Titus Chapter 2 Verses 11

 Notice it is the grace of God that brings salvation! It is by grace that

you have been saved, not of works, not of yourselves, it is the gift of

God so that no one can boast! (Ephesians 2:8) Grace doesn’t make

salvation obtainable by good works. That’s what so many think, teach

and have been taught. But that’s not it, and truly, when you look

intently into it, that doesn’t even make sense!

 Grace brings salvation. God’s riches at Christ’s expense. That you had

a debt. I had a debt of sin. No means by which to pay it. But Luke

1:37, heaven proclaimed through the angel Gabriel, “With God,

nothing will be impossible!” Jesus’ disciples were stumped by the

whole thought of salvation one day and we read in Matthew 19:25-26,

“When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying,

‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them,

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 My debt, no means. His means paid my debt. And even more, debt

paid AND account FULLY funded. To the point, I mean, I don’t think

this has ever happened, but the bank called and said, “No need to

deposit anything more, we are out of room!” HA! That’s the grace

of God. The unconditional love, the unmerited favor, the unrestrained

full and perfect presence, all of that has been brought by the grace of

God because God IS love!

 Not because I am good but because He is good! And this salvation

brought by the blood of Jesus, the grace of God, has appeared to ALL

men. You see there’s a missing step in the lives of the lost and that is

RECEIVED. Grace, salvation, brought to everyone. All people, all

times, all places, all circumstances. Salvation has APPEARED.

Epiphaino in the Greek. Epiphany. Salvation by grace has become

visible somehow to all, clearly known, but John 1:12 reveals, “As

many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the

children of God.”

 This salvation, this grace that has brought salvation to all men must be

received for you to be saved. For you to have the free gift of salvation,

you must receive the free gift of salvation, even though it has been

brought to ALL men.

 This verse by the way is a terrible hurdle for those that ascribe to the

false doctrine of limited atonement. The belief that God died only for

the sins of those that would receive Him and not for the sins of the

world as John 3:16 clearly says. Salvation, very clear here, has

appeared to ALL.

 And this grace doesn’t teach us that God tolerates and allows all

darkness of flesh now because it’s paid for anyway. That is to abuse

and hold as worthless the sacrifice, blood, gift of Christ and heart of

God… So, grace, true salvation when received BEARS fruit worthy of

salvation. Not unto salvation, not good works, good fruit to make you

saved or keep you saved but good works and good fruit as a RESULT

of the heart changed by grace…

Titus Chapter 2 Verse 12

 Check this out, here it is! I bet you didn’t know this or at least haven’t

considered this…, that grace teaches us to stop hurting ourselves,

stop hurting others, and get it together! Did you know that!? As you

lean into the understanding of the goodness and the holiness of God,

draw nearer and nearer to Him, you glimpse perfection in your

spiritual heart of hearts and it frees you.

 Freedom from the plentiful prison of loss, regret, profitlessness, and

freedom unto love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Which Galatians 5:22 says,

“Against such there is no law.” Why? Total freedom!

 So, grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. The word

deny in the Greek means to refuse, to say, “no thanks,” to what takes

you away from your Creator, in other words who YOU were created to

be, when that is offered, “no thanks.” Grace teaches us the power of

NO to what takes from us and YES to what builds us up in the Lord…

 Denying ungodliness. Ok, let’s stand on solid ground for just a

moment and get super practical. God is good. God is perfect. God is

wise. God is light. God is love. So therefore, godliness is all those

things. Ungodliness, life lived or actions taken that are without

reverence towards God, moves you away from all of those things.

 Moves you away from what is good. A good outcome, a good

solution, a good marriage, a good life, all that is good. Moves you

away from that which is perfect, that which is wise, that which makes

every day light, that which fills your life with love. So, yea, God’s

grace, getting to know Him and drawing yourself near to him, makes

total sense that it teaches you that because God loves you! That’s the

grace itself!

 So, grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Worldly

lusts speaks of that part of me that craves and when that craving is

coddled, it just produces more crave. The flesh that is never satisfied!

Ecclesiastes 1:8 says, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear

filled with hearing.” So, the wise, the one that has drawn near to God

and learned truth, know that the pangs and urges of the flesh are not to

be yielded to because that is a losing strategy.

 Yield to that which is never satisfied and you will never stop

yielding. You gain nothing, accomplish nothing, other than a moment

that is so fast it’s barely to be called a moment that you glimpse the

peace that is only found sustainable in maturity of faith. And so,

denying worldly lusts means to feel it, see it, know it and at the same

time know that it isn’t the power… God is… Unto great satisfaction

even over the things of the flesh. This is what grace teaches us!

Titus Chapter 2 Verses 13 – 14

 Not for His proclamation of goodness! Not for His popularity or

praise. He’s not looking for any of that. All of this, this grace upon my

life and yours, this wisdom, this love, this absolute demandment that I

deny sin and grow in righteousness is so that we might become people

that are special, different, zealous for good works!

 If you are zealous for good works…, just think of it, that which drives

profit through the roof in your life, that which chases away the

darkness in your heart of hearts and dawns forth a heart that is thriving

and surging in joy, strength, maturity…, these are what the Bible

would define as “good works.” If you are zealous for that you become

a magnet for all things good unto the glory of God! This IS WHAT

GOD WANTS FOR HIS CHILDREN!

Titus Chapter 2 Verse 15

 They’re going to despise you, those that are stuck always throw shade

on those that are not… Paul says to Titus, don’t let them despise

you… Super thick skin, super soft heart. They’re going to despise you,

and it doesn’t matter. Make sure you don’t let it matter to you. And

truly for the one that has it all, has found this incredible grace, when

folks despise it, who cares! You’re not the one without, they are!

 This is one of the reasons those with the most means, the folks that are

super rich, wear the same old shoes they’ve worn for years, still

rocking the BKs and Jordache and wearing the simple Citizen watch.

Because when you have a ton and you know it, you have nothing to

prove to anyone else!

 So, grasp this for yourself and then stick to it with the people. This

will build the church that will make an impact and know the Lord. No

flex here, Titus. No other gospel. No other call. No other message. It is

the salvation of God by the grace of God through the faith of the

person that leads to what God wants for you, for me and for His

church! Don’t stray at all from this! Nothing else works because

nothing else is TRUE!

 Teach God’s grace, exhort people to good works and rebuke

foolishness. Let them see for themselves what grace teaches by finding

out good works satisfies the soul and spirit and finding out

ungodliness steals and destroys…