How Grace Trains Us

Well, let me begin by thanking you for your very warm welcome and apologizing for my insufficiently exotic accent.

! I am coming to you from Jackson, Mississippi, but I'm not from Jackson, Mississippi, but isn't it an encouragement? I hope it is

to know that you have brothers and sisters on the other side of the world praying for you this weekend

and trusting in the same Savior and rejoicing in the same good news.

Now, if you would turn with me once more to Titus chapter 2 and to the portion of Scripture that was read just a few moments ago,

Titus 2 · chapter mention

we're going to focus our attention on verses 11 through 14.

Paul has, in the first half of this chapter, exhorted through Titus, or taught Titus how he is to exhort,

the Christians in Crete in a life of godliness, and he addresses different segments of the congregation,

younger men and older men, older women, younger women, slaves, even Titus himself.

And now in this second half of the chapter, Paul points us to the grace of God

by which we are enabled to live a life that is well-pleasing in his sight.

Here's the secret of living in practical Christian obedience, the secret of living God's way.

Paul describes it in five ways, five things he says that grace does.

First, he says grace appears in verse 11.

Then he says grace offers in the second part of verse 11.

Thirdly, grace trains in verse 12.

Fourthly, grace expects.

That's verse 13.

And finally, grace redeems.

In verse 14.

So these are the five things we're going to think about tonight.

Five things that grace does.

This is how grace works in the lives of all who receive it.

Grace appears.

Grace offers.

Grace trains.

Grace expects.

And grace redeems.

Before we look at those five things, would you bow your heads with me again as we ask for God's blessing on his word.

Let us pray.

O Lord, our God, your word is now open before us.

Our hearts are open before your gaze.

We ask for the presence and blessing of the Holy Spirit.

As we read it, as we meditate upon it, granted we may hear a voice behind us in our ears saying,

this is the way, walk in it.

Indeed, may it be that some who are dead in their sin might hear tonight the voice of the Son of Man and live.

Do all this by this portion of your word for the glory of your name.

Amen.

Titus chapter 2 at verse 11.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

This is God's word.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

waiting for our 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 lawlessness

and to purify for himself a people for his own possession,

who are zealous for good works.

Amen.

Let's look at verse 11 first of all.

And the first thing that grace does.

Grace, Paul says, appears.

Verse 11.

For the grace of God has appeared.

That word appeared is important.

We get our English word epiphany from the Greek word translated here as appeared.

An epiphany is a revelation, a disclosure, an unveiling.

If you have an epiphany, you suddenly come to realize something you had not seen before.

It's used in the New Testament, especially to describe either the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ

in his incarnation, his virgin birth, his life and death and resurrection,

or with respect to his final return at the end of the age, he will appear again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Back in 2 Timothy 4, verse 8, Paul spoke about those who love Christ's appearing,

2 Timothy 4:8

talking about Christians characterized by a longing to see the day when the clouds will part and the trumpet will sound and the Savior will come.

These are his epiphanies, his appearings.

There are two.

His first appearing, his first epiphany, when he was born of the virgin and laid in a manger.

And there is an epiphany still to come when he comes in glory.

And both of those epiphanies are actually here in this passage, aren't they?

The first is the epiphany of grace in verse 11.

And the second we'll come to later on in verse 13 is the epiphany of glory.

The appearing, the epiphany of the grace of God in verse 11 is, of course, talking about Jesus' first coming.

His virgin birth, his earthly life, his ministry, his sufferings.

And the epiphany of glory, verse 13, is our blessed hope, the final advent of our great God and Savior,

the Lord Jesus Christ at the very end of the age.

And so right now, Paul says Christians are living between those two appearings, these two poles,

between his first and his final return.

In what verse 12 calls this present age.

Crucially, the first appearing, the first epiphany, the incarnation, the first coming of Christ is the epiphany of grace.

That means it is grace that characterizes this present age in which we are currently living.

Paul might have said here, the Christ of God appeared.

Or he might have said the Son of God appeared.

But what he actually said is the grace of God has appeared.

In his first coming, it was not the wrath of God that appeared.

It was not the condemnation of heaven that appeared.

It wasn't the final reckoning that appeared.

When Mary was delivered of a baby boy and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in the manger,

it was the grace of God that appeared.

And from that moment on, this present age has been the age of grace.

It's not yet the age of glory.

It will one day be when our Savior comes.

That has not yet appeared.

But this is the age of grace.

The grace of God has appeared.

I wonder if you're sometimes tempted to have the wrong idea about Jesus.

Perhaps you think of him as stern and cold and aloof and distant and uncaring,

standing back from you with arms folded and a frown on his face.

That's not how Paul speaks about him here, is it?

He says, when Jesus came, grace appeared.

Grace embodied in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is all grace.

Grace for sinners.

Grace for strugglers.

Grace for sufferers.

Grace for you.

Grace for you.

Grace appears.

That's the first thing that grace does.

Grace appears.

When Jesus stepped onto the scene, grace came.

And then notice the second thing that grace does.

Grace appears.

Secondly, grace offers.

Look again at verse 11.

The grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people.

When grace appeared, salvation was brought.

And it is salvation, Paul says, that is for all people.

The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.

That means there is no class of human being excluded from the salvation Jesus came to offer.

Oh, but I'm not the kind of person that Jesus would invite to be saved.

Jesus is for other people, not for me.

No, the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.

This salvation is for you.

But I'm not really all that terribly religious.

I don't have a church background.

I've not read the Bible.

Salvation can't be for me.

What does Paul say?

The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.

There is no qualification to that statement.

This salvation is for you.

But you don't know what I've done.

What I've said, how I've lived.

You don't see the twisted thoughts of my heart.

My past is just one long litany of wretched rebellion.

I've been hateful.

I've been selfish.

I've been spiteful.

I've not been faithful.

I've not been pure.

I'm a drunk.

I'm a liar.

There's a long trail of wounded people and broken relationships behind me.

Jesus can't be for me.

I don't fit in around here.

The Word of God does not agree with you.

The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.

This salvation that Jesus brings is for you.

Jesus Christ is for you.

You're not too old to come to Jesus.

It's never too late for him.

You're not too young to come to Jesus.

You don't need to wait until you reach some imagined age of discretion before he'll welcome you.

You're not too bad to come to Jesus.

There is no sin, no amount of sin,

that can make him rescind his unconditional offer,

his free invitation to you.

Maybe this is your first time in the church for years.

This text says you are welcome to have Jesus for your Savior just as you are right now here tonight.

Without any other condition or prerequisite being met,

you can have him.

He offers himself to you.

Maybe you've been here every time the doors have been opened for decades.

But you know in your heart you've been living a lie this whole time.

You've been a terrible hypocrite,

praising his name with your lips

while worshipping at the altar of self.

Even now you can come to him.

This salvation is for you.

You'll find him ready and willing tonight

to save you.

Whoever you are,

you need to know you're not a special case.

You are not a special case.

You are not a unique exception to this rule.

The grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people.

You can point to nothing in your circumstances

that will exempt you from Jesus' invitation.

Nothing that can excuse you

from the response it demands from you.

You cannot disqualify yourself for any reason

from the class of those to whom Jesus makes this offer.

I like the way John Rabbi Duncan,

the great free church missionary to the Jews in Budapest

in the 19th century, once put it.

He said,

the Christian gospel says to us all,

sir, you have no right to go to hell.

You cannot go there

without trampling on the Son of God.

That's part of the message here, isn't it?

Jesus has done everything needful.

Every provision for sinners like me and you

has been made in him

so that anybody, anybody who wishes

may come and have him and be saved.

And so there's no escaping the implications of this, is there?

There's no excuse

that will let you avoid the claims

and the summons of the gospel.

It goes out to all people.

The grace of God has appeared

bringing salvation for all people.

And that means you.

You must answer the summons.

You must accept this offer.

You have no right,

no excuse,

no justification

to validate refusal.

You can point to nothing

about yourself

or your background

or your environment

that will exempt you.

No, the Lord Jesus Christ himself

extends this invitation to you

to come to him

and to be saved.

To refuse, says Rabbi Duncan,

is to go to hell

trampling on the Son of God.

He, Jesus, as it were,

puts himself between you

and the gates of hell.

He's pleading with you

not to go there.

And so if you do

go there in the end,

after hearing his invitation,

you go there willfully.

You go there trampling

on the Son of God

in order to walk

through those dreadful gates.

And if I can say it kindly,

not only is that

the epitome of wickedness,

it's the height of folly

when tonight,

here,

Jesus offers salvation

that he came to bring

for all people.

Why delay?

What reason?

What valid excuse do you have

that you will stand before God

on the last day

and present to him

as your compelling case

for your rejection

of his Son

who shed his blood

that sinners might be saved

and then offers

that salvation to you?

And you said,

not today,

not now,

no thank you.

Grace appears,

grace offers.

Won't you accept

grace?

Grace appears,

grace appears,

grace offers.

Thirdly,

grace trains.

Look at verse 12, please.

grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people,

training us

to renounce ungodliness

and worldly passions

and to live self-controlled,

upright,

and godly lives

in the present age.

Now,

think about that word,

training.

The Greek word

translated in our English version

as training

means to instruct,

to teach.

our English word

pedagogy

comes from this Greek word.

If you talk about pedagogy,

you're talking about a classroom,

aren't you?

It evokes the picture

of a teacher

standing maybe

at a blackboard,

pupils in their desks

with their textbooks open,

scribbling down notes

as the teacher

imparts knowledge.

That is not at all

the picture

that Paul intends

when he says

that grace teaches,

instructs,

trains us.

It's not just about

the imparting

of knowledge,

information

like a teacher

in a classroom.

No,

when grace comes

into your life

through faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ,

the pedagogy of grace,

the teaching of grace

does much more than that.

No human teacher

can do in us

what grace does

when grace teaches us.

You see,

God's grace

actually forms us.

By his word

and spirit,

Jesus rewires

our appetites,

our desires,

he reprograms

our wills,

he empowers

our resolve

so that we begin

to follow

an entirely new course.

Earlier,

we heard the excuses

of someone

who might argue

that he's too bad,

too twisted,

too hopelessly

locked into sin

to be welcome

to come to Jesus

or be saved.

And I was trying

to press

the wide welcome

of verse 11

upon such a person.

Salvation,

Paul says,

is for all people.

But here,

do you notice,

here's the full extent

of the wonder

of the offer

and invitation

that Jesus

is making to us

when the most

twisted,

sin-enslaved

pagan

comes to Christ

and the grace

of God

that brings salvation

erupts

into their heart.

grace moves in,

as it were,

and begins

a renovation project.

We had a couple

in our church

back in Mississippi

who recently

purchased a new home.

But the situation

is a little unusual

because of their

unique circumstances

of both the buyer

and the seller.

An accommodation

had to be reached.

so that the old

owner

could stay

in the house

for,

I think,

maybe about a month

longer.

Well,

the new owners

actually began

moving all their

possessions in

and started painting

the walls

and renovating

the house.

It was,

I understand,

an entirely chaotic

experience

for everybody involved,

but I think it's

a good description,

actually,

of what is happening

in the heart

of everyone

who accepts

the offer

that grace makes

and comes to

embrace the salvation

Jesus brings.

The old

tenant

of sin

and self

still resides

at this address

in my heart.

but a new

owner

has taken

possession,

the Lord

Jesus Christ,

and he's already

moved in

and has begun

renovations

right away.

You might think

your sin is so bad

you can't come

to Jesus,

but what you need

to understand

is that it is

sinners

that he wants

to come

to him.

It is

not the

healthy

who need

a doctor,

but the sick.

I did not

come to call

the righteous,

but sinners.

You come

to Jesus

with your sin

intact.

You can't

come any

other way.

Try to

clean yourself

up,

you're just

spreading the

muck around.

That's all

you're doing.

No,

you come

to Jesus

guilty,

helpless,

and vile.

He wants

sinners to

come to

him,

and when

they do,

grace moves

in.

He moves

in and

begins a

renovation

project.

His grace

trains us

to renounce

the old

life and

to embrace

a new

life.

Notice how

it does

that.

Look again

at verse

12.

There's a

negative

turning away

from certain

things,

and a

positive

turning to

certain other

things.

Do you see

that in the

text?

Negatively,

Paul says,

grace trains

us to

renounce

ungodliness

and worldly

desires.

Ungodliness,

there is a

kind of

catch-all

term for

a life that

is oriented

away from

God,

lived in

opposition

to the

will of

God.

Worldly

desires,

on the

other

hand,

speak more

specifically

about the

deep

motivations

of the

heart.

They get

behind an

ungodly

life to

the hard

wiring that

drives it

along.

Ungodliness

is the

whole life.

Worldly

desires are

the roots

of ungodliness

in our

passions,

our lusts,

our longings,

our appetites.

And when

grace comes,

it enables

us to

turn from

that.

Not ever

yet this

side of

eternity,

perfectly,

and yet

really and

truly,

and more

and more

grace helping

us.

We turn

from those

things.

We renounce

them.

That word

renounce,

by the way,

is important

for at

least two

reasons.

First of

all,

it tells

us this

turning away

from sin

is a

conscious,

purposeful

act.

He's not

talking about

some sort

of passive,

automatic

change.

When grace

breaks into

your life,

you will

change.

But that

change takes

place by

God's grace

renewing your

will in

such a way

that you

actively,

deliberately,

turn,

purposefully,

intentionally,

from your

sin.

It's not a

matter of

letting go

and letting

God.

It is a

determined

resolve,

a decision

you make

every day

and again

and again,

day by

day,

to say

no to

all of

that as

the temptation

comes,

as the

old habits

entice,

as the

muscle memory

that led

you down

into paths

of disobedience

kicks back

in.

You say

no purposefully,

decisively,

and you turn

your back

on the

old life.

And this

word renounce

is important

for another

reason.

The original

has a

connotation

of a

public,

open

decision,

an action

we take

with public

consequences.

Not just

a private,

internal,

known-only-to-myself

decision,

but one that

people can

see.

One

lexicon

translates it

as to make

manifest

not to

know.

So to

decide not

to know

that stuff

anymore

in my life,

but not just

to decide

not to know

it,

not to live

in it,

not to embrace

it,

but to make

it manifest,

to make

it clear

to other

people that

I have

made this

decisive

change.

Jesus uses

this word

in Luke

12 at

verse 9.

He says,

whoever denies

me before

men,

that's our

word,

whoever denies

me,

whoever renounces

me,

whoever makes

manifest that

he does not

know me

before men

will be

denied before

the angels

of God.

There's a

before men-ness,

a public

open,

obvious

component

to turning

from sin

to Christ

and to

new life

in obedience

to him.

How often

have you

made

private

resolutions

in the

quiet of

your own

conscience?

I'm just,

I'm never,

I'm never

going to do

that again.

And those

resolutions

haven't lasted

much longer

than the

end of

the

day,

have they?

But grace,

when it erupts

into our

lives,

brings a

change of

conviction,

a new

trajectory

that can't

be hidden.

It doesn't

just make us

want to do

the right

thing,

it empowers

us so that

we more

and more

do the

right thing

for the

glory and

praise

of God.

God.

And then

notice the

positive things

that grace

produces.

So the

negative

things are

ungodliness

and worldly

desires and

we renounce

them, but

there are

positive

things.

Instead,

we begin,

Paul says,

to live

self-controlled,

upright,

and godly

lives in

the present

age.

Self-control

is a key

word if you

read through

the letter

to Titus,

it comes

up again

and again,

especially in

the first

part of

this chapter

actually.

It's a

characteristic

mark of

a child

of God,

born again

by grace,

growing

self-control.

Martin Lloyd

Jones once

famously said

that so much

of our

trouble comes

from listening

to ourselves

instead of

talking to

ourselves.

That's

involved in

self-control.

Taking

yourself in

hand and

saying,

stop thinking

about that,

stop saying

that that

way,

embrace these

things,

whatever is

good,

whatever is

true,

whatever is

noble,

whatever is

praiseworthy.

Think on

these things.

Why are you

downcast,

O my soul?

You're talking

to yourself.

You're taking

yourself in

hand.

Self-control.

You're not

simply saying

that's just

the way I

am.

I can't

help it.

No,

self-control

is a mark

of a child

of God.

And

grace

produces

uprightness.

It shares

the same

root as

the word

for

righteousness.

It means

a life

of growing

conformity,

alignment

with God's

revealed will

in his

holy word.

You begin

to look

more like

Jesus

in gentleness

!

In

kindness!

In

purity!

In

sacrificial

service

and love.

And

then there's

godliness.

Godliness

is sometimes

translated

piety.

You love

his word.

You love

his praise.

You love

his people.

You hate

what he

hates and

you love

what he

loves and

you want

to be

more like

your

savior and

you want

to be

with his

people and

you delight

to take

his name

on your

lips.

It's

what grace

does in

our hearts.

And

here's the

thing.

This is

what Jesus

is offering.

This

isn't a

high bar

and he

says okay

here's my

standard.

If you

jump it

I'll meet

you on

the other

side with

grace.

No he

says this

is my

gift to

you

sinner.

Broken

down

wretched

guilty

ashamed.

You

just come

to me

and I'll

begin to

do this

in your

heart.

Who

wouldn't

want it

to have

the king

of kings

move in

and make

the broken

down

hovel of

my heart

into his

royal palace

renovating

me and

making me

new.

When

grace trains

us it's

not like a

royal marine

drill sergeant

when you

can't climb

the wall

and you

can't finish

the race

and he

gets in

your face

and screams

no no

no no

no fail

but grace

doesn't do

that.

Grace

comes

instead

and

puts

strength

in your

weak

knees

and

feeble

arms

and

helps

you

put

one

foot

in front

of the

other

in

the

long

hard

road

of

obedience

to

your

savior.

Grace

appears

in person

as it

were

in the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

when he

first

came

and

so

grace

brings

salvation

for all

people.

Grace

offers

all of

this

to you

and

when

you

embrace

the

offer

grace

renovates

changes

trains

us

to

live

a

new

life.

And

fourthly

grace

expects

look at

verse 13

please.

Grace

appears

in Christ

it trains

everyone

it saves

and those

it trains

Paul says

are found

waiting

for our

blessed

hope

the

appearing

of the

glory

of our

great

God

and

savior

Jesus

Christ.

Here's

the second

epiphany

we talked

about

at the

beginning

do you

remember

the

first

epiphany

was his

first

coming

the

first

appearing

here's

the

second

appearing

the

second

epiphany

the

first

was the

epiphany

of grace

this is

the

epiphany

of glory

we

wait

Paul says

with eager

expectation

for the

appearing

of glory

because we

live

in the

grip

of

grace

Paul calls

it our

blessed

hope

he doesn't

mean a

feeling

in the

heart

of

hopefulness

the

blessed

hope

of a

Christian

is an

objective

thing

it is

the

coming

of

Christ

in

majesty

and

glory

to

bring

his

work

to

final

completion

and all

the

ransomed

church

of God

will be

saved

to

sing

forever

and to

sin

no more

!

sick

anymore

won't

it

be

wonderful

to

have

the

great

reunion

with

those

who

have

gone

ahead

of

me

the

saints

in

glory

who

are

waiting

won't

it

be

wonderful

when

the

grime

and filth

and

pollution

and

brokenness

and

rebellion

of a

lost

creation

will be

made

new

and

there

will

be

a

new

heavens

and

a

new

earth

that's

what

I

often

think

about

those

are

promised

to

Christians

as part

of our

blessed

hope

but

they're

not

the

center

of

it

not

the

focus

of

it

what

is

it

we're

waiting

for

not

the

great

reunion

as

glorious

as

it

will

be

not

the

final

end

of

sin

in

my

life

as

wonderful

as

that

will

be

not

the

new

heavens

and

the

new

earth

the

home

of

righteousness

as

breathtaking

as

they

will

be

what

is

our

great

hope

it

is

the

appearing

of

our

great

God

and

Savior

Jesus

Christ

whose

glory

will

shine

with

dazzling

majesty

and

fuel

our

songs

forever

don't

you find

it easy

as a

Christian

sometimes

to drop

your horizons

down

and down

and down

until

they're

focused

actually

not

on

his

glorious

appearing

but

almost

entirely

on

yourself

so

if

you're

like

me

from

time

to

time

you

do

some

personal

inventory

you're

in the

trenches

!

battling

with your

sin

and

frustrated

with your

lack of

progress

you

measure

your

Christian

life

sometimes

people

ask you

tell me

about

your

soul

and

you

respond

by

talking

about

your

quiet

time

am

I

reading

my

bible

every

day

am

I

praying

am

I

seeking

God

every

day

those

are

good

and

right

and

proper

things

of course

they

are

but

Jesus

is

nowhere

in my

inventory

list

I'm

only

thinking

about

the

things

that

I

am

doing

the

boxes

that

I

am

taking

the

disciplines

that

I've

cultivated

where

is

Jesus

my

eyes

are

not

fixed

on

him

I'm

engaged

in

navel

gazing

have

you

been

navel

gazing

!

lately

this

text

is

their

eyes

to

the

hills

where

does

my

help

come

from

my

safety

comes

from

the

Lord

the

maker

of

heaven

and

earth

look

up

and

away

from

yourself

to

your

savior

look

with

longing

expectation

for

the

great

day

when

you

will

see

him

face

to

face

what

is

it

that

cousins

made

in

her

hymn

that

the

sands

of

time

are

sinking

putting

together

little

phrases

from

Rutherford's

letters

the

bride

eyes

not

her

garment

but

at

her

bridegroom's

face

I

will

not

gaze

at

glory

but

at

my

savior's

face

not

at

the

crown

he

giveth

but

at

his

pierced

hands

the

lamb

is

all

the

glory

of

Emmanuel's

land

our

eyes

will

never

leave

his

lovely

face

and

it

is a

mark

of

a

child

of

God

even

here

in

this

veil

of

tears

that

they

are

longing

to

see

him

waiting

for

the

appearing

the

epiphany

of the

glory

of

our

great

God

and

savior

Jesus

Christ

if

you're

navel

gazing

you're

looking

in the

wrong

direction

and

you

know

as

well

as

I

do

I'm

sure

that's

the

best

way

to

crash

I did

some

internet

digging

when I

was writing

this

sermon

and found

that the

United

States

National

Highway

Traffic

Safety

Administration

says

driving

at 55

miles

an

hour

while

texting

for

five

seconds

is

like

driving

the

length

of

an

American

football

field

with

your

eyes

closed

as

a

consequence

in

2024

more

than

3,000

people

lost

their

lives

because

of

distracted

driving

they were

looking

in the

wrong

direction

this

text

is

saying

if

you're

looking

at

yourself

more

than

you're

looking

up

and

away

from

yourself

to

Jesus

who's

coming

in

glory

is

our

great

and

blessed

hope

you're

looking

in

the

wrong

direction

do

not

be

surprised

if

you

crash

grace

appears

grace

offers

grace

trains

grace

expects

and

finally

grace

redeems

look at

verse

14

this

great

God

and

Savior

who's

coming

we're

waiting

for

is

the

one

who

gave

himself

for

us

Paul

says

he's

talking

about

the

cross

isn't

he

there

at

the

cross

the

son

of

God

loved

us

and

gave

himself

for

us

he's

inviting

us

back

to

Calvary

to

trace

with

him

the

blessings

that

flow

to us

from

Jesus

blood

shed

for

us

having

told

us

Jesus

brings

salvation

now

he

takes

us

to

its

very

source

the

spring

from

which

salvation

flows

look at

the text

first