Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Justified by Grace in Hope of Eternal Life Titus 3:4–7, Part 7

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Justified by Grace in Hope of Eternal Life Titus 3:4–7, Part 7 · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: This is part seven on Titus three four through seven.
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  Speaker 1: But when the kindness and benevolence of God our Savior appeared,
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  Speaker 1: he saved us not because of works done by us
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  Speaker 1: in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the
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  Speaker 1: washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom
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  Speaker 1: he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
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  Speaker 1: And we begin here now and that so that I
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  Speaker 1: think follows from everything in that circle he saved us,
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  Speaker 1: and these are this is the way He's saving us
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  Speaker 1: so far, and all of that to this end, so
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  Speaker 1: that having been justified by His grace, we might become
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  Speaker 1: heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Father, as
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  Speaker 1: we focus in now on justification, grace and heirs and
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  Speaker 1: eternal life, open the eyes of our hearts to see
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  Speaker 1: the wonder of what it means to be set right
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  Speaker 1: with God as a gift, and thus to become children
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  Speaker 1: of God, so that we inherit everything summed up in
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  Speaker 1: eternal life. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul
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  Speaker 1: assumes a lot here, it seems to me by just
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  Speaker 1: saying so that having been justified by grace, he assumes
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  Speaker 1: his readers Titus in particular, and then the church through him,
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  Speaker 1: or at least Titus knows what he's talking about when
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  Speaker 1: he says justification. That's a big word, big theologically, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: and it's by grace. So I don't assume that all
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  Speaker 1: of us are as familiar with what he's talking about
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  Speaker 1: as Titus must have been to be able to understand
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  Speaker 1: everything he needs to from just such a phrase. So
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  Speaker 1: let's go to a key phrase where Paul unpacks the
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  Speaker 1: relationship to in justification and grace, and then we'll see
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  Speaker 1: the connection with air. Here's runs three twenty four to
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  Speaker 1: four five, leaving out some parts right there. They are justified,
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  Speaker 1: So all have sin and fall short of the glory
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  Speaker 1: of God, and they are justified. That is, those who
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  Speaker 1: are going to have faith. They are justified by His grace.
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  Speaker 1: So that's what we see Titus here, justified by grace.
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  Speaker 1: They are justified by His grace. Only now it's explained
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  Speaker 1: as a gift. It's free, it's not works. We'll get
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  Speaker 1: to that in just a minute. So you don't earn grace.
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  Speaker 1: Grace means no earning, free gift. That's how we're justified.
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  Speaker 1: Glory basing. We are set right with God, declared just
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  Speaker 1: with God. We'll see that in just a minute through redemption.
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  Speaker 1: So Christ died and in his death redeems us from
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  Speaker 1: the law and from sin and from Satan, so that
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  Speaker 1: we can be set right with God in a just way.
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  Speaker 1: That is in Christ Jesus. The redemption that is, that
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  Speaker 1: is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation,
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  Speaker 1: That means a sacrifice by which God and his justice
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  Speaker 1: are satisfied. That redemption propitiates the wrath of God as
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  Speaker 1: a propitiation by his blood, by his death, to be
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  Speaker 1: received by faith. Now to the one who works, he
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  Speaker 1: gets wages. His wages are not counted as a gift.
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  Speaker 1: So we're connecting here. Grace explained his gift, and now
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  Speaker 1: contrasted with working for wages. But if you work for wages,
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  Speaker 1: you don't get a gift. You get your due, you
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  Speaker 1: get your salary, you get your payment at the end
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  Speaker 1: of the day. And to the one who does not
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  Speaker 1: work but believes, faith is contrasted now with working. You
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  Speaker 1: believe him who justifies the ungodly. If you believe in him,
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  Speaker 1: embrace him, trust him, treasure him, make him the Lord
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  Speaker 1: and savior and treasure of your life. You are justified,
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  Speaker 1: even though you haven't done anything yet to prove that
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  Speaker 1: you have become a godly person. You're not a godly person.
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  Speaker 1: You are looking away from your ungodliness and throwing yourself
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  Speaker 1: on the mercy or the grace or the gift of justification.
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  Speaker 1: That faith is counted as righteousness. So this justification is
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  Speaker 1: the counting of us as righteous through faith, not works.
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  Speaker 1: So that's a summary of this rich phrase here that
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  Speaker 1: Paul assumes tiedus understood. So that having been justified by
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  Speaker 1: His grace, now having been means we got to figure
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  Speaker 1: out where in this process where did that happen? Where
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  Speaker 1: in the process here did this justification happen. We'll come
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  Speaker 1: back to that at the end, having been justified by
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  Speaker 1: His grace, we might become heirs. So evidently this legal act,
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  Speaker 1: this courtroom like act of being declared just or innocent
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  Speaker 1: or right or righteous before God is the means by
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  Speaker 1: which we can be adopted. So let's make that explicit
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  Speaker 1: from Galatians. For when the fullness of time had come,
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  Speaker 1: God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under
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  Speaker 1: the law, to redeem. Now remember from Romans three, we
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  Speaker 1: are justified through redemption. So when he doesn't mention justification here,
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  Speaker 1: but think justification as included in what we get through
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  Speaker 1: redemption to redeem those who are under the law. The
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  Speaker 1: law is now satisfied, and we are counted as law
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  Speaker 1: keepers even though we have been law breakers, so that
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  Speaker 1: we might receive adoption. So there's the connection. So redemption
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  Speaker 1: and included in it justification must happen in order for
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  Speaker 1: us to be adopted. It's as though there's this legal
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  Speaker 1: transaction that has to happen in order for us to
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  Speaker 1: be longed to God as his children. And because you
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  Speaker 1: are sons, God has sent the spirit of his Son
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  Speaker 1: into our hearts, crying abba Father, so that you are
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  Speaker 1: no longer a slave but a son. And now here
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  Speaker 1: comes the connection with air. And if a son, then
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  Speaker 1: an heir through God. So you've got redemption and justification
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  Speaker 1: leading to adoption leading to airship. Is that a word
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  Speaker 1: being an heir? And now if an air, air of
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  Speaker 1: what eternal life? Air in accordance with the hope of
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  Speaker 1: eternal life. Now let's step back and see if we
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  Speaker 1: can put all these pieces together, not in the order
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  Speaker 1: that Paul put them, but in the order that they
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  Speaker 1: actually happened. Now, Paul didn't bother to do that, and
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  Speaker 1: therefore he doesn't consider doing it. Here four Titus of
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  Speaker 1: the essence, and I don't want to overstate the importance,
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  Speaker 1: but I think God does intend for us to read
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  Speaker 1: the whole Bible, to read all of Paul's letters, for example,
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  Speaker 1: and put the pieces together so that we understand how
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  Speaker 1: we got saved. So here's my effort to do that.
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  Speaker 1: The process of salvation in Titus. So God saved us
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  Speaker 1: is the big overarching statement that includes everything else. He
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  Speaker 1: does it according to mercy. Now I've worked through how
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  Speaker 1: I think this order happens. You test it now and
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  Speaker 1: see if you think from other things you know in
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  Speaker 1: the Bible that this rings true. It's according to mercy
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  Speaker 1: and grace verse five and verse seven, and putting justified
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  Speaker 1: by grace way up here at the beginning, because that's
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  Speaker 1: where grace comes from. It's before the foundation of the world.
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  Speaker 1: God is this way as heart starts through Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: He says, we're justified through Jesus Christ. Only through Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Is also meant here when the kindness and benevolence of God,
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  Speaker 1: our Savior appeared. That's the incarnation, that's the arrival of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ incarnate Verse four. And I'm assuming crucified and
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  Speaker 1: risen because that's what the Bible teaches is the way
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  Speaker 1: justification and redemption and eternal life come to us by
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  Speaker 1: means of regeneration Verse five. And I'm putting regeneration before
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  Speaker 1: justification because we are justified by faith Romans five one.
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  Speaker 1: And faith is created by regeneration. According to verse John
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  Speaker 1: five to one, everyone who believes in the sun has
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  Speaker 1: been born of God. So first there's new birth, then
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  Speaker 1: there's faith, then there's justification. Faith isn't mentioned in this text.
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  Speaker 1: That's why it's not here. I'm just putting the things
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  Speaker 1: that Paul mentioned, except for that right there, and that
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  Speaker 1: I could have put it here if I wanted to
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  Speaker 1: be thorough, I suppose, and by receiving the outpouring of
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, so being justified, the Holy Spirit is
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  Speaker 1: poured out, and I know that the Holy Spirit was
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  Speaker 1: at work here. We are born again by the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: But I think he's talking mainly here about the outpouring
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  Speaker 1: of our richness that enables us to be washed and renewed,
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  Speaker 1: and in that way become heirs, and in that way
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  Speaker 1: have eternal life. So you take the time to ponder
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  Speaker 1: that sequence there and test whether you think my construction
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  Speaker 1: of how it actually happened is reflected accurately here. I
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  Speaker 1: do think it's important for people to know how they
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  Speaker 1: were saved. I think the more we know of how
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  Speaker 1: God did it, the more thanks he will receive, the
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  Speaker 1: more amazed we will be. And I think I do
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  Speaker 1: want to direct our attention to one more amazing thing
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  Speaker 1: next time, namely, what is eternal life? How precious is that?
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  Speaker 1: How big is that? Let's come back to that one
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  Speaker 1: more time on this text