“Grace Has Appeared”
July 27, 2008
Titus 2:11-15
Titus had his work cut out for him.
The Apostle Paul had left Titus behind on the island of Crete to finish some things that Paul had gotten started but hadn’t gotten done.
This fledgling little church still didn’t have elders to lead it and didn’t yet understand how the gospel applies to every day life.
So Titus had his work cut out for him.
In chapter 1, Paul told him what to look for in potential elders to lead the church and why true elders were so necessary, because of the proliferation of false teachers.
In chapter 2, Paul told Titus what he was supposed to teach to various groups of believers within the church. And what he was supposed to teach was the application of the gospel. V.1 said, “You must teach what accords [or goes] with sound doctrine.”
Our behavior must match our teaching.
The gospel must be applied.
And then, we saw last week that, he applied that gospel to various groups: older men, older women, younger women, young men, Titus himself and church leaders, and slaves, much like our employees today.
Now, in our passage for today, Paul hasn’t really moved on to another topic.
No, instead, he’s actually grounding what he said in the first 10 verses with the deep theological foundations that undergird it.
Verse 11 begins with the word “For.” Verses 11 through 14 are actually explaining further how we get verses 1 through 10 and then verse 15 rounds off the instructions on what and how Titus is supposed to teach.
I think that these verses are the very heart the book.
Let’s begin at the end.
Verse 15 shows us how important these instructions really are. V.15 again.
“These, then, are the things you should teach [everything in verses 1 through 14]. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.”
Wow. Those are strong words, aren’t they?
What Paul has told Titus should be taught–the application of the gospel.
And for those who are doing it, they are to be encouraged.
And for those who are not, they are to be rebuked. Remember chapter 1, that True Elders both encourage and rebuke? Titus was supposed to, as well.
And he wasn’t allowed to back down from this. “..with all authority [it says.] Do not let anyone despise you.” Not that he could help how they felt, but he wouldn’t let them get away with scorning this teaching.
This stuff is really important.
What’s important?
To understand that “Grace Has Appeared.” That’s our title for this morning, “Grace Has Appeared.” I get that from verse 11.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”
“Grace has appeared.”
John Newton alluded to this verse in Amazing Grace.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
“Grace Has Appeared.”
What is Paul talking about?
He’s talking about when Jesus Christ came to us.
God the Son became a man and lived on Earth.
His name was Jesus, and He was the Christ, the Messiah.
And Jesus lived a perfect life and died on the Cross to make grace appear to all men.
“Grace Has Appeared.”
It has shown up. It has come on the scene.
Grace is here.
What is grace?
We use that word a lot, but we don’t always know the meaning of it.
Grace is unmerited favor.
It is unearned blessing.
My favorite definition of grace is that it is not getting what we do deserve and getting what we don’t deserve.
Grace is not getting what we do deserve and getting what we don’t deserve.
It’s the greatest concept in the world!
And the Bible says “Grace has appeared.”
Grace is here.
Why? What is it here for? Why has grace appeared?
Paul tells Titus basically 2 things:
Grace Has Appeared To Redeem Us and To Refine Us.
#1. TO REDEEM US.
Look at what he says again in verse 11.
“For the grace of God that brings [what?] salvation has appeared to all men.”
Grace saves us!
Verse 14 says it even more clearly.
In talking about Jesus’ life and death (v.14), “[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness...”
There’s that word, “redeem.”
Jesus Christ died on the Cross to redeem us by His grace.
To redeem something means to pay back a price for something.
To buy someone out of slavery is to redeem them.
Jesus Christ paid the penalty that we had accrued for our sin.
He died for our redemption–to buy us back from sin.
Verse 14 says, “He gave himself / for us / to redeem us.”
He gave Himself. He willingly went to the Cross.
He knew what He was doing. He was giving Himself for us.
For us.
In our place. Instead of us. What we deserved. That’s why it’s grace.
Because grace is not giving us what we deserve (giving it to Him instead!)
And grace is giving to us what we don’t deserve–everything He deserved! That’s what we get.
He gave Himself for us to redeem us – to buy us back from the sin we were enslaved to.
That’s the gospel, friends, it’s the good news that in Jesus Christ grace has appeared to redeem us from all wickedness. And we’re going to sing about it for all eternity!
We just did in a couple of those songs!
Let me ask you now:
Friend, have you been redeemed?
Have you been bought back?
Have you trusted in Jesus Christ and what He did for you at the Cross?
It’s not about what you do.
It’s not about how good you are.
It’s not about having more on the good side than on the bad side.
So many people think that salvation comes by being good.
But it doesn’t. It comes by GRACE.
The GRACE of God has appeared to REEDEM Us.
And there is no other way than that.
Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior/Rescuer and Lord/Master?
He gave Himself for you. Put your trust in Him.
But catch this.
That’s not all that grace does.
That’s often where we stop when we, Christians, talk about grace, but that’s not where the gospel stops.
And it’s not where Paul stops here, is it?
Grace doesn’t just save. It also sanctifies.
Grace Has Appeared #2. TO REFINE US.
It’s the point of this whole passage. Go back to verse 11.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. [v.12] It [GRACE] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
Grace not only redeems us. It also refines us.
Verse 12 says that this grace found in Jesus Christ “teaches us” or “trains us” or “disciplines us” to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions.
Do you see how powerful grace is?
It’s not just a forgiving power.
It’s an enabling power, a teaching power, a training power.
Grace enables us to say ‘No” to ungodliness and worldly passions.
Let that sink in for a second.
We can say, ‘No.”
If we belong to Jesus, if we have experienced His redeeming grace, then we can say “No.”
I know that it doesn’t feel like it.
One of my biggest temptations is gluttony. I have what I call “an extra plate addiction.”
And it’s just too hard to say, “No.”
No, it isn’t.
I can say, “No.”
Not because of how good I am, but because of how good God has been to me.
Grace Has Appeared to teach me to say No.
You can say, “No,” too.
You can say, “No,” to lust.
You can say, “No,” to pornography. You don’t have to click over there.
Men, you don’t have to click over there.
You can say, “No,” to gossip. You don’t have to share that morsel of information.
Ladies, you don’t have to share that.
You can say, “No,” to angry outbursts.
You don’t have to yell at your kids or your spouse or your roommate.
If you belong to Christ, you can say, “No.”
Sometimes we emphasize that there is grace for us when we sin.
And there is, friends! If you are trapped in any of those patterns I just mentioned or any others, Jesus’ blood is sufficient to forgive!
But His grace doesn’t stop there. It goes another crucial step. It also empowers us to say, “No.”
No to ungodliness.
No to worldly passions.
I have a friend who was sleeping with his girlfriend. And I told him that God wanted him to stop.
And he said, “Yeah, I know, but it’s hard to.”
Yes, it’s hard to. But it is possible because grace has appeared!
Look at the second half of verse 12.
“[Grace] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”
That’s the whole point of chapter 2!
Older Men being respectable.
Older Women being reverent.
Younger Women loving their families.
Young Men being self-controlled.
Church Leaders setting an example.
Slaves being trustworthy employees.
How?
Not because they have it in them to start with. No.
But because the grace of God has appeared.
It has come to save us and to sanctify us–to make us holy.
And it does, every time.
I’m concerned about some people who claim to be Christ-followers but whose lives show no sign of this kind of thing.
In the Bible, grace is effectual. It works.
It not only forgives us through the death and resurrection of Christ, but it transforms us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Look at how verse 14 says it.
“[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify [refine] for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
Jesus didn’t just save us to leave us how we are.
He didn’t just die to forgive us.
He died to change us.
To make us His very own.
Oh! That is a precious thought. That we belong to Him.
That we are His precious treasure!
If the universe were on fire, we’re what He would run in to rescue. In fact, He did!
And not just any precious treasure, but one that looks like Him. V.14
“Eager to do what is good.”
King James: “Zealous of good works.”
That’s not what we were. But it is what we are becoming!
Here’s the key question.
Are we being changed by grace?
Verse 12 says that grace teaches. Are we learning?
Verse 14 says that grace purifies. Are we being refined?
What area of your life is God working on?
And are you letting Him?
I don’t know what it is for you.
My guess is that it relates in some way to self-control.
For me, right now, I’m trying to learn (by grace) to exercise self-control in the use of my things.
I tend to run things down and break things and not take good care of my things.
Last week, I ran my mower into a hole and broke the guard on the mower-deck.
Boy was I angry! I had finished the sermon in ample time to get the lawn mowed before Supper, and I was so proud of myself! (That might be something else to work on!)
And so I just pulled the cord and got to mowing. But I didn’t take care. I wasn’t careful. I didn’t appreciate what a great machine I have–my dad gave it to me. It has a 33" deck on it and is self-propelled.
But I’m just whipping it around and not caring what I land it on.
It’s supposed to be run on grace. But I run it over rocks and over stumps and roots sometimes, and I know that I shouldn’t, but I’ve never really had a problem.
And I know that there’s a hole around there, but I’ve never broken the thing, and it’s too much work to be careful!
And, boy, did I regret it when I did it!
Grace has come.
Grace has come to pay the penalty for my out-of-control behavior. Jesus died for my carelessness.
Yes, Jesus died for my carelessness.
But that’s not all. He didn’t just forgive me and then not care any more.
Grace has come to teach me self-control.
I can say, “No” to carelessness and say Yes to upright and godly self-control.
I can be refined.
I don’t know what it is for you.
Maybe it’s patience.
A month or so ago, I talked about patience in a sermon, and a lot of you responded back to me that this is an area that you struggle with.
Are you learning from grace?
Are you being refined?
Or are you just living like you used to?
Jesus died to redeems us from all wickedness AND to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Are we eager to do what is good?
I’m afraid that often we aren’t.
We aren’t eager. We aren’t zealous.
We are content to be saved and then sit there.
But this is about getting up off our pews and into the game–eager to do what is good.
Are we being transformed?
That’s one of the biggest reasons why we’re still here, you know?
Right now, we’re here to be redeemed and refined. But that’s while we wait.
Did you notice that grace has appeared, but it’s also coming again? V.12
“[Grace] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age [now], while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ[!]”
This redeeming and this refining are for now while we wait for His returning!
Jesus is coming back and coming back soon!
Paul calls it, “the blessed hope.”
It’s that thing that we’re trusting in for the future that makes it all worthwhile. It’s “blessed.” It’s full of blessing. It’s awesome and wonderful and delightful.
Jesus is coming back and coming back soon!
He calls it, “The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!”
He appearance the first time was humble.
But when He comes again, it will be glorious!
He will be seen to be as GREAT as He is.
And as GOD as He is!
This text points us to the divinity of Christ! He is God!
And He is Savior!
He gave Himself for us to redeems us.
Grace Has Appeared to Redeem Us and to Refine Us Until He Returns For Us.
Praise His name!
July 27, 2008
Titus 2:11-15
Titus had his work cut out for him.
The Apostle Paul had left Titus behind on the island of Crete to finish some things that Paul had gotten started but hadn’t gotten done.
This fledgling little church still didn’t have elders to lead it and didn’t yet understand how the gospel applies to every day life.
So Titus had his work cut out for him.
In chapter 1, Paul told him what to look for in potential elders to lead the church and why true elders were so necessary, because of the proliferation of false teachers.
In chapter 2, Paul told Titus what he was supposed to teach to various groups of believers within the church. And what he was supposed to teach was the application of the gospel. V.1 said, “You must teach what accords [or goes] with sound doctrine.”
Our behavior must match our teaching.
The gospel must be applied.
And then, we saw last week that, he applied that gospel to various groups: older men, older women, younger women, young men, Titus himself and church leaders, and slaves, much like our employees today.
Now, in our passage for today, Paul hasn’t really moved on to another topic.
No, instead, he’s actually grounding what he said in the first 10 verses with the deep theological foundations that undergird it.
Verse 11 begins with the word “For.” Verses 11 through 14 are actually explaining further how we get verses 1 through 10 and then verse 15 rounds off the instructions on what and how Titus is supposed to teach.
I think that these verses are the very heart the book.
Let’s begin at the end.
Verse 15 shows us how important these instructions really are. V.15 again.
“These, then, are the things you should teach [everything in verses 1 through 14]. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.”
Wow. Those are strong words, aren’t they?
What Paul has told Titus should be taught–the application of the gospel.
And for those who are doing it, they are to be encouraged.
And for those who are not, they are to be rebuked. Remember chapter 1, that True Elders both encourage and rebuke? Titus was supposed to, as well.
And he wasn’t allowed to back down from this. “..with all authority [it says.] Do not let anyone despise you.” Not that he could help how they felt, but he wouldn’t let them get away with scorning this teaching.
This stuff is really important.
What’s important?
To understand that “Grace Has Appeared.” That’s our title for this morning, “Grace Has Appeared.” I get that from verse 11.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”
“Grace has appeared.”
John Newton alluded to this verse in Amazing Grace.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
“Grace Has Appeared.”
What is Paul talking about?
He’s talking about when Jesus Christ came to us.
God the Son became a man and lived on Earth.
His name was Jesus, and He was the Christ, the Messiah.
And Jesus lived a perfect life and died on the Cross to make grace appear to all men.
“Grace Has Appeared.”
It has shown up. It has come on the scene.
Grace is here.
What is grace?
We use that word a lot, but we don’t always know the meaning of it.
Grace is unmerited favor.
It is unearned blessing.
My favorite definition of grace is that it is not getting what we do deserve and getting what we don’t deserve.
Grace is not getting what we do deserve and getting what we don’t deserve.
It’s the greatest concept in the world!
And the Bible says “Grace has appeared.”
Grace is here.
Why? What is it here for? Why has grace appeared?
Paul tells Titus basically 2 things:
Grace Has Appeared To Redeem Us and To Refine Us.
#1. TO REDEEM US.
Look at what he says again in verse 11.
“For the grace of God that brings [what?] salvation has appeared to all men.”
Grace saves us!
Verse 14 says it even more clearly.
In talking about Jesus’ life and death (v.14), “[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness...”
There’s that word, “redeem.”
Jesus Christ died on the Cross to redeem us by His grace.
To redeem something means to pay back a price for something.
To buy someone out of slavery is to redeem them.
Jesus Christ paid the penalty that we had accrued for our sin.
He died for our redemption–to buy us back from sin.
Verse 14 says, “He gave himself / for us / to redeem us.”
He gave Himself. He willingly went to the Cross.
He knew what He was doing. He was giving Himself for us.
For us.
In our place. Instead of us. What we deserved. That’s why it’s grace.
Because grace is not giving us what we deserve (giving it to Him instead!)
And grace is giving to us what we don’t deserve–everything He deserved! That’s what we get.
He gave Himself for us to redeem us – to buy us back from the sin we were enslaved to.
That’s the gospel, friends, it’s the good news that in Jesus Christ grace has appeared to redeem us from all wickedness. And we’re going to sing about it for all eternity!
We just did in a couple of those songs!
Let me ask you now:
Friend, have you been redeemed?
Have you been bought back?
Have you trusted in Jesus Christ and what He did for you at the Cross?
It’s not about what you do.
It’s not about how good you are.
It’s not about having more on the good side than on the bad side.
So many people think that salvation comes by being good.
But it doesn’t. It comes by GRACE.
The GRACE of God has appeared to REEDEM Us.
And there is no other way than that.
Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior/Rescuer and Lord/Master?
He gave Himself for you. Put your trust in Him.
But catch this.
That’s not all that grace does.
That’s often where we stop when we, Christians, talk about grace, but that’s not where the gospel stops.
And it’s not where Paul stops here, is it?
Grace doesn’t just save. It also sanctifies.
Grace Has Appeared #2. TO REFINE US.
It’s the point of this whole passage. Go back to verse 11.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. [v.12] It [GRACE] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
Grace not only redeems us. It also refines us.
Verse 12 says that this grace found in Jesus Christ “teaches us” or “trains us” or “disciplines us” to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions.
Do you see how powerful grace is?
It’s not just a forgiving power.
It’s an enabling power, a teaching power, a training power.
Grace enables us to say ‘No” to ungodliness and worldly passions.
Let that sink in for a second.
We can say, ‘No.”
If we belong to Jesus, if we have experienced His redeeming grace, then we can say “No.”
I know that it doesn’t feel like it.
One of my biggest temptations is gluttony. I have what I call “an extra plate addiction.”
And it’s just too hard to say, “No.”
No, it isn’t.
I can say, “No.”
Not because of how good I am, but because of how good God has been to me.
Grace Has Appeared to teach me to say No.
You can say, “No,” too.
You can say, “No,” to lust.
You can say, “No,” to pornography. You don’t have to click over there.
Men, you don’t have to click over there.
You can say, “No,” to gossip. You don’t have to share that morsel of information.
Ladies, you don’t have to share that.
You can say, “No,” to angry outbursts.
You don’t have to yell at your kids or your spouse or your roommate.
If you belong to Christ, you can say, “No.”
Sometimes we emphasize that there is grace for us when we sin.
And there is, friends! If you are trapped in any of those patterns I just mentioned or any others, Jesus’ blood is sufficient to forgive!
But His grace doesn’t stop there. It goes another crucial step. It also empowers us to say, “No.”
No to ungodliness.
No to worldly passions.
I have a friend who was sleeping with his girlfriend. And I told him that God wanted him to stop.
And he said, “Yeah, I know, but it’s hard to.”
Yes, it’s hard to. But it is possible because grace has appeared!
Look at the second half of verse 12.
“[Grace] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”
That’s the whole point of chapter 2!
Older Men being respectable.
Older Women being reverent.
Younger Women loving their families.
Young Men being self-controlled.
Church Leaders setting an example.
Slaves being trustworthy employees.
How?
Not because they have it in them to start with. No.
But because the grace of God has appeared.
It has come to save us and to sanctify us–to make us holy.
And it does, every time.
I’m concerned about some people who claim to be Christ-followers but whose lives show no sign of this kind of thing.
In the Bible, grace is effectual. It works.
It not only forgives us through the death and resurrection of Christ, but it transforms us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Look at how verse 14 says it.
“[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify [refine] for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
Jesus didn’t just save us to leave us how we are.
He didn’t just die to forgive us.
He died to change us.
To make us His very own.
Oh! That is a precious thought. That we belong to Him.
That we are His precious treasure!
If the universe were on fire, we’re what He would run in to rescue. In fact, He did!
And not just any precious treasure, but one that looks like Him. V.14
“Eager to do what is good.”
King James: “Zealous of good works.”
That’s not what we were. But it is what we are becoming!
Here’s the key question.
Are we being changed by grace?
Verse 12 says that grace teaches. Are we learning?
Verse 14 says that grace purifies. Are we being refined?
What area of your life is God working on?
And are you letting Him?
I don’t know what it is for you.
My guess is that it relates in some way to self-control.
For me, right now, I’m trying to learn (by grace) to exercise self-control in the use of my things.
I tend to run things down and break things and not take good care of my things.
Last week, I ran my mower into a hole and broke the guard on the mower-deck.
Boy was I angry! I had finished the sermon in ample time to get the lawn mowed before Supper, and I was so proud of myself! (That might be something else to work on!)
And so I just pulled the cord and got to mowing. But I didn’t take care. I wasn’t careful. I didn’t appreciate what a great machine I have–my dad gave it to me. It has a 33" deck on it and is self-propelled.
But I’m just whipping it around and not caring what I land it on.
It’s supposed to be run on grace. But I run it over rocks and over stumps and roots sometimes, and I know that I shouldn’t, but I’ve never really had a problem.
And I know that there’s a hole around there, but I’ve never broken the thing, and it’s too much work to be careful!
And, boy, did I regret it when I did it!
Grace has come.
Grace has come to pay the penalty for my out-of-control behavior. Jesus died for my carelessness.
Yes, Jesus died for my carelessness.
But that’s not all. He didn’t just forgive me and then not care any more.
Grace has come to teach me self-control.
I can say, “No” to carelessness and say Yes to upright and godly self-control.
I can be refined.
I don’t know what it is for you.
Maybe it’s patience.
A month or so ago, I talked about patience in a sermon, and a lot of you responded back to me that this is an area that you struggle with.
Are you learning from grace?
Are you being refined?
Or are you just living like you used to?
Jesus died to redeems us from all wickedness AND to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Are we eager to do what is good?
I’m afraid that often we aren’t.
We aren’t eager. We aren’t zealous.
We are content to be saved and then sit there.
But this is about getting up off our pews and into the game–eager to do what is good.
Are we being transformed?
That’s one of the biggest reasons why we’re still here, you know?
Right now, we’re here to be redeemed and refined. But that’s while we wait.
Did you notice that grace has appeared, but it’s also coming again? V.12
“[Grace] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age [now], while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ[!]”
This redeeming and this refining are for now while we wait for His returning!
Jesus is coming back and coming back soon!
Paul calls it, “the blessed hope.”
It’s that thing that we’re trusting in for the future that makes it all worthwhile. It’s “blessed.” It’s full of blessing. It’s awesome and wonderful and delightful.
Jesus is coming back and coming back soon!
He calls it, “The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!”
He appearance the first time was humble.
But when He comes again, it will be glorious!
He will be seen to be as GREAT as He is.
And as GOD as He is!
This text points us to the divinity of Christ! He is God!
And He is Savior!
He gave Himself for us to redeems us.
Grace Has Appeared to Redeem Us and to Refine Us Until He Returns For Us.
Praise His name!
0 comments:
Post a Comment