The Gospel Of Grace

The truth is that this passage is at the very heart of everything that Paul is communicating

to Titus and to these believers in Crete.

It is, in one sense, it is the sound doctrine with which Christian behavior is to accord.

We remember that from the very first verse of this chapter.

Just put your eye on it in chapter 2 and verse 1.

But as for you, Paul says, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

The behaviors, the mindsets, the attitudes, the things that harmonize with sound doctrine.

When we get to verses 11 through 14, this is essentially the sound doctrine with which

our behavior and our lifestyles are to be in harmony with.

And what he gives is a concise explanation of the gospel of Jesus.

And the importance of teaching it as the foundation for practical instruction cannot be overstated.

Consider this from Graham Goldsworthy.

He wrote,

To say what we should be or do and not link it with a clear exposition of what God has done about our failure

is to reject the grace of God.

And it is to lead people to lust after self-help and self-improvement in a way that to call a spade a spade is godless.

Do you see what he's saying there?

For us to give exhortation and practical instruction about what people should be and what people should do,

but not to immediately accompany that exhortation with an exposition of the gospel

is to actually remove grace from the equation, and it is to preach a works salvation.

If we think that, think of Christian conduct or religious practice,

the things that we're doing this morning even in our gathered worship,

if we think of those things apart from the gospel of Jesus,

we will inevitably labor to go through our list of do's and don'ts,

either in hopes of earning God's favor or in fear of losing it.

If it's not about the gospel, if it's really about fulfilling our list and doing our things,

if we're living in fear that we don't have God's favor and we need to get it,

or we're living in fear that we have it but we might lose it,

then we've missed the gospel.

And think about this in relation to our evangelism and our efforts at cultural engagement.

If our confrontations of sin and our calls for people to repent

are not immediately linked with what Christ has accomplished through his death and resurrection,

we are preaching a message of behavior modification, moralism.

We are not preaching a gospel of grace.

And if we go through and we're witnessing to people or maybe what we do in the influences that we have

through social media or social engagement in some other way,

and some of us, we're very faithful to say what everybody's doing wrong,

that you are a bad person.

But how many of us are actually faithful to immediately say,

but Christ is good,

and he has come to redeem you from this

and demonstrate the glories of the gospel,

not just the depravity of the world in which we live.

If we don't immediately pair it with the gospel,

immediately pair it with the glories of Christ,

then we've gone wrong.

And we're not actually preaching a gospel.

We're preaching people into a different form of bondage,

moralism.

So it's no surprise then that when Paul gets to the end of these exhortations,

he immediately grounds the entire letter in the gospel message.

And the spring from which this saving gospel burst forth off of this page in verse 11

is the limitless grace of God.

Biblical grace is God's favor toward undeserving sinners.

In the simplest way, we typically define it as unmerited favor.

But in a biblical sense,

it is God's unmerited favor toward undeserving sinners.

But the grace of God is not some abstract idea

that's kind of floating around out there,

and we just hope that at some point along the way,

we grasp it.

No, that's not what it is.

Paul says in verse 11 that the grace of God has appeared.

It is a tangible thing that has been made visible.

To us.

It's not just some kind of idea.

He brings it in concrete terms.

It has appeared to us.

And this is an interesting word.

It's the word from which we get epiphany.

It means a sudden manifestation or a sudden appearance of something.

And what Paul intends to say here is that the grace of God

has been manifested, made visible in a person.

And a person.

It's not an idea.

The grace of God is a person.

And that person is Jesus Christ.

In other words, if you want to see and understand God's favor

toward undeserving sinners,

look at Jesus.

He is God's grace personified.

He is God's grace manifested to us and manifested for us.

And his gospel, this gospel of grace,

is the proper motivation and focus of Christian belief and behavior.

All of the things that Paul says in chapter 2,

it's not about fashioning a group of people

to live according to his personal preference.

That's not what Paul is commanding these people to do.

He is commanding them to live in the grace of God.

And if we are to live in the grace of God,

it's going to radically affect the way that our lives look

and the decisions that we make.

So let's walk through the verses together

and examine this glorious gospel of grace.

The first thing I'd like to point out to you

is the work of God's grace.

The work of God's grace.

Look with me again at verse 11.

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,

godly lives in the present age.

We've already established that the grace of God

has been manifested in a person

and in the work of Jesus Christ.

It's not just a theological concept.

It's a person.

But what does the grace of God through Jesus accomplish?

What does it actually do for us?

And I think Paul gives two dynamics of God's grace here

that we need to see.

The first thing that he says is this.

God's grace saves sinners.

God's grace saves sinners.

Verse 11.

For the grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people.

Jesus has come, and with him he has brought salvation for us.

Let's make sure we understand this in the appropriate way.

This is not a promise that all people will ultimately be saved.

That's not what Paul means to say here.

That's universalism.

That's a damning doctrine.

We don't need to follow that.

That's not what the Bible teaches us.

That's not what Paul is teaching here.

The Bible is actually very clear that while many people receive God's mercy,

many will also face his judgment.

And God's mercy and God's judgment both are eternal.

Consider Matthew chapter 25 and verse 46.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

Jesus himself says,

All of these, those who do not follow him,

those who do not live this gospel of grace,

all of these will go into eternal punishment,

but the righteous into eternal life.

There's a distinction, clearly, in the New Testament.

Some people will receive eternal life.

Some people will receive eternal hell.

So Paul can't be saying in Titus chapter 2

Titus 2 · chapter mention

that all people will ultimately be saved.

That's not his point.

Consider Revelation chapter 21.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

When we get to the very end in this vision that John has of heaven,

the revelation of Christ,

he says,

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable,

murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars,

their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur,

which is the second death.

Paul's not saying that all people will ultimately be saved.

So what then does this verse actually mean?

What does it mean that God has brought salvation for all people?

Well, think about the immediate context here.

What has he just said in verses 9 and 10?

He's addressed slaves in the church.

Slaves who have been converted,

they belong to the church in the process of instructing them here.

He declares that Jesus has brought salvation for all people.

He means that no person is excluded from salvation

on the basis of their race or their gender or their nationality

or their social status.

There is nothing about you that is deserving of God's grace

and there is nothing about you that excludes you from God's grace.

That's his point.

That the grace of God has appeared in Christ

and he has brought salvation for all people.

For all people.

And while Christ's atonement is applied particularly to those who believe,

it is sufficient for the entire human race,

which is what allows for Jesus to give a universal call to believe the gospel.

So in other words, not everyone will be saved,

but the invitation to receive eternal salvation through Jesus extends to everyone.

It extends to the whole world.

So Jesus says, go.

Go and preach the gospel.

He says, come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden

and I will give you rest.

Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 4.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

He said, God desires all people to be saved

and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

All people.

So if God desires all people to be saved

and Jesus's atonement is sufficient for the whole human race,

then this eternal salvation is offered to you.

And it's offered to me.

On the cross, Jesus bears the wrath of God against sinners.

And by his resurrection, God proclaims,

I have received with satisfaction, complete satisfaction,

the sacrifice of Jesus on behalf of sinners.

So what then does God's grace accomplish?

It brings salvation to all who believe and follow Christ.

Ephesians chapter 2, Paul makes it clear.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

For by grace, you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing.

It's the gift of God.

Not a result of works, so that none of us may boast.

The work of God's grace, the first thing it does,

God's grace saves sinners.

But then, notice in verse 12,

God's grace transforms sinners.

God's grace transforms sinners.

Look again at verse 12.

Training us to renounce ungodliness

and worldly passions,

to live self-controlled, upright,

godly lives in the present age.

Training us.

What's the subject of the verse?

The subject of the sentence?

The grace of God.

The grace of God brings salvation.

The grace of God trains us

to do certain things,

to live in righteousness.

In fact, the gospel itself,

this is the point,

the gospel itself teaches us

to renounce ungodliness

and pursue godly lives instead.

Instead, he says,

renounce ungodliness

and worldly passions,

which is an interesting term here.

Because both of these words,

on their own,

are morally neutral.

We could say desires or passions.

Well, passions and desires,

on its own,

are not inherently immoral

or moral things.

They're just passions.

The world,

on its own,

is not a moral thing.

It is a thing.

It is a thing that exists.

But when the Bible

brings these two things together,

worldly passions,

it gives it a significant moral weight,

which refers to the desires

that are entirely centered

on the systemic thinking

of a fallen world,

a world that is in rebellion against God.

When Paul says worldly passions,

he's talking about a mindset

that is focused entirely

in the way

that a rebellious world is focused.

So that the decisions

a person with worldly passions makes,

the decisions that they make,

the life that they live,

is really motivated

by what they see in the world

rather than what they see in God.

We belong to a fallen world,

a world that is apart from God.

Yet, we are responsible

to fulfill God's purposes

and desires for our lives.

But on our own,

we cannot possibly do this.

It's not possible.

But through the salvation

of God's grace,

God transforms our affections.

He gives us a new heart.

This is what God does for us.

This is his work.

He takes our greatest desires,

which are fixed on self

and on pleasure

and on happiness

and on worldly passions,

and he transforms them.

So now, in Christ,

our greatest passion,

our greatest desire

is to please God.

God.

So that the grace of God

then trains us.

It actively disciplines.

It teaches us

to renounce those worldly passions,

to say no to those things

in order to live self-controlled

and upright and godly.

Brian Chappell said,

by adding the word godly

to the ways grace teaches us to live,

the apostle reminds us

that the Christian life

is one of dependence on God.

Godliness is not a consequence

of human resolution

or willpower.

It is a relationship with God

that results in a life

that is honoring to God.

You see, it's not about

what you just want to do

and willing yourself into this.

It begins with knowing God.

And as we know God,

the gospel itself transforms us

and it trains us

to pursue him

and to pursue his desires

for our lives.

You see how incredible this is?

God doesn't save us

and then leave us on our own

to figure the rest of it out.

He saves us

by the power of his grace

and he actively transforms us

by the power of his grace.

Philippians chapter one

or, excuse me,

Philippians chapter two,

we are his workmanship.

He is working in us.

Created in Christ Jesus

for good works.

What are good works?

It is the things that honor him.

It is the things that glorify him.

And those who truly know Christ

will willfully pursue

this transforming work

out of love

for what God has done for them

in Jesus.

So what does the grace of God

actually do?

Well, it saves sinners

and then it transforms them.

And the sequence here

is crucial.

God doesn't train us

in godliness

so that we might earn

his favor in salvation.

No, the order here

is absolutely critical.

He saves us by his grace.

Then he transforms us

from the inside out.

In other words,

our motivation

for godliness

is not to earn God's favor,

but it is in recognition

that in Christ

we have already received

God's gracious favor.

That's the work

of God's grace.

Secondly,

I want you to see

the hope of God's grace.

The hope of God's grace.

Verse 13,

waiting for our blessed hope,

the appearing of the glory

of our great God

and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

Well, set your eyes

at the very end

of verse 12 again.

At the end of verse 12,

Paul says,

believers are to live godly

in the present age.

He's not simply referring

to a particular

historical moment.

That's not what he means

by that.

That's not excluded,

but it's not really

what he intends to say.

He's speaking

of a unique time frame

in God's plan

of redemption.

When we get

to verse 13 here,

we get more clarity

as to what he's

actually saying.

And he uses this word

appearing again.

Do you see that?

Look at verse 13.

Waiting for our blessed hope,

the appearing

of the glory

of our great God

and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

Just as God's grace

was manifested

in Jesus' first coming,

so will it again

be manifested

in the Lord's

second coming.

The present age then

is this time frame

between the two things.

The present age

is the time frame

between Jesus'

first appearance

and Jesus'

second appearance.

In his first appearance

in verse 11,

Jesus came

and the glory

that he had

as being God,

the Son of God,

was veiled.

That's why people

were so confused

by him.

That's why the disciples

were so blown away

on the Mount

of Transfiguration.

They've seen this man,

powerful man,

but this man,

but then all of a sudden

on the Mount

of Transfiguration,

they get a glimpse

of his glory,

his glorified state.

So when he first comes,

the glory is veiled,

but when he comes

the next time,

Paul says right here,

it will be in full display

of the glory

of our great God

and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

Jesus is coming again

and it's going

to be magnificent.

It's going to be

a magnificent appearance

of God's grace.

And Paul's point

is that our lives now

in the present age

should reflect

a hopeful expectation

of this return.

And we immediately

see the past,

present,

and future realities

of salvation here.

The past reality

of salvation,

we have been saved.

That's verse 11.

The grace of God

has appeared

bringing salvation.

At some point,

if you know Christ,

at some point,

the regenerative work

of the Holy Spirit

has transformed your life

and you are saved.

Past tense.

You have been saved.

That's verse 11.

But then we see

the present tense.

That's verse 12.

We are being saved.

He is actively training us,

disciplining us,

fashioning us

to live a life

that is worthy

of the gospel.

We are being saved.

But then there's

this future salvation,

the future dynamic.

We will be saved.

That's verse 13.

That right now,

as we are being trained

by God's grace,

we longingly await

our future salvation,

that glorified state.

We taught the kids

about this on Thursday night

and it was in conjunction

with the dynamic

of our security in Christ

and in salvation.

But a big part of it

was the benefits

of the glorified state,

a new body,

whose back

doesn't get thrown out,

who can lay down

and breathe just fine,

who doesn't have to spend

a week in the hospital

because of congestive

heart failure.

There's no more sickness there.

There's no more sin.

There's no more heartache.

There's no more sadness.

We long for that.

Paul tells us

in the book of Romans

that the whole creation

groans for it.

We will be saved.

That's what Paul's

getting at here.

And in the meantime,

in this present age,

our lives should reflect

what we know

will be true

in that moment.

And he calls it

our blessed hope.

Of course,

biblical hope

is not a wish.

It is a certain expectation

that God will do

what God has promised

he will do.

And Christians

can rejoice

in hope

of Christ's return

because the scriptures

guarantee

our future glorification.

All those things

that I just mentioned.

He guarantees it

in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8:30

verse 30.

Those whom he predestined,

he also called.

And those whom he called,

he also justified.

And those whom he justifies,

he will glorify.

It's a guarantee

of God's word.

It's a guarantee

of God's grace.

This is what we will be.

Philippians 1, 6.

I'm sure of this,

Paul says,

that he who began

a good work in you

will bring it

to completion

at the day

of Jesus Christ.

Now it is this certain

expectation

of Christ's return

and the benefits

of what awaits us

in the glorified state

that motivates

and informs

our pursuit

of godliness now.

And I want to show you

a passage

that makes this clear.

In 1 John chapter 3,

1 John 3 · chapter mention

it's on the screen

if you want to follow along

or you can turn to it

in your Bible.

In 1 John chapter 3,

1 John 3 · chapter mention

John says,

beloved,

we are God's children now.

And what we will be,

that is in the glorified state,

what we will be,

has not yet appeared.

But we know that

when he appears,

we shall be like him

because we shall see him

as he is.

So John is setting us up

for this future expectation.

This is what we will be

in heaven.

We are going to be like Christ.

We are going to be fashioned

after him.

Now look what he says

in verse 3.

And everyone

who thus hopes,

everyone who is certain

of this reality,

purifies himself.

Why?

Because he sees

the purity

of Christ.

The hope of God's grace

is such

that it informs

and motivates

our godliness

because as we keep

our eyes set on heaven

and we keep our focus

set on Christ,

we see his purity

and we see his loveliness

and we see his glory

and it makes us

want to purify ourselves

and pursue

that glory

which will be ours

in eternity.

Understanding the fullness

of the gospel

means recognizing

that God

will finally

transform us.

and the word

that John uses

for this

is pure.

Those who have been

saved by God's grace

and are being

transformed

by God's grace

should desire

to exemplify

this purity

in the present

age.

And once again,

the truth

of the gospel

of grace

drives us

to godliness.

thirdly,

I want you to see

the agent

of grace.

We've seen

the work of grace,

what grace does.

We've seen

the hope of grace.

We set our eyes

on heaven

and we live

as if we are

there already.

Okay?

Number three,

the agent of grace.

Verse 14.

Perhaps the most

important verse

of all of it.

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.

This is the heart

of the whole discussion.

At the center

of the gospel

is the self-sacrifice

of God's son

for undeserving

sinners.

That's the grace

of God.

That's the grace

of God

that has appeared.

the self-sacrifice

of Jesus

for sinners.

He's provided

eternal salvation

according to this verse

by giving himself

for us.

But how is it

that Jesus

gave himself?

Philippians chapter 2

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

helps us with this.

The men studied this

on Wednesday morning

at Chick-fil-A.

It says,

though he was

in the form of God,

he did not account

equality with God

a thing to be grasped,

but he emptied himself,

taking on the form

of a servant,

being born

in the likeness

of men,

and being found

in human form,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient

to the point of death,

even death

on a cross.

So first,

Jesus gives himself

by leaving the throne

of heaven

to become a man.

he condescends

to us.

Then the sinless

son of God

gave himself

by submitting

to death

on a cross,

a criminal's execution

for a sinlessly

perfect man.

The one who knew

no sin

bore God's wrath

against sinners

so that they could

then know

his righteousness.

righteousness.

That's 2 Corinthians 5.

For our sake

he made him

to be sin

who knew no sin

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

And why did he

give himself?

That's how he gave himself.

Why did he give himself?

What was Jesus'

substitutionary death

meant to accomplish?

Well, Paul tells us

right here in the verse.

He gives us

three reasons.

First,

he gives himself

to rescue us

from sin.

To rescue us.

He says he gave himself

to redeem us

from all lawlessness.

Lawlessness,

according to John,

says lawlessness

is sin.

Redemption here,

redeem,

it means to release

on receipt

of ransom.

He redeems us

in his death

from sin,

from the bondage

of sin

and from

our deadness

in sin.

The penalty of sin.

But he doesn't just

stop at the rescue.

That's the thing.

See, this is where

a lot of people

get confused.

They come to Christ

expecting the rescue,

but they stop there.

Look at what he also says.

He gave himself

to rescue us from sin,

but he gave himself

to cleanse us

of sin.

Redeem us

from all lawlessness

and to

purify

us.

You see,

Jesus is not content

to leave us

in sin.

It's not as if

he saves us

and he says,

all right,

you're good.

Go on.

No.

He saves us,

he keeps us,

he rescues us,

and then he cleans us.

I remember when

Julie gave birth

to both the girls.

It's bizarre.

Those of you

who have been there

know,

most people say

it's a beautiful thing.

It's not a beautiful thing.

It's a bizarre thing.

And I remember

both girls

when they emerge,

all of these people

gather around

and they pick up

the girls.

And what's the first

thing that they do?

They put them

on Julie's chest.

They say,

hey to mom,

and then they rip her

right back out of her hands.

And they go over

to the sink

or whatever the thing is

and they weigh her

and then they get that thing

and they start

to scrub her down,

right?

They're not content

to leave them

in the mess.

They say,

this is what Jesus does.

You see,

at the point

that he saves us,

it's like being born.

In fact,

that's exactly

what Jesus says.

We receive

a new birth,

regeneration.

And Jesus doesn't

come to that moment

of birth

and then just kind of

throw us out there

and say,

hope things work out

for you.

No.

No,

he takes us

and he takes us

and he loves on us

and he gives us attention

and he cleans us.

He washes us.

He purifies us.

He cleanses us.

And then he says,

not only does he rescue us

from sin,

he gave himself

to cleanse us

but then to make us

his own.

To make us his own.

A people

for his own

possession

who are zealous

for good works.

Here's the transformation

again.

Paul says to another church,

we are not our own.

We have been bought

with a price

which pushes against

the common mindset

not only in our culture

but honestly I think

in a lot of cultural

Christian circles.

That says,

yeah,

I follow Jesus

but this is my life.

This is my body

and this is my money

and this is my stuff

and I'm going to do it

the way that I want to do it.

Paul says,

no,

that's not actually true.

You are not your own.

If you know Christ,

you belong to him.

He's bought you.

There's a lot of misconceptions

about the purpose

of God's grace

and salvation.

There's a lot of

cultural Christians

who identify

as with Christianity

in some sense

out of,

to gain what

MacArthur says

is fire insurance.

they're not really

interested in being

rescued from sin

or knowing Christ.

They just come to a point

where if there is a hell,

maybe this is the way

that I can possibly escape it.

So they do whatever

the church says

that they're supposed to do.

They get baptized

or they attend

or they volunteer.

They do the stuff

but there's really,

there's nothing about Christ

that's at work

in their life.

And they think grace

is just there

so that I don't have

to go to hell.

And they've misunderstood grace.

There's others

who maybe don't take

quite that position

but in their minds

they think,

well,

grace just makes me free now.

It makes me free

so that I can kind of

live the way

that I want to live

without consequence.

And there's a lot

of Christians

that probably

you even know yourself,

maybe you're one of them,

that lives in that kind

of state of mind

or at least practically.

There's even some

genuine Christians

that can be

carelessly indifferent

to behaviors

that dishonor God.

But the Bible

directly confronts

these attitudes.

Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

You know the passage.

Paul says,

how can we

who died to sin

still live in it?

Do you not know

that all of us

who have been baptized

into Christ

were baptized

into his death?

We were buried,

therefore,

with him by baptism

into death

in order that

as Christ was raised

from the dead,

we too might walk

in newness of life.

That means there's

a transformation

that has now happened.

It's not God

has given me his grace.

I don't have to go to hell.

I can just keep doing

my thing here

and just feel comfortable

about it.

You've misunderstood grace.

Paul goes on to say,

let not sin,

therefore,

reign in your mortal body

to make you

obey its passions.

Do not present

your members to sin

as instruments

for unrighteousness,

but present yourselves

to God

as those who have been

brought from death

to life

and your members

to God

as instruments

for righteousness.

To the one

who has been gripped

by the truth

of the gospel,

they will routinely say,

I don't want

to live in sin.

Christ has saved me

from that.

I don't want

to go back to it.

And think about it

in terms of the instructions

Paul has given.

Hang with me,

we're almost there,

okay?

Think about it

in terms of the instructions

Paul gave

in the first ten verses.

Someone gripped

by the gospel says,

I do not want

to live a slanderous life.

Christ saved me

from that.

I don't want

to do that.

I don't want

to live in drunkenness.

Christ saved me

from that.

I don't want

to do that.

I don't want

to live

in constant conflict

with my husband

or with my wife.

Christ saved me

from that.

I don't want

to go back

to that.

You see,

we need to evaluate

all of our conduct

on the basis

of the fact

that Christ died

to rescue

and cleanse us

from sin.

I want to ask you

maybe this hypothetical

question,

maybe you were asked

this as a young person

growing up.

So maybe even

the kids would need

to hear me.

Give me your ear here.

If Jesus was

with you today,

physically with you,

he was spending

the day with you,

would you be

at peace

with the typical

decisions that you

make?

Or,

would a part

of the conversation

with your Lord

be,

Jared,

I was crucified

to rescue

you from that.

Why would you

do that?

Jared,

I was crucified

to redeem you

from those

words

and the sin

of your mouth.

Why would you

continue in that?

Jared,

I was crucified

to rescue you

from those things

that you're

entertaining yourself

with on the TV

and on your phone.

Why would you

do that?

And we could go

down the list.

Jesus gave

himself to

redeem us

and this

gospel of grace

literally,

it teaches us.

If you understand

the gospel,

then you understand

it's never okay

for me to sin.

I shouldn't

want to.

I shouldn't

desire it

because Christ

has died for it

and he wants

to cleanse me

from it

and one day

he will finally

cleanse me

from it

and I'm going

to live for him

now because of

what he's done

for me.

Do you remember

the question

that I asked

you at the

beginning?

What's the

why behind

the way

that you live

your life

and make

your decisions?

Why do you

do what you

do?

Why do you

say what you

say?

Why do you

enjoy what

you enjoy?

If the

dominant

motivation

of your

life

is self

fulfillment,

that is

it's my

life,

I'll do it

how I

want.

If that's

the dominant

reason in

your mind,

I don't

know that

you're a

Christian.

The call

to salvation

is a

call to

self-denial.

That's

what Jesus

says.

He says,

whoever will

come to me

will have

to deny

himself,

not pursue

himself.

The grace

of God

in salvation

transforms our

affections.

The Bible

makes that

clear and

if your

dominant

affection in

your life,

your dominant

desire is not

to please the

Lord, I

don't think

you're a

Christian,

at least

according to

the Bible.

people.

But as we

discovered in

verse 11,

God extends

this offer of

grace to

you.

Receive his

grace.

Receive the

grace in

Christ.

Let him

rescue you

from sin

and cleanse

you from it

forever.

Now that's

one way you

could answer

the question.

The other way

that some

of you may

have answered

the question

is if you

do what you

do out of

fear that

God will be

angry and

remove his

favor, I

don't think

you understand

the gospel.

Our motivation

for godliness

is not to

gain God's

favor.

It's actually

a loving,

worshipful

response to

the favor that

he's already

given us.

That's the

motivation.

Jesus said,

we read it

in Matthew

11, Jesus

said that his

salvation would

give you rest,

not anxiety.

Rest.

And if you're

constantly living

in fear,

you're probably

not trusting

Christ.

You're probably

trusting your

ability to do

your best and

try your hardest

and do the

list of things.

And somebody's

told you, if you

fall short of

that, you're

not doing it

right.

We need to

care about

godliness.

But our

godliness is

not what

saves us.

We cling

trustingly to

the Lord

Jesus, even

when we fail,

even when we

fall.

We're grieved

by our sin.

But it should

never bring us

to a point, if

we know Christ,

and if we

understand the

gospel, it

should never

bring us to a

point that in

our sin, we're

now overwhelmed

with fear that

God's going to

take it away, that

he doesn't love

us anymore, that

he's going to

cast us out.

Remember what

Jesus said, all

that the Father

gives me will

come to me, and

whoever comes to

me, I will

never cast out.

And if you're

living in constant

fear, I think you

just don't understand

the gospel, and you

need to study the

gospel.

You need to

study these

verses.

You need to

learn the gospel

of grace, so

that you might

look to Jesus, and

then live.