He Saved Us

We don't often do this here in our times of worship, but there are many churches who utilize

the historic Christian creeds and confessions as a vital part of their weekly worship services.

These statements like the Apostles' Creed, or the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, or

the London Baptist Confession, or the Westminster Confession, or the Heidelberg Catechism,

there are a number of them historically that the church has used. What these statements do is they

helpfully summarize for us and express the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

We must be careful that we never elevate them to the level of Scripture or even above Scripture,

as many denominations and Christian traditions have done. We must be careful not to do that.

We believe in sola scriptura, that the Scriptures are the authority above all else, and even the

statements that we use to summarize these core doctrines that are found in the Scriptures must

be subservient to the Scriptures. And insofar as they agree with the Word of God, they are very helpful

to us, and they can be edifying to recognize them and to meditate on them. When churches incorporate

these creeds and confessions into their corporate worship Sunday by Sunday, they're really following

in the footsteps of Christians from the early church. In fact, our primary text for this morning,

verses 4 through 7, is believed to have functioned as an early creedal statement of early Christians,

or at least perhaps a hymn that would have been sung in the worship of first century believers.

And what a tremendous confession it is. Can you imagine gathering with believers in Crete 2,000 years ago,

and together, either in song, they believed that this was probably used at the baptismal services that they would have,

as you gather for a baptism or maybe in the service, whether you're reciting it or you're singing it.

Can you imagine lifting your voices together, and this is the thing that you say.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us.

And you move on from there to talk about the roles of the Holy Spirit and the Son, Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful confession it actually is.

Before we get into the details of what is actually being said here,

let's first acknowledge why Paul is actually using it.

Why has he inserted it here in this passage?

Remember, the structural pattern for chapter 2 and chapter 3 is exactly the same.

Paul begins with exhortations for the Christians in Crete to follow him.

He grounds them in the gospel of grace,

and then he concludes them with pastoral instruction for Titus and the other elders to follow.

In chapter 2, the emphasis is on Christian behavior in the church.

In chapter 3, the emphasis is on Christian behavior in the world,

outside of the church and the testimony that we have before others.

And so as we look at the structure of chapter 3,

that's the reason I wanted to read all 11 verses there just a moment ago,

because we need to see the bigger picture here,

else we'll get lost in the weeds and we won't know exactly.

It will be fruitful for us to dig into 4 through 7,

but it is important for us to know why Paul has it here.

The main appeal is in verses 1 through 2.

We talked about that two weeks ago.

And everything else flows, all the way down to verse 11,

flows out of verses 1 and 2,

where Paul has exhorted Titus to remind the people

to behave in particular ways in the world.

In verses 4 through 7, where we study today,

Paul lays the foundation of God's grace

as the source and motivation for the Christ-likeness

that he has commanded in verses 1 and 2.

And then when we get to verses 8 through 11,

he gives more pastoral instruction,

particularly how Titus and the elders

are to insist on these things

and how they are to discipline people in the church

who do not insist on these things

or perhaps even contradict them.

So Paul takes what might have been

an early Christian creed or hymn,

and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

he employs it to emphasize that God's grace toward us

is the very reason why we should act with such grace

toward the unbelievers around us.

Do you see that in the big picture?

Because I'm going to move on from it,

but I want you to see that first

before we dig into the details.

Paul takes this creed in the middle

and he inserts it to say,

behave this way because this is the way

God has behaved toward you, okay?

That's the motivation, the gospel of grace.

Now, everything in verses 4 through 7

revolves around a single phrase,

and you find it at the beginning of verse 5.

Look at it with me.

He saved us.

He saved us.

Saved here means to be rescued.

And it brings into view the desperate condition

each of us is in as a result of our sin.

We're all guilty before God.

We're guilty of sinning against God.

By nature, we are enemies of God,

destined to face His eternal wrath.

But to be saved is to be rescued

from the penalty of sin.

It is to be reconciled to God in peace.

And when we come to verse 5,

we see the central focus is on this phrase.

God rescued us.

And what did He rescue us from?

Himself.

It was the holy wrath of God,

destined to condemn us for all of eternity.

And it is the loving grace of God

that provides a way for sinners

to be made right with Himself.

He saved us.

And the text emphasizes that this salvation

is God's work of grace

apart from any merit or action of men.

Twice in these short verses,

God Himself is declared to be the Savior.

We see it in verse 4,

the goodness and loving kindness of God,

our Savior appeared.

And then we see it again in verse 6,

whom He poured out on us richly

through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

And all of the saving action in this passage

is attributed only to God and to His work.

You see, salvation is not a reward

for those whose good outweighs their bad.

Salvation is not a debt that God owes us

for religious services that we render to Him.

Salvation is the gracious act of God

whereby He grants forgiveness

and eternal life solely on the basis of His mercy.

And if you forget everything else I say this morning,

I hope you will at least remember this,

that if anyone is to be saved,

it will only be as a result

of the gracious work of God in their life.

And that's the emphasis of this gospel of grace.

It's not only the emphasis of the gospel of grace

in Titus chapter 2 and Titus chapter 3.

Titus 2 · chapter mention Titus 3 · chapter mention

It is the emphasis of the gospel of grace

from Genesis 1 to the end of the book of the Revelation.

It is all of God's grace.

And we find a particular, wonderful,

glorious statement of it here in this early creed.

The creed declares three wonderful truths

about the saving grace of God.

It tells us when He saved us.

It tells us how He saved us.

It tells us why He saved us.

That's the structure I want to take with you this morning.

First, let's see when He saved us.

When He saved us.

Verse 4,

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,

He saved us.

Goodness and loving kindness of God

toward the Cretan believers in the context here

is set in contrast with the spirit of those Christians

in Crete toward the unbelievers in the world around them.

They perhaps had fallen into pride,

into rebellion,

into arrogance against the unbelievers.

But in contrast to that,

Paul highlights the goodness and loving kindness of God

that was shown to them when they were unbelievers.

And Paul calls them to show this same grace to others.

The same grace that they had experienced from God,

they were to show to others.

And how had God shown this grace to the Cretan Christians?

His grace was demonstrated through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

And appeared, the word appeared is significant here.

Just like in chapter 2 and verse 11,

it's the same word that we get,

epiphany,

meaning a sudden manifestation or appearance of something.

It is something being made visible.

And what Paul is saying,

or the Creed is saying,

and Paul is saying through the Creed here,

is that the goodness and loving kindness of God

are not abstract ideas

that we just kind of theoretically attach to God up there somewhere.

No, they are tangible realities

that we see in the person and the work of Jesus.

In other words,

if you want to see the goodness and the loving kindness of God,

look at Jesus.

If you want to see the grace of God,

look at Jesus.

That is how God has manifested his grace.

Another way to say it is to say this,

but God shows his love for us

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Or we might could say it another way.

We were by nature children of wrath,

like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy,

because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you have been saved.

It's the theme of the Bible.

It's everywhere.

Now I want you to notice here in verse four

that the timestamp of our salvation

is given in the past tense.

When the goodness and loving kindness of God appeared,

the person and work of Jesus in the past,

he saved us in the past.

How are we to understand this?

Simply reverse the phrases

to see it maybe a little bit more clearly.

He saved us when the goodness

and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared.

And I want to take just a moment to show you

why I think this is so significant.

Don't turn me off yet.

This is good.

I want you to think about the various dimensions

of salvation recorded in the Bible.

The first thing I want to point out to you

is that our salvation was determined

before the world began.

So in eternity past,

God sets his love on his people.

We see that in Ephesians chapter one.

He chose us in Christ

before the foundation of the world

that we should be holy

and blameless before him.

In love, he predestined us for adoption

to himself as sons through Jesus Christ

according to the purpose of his will,

to the praise of his glorious grace

with which he has blessed us in the beloved.

What does he mean by that?

That our salvation in one sense

was determined before we were ever even created.

Indeed, before anything else was ever created.

But then we see our salvation is confirmed

at the moment of conversion.

It is determined before the world began.

It's confirmed at the moment of conversion.

Romans chapter 10.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

Because if you confess with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart

that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

If someone were to come to you this afternoon

and they said,

hey, I heard you are a Christian.

I've heard that being a Christian

means that you have to be saved.

Tell me, when were you saved?

Your immediate reaction

is gonna go to the moment of your conversion

because that's the moment

that your salvation

graciously given to you by Jesus Christ

was confirmed

through your faith in Jesus Christ

and his finished work.

So salvation is determined

before the world began.

It's confirmed at the moment of our conversion.

Thirdly, our salvation will be completed

at Christ's return.

will be completed at Christ's return.

Hebrews chapter 9.

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

So Christ, having been offered once

to bear the sins of many,

will appear a second time.

He's coming back.

Not to deal with sin,

but to save those

who are eagerly waiting for him.

Now, I thought we were already saved.

If we know Christ,

God has predestined it

before the world's began.

It was confirmed at the moment

that I trusted Christ.

Why is he saying that I won't be saved

until Jesus returns?

Because there's this past,

present, future dimension to salvation.

We are saved.

We have been saved.

We are being saved.

The gospel is transforming us

by the work of the Holy Spirit

to be more like Christ.

We will be saved.

That is one day.

All of this will be brought to completion.

Glorified.

No more sin.

No more death.

No more disease.

It will all be over.

We will be saved,

and we will be with him in eternity.

And I say all of that to say this.

It's determined before,

confirmed at conversion,

completed at Christ's return,

but it is secured at the cross.

Our salvation is secured at the cross.

We read it last week, John 19, 30.

When Jesus had received the sour wine,

he said, what's the next three words?

It is finished.

It's finished.

It's done.

What's done?

Everything necessary for our salvation

was done.

It was complete.

We were saved.

It was secured at the cross.

The salvation of sinners is God's work

from beginning to end.

It's his plan, born of his mercy.

And if you are in Christ today,

it's not because you met a certain standard,

and it's not because you fulfilled

your religious duty.

Your salvation was won and secured

at the cross when Jesus bore the wrath of God

in your place,

making a once-for-all time atonement

for your sin.

We were saved when the goodness

and loving kindness of God appeared,

and how did it appear?

In the cross of Jesus.

And if God secured your salvation

at the cross,

he will see it through to the end.

He will see it through.

He will not say,

your redemption is good for now,

but if you cross me again,

I'm taking it away.

No, it's secured.

It's been secured for 2,000 years.

Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Think about this.

This is so awesome.

Romans 8.

For those whom he foreknew,

he predestined to be conformed

to the image of his Son,

in order that he might be the firstborn

among many brothers.

And those whom he predestined,

he called.

Those whom he called,

he justified.

Those whom he justified,

he glorified.

What shall we then say to these things?

If God is for us,

who can be against us?

When did he save us?

When the goodness and love

and kindness of God appeared.

When did that appear?

On the cross.

Our salvation was secured.

It was God's work from beginning to end.

And it's the only place

that we can begin at this point

in this creed.

When he saved us.

Secondly,

how did he save us?

How did he save us?

Verse 5.

He saved us,

not because of works

done by us in righteousness,

but according to his own mercy,

by the washing of regeneration

and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly

through Jesus Christ,

our Savior.

Again, Paul is very quick here

to remind us

that our salvation

does not come as a result

of anything that we do.

And here's why.

We cannot possibly

be saved by our own righteousness

because according to verse 3,

put your eye back on it.

According to verse 3,

before God's gracious intervention

in our lives,

what were we?

We were foolish.

Led astray.

Slaves to sin.

So on and so forth.

A foolish person.

A person that is led astray.

A person that is a slave to sin.

This is a picture

of all of those

who are without Christ.

That kind of person

will not just wake up one day

and decide,

you know what?

I think I'm going to be

a Christian now.

It doesn't work like that.

No.

So how does God save us?

Without the righteousness of Christ

being imputed to us,

our very best efforts

are worthlessly ineffective.

You can go to church every Sunday.

You can give in the offering

every week.

You can do all the things.

You can greet all the people.

You can fulfill

and tick all your boxes

on the religious things.

And it will be completely ineffective

for your salvation.

Why?

Because he saved us

not because of works done by us.

It's not about us.

It's not about our righteousness.

Our righteousness

will never be good enough.

Paul knew this

better than anybody.

Remember in Philippians chapter 3,

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

Paul says,

if anyone else thinks

that he has a reason

for confidence in the flesh,

I have more.

And he goes through his pedigree.

Circumcised the eighth day.

Tribe of Benjamin.

Hebrew of Hebrews.

As to the law,

a Pharisee.

That means that he kept it

to the nth degree.

As to zeal,

a persecutor of the church,

thinking he was fulfilling

the will of God.

As to righteousness

under the law,

blameless, he says.

But whatever gain I had,

I count it as loss

for the sake of Christ.

Indeed,

I count everything as loss

because of the surpassing worth

of knowing Jesus my Lord.

For his sake,

I have suffered the loss

of all things

and count them as rubbish,

he says.

Rubbish.

All of the righteous efforts

that you've put in

are nothing but trash,

Paul says.

Because the only way

to know Christ

is through faith,

by his grace.

So if God doesn't save us

through self-righteous works,

how does he then save us?

And the answer

is succinctly given here

in verses 5 and 6.

And it has everything

to do with God's grace.

But what I love so much

about this creed

is that it is ultimately

Trinitarian,

revealing how the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit

work together

for our salvation.

Bill Mountain

said it this way.

This passage has one

of the most elegant

descriptions of the Trinity

anywhere in the New Testament.

It shows the three members

of the Godhead

actively involved

in the salvation of sinners.

God the Father

as planner and initiator.

God the Son,

Jesus Christ,

as the agent of redemption.

That's verse 6.

And the Holy Spirit

as the instrument

of regeneration

and renewal.

That's verse 5.

Gordon Fee calls it

an inerrant Trinitarianism

that sees Father,

Son, and Spirit

working co-jointly

jointly for our salvation.

And why does that matter?

Because our salvation

is all of God.

So how then

does God save us?

Well, the entire plan

of redemption

is based on the Father's mercy

that has been revealed

to us in the sacrifice

of His Son.

We've touched

on those already.

Let me focus now

for our time this morning

on this work

of the Holy Spirit

in verse 5.

There's a two-fold work

that is stated here.

Two words are given.

Regeneration

and renewal.

Regeneration,

the kids have learned this

in Adventure Club.

Kids,

what does it mean

to be regenerated?

Do you remember?

Gus,

it means to be born again.

That's exactly right.

Regeneration means

to recreate,

to bring to life again.

It's when sinners

who are dead

in their trespasses

and sins

are cleansed from sin,

awakened to new life

in Christ Jesus.

And in John chapter 3,

John 3 · chapter mention

Jesus called it,

as Gus said,

being born again.

John chapter 3,

John 3:5

verse 5,

Jesus answered Nicodemus,

truly I say to you,

unless one is born

of water and of the Spirit,

water there being

the cleansing of sin

by the Holy Spirit

and being born of the Spirit

being the regenerating work,

unless one is born

of water and the Spirit,

he cannot enter

the kingdom of God.

He cannot be saved.

That which is born

of the flesh is flesh.

That which is born

of the Spirit is Spirit.

And he says,

do not marvel

that I said this to you.

The wind blows

where it wishes.

You hear it sound.

You do not know

where it comes from

or where it goes.

So it is with those

who are born

of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's

work in regeneration.

The wind blows.

The wind of the Spirit

blows when the Word of God

is declared

and the Gospel

is declared.

And the Holy Spirit

does this.

Sin,

cleansing,

regenerating work

where he takes

dead sinners

and he gives them

new life.

The regenerating power

of the Holy Spirit.

The second word

is renewal.

Renewal refers

to the quality

of life

that is given

to us

by God's Spirit.

And it is a life

that is distinctly

different

from the one before.

That's Paul's point here.

Think about it

in Romans 12 too

where the same word

is used.

Do not be conformed

to this world

but be transformed

by what?

The renewal

of your mind.

Don't be like the world.

Be transformed

by the renewal

of your mind.

Well you can't renew

your own mind.

That's the work

of God's Spirit

according to the Word.

The Holy Spirit

transforms us.

He renews us.

How about Colossians 3?

Do not lie

to one another

seeing that you have

put off the old self

with its practices

and have put on

the new self

which is being

renewed

in knowledge

after the image

of its creator.

It's this work

of sanctification

that the Holy Spirit does.

He brings us back

to life

and he renews

the quality

of that life

to be distinctly

different from

what we were before.

So he not only

gives us life

he gives us

a different kind.

And this regeneration

and renewal

is part and parcel

of the motivation

behind our pursuit

of Christ-likeness

in the world.

It's how it relates

back to the first two verses.

If you have

the Holy Spirit

that has brought you

to life

and is renewing you

actively,

progressively

in your life

in sanctification

you will progressively

change

from being so frustrated

and arrogant

and prideful

to the world

to where you will

now humbly show

the grace of God

and the forgiveness

of God

and the mercy of God.

God does this.

It is his work.

But perhaps

you're wondering

how does the Holy Spirit

actually go about

doing this?

I mean is it just like

you just happen

to be standing

in just the right place

like a person

getting struck

by lightning

and if you just happen

to be in the right place

suddenly the Holy Spirit

just bam

you're there

and it's done.

No that's not

how it works.

The Bible tells us

in Ephesians chapter 6

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

that there is a sword

that the Holy Spirit

wields to do his work.

The sword is the word

of God.

The Holy Spirit

accompanies

the Holy Scripture.

The wind of the Spirit

blows in regeneration

and renewal

when the word of God

is preached

and shared

and studied

and what this truth

should do

is radically affect

our efforts

at evangelism

and our spiritual maturity

neither of which

can be fruitful

apart from

the scriptures.

They cannot be

because the way

that the Holy Spirit

does this work

is through

the word of God.

That's why we want people

we want to invite

unbelievers

to a church service.

That's why we don't

want to just

encourage them

to be

like Christians.

We want to encourage

them with the word

to believe

and follow Christ

because it is

the word of God

that the Holy Spirit

uses

to make

the people

of God.

Hebrews chapter 4

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

the word of God

is living

it's active

sharper

than any

two-edged sword

piercing

to the division

of soul

and spirit

of joints

and of marrow

and it discerns

the thoughts

and the intents

of the heart

not because

not the book

itself

it's not

that there's

a magic button

here

that if you

just open

your Bible

one day

and you start

to read

through a passage

that there's

something

that comes

alive

out of the pages

itself

and does

some type

of mystical

work in you.

No that's

not how it

works

it's that

it is brought

to life

through the

regenerative

and renewal

work of the

Holy Spirit

as the word

of God

goes out

he always

accomplishes

his purposes

and as he

accomplishes

his purposes

he does it

through the work

of the Spirit.

So how then

has God

saved us?

Not through

anything we've

done

our salvation

rests solely

on God's

sovereign work

of grace

accomplished

through the

death of

Jesus

and the

transformative

power

of his

Spirit.

I know

that was

heavy

and that's

a lot

but perhaps

it'll marinate

on your mind

for a while

when we were

saved

how he

saved us

finally

why he

saved us

why did

he even

do this

if salvation

is God's

work from

beginning to

end

if it flows

out of his

mercy

and through

the

demonstration

of the

love of

Christ

on the

cross

and it's

this

regenerative

work of

his

spirit

if it is

God's

doing

from beginning

to end

why does

he care

to do

it

why

verse 7

so that

it's the

purpose

statement

of the

creed

so that

being

justified

by his

grace

we might

become

heirs

according

to the

hope

of eternal

life

let's

condense

it down

again

he

saved

us

so

that

being

justified

by his

grace

we might

become

heirs

according

to the

hope

of

eternal

life

again

grace

is set

in contrast

with works

of righteousness

and it

reiterates

how God

saves us

but the

ultimate

goal

of God's

gracious

initiative

is to

make us

his own

people

is to

make us

his own

adopted

into the

family of

God

we've been

praying for

the Blevins

for some

time now

they're in

this

waiting

cycle

for

the

adoption

of a

child

from

Columbia

and

whenever

the Lord

sees fit

to bring

that child

into their

home

legally

bestowing

all rights

as being

their

children

will be

given

to that

child

adopted

into

their

family

belongs

to

them

all

the

rights

all

the

inheritance

all

the

things

belongs

to

this

child

and

that's

the

image

that

God

uses

of

us

here

we

become

heirs

if

salvation

came

from

works

then

its

benefits

would

be a

payment

that

God

owes

us

and

our

relationship

with

him

would

be

merely

contractual

and

professional

that

is

we do

something

for

God

and

in

return

he

does

something

for

us

okay

if

it

was

through

works

that's

how

it

would

function

but

the

true

gospel

is

so

much

more

glorious

than

that

it's

amazing

actually

because

salvation

is of

God's

grace

its

benefits

belong

to

us

positionally

not

because

of

something

that

we

have

done

but

because

of

who

we

are

and

who

are

we

we

are

the

children

of

God

and

our

relationship

to

him

is

not

contractual

and

professional

our

relationship

to

him

in

grace

is

covenantal

and

personal

it's

glorious

Galatians

4

when

the

fullness

of

time

had

come

God

sent

forth

his

son

born

of

a

woman

born

under

the

law

to

redeem

those

who

were

under

the

law

that's

the

when

and

the

how

here's

the

why

so

that

we

might

receive

adoption

as

sons

and

because

your

sons

God

has

sent

the

spirit

of

his

son

into

our

hearts

which

causes

us

now

to

cry

out

to

God

as

father

so

you

are

no

longer

a

slave

but

a

son

and

if

you're

a

son

then

you're

an

heir

through

God

and

what

is

the

inheritance

that

you

have

it

is

eternal

life

that

was

won

for

us

at

the

resurrection

of

Christ

all

that

belongs

to

Jesus

our

elder

brother

now

we

might

say

all

that

belongs

to

Jesus

now

belongs

to

us

not

because

of

what

we've

done

but

because

of

who

we

are

in

him

and

why

would

God

do

this

why

why

such

marvelous

grace

there

is

only

one

possible

answer

it

can

only

be

out

of

love

that's

the

only

answer

that

could

possibly

work

Ephesians

2

we

quoted

this

while

ago

let's

quote

it

again

God

being

rich

in

mercy

because

of

the

great

love

with

which

he

loved

us

even

when

we

were

dead

so

his

love

doesn't

come

because

of

something

we've

done

it's

not

something

that

we

are

it's

just

his

love

because

it's

his

love

so

that

we

might

receive

adoption

excuse

me

that's

the wrong

quote

so

that

he

made

us

alive

together

with

Christ

by

grace

you've

been

saved

and

it

goes

on

we

sing

about

this

grace

and

this

love

could

we

with

ink

the

ocean's

fill

and

where

the

skies

of

parchment

made

where

every

stalk

on

earth

a

quill

and

every

man

a

scribe

by

trade

to

write

the

love

of

God

above

would

drain

the

ocean

dry

nor

could

the

scroll

contain

the

hole

though

stretched

from

sky

to

sky

why

has

God

saved

us

because

he

loves

us

because

he

loves

us

now

this

passage

is

immediately

relevant

on at

least

two

levels

first

expresses

the

truth

of

salvation

by

grace

alone

it's

God's

work

from

beginning

to

end

but

he

calls

us

to

enter

this

love

by

trusting

the

work

of

Christ

by

faith

we

are

justified

by

faith

no

matter

what

no

matter

what

your

background

is

and

I

don't

know

everyone

that's

here

today

I

don't

know

what

your

background

is

and

what

your

particular

position

is

in

regards

to

spiritual

things

or

in

regard

to

the

things

of

God

but

no

matter

what

you

are

where

you

are

you

are

trusting

in

something

for

life

and

peace

you

may

be

trusting

that

your

good

outweighs

your

bad

or

that

you've

done

just

the

right

kind

and

amount

of

religious

works

you've

done

the

baptism

and

you've

done

the

catechisms

and

you've

done

the

confirmation

and

you've

done

the

church

things

you

do

all

the

things

and

you're

trusting

!

Maybe

you're

completely

irreligious

you

are

struggling

with

whether

or not

you

even

think

that

God

is

there

that

he

exists

well

that's

a

trusting

action

there

is

an

element

where

you

are

trusting

life

and

peace

to

the

fact

that

there

is

no

God

to

which

you

must

be

held

accountable

no

matter

how

you

look

at

it

either

way

the

issue

eventually

boils

down

to

faith

and

according

to

the

scriptures

what

God

has

told

us

in

his

word

true

salvation

only

comes

to

those

whose

faith

is

in

the

grace

of

God

through

Christ

that's

where

salvation

lies

true

peace

true

love

true

grace

can

only

be

found

in

Christ

that's

the

first

way

that

we

apply

it

the

text

is

also

relevant

because

it

shapes

the

entire

perspective

of

how

we

live

and

worship

doesn't

it

when

we

understand

and

focus

on

the

grace

of

God

it

will

always

produce

in

us

humble

praise

humility

worship

joyful

service

to

God

that

is

the

product

of

grace

it

affects

the

way

we

view

and

treat

others

because

those

who

have

received

God's

grace

are

keen

to

show

God's

grace

and

if

you

find

that

your

spirit

toward

others

is

arrogant

or

harsh

or

if

you

determine

that

your

worship

is

cold

distant

mundane

it's

not

because

the

structure

of

the

service

is

not

beneficial

it's

not

because

the

word

of

God

has

failed

it's

not

because

people

are

worse

today

than

what

they've

been

at

other

times

in

the

world

it's

not

because

of

any

of

those

things

it's

because

you've

lost

sight

of

the

grace

of

God

in

your

life

and

the

only

solution

for

you

is

to

look

to

Jesus

that's

the

only

solution

to

look

to

Jesus

and

understand

the

grace

and

love

of

God

will

lead