God's Great Grace
Titus 2:11-15
One of the greatest illustrations of Grace, is the story of David and Mephibosheth. David had made a covenant with his dear friend and Saul's son Jonathan, he promised to show kindness to his family. Sometime after Saul and Jonathan died and David had become King, he sought the opportunity to make good on his promise. He finds that Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth who was lame and lived in the land of Lodebar. Mephibosheth had done nothing to deserve the favor of the King. But David sent for him and welcomed him into the palace. He then restored his family's land. He also assigned servants to till the soil and harvest the crops. Then David said to Mephibosheth "as for you, you will eat at my table and live as one of my own sons." 2 Samuel 9:13 (tells us that) "Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table"
The grace that David extended towards Mephibosheth was not a one time occasion. His grace was continual... Mephibosheth remained in the palace and was treated as one of the Kings own sons.
This is such a great picture of the relationship that we have with our Heavenly Father. A simple definition of Grace is " the underserved love and favor of God toward fallen man."
We do not deserve salvation through Jesus Christ. We do not deserve a relationship where Almighty God is our Father. And we do not deserve eternal life and a promised home in Heaven. But thanks to grace these things are a reality for those who are "in Christ".
God's grace is evident in all facets of the Christian life. God's grace is seen in our salvation, our transformation, our sanctification, our edification and our glorification. Each of these truths are covered in this power packed portion of God's Word, I would like to walk through this passage and preach on "God's Great Grace".
- Let's start in verse 11 and examine:
I. GOD'S GRACE AND OUR SALVATION - v11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Here Paul states that God's grace has appeared and brought salvation for all people. God has extended His love and compassion toward sinful man. The Bible makes it clear that all of mankind needed this great grace. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Each of us needed a Savior. We were born lost and in need of salvation. Salvation is deliverance from sin and judgment. God (through Christ) has made a way for each of us to be saved. The only answer for sin is Jesus. The only substance powerful enough to wash sin away is the precious blood of Jesus. If you die and find yourself in Hell, it will be because you rejected God's great offer of Grace. Those who are in hell today had to walk over a blood stained cross to get there!
God's great gift of grace "has appeared to all men". This means that you have the opportunity to be saved! If you are already saved, then praise God for His GREAT GRACE!!
- As I have mentioned, grace does not end at the point of salvation. God's grace is also evident in the process of transformation. Look with me to verse 12 as we examine:
II. GOD'S GRACE AND OUR TRANSFORMATION - v12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
We are not saved by works, rather we are saved "by the washing of regeneration". (This will be covered in greater detail in the next chapter.) Regeneration literally speaks of the "New Birth". When this occurs there will be a transformation... there will be a CHANGE!
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When this transformation takes place there are some things that we will begin to avoid. Likewise there are some things that we will seek to accomplish.
v12a Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
There are things that the Christian should have no part in. There are place he/she should not go. There are things that he/she should not do. We must fight the temptation that comes from our enemy. And we must fight the desires that come naturally from this ol sinful flesh!
We must remember that we are not of this world! - 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Let us avoid the things of this world and honor God! It is not enough to simply avoid the bad things, there are also some things that we should strive to accomplish. We are expected to live "soberly, righteously and godly".
Our lives should honor our Father. Our actions should point people to the Savior. We should be devoted and obedient to our Lord. We should follow and obey His word and not seek after the desires of the flesh and the temptations of this world. This is only possible through the grace of God that brings transformation.
- Grace brings deliverance and a change in our lives and it also brings us hope. Consider if you will:
III. GOD'S GRACE AND OUR ANTICIPATION - v13a Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
We are currently living in a world that is consumed with sin. There are troubles and turmoil everywhere we look. People all over this world are looking for hope. I am here to tell you that the only hope that anyone has is in Jesus Christ. He is our blessed hope! We look for His appearance and we long for His return. This too is an aspect of God's great grace.
Thanks to the grace of God we have been delivered from the power of sin. Thanks to the grace of God we have been delivered from the penalty of sin and one day, because of God's great grace we will be delivered from the very presence of sin.
We are promised through God's Word that Jesus is coming back. This is no myth or fairytale. The same Jesus that came and made a way for us to be saved will come again someday. After Jesus was resurrected He spent some time with His followers. Then one day He ascended to His rightful place at the right hand of the Father.
Acts 1:9 says "he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
That promise rings true today and we are closer than ever before. There is coming a day when Jesus will split the Eastern sky with a shout, with the voice of an Archangel and the sound of a trumpet. He will call His children home! We will rise up out of this world of sorrow and we will meet Him in the air AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD! This is our blessed hope... this is our great anticipation and this hope is possible because of God's great grace!
- Though we look for that day, there is still work to do until Christ returns. Not only is there a work for us to do for Him, there is a work that He continues to do in us. Look with me to verse 14 as we consider:
IV. GOD'S GRACE AND OUR SANCTIFICATION - v14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Jesus gave Himself for us. He willingly became the sacrifice for the sins of the world. It has been said that GRACE stands for "God's Riches At Christ's Expense". All that we have as Christians is free, but cost God His Son and it cost Jesus His Life. He paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay! Verse 14 says that Jesus gave Himself in order to "redeem us from all iniquity".
This speaks of the salvation that we examined earlier. But we are also told that Jesus "gave Himself for us" in order to "purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." - This shows us that sanctification is a work of God's grace.
Sanctification is defined as “the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the principles placed in the soul in regeneration”. The word “sanctify” has the idea of “purifying something so that it can be set apart for exclusive use of the Lord.” Jesus wants His people to be purified and used for the Lord’s glory. Sanctification begins at the point of salvation but it doesn't end there. It is a continual process in the life of a believer.
The story is told of a young girl who accepted Christ as her Savior and applied for membership in a local church. "Were you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your Life?" inquired an old deacon. "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you still a sinner?" "To tell you the truth, I feel I'm a greater sinner than ever." "Then what real change have you experienced?" "I don't quite know how to explain it," she said, "except I used to be a sinner running after sin, but now that I am saved. I'm a sinner running from sin!" she was received into the fellowship of the church, and she proved by her consistent life that she was truly converted.
God does a continual work in the life of His Children. - Philippians 1:6 (says) ...he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Verse 14 tells us that Jesus desires us to be "zealous of good works". A zealot is someone who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals. May we be zealots for Christ. May we live each day with a great desire to honor our Savior. Friends, God doesn't just save us and leave us alone. He saves us for a purpose. Jesus has begun the work of sanctification in our lives. And He will continue that work until it is complete. This is just another marvelous aspect of God's Great Grace.
God's Grace Brings Salvation. It is only because God offers us this marvelous free gift that we can be born again through Jesus Christ.
God's Grace Brings Transformation. When we are born again, Jesus begins a great work in us. We are brought from death unto life. We are brought from the darkness into the light. We are changed, regenerated and transformed!
God's Grace Brings Anticipation. Because of our relationship with Jesus we look and long for that day when He returns for His own! He is our blessed hope, this hope is possible because of grace!
God's Grace Brings Sanctification. God has a plan for us. His grace is continual. He works in and though His children. He has saved us and set us apart in order to bring Him glory. All of these things are possible because of God's Grace!
"Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,"
"Freely bestowed on all who believe!"
"You that are longing to see His face,"
"Will you this moment His grace receive?"
"Grace, grace, God’s grace,"
"Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;"
"Grace, grace, God’s grace,"
"Grace that is greater than all our sin!"
I am thankful for "God's Great Grace"
