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3 Realities of God's Grace · CCC West Covina

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Well, good evening, Christ Community Church.
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I invite you to open up your Bibles in the book of Titus.
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We're going to be in chapter 2, verses 11 to 14, Titus chapter
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2, verses 11 to 14. First, before we start our
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message for tonight, I just want to give thanks to the Lord for
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bringing me here. I think Pastor Lance and the
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rest of the elders, Roger, Tom and Esteban for giving me this
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opportunity to be able to bring God's word into you.
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My prayer is that whether your answer is yay or no, I will be
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able to minister to you through this passage.
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And I pick this passage because I think it's in line with the
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strategy of the church. I love the strategy of of Christ
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Community Church. It's our passion to pursue
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Christ, priority to proclaim Christ, and it's our purpose to
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proclaim Christ, priority to portray Christ.
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And it's our practice of praise, praise Christ.
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And that's a great strategy. And upon praying upon the text
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that I'm going to use for tonight, I think it's going to
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be in line with that. We're going to be learning about
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the grace of God in Christ. And so this letter, of course,
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is written by Apostle Paul to Titus.
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And after being released from his imprisonment in Rome, and
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that's around 8060 to 62, Paul started preaching the gospel and
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started establishing churches there with a young man, Titus,
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in this Mediterranean island called Crete.
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And this island of Crete, their people are known for being lazy,
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glutton, being liars. So they're basically the the
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worst of evils of the world. And this sinful society
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basically craves the backdrop for Paul writing to them, to
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Titus. And Paul left titers there to
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create, to basically continue the work of planting churches
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there. And after 3-4 years after he
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left Titus, Paul writes to this young pastor and he says in
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chapter 1, verse five, that his purpose for writing is for the
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reason that he left him there in Crete, that he, Titus, would set
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in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as
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Paul directed him. So Paul's purpose in writing is
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to basically enable and empower Titus in establishing the
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churches on that island and to appoint elders in those
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churches. So we can see from this letter
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that Paul's concern is to make the believers there and creed
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understand and grasp the interconnectedness of sound
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doctrine and sound living. So in chapter 1, verse 9, he
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tells Titus to exhort the elders to hold fast the faithful word
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which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be
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able to both exhort and sound doctrine and to refute those who
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contradict. In the same chapter, Chapter
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one, verse 13, he instructs Titus to address those who are
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rebellious as saying reprove them severely so that they may
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be sound in the faith. And then in chapter 2, verse
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one, Paul instructs Titus himself and he says, but As for
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you Titus, speak the things which are fitting for sound
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doctrine. And throughout the book, we can
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see that Paul stresses the necessary and practical
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outworking of salvation in the daily lives of those who are
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elders and the rest of the believers in that congregation.
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See, Paul stresses the need for Christians to live righteously
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because of its impact upon the testimony and ministry of the
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church towards the sinful society within Crete.
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And this whole epistle is relevant to us with what's going
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on in our country. And so in our passage tonight,
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chapter 2, verses 11, Paul gives Titus the foundational truths
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that drive his previous instructions in verses 1 to 10.
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And after instructing all kinds of people in the church on how
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to behave, he now in this passage points to God's grace as
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the purpose and the reason why they need to submit to
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instructions. And he uses the conjunction for
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to make that connection. And so our passage reads.
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For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to
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all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires,
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to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
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looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of
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our great God and Savior Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us
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to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to preify for Himself
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a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
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And from this passage, I want to submit to you that God wants us
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to grasp and to understand 3 realities about God's grace so
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that we might be able to showcase the riches of that
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grace through our lives. God wants us to rest three
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reality realities about his grace so that our lives might
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serve as a showcase of the riches of His grace, showcasing
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3 realities about God's grace. And 1st, we will see the person
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of God's grace from verse 11, the first half of verse 11.
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And secondly, we will see the program of God's grace from the
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second-half of verse 11 down through verse 13.
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And then thirdly, we're going to see the people of God's grace
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from verse 14. So the Pete, the person of God's
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grace, the program of God's grace, and the people of God's
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grace as showcasing the three piece of God's grace, the
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person, the program and the people.
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So let's look at the first one, the person of God's grace, verse
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11, for the grace of God has appeared.
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You see, grace is one of the attributes and perfections of
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God. It's the special expression of
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his kindness or goodness, and God's goodness is that quality
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of his essence wherein he makes his profoundly general
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generosity seen in all of his creatures.
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Grace, then, is God's disposition to show kindness to
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and improve the quality of life or the well-being of those who
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there who deserve the opposite, those who are unworthy.
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Then Paul says God's grace has appeared or manifested itself.
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But God's grace here is not lost, and it's not just an it.
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And God's grace appeared in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And Paul spells this out in verse 13 when he says that we're
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looking for and anticipating for the blessed hope and the
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appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus
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Christ. So God the Son is God's grace
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Incarnate. Christ is God's supremely
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gracious favor and gift, the fallen mankind.
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And Paul expounds on the identity of this grace Incarnate
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in chapter 3, verses four to seven.
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He says, but when the kindness of God our Savior and His love
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for mankind appeared, He saved us not on the basis of deeds
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which we have done in righteousness, but according to
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his mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the
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Holy Spirit. And here it comes, verse 6, whom
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He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
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so that being justified by His grace, we would be made heirs
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according to the hope of eternal life.
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And the apostle John gives the same testimony when he says in
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John chapter 1 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
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and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the
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Father, full of grace and truth. And skipping to verse 16, John
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says for his of his fullness, Christ's fullness, we have all
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receive grace upon grace. For the law was given through
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Moses, but grace and truth we're realized through Jesus Christ.
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So God's grace has appeared in the person of the Lord and
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Savior Jesus Christ. And I invite you to go to the
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second Timothy verse chapter 1, verses 8 to 10.
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And there Paul speaks of the same grace of God that he has
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given to us. He also speaks of how this grace
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has been made to appear in Christ Jesus.
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He says in verse 8, Second Timothy chapter one, verse 8,
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join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the
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power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy
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calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
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purpose and grace which was granted to us in Christ Jesus
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from all eternity. Here and here it comes, but now
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has been revealed by the appearing of our Lord, say Lord
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our Savior Christ Jesus. So Paul speaks of the same grace
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of God that he has given to us and disgrace in Christ Jesus.
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And his grace has been foreordained from all eternity.
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And this grace is not just an afterthought, it's not just an
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accident, but it's been planned. It's been predestined by God and
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manifested in His Son. So going back to our text,
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chapter 211 of Titus, for the grace of God has appeared in the
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person of Christ Jesus. God has been gracious to you and
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me by giving us life in this world for us to enjoy.
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And the Lord Jesus says and confirms that in Matthew 545
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when He says God causes His Son to rise on the evil and the good
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and since rain on the righteous and the and the unrighteous.
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And we know this to be God's common grace.
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It's common to everyone. Everyone experiences that.
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But what we have here is God's special grace in the person of
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the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we're calling Paul's
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intent here as the person of grace.
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The person of grace question is, have you experienced the Lord
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and Savior of Jesus Christ? Have you experienced the
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kindness of God through him upon hearing the gospel of salvation
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as the Lord and Savior of Jesus Christ made an appearance in the
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eyes of your heart? For the grace of God has
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appeared. And that leads us to the second
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reality of God's grace, the program of God's grace, The
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program of God's grace. Paul continues verse 11, the
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second-half, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to
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God to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live
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sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for
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the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our
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great God and Savior Christ Jesus.
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You see, Paul wants to see that the program of God's grace it's
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to save and it's to sanctify and to give us hope.
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For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to
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all men. You see, God's grace in Christ
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came to bring salvation. Bringing salvation, you might
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ask, salvation from what? Well, Christ came to live the
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perfect life required of each of us.
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He live to die the death that satisfies the God, the wrath of
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God upon sin. He came to fulfill God's
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promises in the Old Testament about the Savior and the
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Messiah. He came to rise from the dead,
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claiming victory over death. You see, God's grace in Christ
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save came to save all men. All men.
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What does it mean? Women are excluded, right?
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It's a general term to mean mankind, right?
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It's not necessarily teaching that everyone will be saved.
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That would be the heresy of universal salvation.
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Of course, that's not what it's teaching, but basically it's
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teaching that God in His grace sent his Son and the person of
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his Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that he would
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be able to send save mankind. It is for everyone.
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It doesn't matter what part of the world you are in.
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Christ came to save sinners. He's saved, He came to save
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mankind. So the grace of the gospel is
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for all kinds of people all over the world.
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And Paul speaks of the gospel in 2nd Corinthians 519 and he says
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God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not
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counting their trespasses against them, the world
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reconciling the world to him. So the first phase within the
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program of God's grace is to save now.
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The second phase within the program of God's grace is to
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sanctify God's grace in the person of Christ.
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Came verse 12, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly
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desires to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the
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present age and the world. And the word that Paul uses here
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for instructing has that idea of a father training his son to
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become more mature. You know, there's discipline
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involved, there's teaching and sometimes correction,
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chastisement, right? But the goal is to be able to
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take that child and make him grow.
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That's what the word means here in in by the word instructing
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here that we have and this requires the necessary
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discipline to be more like Christ.
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You see from a baby Christian, a baby little Christ, we are being
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trained and disciplined to be a more mature Christ like Christ.
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And so the gospel involves the call to repent from sins.
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It involves forsaking sin, rejecting them, and turning away
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from them. And by God's grace, we've done
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that when we responded to the goal of the gospel, right?
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The call to repent of our sins, denying ungodliness and worldly
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desires. And the word ungodliness here is
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that sinful attitude by our selfish and sinful heart.
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It's the attitude that leads us to go against God's law, His
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commandments, and His will. It's to live as if God is dead.
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It's basically practical atheism.
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It's living as if there's no God.
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Practical atheism. In practice, we live as if
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there's no God. And worldly desires here are
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everything that drives our sinful hearts and the
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unbelievers to pursue what the world offers.
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See in those desires that the Lord Jesus Christ said we would
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know what worldly desires are. In Mark 721 to 22, he says that
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from the heart comes evil thoughts, fornications, thefts,
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murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting, wickedness as well as
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deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
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And there are those that Paul listed as parts of the deeds of
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the flesh in Galatians 5921. Immorality, impurity,
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sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy,
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outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions envying,
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drunkenness, carousing. See, it's any desire or lust
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that starts inside the heart, which is we know as the Control
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Center of our lives, right? Everything comes from the heart,
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The heart that the issue is. The issue of the heart, which
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then finds its fulfillment in the system that Satan sets up in
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the world to enslave people in their sins.
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That's according to Ephesians 22, when Paul says and talks
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about the sense in which you formerly walked, according to
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the curse of this world, according to the Prince of the
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power of the air, of the Spirit that is now working in the sons
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of disobedience. And so in the negative sense,
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the gospel and the grace of God trains us to deny ungodliness
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and worldly desires. But in a positive sense, the
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gospel trains us to pursue Christ likeness.
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And look at verse 12 again. It says that the grace of God is
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instructing us to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the
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present age. See, to live sensibly is
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basically to be sober minded in any situation.
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See, it's being sensible or sober minded, not being
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influenced by any substance that will cost you to be unstable and
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to impair your judgment. Being sober minded basically is
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the opposite of being drunk or intoxicated, is the opposite of
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being reckless, irresponsible and self indulgent, is the
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opposite of being unstable or distracted, asleep and inactive.
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But in a positive sense, being sensible and sober minded means
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to be clear in your mind and your thought.
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It's free from clutter or pollution or distraction.
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It's to be clear headed, mentally sharp and focus, self
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controlled, self-discipline and stable so that you're always
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active and always awake, alert and in charge.
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Is to have the right thoughts about what you should do or to
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let your mind guide your body in what it does.
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Is to be sound in your thinking and in your behavior.
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And living righteously here is to have a quality or character
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of life wherein your thought and your behavior are done properly,
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correctly and justly, A pridely manner.
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It's to faithfully obey the Bible, God's Word, which is our
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standard upon which we do and know what's right.
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It's to live according to His character, God's character, his
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ways, his precepts, his will to think like God thinks, talk like
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God, and to act like God. So practically, it's to have the
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mind of Christ, godly basically is to mean that you fear and you
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reverence and love God. That's what he means to be
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godly. It's practically to have the
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mind of Christ. It's to ask yourself what and
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how did Jesus think? Not what would Jesus think, but
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what did he actually think? How did he actually think?
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That's also to do the deeds and commandments of Christ.
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What did Jesus do? Not, would not, what would Jesus
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do? What?
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What did actually he do? What did he do?
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What did Jesus do? And it's in Scripture, right?
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So you see, God's grace of salvation in Jesus Christ is
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transforming. We are no longer slaves to sin.
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Instead, we are now slaves to righteousness.
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It's Romans 618 that indicates to us, you know, the Holy Spirit
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drives us now. That means our lives are driven
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by the fruit of the Spirit as we can see in Galatians 522 to 23,
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which includes Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
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faithfulness and self-control. So God's grace trains us to live
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sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.
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We are to be like Christ right now.
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Right now. You see, in the climate that we
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live in, there is much need indications for true Christians
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to be Christians. It's easy to coin to be a
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Christian. The fact could mean you claim to
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be a Christian. A sicker could claim to be a
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Christian. But in this pressing age, we
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need to be known as people who deny ungodliness and go by what
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the word of God says regarding true righteousness.
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You see, as believers and as Christians, we have been changed
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and that there are things that we no longer think or desire
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anymore. There are things that we don't
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do anymore. We are now taking after Christ's
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name, right? That's why we call ourselves
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Christian after Christ. We're miniature versions of
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Christ. We're the proteges of Christ,
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this present corrupt and morally bankrupt age.
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We're walking and living differently.
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We have a different path. And that brings us to the third
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phase of the program of grace, which is to give hope a future
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glory. You see, while God's grace in
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Christ trains us to pursue Christ's likeness in the present
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age, God's grace also trains US, verse 13, to be looking for the
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blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God
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and Savior Christ Jesus. And what we're looking for here,
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again, it's not something that's lost.
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No, we're looking for it in expectation.
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We're looking for it with great diligence.
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We're looking forward to it with watchfulness and great
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excitement. See the praise, the blessed
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hope, and the appearing of the glory of our great God and
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Savior Christ. Jesus refers basically to the
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resurrection of our bodies, the resurrection of our bodies.
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And when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to establish his reign
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on earth, to establish his Kingdom, that's what's going to
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that's what he's going to do, give us glorified bodies fit for
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that Kingdom. So you notice how Paul
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attributes God and Savior to Jesus Christ because he is,
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right, Jesus Christ is God. And by the way, if you're
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talking to a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness, whether God is or
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whether Jesus is God, this is a great text to point them
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towards, right? Because here is it's
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specifically spelled out, right, the God and Savior Jesus Christ.
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And we know that he's God because from John one, we know
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him to be the word who was with God, who was God, right?
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And John 5858, the Lord claimed that He was before Abraham,
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before Abraham was alive. He said, I am claiming that he
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is Yahweh himself. That and that He existed before
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Abraham was. And that's a claim to His
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preexistence, His deity, his eternality.
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That's why his enemies wanted to disown him.
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They knew what He was claiming preexistence eternally.
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That means he's God. And then John 1030, He claims
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equality with the essence of the Father.
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If he is of the same essence as the Father, which no one had
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claimed, it only means that he's also God right now.
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That he's great just means that he is immense.
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He's magnanimous, incomparable in his character, majesty and
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power. Just as the Father is great and
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his name, Jesus means God saves the title.
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Christ means the Messiah, the anointed Savior and king.
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It's not last name. It means something.
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It means the Messiah, the anointed Savior and king.
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And so we believe Christ to be God and Savior, and we're
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looking for the blessed hope of our God and Savior.
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And it's a blessed hope because it's going to be full of joy.
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It's happy, and it's a privileged moment.
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This hope is not just positive thinking or wishful thinking.
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It's something good that will happen in the future, and we can
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bank on it. It's almost as if we can grasp
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it because the God who promised it is faithful.
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It's a short promise waiting to happen.
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And John one, if you can turn there with me first.
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John 32 it says first. John 32 Beloved, now we are
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children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.
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We know that when he appears we will be like him because we will
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see him just as he is. Peter and first Peter blesses
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God for this promise and he calls it a living hope.
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He says blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again
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to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
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from the dead. You see, because Jesus Christ
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rose from the dead, we will also rise from the dead.
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The blessed hope is receiving our resurrected bodies, physical
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bodies, just like the Lords. Remember, he ate after his
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resurrection. He could take on a physical
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tangible fish and eat it. It's a physical resurrected
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body. It's fit for the new heavens and
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the new earth. Paul says in Philippians
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3/20/21. For our citizenship is in
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heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for our Savior, the
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Lord Christ Jesus. And then it says verse 21, who
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will transform our body of our humble state into conformity
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with the body of his glory. It's going to be our glorious
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body. You see, if you're here and you
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have ailments and sickness and weakness, our glorious body is
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the answer and the hope that we have been waiting for.
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This is why we trusted in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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We didn't just put our faith in Him so that we would be saved
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from the judgment of God upon the wrath of our sin.
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We have trusted Christ because we hope that our bodies, the
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sinful bodies, will be resurrected someday and that
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body will no longer be susceptible to sickness, to sin,
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to weakness. We will have the body as God
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intended it for us to have, perfectly worshipping with our
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bodies, our Creator, our God, and our Savior.
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We will no longer sin. That's the answer of Pastor John
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MacArthur when he was asked, you know what?
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Do you look forward to heaven when you get there?
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The absence of sin? I mean, there's a lot of things
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that we can say, right? But are you guys in favor of
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truth and honesty? Christ Community Church, is this
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your answer as well? I know it is mine, right?
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So this blessed hope, it's worth the anticipation even in the
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midst of suffering in this evil world, because it's going to be
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full of glory, Paul says in Romans 818 to 24.
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For I consider that the sufferings of this present time
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are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is going to
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be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of
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creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
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We're waiting to be unveiled. We're waiting to be revealed for
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who we are really going to be. Then skipping to verse 21, Paul
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says we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even
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we ourselves groan with ourselves waiting eagerly for
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our adoption, our sons. And here we go, the redemption
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of our bodies. See, we're looking forward to
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that blessed hope of our redeemed and resurrected bodies.
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For in hope Paul says verse 24, Romans 8, we have been saved.
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But hope that is seen, It's not hope for who hopes for what he
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already has or sees. But if we hope for what we do
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not see, we persevere while we wait eagerly for it.
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So we diligently and we watchfully look forward to it.
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It's going to be a blessed time when Christ returns in his
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glory. It's also going to be a time of
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glorification. We were going to be exalting in
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great joy for having followed Christ and obeyed Christ and put
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our trust and faith in him. Listen to what Paul says in
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First Corinthians 1555 to 54 to 55.
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But when his this corruptible, this earthly body puts on the
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incorruptible or heavenly body, and this mortal puts
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immortality, then we'll come about with the word that is
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written. Death is swallowed up in
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victory. Oh, death, where is your
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victory? Where is your sting?
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And several verses before that, in verse 50, Paul speaks of the
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believers immortal and resurrected bodies fit for the
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Kingdom of God. He says, now I say this,
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brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of
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God, nor does the correct corruptible inherit the
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incorruptible. And Paul again first Timothy 41,
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once Timothy to take the appearing of Christ expectedly
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and soberly. He says, I solemnly charge you
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in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge
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the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his Kingdom.
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Peter speaks of this same thought and reality in Second
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Peter chapter 3 says, But the day of the Lord will come like a
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thief, in which the heavens will pass away with the war, and the
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elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and
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its works would be found out. Since all these things are to be
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destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought to be in holy
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conduct and godliness looking for in the hastening the coming
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of the day of the Lord, because of which the heavens burning
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will be destroyed and the elements will melt with intense
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heat. But according to His promise,
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we're looking for the new heavens and the new earth in
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which righteousness rose. You see, this blessed hope of
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having our immortal bodies fit for the new heavens and the
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earth is something it's going to be undescribable.
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It's like living the life that we have now, but without the
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presence of sin, only righteousness and perfect
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worship of our Lord, God and Creator.
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And it would be irresponsible to me if I don't talk about the
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immortal bodies that are also going to be given those who do
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not trust in Christ. You see, because just as there
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is the resurrection body that will be given to those who trust
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in Christ, there will also be a resurrection body that will be
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given to those who oppose God and call it the gospel.
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In John 525 to 29, it says the Lord is speaking here truly,
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truly. I say to you, an hour is coming,
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and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of
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God, and those who hear will live.
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For just as the Father has life in himself, Even so He gave the
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Son also to have life in himself, and He gave Him
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authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man.
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Do not marvel at this for an hour's coming in which all who
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are in the tombs will hear His voice, and we'll come forth.
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Those who did the good deeds through a resurrection of life,
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and those who committed the evil deeds through a resurrection of
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judgment. Doing good deeds is a reflection
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of trust in Christ, and doing evil deeds deeds is a reflection
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of rejecting Christ. So the righteous will be
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resurrected, the wicked will also be resurrected.
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Two kinds of resurrection, both eternal but different
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environment. See Matthew 2546.
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The Lord talks about how wicked people will go into eternal
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punishment and Hebrews 1027, the author of that book, it speaks
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of how for those who reject the gospel and continue in sinning
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that there will be a terrifying expectation of judgement and
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fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.
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You see God's grace in the past. It's our justification.
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It's past oriented. It saved us from the penalty of
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sin. God's grace is also presence
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oriented. It makes us wholly set apart
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from the influence of sin now. And God's grace is future
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oriented in that it will glorify our bodies when the Lord
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returns, and it's ultimately going to set us free from this
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body of sin, from the presence of sin.
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So question is, has God really forgiven you of your sins?
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Does God really save you from His holy, just and righteous
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penalty of it? Is there a struggle, a fight and
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victory over the sin that entices you?
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Do you progress in becoming more like Christ, in your stature, in
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your character, in your thoughts, in your speech, and in
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your actions? Do you long for the future glory
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of Christ? Or are you so much caught up
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with what's going on in the world?
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Do you long to see Christ? See, today is the day of
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salvation. Wake up.
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Wake up from your stupor. Make sure you grasp the program
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of God's grace. So we've seen that God's grace
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came in the person of Jesus Christ with the program to save,
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to sanctify, and to give hope. That's the program of grace.
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And that leads us to the third reality of God's grace, third
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reality of God's grace, which is the people of God's grace.
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See verse 14. Paul describes how the person of
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God's grace gave himself for us. Jesus Christ is the one who gave
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himself for us. Christ gave his life for us.
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We are the undeserved, unworthy recipients of God's grace.
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We are privileged. We are the privileged recipient
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of God's grace. You see, that Christ gave
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himself points to the reality that He gave His life as a
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sacrifice before God. That's the primary reason why He
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came the first time. In Matthew 20/20/28 He says that
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the Son of Man did not come to say to be served, but to serve
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and to give His life as a ransom for many.
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He gave His life as a ransom, a ransom for us as part of that
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many. But why would Christ sacrifice
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himself for us? Why would He do that?
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Now look at verse 14. And here's the purpose.
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In order to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for
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himself a people, for his own possession, zealous for good
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deeds. See, to redeem is to release
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someone from captivity with the payment of a ransom and the
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ransom prize. The price that Christ gave was
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his own blood. Think about that.
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His own blood, his own life, paid to satisfy God's
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requirement upon sin, which is perfect justice and lawlessness.
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Here basically is contempt for God's law.
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It's to act as if there's no law giver.
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It's to be indifferent about God, the law giver.
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So Christ gave himself not only to redeem us, Christ also gave
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himself for us to purify for himself a people, for his own
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possession. To purify means to cleanse or to
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make clean. And we can see this purification
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in Hebrews chapter 10 if you can turn there with me.
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Hebrews chapter 10, verses 12 to 18.
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Here we see the God the Father declares, and He judicially
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claims us as His own possession through the saving work of the
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Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit applying to us the saving work
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of the Son with His perfect life and His death on the on the
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cross. Hebrews 1012 to 18 reads.
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But he, referring to Christ having offered one sacrifice for
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sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God the
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Father, waiting from that time until his enemies are put as a
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footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has
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perfected or purified for all time those who are being
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sanctified or made being or being made completely holy.
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Verse 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us.
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For after saying, this is the covenant that I will make with
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them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my loss upon
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their heart and on their mind. I will write them.
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See, that's the declaration and the stamp that we know that we
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belong to God. He then says verse 17 and their
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sins and their lawlessness, they're lawless deeds.
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I will remember no more. See, God purifies us from our
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sins and not only that, he claims us as his own.
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It's one thing to be considered not a Sinner, but it's another
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to be considered as righteous and part of God's family.
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Of course, this this claim is something that God had planned
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and prepared for even before the foundation of the world.
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Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 1, four to seven.
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He says that God chose us in him in Christ before the foundation
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of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him in
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love by by predestining predestining us to do adoption a
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sons through Christ Jesus to himself according to the good
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pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace
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which he graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved.
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In him we have the redemption through his blood, the
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forgiveness of our sins, the forgiveness of our
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transgressions according to the riches of his grace.
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And now look again at verse 14 of our text, Titus 2, verse 14.
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Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us, to purify us, and to
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make us His own, and to make us zealous for good works, zealous
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for good works. Being zealous is just being
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overly passionate, overly excited about something.
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And in Christ, God makes us to be passionate about good works,
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doing good deeds, doing everything that we can to make
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everyone's lives better, right? To improve their condition.
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And this reality, of course, is again planned by God.
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It's not an accident. It's not an accidental plan.
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Ephesians 28 says that we are the workmanship of God, created
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in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so
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that we would walk in them. You notice that prepared
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beforehand so that we will, we would walk in them.
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We're not doing good works so that we might be saved.
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No, we are saved so that we would do good works.
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So I see Christ gave himself for us so that we would become God's
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redeemed people, God's purified people, God's own people, and
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God's zealous people. Where are the people of God's
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grace? See, as God's redeemed people,
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have you truly been saved from your sin?
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As God's beautified people, are you walking and and and living
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in holiness? As God's own people, do you
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consider yourself as a slave of your master?
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Do you obey the gracious Master? As God zealous people, are you
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really excited to do what's good to everyone?
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And do you do it for the glory of Christ?
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So we've seen God's grace has appeared in the person of the
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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We've seen that the program of
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disgrace is saved to sanctify and to give the hope of glory.
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And we've seen that the people of grace are redeemed, purified,
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owned, and made zealous for good works.
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I pray that we here at Christ's community would be able to
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identify with that as God's people of grace, zealous to do
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good to everyone, as people who have the experience and are
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living out the program of God's grace, people who love and long
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for the person of God's grace, our Lord and Savior of Jesus
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Christ. I pray that our lives would
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showcase the richness, the richness of this grace because
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God deserves the glory. Amen.
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Amen. Let's pray Heavenly Father, I
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ask that you would do the work that only you can do through the
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word that you have inscripturated through Titus
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chapter 2 verses 1114. We ask, Holy Spirit, that you
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would cause us to treasure the truth of your grace so that we
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might be able to reflect the power of your grace that you
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have, Lord, prepared before, beforehand in the person of your
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Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that we would be able to
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live out the program of that grace and that we would be truly
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a people of that grace. I pray all these things in Jesus
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name, Amen.