December 16, 2021 Bible Study — Live So That Those Who Oppose Us Have Nothing Bad To Say About Us

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Titus and Philemon

Paul writes to Titus that to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted nothing is pure.  Paul goes on to write that Titus should show integrity, seriousness, and speech which cannot be condemned.  Then a little further on he instructs Titus to teach people to slander no one, and to be peaceful and considerate of others.  Paul writes that Believers should be self-controlled and live upright, godly lives.  We should strive to live our lives so that those who oppose the Gospel have nothing bad to say about us.  Paul writes that we should live that way in imitation of God who saved us.  All in all, Paul calls on us to do good because God has saved us and given us His Spirit and to never think that God saved us because we do good.  We should do good because God has saved us and never think that we can be saved by doing good.  Usually I would separate out what I write about Paul’s letter to Philemon, but today I want to connect it to what I just wrote about Paul’s letter to Titus.  Paul writes this letter to Philemon telling him to be kind to his runaway slave whom Paul has sent back to him.  Paul makes the case that Onesimus (which may not have been his name previously) will be useful to Philemon now because he has learned to serve God and will serve Philemon as part of his service to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.