymn — Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: The Christ of Our Past, Present and Future

Scripture: Titus 2:11-15

I. The Grace of Christ in the Present — Titus 2:11-12

A. Grace is not a substance God dispenses but His unmerited — indeed, de-merited — favor toward sinners, found entirely in the person of Jesus Christ

1. Christ is the "house" of God's grace; all divine favor and approval is located in Him
2. The gospel is sufficient for all people; Christians are to conduct themselves so as to commend it to everyone (Titus 2:1-10)

B. The manifestation of grace is an earnest pursuit of godliness — renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions, living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age

1. First question: Are you actively pursuing godliness, or are you sitting in your worldly passions while claiming Christ?
2. Second question: Are you pursuing godliness outside of Christ? Zealous effort apart from the house of grace produces only weariness — as with the Jews in Romans 10:2-3

C. The key distinction: we do not work for God's favor; we work from God's favor

1. Adam's estate: toil, weariness, and frustration in the present (Genesis 3)
2. The new Adam (Christ): joy and thanksgiving fuel obedience as freed people, not chained people

II. The Hope of Christ in the Future — Titus 2:13

A. Hope is centered in Christ just as grace is — the "house of hope" is also Christ Himself

1. Hope is not a feeling or a possibility; it is a Person — the second person of the Trinity, crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again
2. God swears by His own name that He will make all things new (Hebrews 6)

B. The alternative to hope in Christ is hopelessness or despair

1. The unbeliever's question: "What if this is as good as it gets?" — leading to anxiety, idolatry, or hedonism
2. The scoffers of 2 Peter 3:4: "Where is the promise of his coming?"

C. Hope in Christ fuels present godliness

1. 2 Peter 3:13 — we await a new heaven and new earth in which righteousness dwells; this expectation shapes how we live now
2. Adam's estate: anxiety and fear over a future ending in dust (Genesis 3)
3. The new Adam: joyful expectation, resting in the permanent kingdom of Christ rather than the fleeting, fallen world

III. The Redemption of Christ in the Past — Titus 2:14

A. Paul's language echoes the Old Testament exodus and Passover

1. God's repeated word through Moses — "Let my people go" — pointed to redemption from bondage (Exodus 4)
2. The Passover lamb's blood on the doorpost was the redemptive act; its annual celebration was meant to fuel covenant faithfulness in Israel
3. Israel's failure: despite this redemption, they became covenant breakers, running after the idols of surrounding nations, resulting in the Assyrian exile (722 BC) and the Babylonian exile (587 BC)

B. The prophesied new covenant solution — Ezekiel 36:25-27

1. God promises to sprinkle clean water, cleansing His people from all uncleanness and idolatry
2. He promises to put His Spirit within them, causing them to walk in His ordinances — covenant keepers, not covenant breakers
3. This new covenant is also promised in Jeremiah 31

C. Christ is the new and greater Passover Lamb

1. Having completed His work and ascended, He pours out the Holy Spirit — the regenerative, cleansing waters — upon His people (Titus 3:5-6)
2. The Lord's Supper corresponds to the Passover: celebrated repeatedly until Christ returns, continually reminding the church of redemption in His blood
3. Adam's estate: a past dominated by guilt, regret, and shame
4. The new Adam: the Christian's past is now defined not by personal failures but by the redemption of the Lamb — Christ crucified, ascended, and interceding

D. Practical application: past, present, and future no longer belong to Adam but to Christ

1. The Christian's present is not weariness but joy in the grace of Christ
2. The Christian's future is not anxiety but joyful expectation in the hope of Christ
3. The Christian's past is not guilt and shame but joyful recounting of redemption in Christ
4. This Christ-invaded past, present, and future is the fuel for covenant keeping — displaying the gospel in every sphere of life