The Blessings of Grace – 28th October 2007 pm
The story is told of a young girl who left work early so she could have some uninterrupted study time right before a final exam in religion class. She studied all night. When she arrived at class in the morning everybody was cramming as much last minute info as their minds could handle. The teacher walked in and said, "Let’s do a quick review before the test."
They followed him through the review that was laid out on the study guide. As he covered item by item he finally jumped to issues the young girl had never heard covered in class. Several hands went up, "We never had that information before." The teacher picked up the text book and held it in his left hand and said, "Everything is in the book and you are clearly responsible for everything in the book." Who could argue with that!
Finally it was time to take the test. --- The assistants passed out the test and the professor said, "Leave your test face down on the desk until everyone has one --- I’ll tell you when to turn your paper over and start." Two minutes later the class heard, "OK, you may start."
When the young girl turned her test over, every answer was filled in! A note at the bottom of the last page said: "Your Final Exam is now over. All your answers are correct. You are blessed with an ’A’ on the final exam."
Every student read the same thing and looked up at the professor in utter astonishment!
When the professor was sure all eyes were on him he said, "You passed the test for one reason only --- because the creator of the test took the test for you. All your study time, class time and hard work in preparation for this exam did not help you get the "A". You have just experienced --- GRACE."
Titus 2:11-13
I. Grace Brings Salvation – Verse 11
Grace is unmerited favour, getting something we don’t deserve. What we deserve is a punishment that is fit for the crime – that is a punishment that is equal with our sin.
Our sin is rebellion against an all-wise, all-seeing, all-powerful God. His omnipresence places Him at the scene of our misbehaviours. His omniscience makes Him aware of our every thought, word and deed. His omnipotence can overwhelm all opposition.
Instead of pouring out His wrath upon us however, God extends His grace towards us. He doesn’t turn a blind eye to our sin because that would violate His holiness; nor does He offer us forgiveness; He offers complete justification – forgive and forget – clean sheet. He declares us to be righteous.
The plan of salvation is one of substitution. God executed His divine judgement – not on us – but upon Himself. At Calvary, the Son of God died in our place – such is God’s grace.
II. Grace has Appeared to ALL Men – Verse 11
No man, woman, boy or girl ever born of Adam’s ruined race is excluded from this grace. This great Salvation is sufficient to cover all our needs, but, only when it is accepted. Never the less, it is available to all people without exception and without distinction.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
“Come” is the greatest word in the Gospel. It first rang out in the days of Noah when God was about to pour out His wrath against the world. The ark was finished and a complete salvation provided, and God called out, “Come.” Again and again that wonderful word rings out and even before the Bible closes its pages, the Spirit sounds it out again.
III. Grace Teaches 7 Great Lessons
Salvation is not only a change in position, that is, set free from the slavery off sin, but it is also a change in attitude, appetite, ambition, and action. The same grace that redeems us also reforms our lives and makes us godly. “Teaching” has the idea of disciplining. We are disciplined by God’s grace, trained to be the kind of people that glorify Him.
Once we’ve experienced God’s grace, that Grace teaches us many things
a. To deny ungodliness (Verse 12)
The word translated deny in the Greek literally means to “disown.” In other words the believer is taught to take a stand against the natural ungodliness we’ve been born with and we deny that ungodliness the right to express itself and we yield to the indwelling Spirit of God.
Before we are saved we express our ungodliness Jude 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
But, once we are saved, we express godliness. Denying ungodliness is an acid test of genuine conversion.
John Newton was a captain of a slave ship and was a big part of the Slave trade. He had become seriously ill and had eventually become a slave of a slave. He did not think things could get much worse. After he was release and was sailing back to English shores there was a storm that threatened the lives of everyone on board ship. It was here that Newton accepted Christ as his Saviour.
He became a minister and not only wrote Amazing Grace, but he led a young man by the name of William Wilberforce to Lord….It was Willberforce who passed a bill through Parliment that ended the Slave trade in Britain -
Newton disowned ungodliness!
b. To deny worldly lusts (Verse 12)
When God’s grace catches up with us, it does not take us straight to glory. It leaves us in this world of sin so that we might grow in grace and increase in the knowledge of God (Col 1:10)
1 John 2:15-17
There is conflict between love for the Father and love for this world. By the world, John means all that belongs to this life that is opposed to Christ. It is Satan’s system, his society that is opposed to God.
If we love the things of the world we lose the love of the Father and will cease to do His will. Anything in our lives that dulls our love for spiritual things or that makes it easy for us to sin is worldly and must be put away.
c. To live soberly (Verse 12)
A call to live soberly is a call to exercise self control over the passions and desires that come so easily to our sinful hearts, so that we may be more like Jesus.
d. To live righteously (Verse 12)
The word righteously here speaks of a call to goodness towards man. We are to do what is right at all times. We are to take a stand on what is right – in the home, in the church, and in the world. That is what God’s grace teaches us to do.
Romans 8:12-13 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. [13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
We owe the flesh nothing, the flesh has only brought trouble into our lives. We do, however, have an obligation to the Holy Spirit.
It was the Spirit that convicted us
It was the Spirit that revealed Christ to us
It was the Spirit who imparted eternal life to us when we trusted Christ.
Because He is the Spirit of life He can empower us to obey Christ and He can enable us to be more like Christ.
Mortify = put to death … the deeds of the body. As we yield our body to the Spirit He puts to death the things of the flesh, and He reproduces the things of the Spirit.
e. To live godly (Verse 12)
The word godly in the Greek means “devout” - Yielding a solemn and reverential attention to God in religious exercises, particularly in prayer.
We must be constant and devout in the worship of God.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Knowing what kind of place Paul warned Timothy about persecution. The world gave our Lord a cattle shed to be born in and a cross to die on. Not surprisingly the true church has suffered from the world.
Some preachers promise wealth and health to those who follow their religious teaching and send them so much money a month (green hanky). Then there are those who urge peoplke to learn the power of positive thinking and they say that it is not God’s will for you to be ill, poor, or unhappy.
The voice of Jesus cuts through these sugar coated teachings and He tells us that in the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33)
f. To live right in this life (Verse 12)
We are to be examples – so many people claim to be Christians and act just like the lost in the way they speak, and act and in the places they go.
We are to be like Jesus in this “present world”
Do we reflect His love and forgiveness to other people?
g. To look for the Rapture (Verse 13)
When Paul wrote in verse 11 that “the grace of God… hath appeared” he was referring to the first appearing. When Jesus came , God’s grace was made incarnate in human flesh. “We beheld his glory…” John recalled, “the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Grace, truth and glory were evident in all Jesus was, said and did.
When Paul wrote Titus 2:13 however, he was directing our attention to the Lord’s second coming. He said that we should be “looking for the blessed hope” and “the glorious appearing” which refer to the two future comings of the Lord Jesus:
His coming in the clouds to receive His bride, and His coming to the earth to resolve the battle.
First He will come to receive us to Himself, and then He will come to earth to reign for a thousand years. We look forward to both events, especially the first. It is the “blessed hope” of the church. It is our guarantee that we will escape the time when God’s wrath and judgement will be pour out upon this rebellious planet, as described in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24)
The word looking for means to expect.. it should not catch us by surprise. If you have visitors, you know they are coming today – you prepare, and when they come they don’t catch you off guard (or in the wrong place) because you were expecting them.
Many passages in the Scripture encourages us to look eagerly and earnestly for the “blessed hope”
• The Lord mentioned it to the disciples before He went to Calvary (John 14:1-3)
• John described the impact this hope should have on our lives (1 John 3:2-3)
• Paul gives us a step by step preview of the rapture. He paints in the background, “the times and seasons,” and tells how the Rapture will preserve the church from wrath (1 Thess 4:15-18; 5:1-9)
• Paul also describes the astounding transformation that will take place in our bodies when the Lord returns (! Cor 15)
• And then we are told about the triumphant duet that will be sung by the resurrected saints and those who are still alive when the great event transpires. (1 Cor 15:55)
The one who will appear in power and glory is “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” The world does not think of Him as great; He is still “despised and rejected of men” (Isa 53:3). His lovely name is still being dragged through the mud and used as a swear word.
But to true believers He is “the great God and our Saviour,” and the name “Jesus Christ” is sweet music to our souls.
