God's Gift of Grace
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11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
I believe these verses succinctly summarize the message of the gospel.
It encapsulates the message we have for our neighbors, friends and the world around us.
This is message of good news, of love, salvation, transformation, of hope.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Titus
Paul is writing to a friend and pastor named Titus who was leading the church in the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.
Crete was well known for its immorality.
Paul had visited the island and seen the condition of the church, was well aware of the challenges they faced from false teachers.
Even more concerning was the inconsistency of their lifestyle with the gospel message.
He is emphasizing in this book, right behavior follows right belief.
Here he states:
The grace of God has appeared.
God is real. God is great. God is good.
God has revealed Himself in
Creation
Scriptures
History - the person of Jesus. “I know men, and I tell you Jesus Christ was not a man. Napoleon “
Moral law in our hearts.
Paul here mentions the grace of God.
we know of the greatness and power of God
But now we see the love and grace of God
He is not some mean God waiting to whack you over the head when you do something wrong.
He is not a cosmic kill-joy.
He is a God of love. His grace is a manifestation of His love.
Grace:
the unmerited favor of God toward man
Undeserved acceptance and love received from another
Grace is the dimension of divine activity that enables God to confront human indifference and rebellion with an inexhaustible capacity to forgive and to bless
This grace has appeared to us in Jesus
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
But what gifts does grace bring to us?
1. Bringing salvation to all
1. Bringing salvation to all
God’s grace brings salvation to everyone in the world
regardless of color, race, religion, nationality, political affiliation, social standing
God so loved the world...
God sees a world alienated from Him, hurting, broken, heading to self-destruction
Human hearts of hatred, violence, greed, wickedness, perversion
He loves mankind and wants us to be healed inwardly, forgiven
have lives of inner peace, joy, love, hope
God came into this world in the person of Jesus to bring salvation
we need a Savior
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
many are aware of God’s love and grace
many lives have been changed by Jesus
Zaccheus, a corrupt tax collector
wanted to see Jesus
life was cahnged
The woman at the well
Come see a man
Nicodemus
a religious leader - you must be born again
yes God loves us and has extended grace but
we have fallen into the danger of hypergrace - meaning we can use grace as an excuse to persist in a sinful lifestyle.
Paul asked
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
By no means!
the second gift grace brings is
2. Training us in godliness
2. Training us in godliness
6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
But not only children need to be trained!
Crete was known for its immorality. Paul quoted one of their own writers:
12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
This letter is to highlight the training we need to live for God.
After someone has connected with God Almighty, they enter a life of change.
For many, the initial change can be quite dramatic.
The testimony to the power of Jesus = changed lives!
What kind of training?
We can call this put off and put on-
to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions
to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions
To renounce certain things, to put away certain things
Ungodliness - that which does not reflect a godly lifestyle
What is a godly lifestyle?
one of prayer, waiting on God, in His Word, having regular fellowship with other believers.
Renounce worldly passions
selfishness, sexual immorality, drunkenness, drugs, revelry, a materialistic lifestyle
to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives
to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives
Self -control
Are you out of control? Do you know someone who is?
Out of control in behavior, attitude, spending?
Lack of financial control leads to debt and misery.
Lack of control in driving can lead to accident, high insurance rates, maimed for life or even dead.
Self-control and discipline are two important traits we must develop.
No one can be success in life without these two.
Many have inherited huge estates of wealth and lost it because they lacked self-control.
Paul uses the term self-control 5x in this short book
1.8 He calls the Overseers/bishops to be
English Standard Version Chapter 1
a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
Older men
2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.
Older women to
4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,
5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Young men
6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.
Tit 2.12 - to all of us.
The grace of God not only brings self control but leads us to live responsible lives.
Some Christians may be asking “Why doesn’t bless me?” I have faith.
Have you been applying financial principles to your life?
Once you come into contact with the grace of God, you have been forgiven by Him, He demands something from us, to live a life that reflects Him.
Upright and godly.
3. Waiting for our blessed hope
3. Waiting for our blessed hope
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Our blessed hope
Followers of Jesus have a blessed hope
we anticipate the return of Christ.
The same Jesus who was promised to come 2000 years and kept His promise will come again.
11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
We live in a world of chaos, hatred, division, animosity.
Rampant evil, corruption, wickedness.
kids rescued from child trafficking
We talk of love and tolerance but hatred wins the day.
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
Jesus said in the last days, before His return, we will see certain signs:
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,
There will be famines
and earthquakes
Pestilences
Hatred for His followers - delivered up to tribulation and be put to death
Many will fall away
False prophets
We are living in the last days - Rev. 1.7
English Standard Version Chapter 1
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
So we look to the sky, for the return of Jesus.
Rev 21.1 we read
English Standard Version Chapter 21
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
Just in case you don’t know which Jesus He is talking about, Paul describes Him for us:
Who is this Jesus?
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
He gave Himself to redeem us from all lawlessness
to purify us for Himself- a people zealous for good works.
zealous to do what is good.
zealous to serve God
A people who love God, who obey the call of God:
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Conc.
What a beautiful portion of Scripture!
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
So what do we do?
Renounce ungodliness
Renounce worldly passions
Live a life of self-control and discipline
Live a godly and upright life
Keep your eyes on Jesus, waiting for His return.