The DRIVING FORCE of SAVING GRACE-III—Titus 2:11—3:8
Paul revealed that God’s Saving Grace was the impetus/driving force behind a life yielded to God.
God’s Saving Grace is the driving force behind a life yielded to God.
Why/How is God’s saving grace the driving force behind a life yielded to God?
The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings with it...
Previously in Titus we found.....
The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
1. SAVING Power(:11)
2. TEACHING Power(:12)
3. EXPECTANT Power(:13)
4. REDEMPTIVE Power(:14)
5— The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
ASSERTIVE Power(:15--3:2)
Explanation:(:15—3:2) Confidence
:15—“Speak these things, exhort, & rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
“Speak these things, exhort, & rebuke with all authority.”
“Exhort/Encourage”—parakalew—To call near, i.e. invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation):-- Beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort(-ation), intreat, pray.
“Rebuke/Reprove”—elegcw—1) To convict, refute, confute; 2) To find fault with, correct. It means to rebuke with sufficient cause, & also effectually, so as to bring the one rebuked to a confession or at least a conviction of sin. In other words, it means to convince.
“Authority”—epitagh—An injunction, mandate, command. Strong—An injunction or decree; by implication, Authoritativeness:-- Authority, commandment.
“Let no one despise you.”
Some would “despise” the fact that Titus speaks for God, as his despisers would carry their own worldly & disjointed messages.
“Despise/Disregard”—perifronew—1) To consider or examine on all sides i.e. carefully, thoroughly;2) To set one’s self in thought beyond (exalt one’s self in thought above) a person or a thing; 3) To contemn, to despise.
:1—“Remind them to be subject to rulers & authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,
Titus is to speak by way of “reminder” to the church that they should voluntarily make themselves “subject” to those who exercise rule & authority over them politically. These they are to “obey.”
This kind of obedience will yield or result in their readiness “for every good work.” If you can live within the ‘law of the land,’ which takes perseverance, then you will be well prepared for “every good work.”
You will then also work with the government to maintain a ‘law of the land’ which ensures the availability of “every good work.”
Part of the goal of Christianity is that all Christians are prepared to undertake “every good work” in Christ.
Mk. 12:14-17—“When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, & care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image & inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus answered & said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, & to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.”
1Tim. 2:1-4—“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings & all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all godliness & reverence. For this is good & acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
“Rulers/Principalities”—arch—Strong—(properly abstract) A commencement, or (concretely) Chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank):-- Beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.
“Authorities/Powers”—exousia—Strong—(in the sense of ability); Privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:-- Authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.
“Obey/Obey magistrates/Obedient”—peiyarcew—To obey (a ruler or superior).
“Ready”—etoimov—Prepare ready. Strong—From an old noun eteov (fitness); Adjusted, i.e. Ready:-- Prepared, (made) ready(-iness, to our hand).
:2—“To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”
The good works will always generally include 1)Not speaking evil of others, 2)Being “peaceable” & “gentle”, 3)Exhibiting humbleness in every aspect of one’s life particularly as it is manifested in relation to others, both the saved & lost, good & evil.
“Speak evil/Malign/Slander”—blasfhmew—1) To speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme; 2) To be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at.
“Peaceable/No brawlers/Uncontentious”—amacov—1) Not to be withstood, invincible; 2) Not contentious; 3) Abstaining from fighting. Used 2X.
“Gentle/Considerate”—epieikhv—1) Seeming, suitable; 2) Equitable, fair, mild, gentle. Strong—Appropriate, i.e. (by implication) mild:-- Gentle, moderation, patient.
“Showing”—endeiknumi—1) To point out; 2) To manifest, display, put forth.
“Humility/Meekness/Consideration”—praothv—N.f—Gentleness, mildness, meekness. Strong—Gentleness, by implication, Humility:-- Meekness. From—praov—or—prauv—gentle, i.e. humble:-- meek or Mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness.
Argumentation:
Acts 4:13—“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter & John, & perceived that they were uneducated & untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
Acts 4:28-31—Peter & John’s prayer—““....“Now, Lord, look on their threats, & grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, & that signs & wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; & they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, & they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
2Cor. 3:12—“Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech--”
Heb 4:16—“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy & find grace to help in time of need.”
—If we can come boldly before God we can surely come boldly before men!
Illustration:
My witness as a bread vendor/Bibles to all store managers/ASSERTIVE Power
Our witness as a church visiting door-to-door/ASSERTIVE Power
Boldness is accomplished thru a change of heart.
Application:
? Your life Yielded to God’s ASSERTIVE Power?
?Your life Yielded to God?
6— The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
FOREBEARING Power(3:3)
Explanation:(3:3) God is willing to forgive the past!
3:3—“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts & pleasures, living in malice & envy, hateful & hating one another.”
“We were also ONCE foolish”
The above mentioned intentionality(:1-2) regarding our Christian lives receives further reinforcement in the fact that our past is the past. Because “we ourselves” were, at one point(“once”) in our lives, the very ones who were “foolish, disobedient” & “deceived” being without Christ.
Evidence of our foolishness, disobedience & deception was seen in our service to “various lusts & pleasures.”
As such, we lived our lives “in malice & envy”...A horrid way to approach life.
And as such, we were “hateful” people who hated one another, seeing no sense in being peaceable, gentle or humble, as we were sold to selfishness.
“Foolish”—anohtov—1) Not understood, unintelligible; 2) Not understanding, unwise, foolish. The negation of —noiew—To perceive, understand, think, ponder, consider.
“Disobedient”—apeiyhv—Impersuasible, not compliant, disobedient, contumacious. The negation of—peiyw—To convince, persuade, to assent, rely, agree, assure, believe, obey.
Deceived”—planaw—1) To cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way. 2a) To lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to deceive. Strong—To (properly, cause to) Roam (from safety, truth, or virtue):-- Go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way.
“Serving/Enslaved”—douleuw—1) To be a slave, serve, do service; 2) metaph. To obey, submit to.
“Lusts/Passions”(See 2:12)—epiyumia—Desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust. Desire which is evil. The active side of vice. Strong—A longing (especially for what is forbidden):-- concupiscence, desire, lust (after).
“Pleasures”—hdonh—1) Pleasure; 2) Desires for pleasure. Strong—Sensual delight; by implication, desire:-- Lust, pleasure.
—The Lust endulged satisfies/pleasures the flesh.
“Malice”—kakia—1) Malignity, malice, ill-will, desire to injure; 2) Wickedness, depravity—2a) Wickedness that is not ashamed to break laws; 3) Evil, trouble. Denotes a vicious disposition.
“Envy”—fyonov—Envy. Strong—Ill-will (as detraction), i.e. jealousy (spite):-- Envy.
“Hateful/Hated”—stughtov—Hated, odious, destestable.
“Hating”—misew—1) To hate, pursue with hatred, detest; 2) To be hated, detested.
But these things are all past— because Forgiveness is Available in Christ!
Argumentation:
Eph 5:5-8—“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ & God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”
Rom. 11:30 -31—“For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their[Israel’s] disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they[Israel] also may obtain mercy.”
Rom. 2:4—“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
Rom. 3:21-26—“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law & the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all & on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just & the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Rom. 4:6-8—“just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.””
Acts 17:30—“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,”
—God now holds you & me accountable by Christ.
God’s FORBEARANCE is to be lived out in our Forbearance.
In the power to forgive:
Mat 6:9-15—“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom & the power & the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Mat. 18:21-35—“Then Peter came to Him & said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, & I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife & children & all that he had, & that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, & forgave him the debt. But that servant went out & found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; & he laid hands on him & took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet & begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, & I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went & threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, & came & told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ‘Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, & delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.””
Illustration:
A wayward teen’s disobedience/Reach a certain age & must turn them over to themselves/Prayerfully, their flesh will drive them back home/All the while parents are hoping against hope that they will come to their senses/Parents are FOREBEARING
Application:
? Your life Yielded to God’s FOREBEARING Power?
?Your life Yielded to God?
7— The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
TRANSFORMATIONAL Power(:4-6)
Explanation:(3:4-6) Regenerating
:4—“But when the kindness & the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,”
However, there came a change(commonly shared) to the lives of these previously foolish who are now Christian. The change came to our hands when the expression of “the kindness & the love of God,”who is our “Savior” “appeared” for man’s sake.
That “kindness” & “love” from our “Savior” was & is none other than the Lord Christ Jesus!
Rom. 2:4—“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
“Kindness”—crhstothv—1) Moral goodness, integrity; 2) Benignity, kindness. Strong—Usefulness, i.e. moral excellence (in character or demeanor):-- Gentleness, good(-ness), kindness.
“Love...Toward man/For mankind”—filanyrwpia—N.—Love of mankind, benevolence. Used 2X. The adverbial form is—filanyrwpwv—Humanely, Kindly.
“Appeared”(See :11, :13)—epifainw—V.—1) To show to or upon—1a) To bring to light; 2) To appear, become visible—2a) Of stars; 3) To become clearly known, to show one’s self. Strong—To shine upon, i.e. become (literally) visible or (figuratively) known:-- Appear, give light.
:5—“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration & renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
When the love toward men & kindness appeared, it became apparent, thru the Gospel, that our salvation was not ours by our own works of “righteousness,” but rather came in accordance with His “mercy.” Only God’s desire to rescue us put His salvation into action. He is the One who saved us rather than us saving ourselves.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done,”
No one can earn their “righteousness” by good/thoughtful/helpful/constructive deeds/works, etc....or because you’re a ‘good’ person! That & those are always in the past. 1 second after its done its gone...but what about now! What saves you?....The next....good deed?....good thought?....good effort? No.
Some believe that a person is lost until confessing their sins—If one sins on their deathbed without confessing it, they are lost.—How ludicrous in the light of Scripture!—That is no more than a ‘works’ religion, based on your ability to save yourself. Christian salvation is secure in the sacrifice of Christ!
Rom. 3:10—“As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;” From Ps. 14:2-3 & Ps. 53:2-3.
Rom. 3:23—“for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God,”
Job 14:4—Job asks the question—“Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!”
Job 15:14-17—Eliphaz to Job—“What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight, How much less man, who is abominable & filthy, Who drinks iniquity like water! I will tell you, hear me; What I have seen I will declare,”
“Righteousness/Righteous”—dikaiosunh—1) In a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God; 2) In a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due.
“Done”—poiew—To make; 2) To do.
BUT...
“But according to His mercy He saved us,”
It was solely in accordance with God’s “mercy” that anyone is truly saved!
Rom. 3:23-26—“for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just & the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
“Mercy”—eleov—Mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable & the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. Manifests itself chiefly in acts rather than words.
“Through the washing of regeneration & renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
The above mentioned intentionality(:1-2) regarding our Christian lives receives further reinforcement in the fact of our radical transformation in Christ.
His “mercy” was manifested “thru the washing” accomplished by “regeneration.” Subsequent to the regeneration came the renewing ot the Holy spirit as well. This washing & renewing were brought about thru “the Holy Spirit.”
Mat. 19:28—“So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
“Washing”—loutron—Bathing, bath, the act of bathing. Strong—a bath, i.e. (figuratively), immersion, baptism:-- washing. Used 2X.
“Regeneration/Rebirth”—paliggenesia—New birth, reproduction, renewal, recreation, regeneration. In classical Greek it was used in a weakened sense to denote a recovery, restoration, revival. Strong—(Spiritual) rebirth (the state or the act), i.e. (figuratively) spiritual renovation; specifically, Messianic restoration:-- regeneration. Used 2X.
“Renewing/Renewal”—anakainwsiv—A renewal, renovation, complete change for the better. Denotes a renewal or renovation, denoting a continuous process through which man becomes more fully Christ-like, in which process he is a worker together with God.Used 2X.
:6—“whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”
The Holy Spirit(:5)was “poured out” upon all believers only by means of Jesus the Savior Himself. The Holy Spirit was poured out on us “abundantly.” Thus without Jesus as Savior, we cannot have the Holy Spirit.
There is no ‘second blessing’ of the Spirit. However you can live your life in such integration with God that He is present in everything you do. Thus you have every potential to be a blessing to others because the Spirit is allowed to fulfill His desire in you, which is seemingly a second blessing in comparison to your former life in Christ, where you quenched the Spirit.
Jn. 14:16-17—“And I[Jesus] will pray the Father, & He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you & will be in you.”
Jn. 15:26—““But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”
Jn. 16:7—““Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
“Poured out/Shed”—ekcew—1) To pour out, shed forth; 2) metaph. To bestow or distribute largely. Strong—To pour forth; figuratively, To bestow:-- Gush (pour) out, run greedily (out), shed (abroad, forth), spill.
“Abundantly/Richly/Generously”—plousiwv—Abundantly, richly. From—ploutew—1) To be rich, to have abundance; 2)To be richly supplied.
Christian, you are missing nothing of the equipment for ministry because God has supplied you with what you need!
Now whether you make use of the equipment is another matter indeed.
Argumentation:
Lev. 18:26—19:2—“‘You shall therefore keep My statutes & My judgments, & shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you ‘(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, & thus the land is defiled), ‘lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. ‘For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people. ‘Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, & that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God.’”” “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, & say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”
Ezek. 36:26-27—““I will give you a new heart & put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh & give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you & cause you to walk in My statutes, & you will keep My judgments & do them.”
Ps. 51:10—“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
1Jn. 2:15-17—“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, & the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, & the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
1Pet. 1:13-15—“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, & rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,”
Rom. 12:2—“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
Rom. 13:14—“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, & make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Eph. 4:21-24—“if indeed you have heard Him & have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, & be renewed in the spirit of your mind, & that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness & holiness.”
*2Cor. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
2Cor. 3:18—“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Illustration:
My testimony:
Life before Christ—Bent on fulfilling the ’American Dream’(not God’s Dream)—Pursuit of happiness(by the flesh)—Marriage, Home, Kids, Career, Entertainment(by the flesh)/All about Fulfillment, Satisfaction, being Appreciated, Stuff, Purpose(futile & selfish)....
Life after Christ—Bent on serving Christ—Pursuit of happiness(in Christ)—Marriage, Home, Kids, Career, Cars, etc./Blessed of God!/All about Fulfillment, Satisfaction, Peace, Purpose(eternal)/TRANSFORMATIONAL Power
God is committed to Transforming your life!
Your Testimony may be more dramatic...It may be much less dramatic! But the TRANSFORMATION in Christ is supremely real nonetheless!
The Apostle Paul was not the same person he was/Thus his given name changed from Saul(‘Desired’) to his Christian name, ‘Paul’(‘Small or Little’)—Not a designation of physical stature but of spiritual stature in relation to Christ.
Application:
? Your life Yielded by God’s TRANSFORMATIONAL Power?
?Your life Yielded to God?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
5. ASSERTIVE Power(:15--3:2)
6. FORBEARING Power(3:3)
7. TRANSFORMATIONAL Power(:4-6)
1. SAVING Power(:11)
2. TEACHING Power(:12)
3. EXPECTANT Power(:13)
4. REDEMPTIVE Power(:14)
Presented 07/18/2010am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Road
Woodleaf, NC 27054
