The Grace of God

Titus 2:11–15 KJV 1900

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

The Appearance of Grace

A. Grace brings salvation—

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 4:4–5 KJV 1900

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

B. Salvation :

Cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus—

Revelation 1:5 (KJV 1900)

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

(Ill. v. 14—Redeemed; Purified; Gave—it was 100% God)

2. Delivered eternally from the penalty of sin—

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 10:27–30 KJV 1900

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.

(Ill. Judgment, Hell and the awfulness of both)

3. Assured of Heaven when we die—

John 14:1–3 (KJV 1900)

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

2 Corinthians 5:1–8 (KJV 1900)

1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

John 11:25–26 KJV 1900

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Do you know Jesus? Ill. The necessity of the New Birth—John 3:3, 7 (Acts 16:31; John 3:16; John 6:47—all teach the simplicity of it)

Romans 10:9–10 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

—Confess and believe—You can be saved)

The Teaching of Grace

Teaches What to Avoid!

Ungodliness—

Anything that does not glorify God—

Anything that is not like God, not holy, righteous or pure; anything that does not honor God by word or deed, that does not show reverence and worship toward God; anything that does not obey God, that violates God’s commandments and goes against His will. The grace of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, teaches us to deny ungodliness, to give up and to turn away from everything that is ungodly and does not honor and praise Him.

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV 1900

31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Worldly Lusts—

All the desires of this world that are not fit for heaven and could not be presented to God; all the desires that push us away from God; all the desires and lusts of the world that stir us …

• to look when we should not look

• to do when we should not do

• to get more when we should give more

• to be selfish and vicious when we should be sacrificial and kind

• to be sensual and immoral when we should be disciplined and pure

• to seek the recognition of men when we should seek the recognition of God

Worldly lusts are those desires that crave the possessions of this world, that attach us to this world, and that will remain in this world when we leave it. We will go away and move on, but they will be left behind.

Worldly lusts are the desires that crave the sensual and selfish pleasures of this world, the very things that we would never want God to see.

James 4:4 KJV 1900

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

1 John 2:15 KJV 1900

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Teaches What to Do!

Titus 2:12 (KJV 1900)

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Live Soberly - Your Self in Mind

—Our Self—

Self-controlled, temperate, and disciplined. It is restraining desires, lusts, and appetites. It is never giving in to excess—to the lust for more and more.

It is controlling everything and using it for its proper purpose:

⇒ It is controlling the desire for sex and using it for marriage.

⇒ It is controlling the desire for food and using it for health.

⇒ It is controlling the desire for material things and using it to meet both the needs of one’s own family and the desperate needs of the world.

Colossians 3:5–10 KJV 1900

5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

(Ill. The big change 2 Cor. 5:17)

Your Character—What you are when you are alone!

Live Righteously—Others in Mind

Romans 12:17–21 KJV 1900

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

How do we do it?

Matthew 22:39 KJV 1900

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Why do we do it?

Matthew 5:16 KJV 1900

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Your Reputation—What people think you are!; Not always true)

Live Godly—God in Mind

Colossians 3:15–17 KJV 1900

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

All we do should be to please Him—

2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV 1900

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

(What you really are—Heb. 4:13)

Hebrews 4:13 KJV 1900

13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

The Looking of Grace

Titus 2:13 KJV 1900

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Blessed Hope

The word blessed means to be filled with happiness, prosperity, richness, benefits, the highest good - all the great and glorious benefits imaginable.

Beautiful Appearing

Glorious Union

We will see Christ for the first time and be united with Him forever.

Glorious Reunion

The dead in Christ will arise and we who live will be reunited with our loved ones and friends forever.

Glorious Transformation

We will receive our new incorruptible and eternal bodies.

Beloved Savior

Titus 2:14 KJV 1900

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Died for Us

The word “for” means that He died in our behalf, for our sakes, in our place, as our substitute.

Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself, and paid the penalty for them.

Listen, Christ Bore

The verdict of sin, the pronouncement of guilty for us.

The condemnation of our sins for us.

The Punishment of our sins for us.

What was the verdict, condemnation, and punishment which he bore for us?

The guilt of our sins which is death.

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God demonstrated His grace to the world when He gave His Son to die for the sins of men.

Redeems Us

He redeems us from iniquity. We are guilty of iniquity, that is, of what has just been covered - of ungodliness and worldly lusts, of lawlessness, of disobeying and transgressing the law of God.

We are sinners - we have fallen short of God’s glory - and we cannot keep from sinning and being short of God’s glory.

We have been kidnapped, captured, and captivated by lawlessness and imperfection.

Therefore, we need to be redeemed, that is, set free and delivered.

The death of Jesus Christ was our ransom. His death sets us free from sin.

How? God accepts His death for our death.

This means we have already died, that we actually died with Christ when He died.

God identifies us with Christ, with His death.

Therefore, we are set free from sin and the penalty.

The Responsibility of Grace

Titus 2:14 (KJV 1900)

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Peculiar People

Peculiar means to be set apart, possessed over and above, especially selected and reserved for.

When you really grasp what Jesus Christ has done for you, just because of grace, you can only surrender all that you are and all that you have to Christ.

You are a very special possession of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 KJV 1900

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Zealous People

When you really grasp what Jesus Christ has done for you, you are stirred to give your life to Christ - to do all you can to serve Christ and to tell everyone in the world that the Savior has come to save men.

You word and work doing all you can in order to reach everyone you can with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of redemption.

Has Grace Appeared to You?

Does your Life show it?