The DRIVING FORCE of SAVING GRACE-II--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— The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
EXPECTANT Power(:13)
Explanation:(:13) Hope/Anticipating/Future
:13—“looking for the blessed hope & glorious appearing of our great God & Savior Jesus Christ,”
As we live thusly, we are encouraged & strengthened in anticipation of the very presence of “the blessed hope” in which we trust.
Part of that anticipation is the “glorious appearing” of the One who is both our “Great God” as well as our “Savior.”
This speaks of His return for the church at the end of this present age(:12). He is the Lord’s Messiah(Christ) or ‘anointed One’ & is the One by which YHWH saves us, as “Jesus”=YHWH is salvation.
Christians work in anticipation of the fulfillment of our hope!
“Looking for/While we Wait”—prosdecomai—1) To receive to one’s self, to admit, to give access to one’s self; 2) To expect: the fulfilment of promises. Strong—To admit (to intercourse, hospitality, credence, or [figuratively] endurance); by implication, to await (with confidence or patience):-- Accept, allow, look (wait) for, take.
“Blessed”—makariov—Blessed, happy. Strong—A prolonged form of the poetical makar (meaning the same); supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off:-- blessed, happy(X -ier).
“Hope”—elpiv—Strong—From a primary elpw (To anticipate, usually with pleasure); Expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence:-- faith, hope.
“Glorious/Glory”—doxa—Glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literal or figurative, objective or subjective):-- Dignity, glory(-ious), honor, praise, worship.
Argumentation:
Even the devil lives in Expectation:
Rev. 12:12—“Woe to the inhabitants of the earth & the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.””
1Cor. 1:4-8—“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance & all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Rom. 8:25—“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
2Tim. 4:8 “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, & not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Illustration:
My truck driving job/Friday/Week done/Near end of my last load/Work harder & faster to get it loaded & secured—harder & faster to get it tarped knowing your time is near/You’re almost home/EXPECTANT Power
Christians should work harder & faster Anticipating the fulfillment of our hope as Christ returns!
Application:
? Your life Yielded to God’s EXPECTANT Power?
?Your life Yielded to God?
4— The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
REDEMPTIVE Power(:14)
Explanation/Argumentation:(:14)
:14—“who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Vicarious(:14a)—Done for another’s sake.
“Who gave Himself for us,....”
Mk. 10:45 ; Mat. 20:28—““....the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, & to give His life a ransom for many.””
1Tim. 2:5-6—“For there is one God & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,”
—Everyone(all) has potential to be saved.
Gal. 1:3-5—“Grace to you & peace from God the Father & our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God & Father, to whom be glory forever & ever. Amen.”
—For our sins.
Gal. 2:20—““I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; & the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me & gave Himself for me.”
—Love drove Him.
Gal. 3:13-14—“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
—Faith in Christ’s cross-work secures redemption.
Blessing of Abraham—Gal. 3:6-7—“just as Abraham “believed God, & it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.”
2Cor. 5:21—“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Isa 53:4-6—“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, & afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Purposeful(:14b)—a. Redemptive-b. Purifying-c. Directive
“....that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Jn. 6:49-51—““Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, & are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it & not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; & the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.””
1Tim. 1:15—“This is a faithful saying & worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
a.— “....that He might redeem us from every lawless deed
Redemptive:
“Redeem”—lutrow—1) To release on receipt of ransom; 2) To redeem, liberate by payment of ransom. Strong—To ransom (literally or figuratively):-- Redeem.
1Cor. 6:20—“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Eph 5:8—“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”
“Lawless deed/Iniquity/Wickedness”—anomia—1) The condition of without law; 2) Contempt & violation of law, iniquity, wickedness. Lawlessness; ...A condition or action not simply without law, as the etymology might indicate, but contrary to law. The law is usually by implication the Mosaic law.
b.— “& purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Purifying:
Rev. 1:5—“& from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, & the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us & washed us from our sins in His own blood,”
Acts 15:7-9—“And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up & said to them: “Men & brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel & believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, “& made no distinction between us & them, purifying their hearts by faith.”
Js. 4:7-8 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil & he will flee from you. Draw near to God & He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; & purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
“Purify”—kayarizw—1) To make clean, cleanse; 2) To pronounce clean in a levitical sense. Strong—To cleanse (literally or figuratively):-- (make) Clean(-se), Purge, purify.
“His own Special/Unto Himself a Peculiar/For His own Possession”—periousiov—That which is one’s own, belonging to one’s possessions—a) A people selected by God from the other nations for His own possession. Strong—Being beyond usual, i.e. special (one’s own):-- Peculiar.
Acts 15:14—““Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.”
c.— “....from every lawless deed....zealous for good works.”
Directive:
“Zealous/Eager”—zhlwthv—1) One burning with zeal, a zealot; 2) Used of God as jealous of any rival & sternly vindicating his control; 3) Most eagerly desirous of, zealous for, a thing.
Turns 180̊ from operating away from God....To serve Him.
Prov. 16:9—“A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”
Eph. 2:10—“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
2Cor. 5:15—“& He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them & rose again.”
Illustration:
House purchase/30 yr. Home Loan/Work your fingers to the bone/Heartaches related to commitment to the boss & the company/House is bought with sweat & tears!/Your Labor has REDEMPTIVE Power
Pizza Hut/Began in 1958 when 2 brothers(Frank & Dan Carney) college students @ Wichita State Univ., borrowed $600 from their mother/It was named Pizza Hut because they wanted the word “pizza" in the title & because there were only three spaces left after pizza in the sign & the facility was shaped like a hut. Today its the world’s largest pizza franchise & the world’s largest user of cheese(300 million lbs. yearly/No business comes easily!/Labor has REDEMPTIVE Power
Consider this: Jesus’ work, His leaving perfect glory, His life—His flesh & blood have Redemptive Power available for all mankind if they are willing to accept it.
Mk. 14:23-24—“Then He took the cup, & when He had given thanks He gave it to them, & they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”
Joh 6:51—““I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; & the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.””
Application:
? Your life Yielded to God’s REDEMPTIVE Power?
?Your life Yielded to God?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
3—EXPECTANT Power(:13)
4—REDEMPTIVE Power(:14)
1—SAVING Power(:11)
2—TEACHING Power(:12)
Presented 06/13/2010am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
