INTRO.- ILL.- D.L. Moody was an American evangelist (February 5, 1837 - December 22, 1899 - 62 years). Moody said: “Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live. The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out.”
He also said: "It is well that man cannot save himself; for if a man could only work his own way to Heaven, you would never hear the last of it. Why, if a man happens to get a little ahead of his fellows and scrapes a few thousands of dollars together, you’ll hear him boast of being a self-made man. I’ve heard so much of this sort of talk that I am sick and tired of the whole business; and I am glad that through all eternity in Heaven we will never hear anyone bragging of how he worked his way to get there." AMEN!
Luke 18:18 The rich young ruler asked of Jesus, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" This is the mentality that most people have when it comes to eternal life. WHAT MUST I DO TO GET IT?
ILL.- A former Buddhist who became a Christian wrote, “One of the hardest things to understand was why I didn’t have to work my way to heaven. In Buddhism you must pray hard, burn incense and give many offerings. Even so, you can’t know for sure if you’ll go to heaven.”
This is the thinking that most people have even if they aren’t Buddhists! They still think they must do a lot of good things in this life in order to qualify for eternal life. However, we should be motivated to do good not because we want to be saved but because we are saved!
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We need to understand God’s grace much more than we do and this text will help us.
PROP.- This passage teaches us much about the grace of God, which we badly need.
1- The grace of God brings salvation
2- The grace of God teaches goodness
3- The grace of God gives hope
I. THE GRACE OF GOD BRINGS SALVATION
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. What is your nature? What is my nature? What are you naturally inclined to do? For preachers: Talk!
ILL.- Oprah Winfrey’s nature is to talk. That’s the way I see her. Dr. Phil’s nature is to talk, to dish out advice as if he knew everything. And he is pretty smart. He’s smart enough to make millions of dollars by talking. I read that he makes around $43 Million dollars a year. Not bad for just talking. That’s his nature.
What about God’s nature? What’s the thing He does best? GIVE to people? LOVE people? BLESS people? FORGIVE people? YES, all these, no doubt. God is love and He is a giver of good gifts and He is quick to forgive when we believe Him. His nature is that of grace. He is a gracious God. He is a grace giving God. And His grace brings salvation and has appeared to all men.
I would say that His grace has appeared in the person of Jesus. The nature of God is that He wants all men to be saved in Jesus.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish....”
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
John 1:29 “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
The problem with our society, however, is that they don’t even know they are lost. They don’t even know they are perishing. Most people don’t know they are heading to the 2nd death, which is separation from God.
Ephesians 2:1-5 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
Dead in transgressions and sins. Many people are dead and don’t even know it. They are dead because of their sins. For all practical purposes, they are dead to God and Christ because sin has taken over their lives.
ILL.- Billionaire, Donald Trump was asked one time, “What about death?” the writer asked. “Don’t you worry about dying?” Trump said, “No. I’m fatalistic and I protect myself as well as anybody can. I prepare for things.” This time, however, as Trump started walking up the stairs to have dinner with his family, he hesitated for a moment. “No,” he said finally, “I don’t believe in reincarnation, heaven or hell—but we go someplace. ” Again a pause, “Do you know,” he added, “I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where.”
Donald Trump is just like many people of our world except that they don’t have the money he has! He’s lost and doesn’t know it. He’s lost in sin and doesn’t realize it because he’s having the time of his life.
People don’t like to admit this, because we all would like to think we’re in control of our lives, but in reality, either sin controls us or the Lord controls us. We’re either walking with the Lord or with the evil one and most people don’t even know the evil one exists!
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
What did God do? First, He sent Jesus to save us. Then He sent messages throughout all of life: On TV, through the news, through people, through the Internet, through the church, through preaching, etc. And the offer still stands, however.
God continues to use people, places, and things in order to reach people for Christ so they can be saved. OUR GOD OF GRACE HAS BROUGHT SALVATION TO ALL MEN.
II. THE GRACE OF GOD TEACHES GOODNESS
12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. God’s grace doesn’t just save us. God’s grace does many good things for us in life and one of them is that His grace teaches us how to live, that is, how to live better lives. How to overcome worldly passions and live a godly life.
ILL.- I read that actor Charlie Sheen who has had a terrible drug and drinking problem said, “I heal really quickly, but I also unravel pretty quickly.” I think he unravels quicker than he heals. In fact, I think he’s a long way from healing from his drug dependency. And there is only one way to get completely healed and by one person!
ILL.- Two or three years before the death of John Newton (former slave ship captain and eventual author of the song, “Amazing Grace”), when his sight was so dim that he was no longer able to read, a friend and brother in the ministry called to have breakfast with him.
Newton said, “I am not what I ought to be! How imperfect and deficient I am! I am not what I wish to be, although I abhor that which is evil and would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be, but soon I shall be out of mortality, and with it all sin and imperfection.
“Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor yet what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was: a slave to sin and Satan. I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge that by the grace of God I am what I am!”
What a great testimony to the one who wrote “Amazing Grace.” He knew well what the grace of God could do for a person. God’s grace can not only save us but also teach us how to live right in this world of sin.
ILL.- Louis Cassels wrote: “If God wants you to do something, he’ll make it possible for you to do it, but the grace he provides comes only with the task and cannot be stockpiled beforehand. We are dependent on him from hour to hour, and the greater our awareness of this fact, the less likely we are to faint or fail in a crisis.”
We are dependent on Him from hour to hour. I believe this. We can’t live without God’s grace and we most certainly live a godly life without His grace.
2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."
It is only through weakness that we receive God’s grace for daily living. It’s only when we go down that we go up and receive His grace. It’s only when we humble ourselves before Him and admit how sinful we truly are that we receive His grace to become better people.
I Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble.”
How does God’s grace teach us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions and give us self-control and upright living? One way is through His Word which teaches us about right living. And another way is through His Holy Spirit who lives within us and empowers us for right living. And the Spirit and the Word go together. Whatever the word says, the Spirit does. Whatever the Spirit says, the Word explains. The Spirit is the author of scripture.
God’s grace is given through His Word and through His Spirit to enlighten us as to how to live right or righteously in this world and the Spirit gives us the strength to do right and live right.
II Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Scripture convinces, convicts and equips us.
Galatians 5:22-26 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. The grace of God teaches us or trains us in right living. He produces His fruit in us and helps us to overcome the sinful nature.
III. THE GRACE OF GOD GIVES HOPE
13 While we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who 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.
OUR BLESSED HOPE is the return of Jesus. Wouldn’t you rather Jesus come back before death comes to you? Either or is good for the Christian, of course!
Hope is not what a lot of people have in life. There is a reason that I say this. Do you know why I say this? BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE JESUS OR DON’T KNOW HIM AS THEIR SAVIOR! And without Jesus there isn’t much hope in life! On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand!
ILL.- One night at dinner a man, who had spent many summers in Maine, fascinated his companions by telling of his experiences in a little town named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a large lake for which a dam was being built. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town were stopped.
What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled.
Then he added by way of explanation: "Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present." And this is the way it is for people who do not believe or trust Christ for salvation. Since they have no hope for a better future, they have no power for daily living.
ILL.- Preacher Charles Spurgeon tells of a man to whom was entrusted a large sum of money for the benefit of a poor minister. He thought it would be best to distribute the gift, instead of sending it all at once.
So he mailed the poor minister five pounds and, inside the envelope, he placed a little slip of paper on which was written, “More to follow.”
Thus, for ever so long, the old minister received regularly his little package of money, always with the “More to follow” note inside.
And this is how God deals with us. The grace we receive today is but a pledge of that which will be given tomorrow; that which we receive tomorrow will likewise be stamped, “More to follow.”
Boy, aren’t we glad that there is “more to follow”? Oh boy! More to come when Jesus comes back or more to follow when we leave this old world. Either way, we win! We have hope of a better life after this life and it’s because of God’s grace in Jesus!
II Thessalonians 2:16-17 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”
CONCLUSION---------------------
ILL.- When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.
But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award--yet receives such a gift anyway--that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor.
This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
