Titus 2:11-15

Good evening, everyone. Why don't we open our Bibles and the last bit of chapter 2 of Titus as we continue where we left last week.

So, Titus chapter 2, verses 11-15. This is what Titus chapter 2, verses 11-15 says.

Titus 2:11–15 Titus 2:11–15

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to sleep self-control, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

While we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself our people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

These, then, are the things you should teach, encourage, and rebuke with all authority.

Do not let anyone despise you.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, help us tonight to be faithful to your war.

And open up the scriptures in a way that actually makes justice to what Paul was saying to his good servant, Titus, Lord.

In the name of your son, I pray.

Amen.

I'm very glad to be back here today after last Sunday, as I said before.

We are continuing our series in Titus, as I said.

And we have Titus chapter 2 from verses 1 to 10 last Sunday night.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

And now we'll continue to the end of this chapter from 11 to 15, the ones we just read.

And I think this is good because we can fix things up where we left it.

Being able to do a follow-up, being able to be the same guy who is preaching the next week is a good thing, generally.

Because you really know what you said last week.

And you're not trying to guess or trying to just see what this guy was coming from.

And so that's probably going to be a lot easier.

But one of the things I was thinking all week was that,

what if I was being too harsh with you last week?

What if I was being too difficult with the things that I was saying?

What if I was making the preacher's mistake or thinking that what I was teaching was so easy to do,

that anyone could do it, and you're not doing it,

it's because you're not trying harder.

What if that was my mistake?

To be honest, I've been thinking of that all week.

And it's always constantly coming to my head,

is that, was I too harsh?

You probably wonder why, but I just don't know.

That's the feeling I got after I spoke last week.

I'm really honest when I say that.

I've been thinking about it a lot.

Because let's be realistic.

Living the kind of life that occurs to the gospel,

it's very difficult.

Displaying self-control and being submitted to the Lord,

it's almost impossible to do.

So how can we do it?

Perhaps that's what Paul was thinking in his head,

that the people from Crete would think,

and they were just brought up to Titus.

And I think that he writes this bit that we're going to deal with,

to ensure that they understand how can it be possible

to live the life that accords to the gospel.

I think the part we're going to do today

is a continuation on what he was telling us last week.

And in so many ways,

putting theological content into the practicalities

that we actually saw last week.

So I really hope to make it justice.

So we are to call each other to self-control and submission.

But supremely, we are to teach each other

the grace and glory of God

that is being described here from verses 11 to 14.

These verses provide this theological basis

for the sorrow of living,

describing at the beginning of this chapter.

As I said it last week, many times,

verses 1 to 10 describe what a good life looks like.

They give it his content.

But the thing you should wonder is that

if all you ever do is reiterate those commands,

and just keep saying it and saying it and saying it

to others and to yourself,

sometimes they could crash, cannot.

Because all you are saying to people is like,

be self-controlled.

They would say, I actually can't.

And then you're going to say like,

well, keep trying harder.

And in so many ways, that gives us a problem.

That'll give us people

without opportunities to fulfill

what actually God is telling us to do.

And I think that's no good news at all.

That in so many ways,

we are making it harder for people.

And at the end, they cannot do it.

Because of that, everyone faces condemnation.

And the Bible says that everyone who believes in Christ

will not face condemnation.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So, what Paul is trying to say here,

in between lines,

is that we live between two appearances.

One appearance was, as verse 11 says,

the grace of God that has appeared,

which it says in past tense.

And then he says in verse 13,

and we wait for the blessed hope,

the appearance of the glory

of our great God and Savior,

Jesus Christ,

which is actually future tense.

So, in so many ways,

what Paul is trying to say

is that, yes,

we can live in the way

that verses 1 to 10 tell us to live.

But in order to live in that way,

what we need to see

is first,

what God has done with us in the past,

and then,

we can see

what He's going to do in the future

in His glory.

So, I think what Paul is trying to show us clearly

is this,

this present life that we live,

it's possible to live

according to 2, 1, 10,

if, when,

we see

the first appearance of grace

that God has done with us,

and we look forward eagerly

to this appearance of glory

that He will present us soon.

That's perhaps so many ways

just setting up

what we're going to be dealing tonight.

And,

I think it's clear

when Paul talks about

these two appearances,

that he means these two appearances

are the comings of Jesus

and the importance of living

between these two events.

Paul refers to the appearance of grace

and the appearance of glory.

What he is saying is that

the incarnation of Jesus,

the death of Jesus,

the resurrection of Jesus,

that is what Paul calls,

that was the appearance of grace.

That is God,

that is the way

and how God

showed His grace to us.

Everything that Jesus came to do,

as we read in Isaiah chapter 53,

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

everything He came to do,

says Paul,

that is what,

it's called the appearance of grace.

And because of what He did,

he says Paul,

that we are able to live

according to 1 to 10,

chapter 2,

of Titus.

It is a

brilliant mind,

inspired by the Holy Spirit,

definitely,

what Paul is trying to tell us.

It's basically trying to tell us,

like,

it is not easy to try on your own,

because you will fail,

if you try to live in the way

that 1 to 10,

but,

if you see what the gospel is,

if you see what the grace of God,

that has been displayed for you,

and on your behalf,

from Jesus,

then Paul says,

it's possible.

So,

as I said,

the whole

coming of Jesus,

the death and resurrection

on the cross,

this is

the appearance of grace.

and then the whole sequence of events

can be summed up

as an act of grace.

And he also says

that the return

of Jesus,

when He comes back,

it will be summed up

as an act of glory.

So,

we live in this stage

between the grace of God

and the glory of God.

What's in the middle?

Us

in a present life.

And we can live in that way,

says Paul.

We'll see how.

So,

the first thing I noticed would be,

if you like to put in the

titles or outlines,

it would be,

living after

the appearance

of the grace

of God.

It may seem strange

to us to speak about

God's grace

appearing,

because Paragos used to

use this term

of grace

in so many ways

to signify

a divine

and regal.

Benefits,

benefits,

I struggle with this word

all the time,

beneficence.

He was saying

any benefit

that people would get,

something good

done by a God

or a king

for those

who could not do it

on his own

or for those

who couldn't do it

themselves.

But for the Hebrew

and for the Christian,

however,

the grace of God

is the essence

of God's covenant

with humankind.

It signifies

God's unmerited

love.

God's grace

is simply,

it's not simply

beneficent

in purpose.

God's grace

means

to save.

And that's what

actually God

did with us.

So,

verse 11 says,

for when grace

appeared,

it came to offer

salvation to all

people.

The grace of God

is this

unmerited

compassion of God.

His purpose

is extending

grace to sinners.

And His purpose

on extending

this grace

to sinners

is their salvation.

And that is what

He came to do.

And this is to

all people,

it's not only

to a group of people,

it's not only

to certain people,

regardless of gender,

age,

and even social class,

as we've seen

all the different

people He has dealt

with in chapter 2.

So,

the first coming

of Jesus

was an act

of grace.

In the life,

death,

and resurrection

of Jesus,

we see grace

of God the Father.

This is precisely

the language

that Paul uses

a few verses later

in chapter 3,

verses 4,

and 5,

where he says,

but when the kindness

and love of God

our Savior appear,

verse 5 says,

He saved us

not because

of righteous things

we have done,

but because

of His mercy,

but because

of His grace.

So,

Paul is saying,

again,

once again,

the only way

you can live

according to 110

is that you

have presence

and realize

what He has done.

when He first came.

That is the power.

That is the engine

how we can live

in that way.

But the grace of God

not only appears

to give us salvation,

the grace of God

also says,

Paul,

teaches us

what to avoid.

We should not

misunderstand

Paul's emphasis

on grace.

Grace doesn't mean

that what we do

doesn't matter.

It does not mean

that we can live

how we choose

since God

will always forgive us.

Paul is quite clear

when he says,

we need to say no

to ungodliness

and worldly passions.

The question is,

what is to be denied?

It is this way

of living

according to the world.

ungodliness

is a general

reference to

all the things

that are against

or anti-God.

And Paul says,

we've got to say no

to all those things.

Worldly passions

are the sinful impulses

that express themselves

through the body.

So together,

these two expressions

summarize the old life

that lie natural

to the inhabitants

of this world

before they came

to know Christ.

So he says,

when the appearance

of Christ

came in grace,

he has given us

power

to say no

to ungodliness.

He has given us

power

to say no

to worldly life.

That Paul is saying,

you cannot say

you can't.

Because he has

already done it.

in the way

he speaks

in the past tense,

he says,

this has

been done

on your behalf.

This is the power

of God

working on Jesus.

So the appearance

of Christ

demands in our lives

to abandon

the old way

of living.

And this is

a conscious

choice

of denial

that has

to be made

by those

who want

to profess

Christ.

And I think

that was a

straight message

to those people

in Crete.

Remember what

we say about them.

There were

struggling with

self-control

and self-denial.

There were

brutes.

There were

gluttons.

Living according

to the way

they wanted.

And Paul is

coming to tell them

you can't live

in a godly way.

Why?

Because all the

things that Jesus

has done for you.

That work is

complete.

Yes, you can.

Once again,

sometimes it

sounds like

I'm being

very harsh.

But this is

my heart

speaking with

compassion and

love.

Because I

see

the gospel

that Paul is

describing

and it feels

like my heart

is bumping

like a thousand

times a second.

because I can

see this

great thing

working out.

How God

can use

this

great man

to tell us

what he has

done for us

in a very

amazing way.

So,

but

the grace of God

not only

teaches what

to avoid,

it also

teaches

what to do.

So,

look what he

says,

verses 12.

And he

teaches to

say no to

ungodliness and

worldly passions

and to

live self-control

outright

and godly

lives in

this present

age.

Grace

doesn't only

teach us

what to

avoid,

but it

also teaches

us what

to do.

We are

to be

self-controlled.

Remember

last week

it was all

about self-control,

self-control?

Paul keeps

going on

with this

and says

that is

the way

you must

live

according to

the gospel.

You have

to live

in a

self-controlled

way.

And he

described

three

positive

virtues.

to this

in regards

to our

relationships.

He says

we have

to live

self-control.

That means

with ourselves.

With ourselves

we've got to

be self-controlled.

Naturally

it relates

to one's

person's

life so

that we

are free

under

God's

control

to

overcome

the

impulses

or

sensual

desires

come to

human

life.

Grace

teaches

us

to

control

ourselves

and

our

passions.

But it

also says

we have

to live

in an

upright

way.

That

means

with

others.

Our

right

relates

to

one's

relationship

with

others

and to

our

neighbors

in fairness

integrity

and

honesty

and

truthfulness.

Grace

teaches

us

to

treat

other

people

in an

upright

and

just

manner.

So

first it's

dealing

with

yourself.

You've

got to

leave

self-controlled

and

then

it

says

you've

got to

relate

with

others

so

you

have

to

be

outright

and

then

it

says

you have

to

live

a

godly

life.

A

godly

life

has

to do

with

your

relationship

with

God.

Naturally

important

relationship

with

God

in

the

sense

that

our

life

is

centered

on

Him

as

the

primary

object

of

worship

and

on

His

will

and

purposes

grace

teaches

us

to

be

godly.

that

is

to

relate

to

God

rightly.

God's

grace

is

what

enables

us

to

live

rightly.

So

what

is

Paul

saying

here?

It's

not

only

that

we

can

live

in

a

great

way

based

on

what

Jesus

has

done

but

he

is

saying

this

is

the

way

you

must

live

self-control

I

have

life

and

godly.

My

dear

brothers

and

sisters

when

people

look

around

you

and

they

know

you

profess

Christ

and

they

know

you

call

yourself

a

Christian

the

sign

on

your

calling

should

be

that

they

think

that

you

are

self-controlled

that

you

are

upright

and

that

you

are

godly.

Any

other

different

name

that

can

put

to

you

means

there

is

something

to be

dealt

with.

And that

is what

Paul

has been

so

right

to the

point

with

the

crates

because

he knew

what people

were saying

about

that.

He knew

what the

message

needed to

hear for

them was

and I

wonder

tonight

if

god

knows

what

the

message

has to

be

for

ourselves.

So

when

Paul

is describing

this lie

he says

how can

we live

this way

we can

live

in this

way

seeing

what

god

has

done

in

the

appearance

of

grace

but

he

also

tells

us

there

is

something

to

look

forward

what

is

this

we

can

look

forward

to

this

blessed

hope

which

is

the

appearance

of

glory

eagerly

waiting

for

this

appearance

of

glory

verse

13

and

14

look

what

is

this

verse

13

and

14

while

we

wait

for

the

blessed

hope

the

appearance

of

the

the

two

great

events

in

history

the

first

and

the

second

coming

of

Jesus

the

one

that

is

to

come

are

revelations

respectably

of the

grace

of

God

and

the

glory

of

God

so

we

live

in

between

the

grace

of

God

and

we

live

waiting

awaiting

for

the

glory

of

God

and

this

is

the

light

we

have

we

can

look

back

and

we

are

covered

we

can

look

forward

and

we

are

hopeful

what

a

great

thing

to

summarize

the

gospel

my

dear

brothers

and

sisters

if

this

doesn't

make

your heart

go like

bananas

go crazy

nothing

will do

because

this is

the best

the best

news

that the

gospel

has to

offer

us

that

we

only

have

how

do

we

do

it

but

we

also

have

why

we

do

it

there

is

a

purpose

in

our

lives

verse

13

refers

to

one

person

who

is

God

the

father

and

he

says

that

the

glory

of

the

father

will

appear

at

the

end

of

history

as

we

all

know

the

glory

of

God

the

father

is

Jesus

Christ

we

think

of

this

coming

in

glory

as

something

that

will

be

wonderful

and

yeah

indeed

it

will

be

wonderful

when

Jesus

comes

back

it

will

be

wonderful

for

those

who

belong

to

Christ

it

will

be

exciting

all

your

tears

all

your

troubles

all

the

persecution

all

the

times

when

you

have

been

wrongly

just

all

the

times

when

you

are

accused

of

bad

things

all

the

times

the

Christians

have

been

accused

of

intolerance

all

the

times

the

Christians

have

been

told

they

are

not

behaving

in a

worldly

way

all

those

times

will

matter

no

more

when

he

comes

when

he'll

come

in

glory

but

for

those

who

belong

to

Christ

but

we

need

to

remember

as

well

that

throughout

the

Old

Testament

the

glory

of

God

it

also

seems

as

a

threat

Moses

for

example

asked

to

see

God's

glory

for

it's

a

wonderful

thing

but

he

can

only

see

the

afterglow

the

bad

part

of

God's

glory

because

otherwise

he would

be

destroyed

as

Exodus

33

tells us

so

the

coming

of

God's

glory

it's

a

threat

for

those

who

do

not

know

Christ

that's

simple

gospel

we all

know

that

I'm

sure

but

what

can

we

say

about

that

is

that

so

the

reason

that

Jesus

came

first

in

grace

was

so

that

in

the

future

when

his

future

coming

happens

and

he

comes

in

glory

he

doesn't

need

to be

a

threat

to

his

people

can

you

imagine

Jesus

coming

without

everything

he has

done

for

us

through

grace

no

one

would be

able to

stand

in front

of him

but

because

of what

he has

done

when he

first

came

we

can

eagerly

wait

for

his

blessed

hope

his

coming

in

grace

culminated

in

his

death

in

our

behalf

and

it

had

to

be

because

we

all

fall

short

of the

glory

of

God

and

we

are

justified

freely

by

his

grace

through

a

redemption

that

came

by

Jesus

Christ

because

God

presented

him

as a

sacrifice

of

atonement

through

the

shedding

of

his

blood

to

be

received

by

faith

as

Romans

Romans 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

tells us

so

Titus

is

throughout

this

chapter

to

remind

what

a

good

life

according

to

the

gospel

is

like

but

rather

than

emphasizing

in

all

the

things

they

must

do

for

God

Titus

is

to

remind

them

all

the

things

all

the

good

things

that

God

has

done

for

that

in

their

behalf

it's

perhaps

a

great

thing

in

it

rather

than

today

coming

to

encourage

you

yes

you

can

do

it

keep

trying

try

harder

yes

you

can

be

a

good

Christian

I

just

come

to

you

tell

you

what

Paul

is

saying

to

Titus

rather

than

worrying

what

you

can

do

for

God

first

try

to

check

what

he

first

has

done

for

you

and

that

is

perfection

and

that

is

great

so

we

can

summarize

in

the

things

that

what

God

has

done

for

us

in

a

different

way

but

there

are

three

main

things

he

deals

with

here

we

can

summarize

how

this

works

by

highlighting

three

things

from

verses

13

to

14

the

first

thing

that

we

see

here

from

verses

13

to

14

that

God

has

given

us

a

new

hope

this

is

what

it

says

we

live

the

good

life

but

we

wait

for

an

even

better

life

while

we

wait

for

the

blessed

hope

says

verse

13

the

appearance

of

the

glory

of

our

great

God

and

Savior

Jesus

Christ

so

as

I

said

many

times

now

we

look

back

to

the

appearance

of

grace

but

as

verse

13

highlights

we

also

look

forward

to

the

appearance

of

glory

so

we

push

from

behind

by

the

wonder

of

to

the

hope

of

glory

we

can

live

this

kind

of

life

when

we

just

look

back

what

Jesus

has

done

and

yeah

that's

exciting

that's

amazing

that's

fantastic

and

we

are

speechless

we

cannot

be

more

thankful

than

that

but

then

when

we

look

forward

we

see

oh

we

are

even

amazing

this

is

amazing

this

is

greater

and

this

is

indescribable

yes

you

can

live

according

to

1

to

chapter

2

1

to

10

of

Titus

yes

how

do

you

do

that

look

back

to

what

Jesus

has

done

and

look

forward

to

what

he's

going

to

do

when

he

comes

back

for

you

that

could

be

the end

we can

just say

that's

it

we're

finished

but

there's

probably

more

to say

this

is

what

Paul's

language

is so

significant

he

refers

to

the

appearing

of

glory

our

blessed

hope

is

the

hope

glory

imagine

this

the

pleasures

of

sin

do

not

attract

us

so

strongly

when

they

are

compared

to

the

joy

of

the

world

to

come

imagine

all

the

difficult

things

that

you're

struggling

with

to

overcome

think

about

all

the

difficult

situations

that

you're

facing

with

and

how

hard

and

complicated

they

may

be

but

Paul

says

if

for

you

to

overcome

those

things

are

harder

then

instead

of

looking

to

those

things

for

a

moment

focus

on

looking

on

what

God

is

going

to

do

when

the

glory

of

God

comes

back

for

you

and

Paul

says

and

tell

me

it

gets

difficult

when

we

compare

anything

we

struggle

with

to

the

glory

of

God

this

place

when