Summary: Part 4 of 4. Paul revealed that God’s Saving Grace was the impetus/driving force behind a life yielded to God. But What does it supply to the believer? The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings with it...
The DRIVING FORCE of SAVING GRACE-IV—Titus 2:11—3:11
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(2:11)
2. TEACHING Power(2:12)
3. EXPECTANT Power(2:13)
4. REDEMPTIVE Power(2:14)
5. ASSERTIVE Power(2:15--3:2)
6. FORBEARING Power(3:3)
7. TRANSFORMATIONAL Power(3:4-6)
8— The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
ETERNAL Power(3:7)
Explanation:(:7)
:7—“that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
“That having been justified by His grace”
“Justified”—dikaiow—1) To render righteous or such he ought to be; 2) To show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is & wishes himself to be considered; 3) To declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be.
Having had the Spirit poured out upon us, we have obviously been “justified” solely by the “grace” of God, so that “we should become heirs” in accordance/agreement/the spirit of/compliance with that which “the hope of eternal life” brings.
Rom. 3:21-30—“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. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith & the uncircumcised through faith.”
Rom. 4:2— 5:1-2—of Jesus our Lord—“who was delivered up because of our offenses, & was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Rom. 10:8-11—“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth & in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, & with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”” “That...we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
“Heirs”—klhronomov—1) One who receives by lot, an heir; 2) One who has acquired or obtained the portion allotted to him.
Rom. 8:16-17—“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, & if children, then heirs--heirs of God & joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Js. 2:5—“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith & heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”
1Pet. 1:3-5—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible & undefiled & that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Joh 3:14-17—““And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Argumentation:
Rom. 8:23-24—“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?”
2Cor. 5:1, 4—“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”....“For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”
Titus 1:1-3—“Paul, a bondservant of God & an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect & the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;”
Jn. 3:36—““He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; & he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.””
Jn. 10:9-10—““I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Assurance of eternal life grants one power for living in knowledge, anticipation, truth....it supplies Eternal Power to one’s life!
Illustration:
The ocean/Always been, always will be/Fishermen appreciate what it can yield/It will be there throughout your lifetime/When its gone you’re gone/Empowers the fisherman to pass down that livelihood from generation to generation/Extrapolate that to truly eternal things regarding God & salvation/It changes & focuses your life for the remainder of your life!/Your children learn of it because it is life-changing & steadying/ETERNAL Power
Application:
? Your life Yielded to God’s ETERNAL Power?
?Your life Yielded to God?
9— The Driving Force(grace) behind a yielded life brings...
AFFIRMING Power(3:8)
Explanation:(:8) Affirm the things of God.
:8—“This is a faithful saying, & these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good & profitable to men.”
“This is a faithful saying, & these things I want you to affirm constantly,”
The following or previous is a “faithful saying” in that it is a nugget of God’s truth or a nutshell of a great biblical truth or of biblical wisdom. Pregnant with meaning in as condensed a form as possible.
For Paul’s use of the phrase “Faithful saying” see: 1Tim. 1:15, 3:1, 4:9; & 2Tim. 2:11. The “faithful” ‘word’ may be either above or below this phrase. It seems here that any “faithful saying” would be as concise as possible, a nutshell of wisdom, pregnant with meaning & most easily passed on to others.
“These things” are those which Paul has discussed & handed down in the previous verses as well as concisely summarized in the “faithful saying.”. Titus is encouraged to “constantly” “affirm” them in his own life & in the lives of others. To practice what he preaches & expect the same in other Christians.
“Affirm constantly/Speak confidently/Stress”—diabebaioomai—To affirm strongly, assert confidently. Strong— To confirm thoroughly (by words), i.e. Asseverate:-- Affirm constantly. Middle voice —bebaiow—To stabilitate (figuratively):--To make firm, confirm, establish, make sure. ‘Thru confirmation.’ Used 2X.
“That those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good & profitable to men.”
“That those who have believed in God...”
“Believed/Trusted”—pisteuw—Strong—To have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ):-- Believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.
Ps. 78:21-22—“Therefore the LORD heard this[complaints of Israel in the wilderness] & was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.”
Php. 2:12-13—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will & to do for His good pleasure.”
“Should be careful to maintain good works.”
“Should be....”
The ideal is not always the reality!
We must guard ourselves from being too comfortable with our standing before God. Assurance of eternal salvation by the work of Christ, DOES NOT give us license to live by the desires of our flesh.
*A blood-bought, born-again believer, always sees fit to live out that belief faithfully. To live faithfully as one born-again.... involves not only a heart & a mind surrendered to Christ, but a lifestyle surrendering the body/flesh to the Holy Spirit.
These “good works” are actions which accomplish God’s glory thru our attention to others.