Titus 2:11-15
~17 min read
💭 Consider this: How have you experienced the grace of God in your life? How have these experiences deepened and shaped your understanding of your relationship with Him?
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for this morning's message is taken from Titus 2:11–15.
A little boy lost both his parents at the age of seven. By eleven, he was sent on board a ship in the British Royal Navy in 1736. As the years passed, this young boy continued his service in the Navy until the time he left and joined a private ship. Eventually, he became the captain of a ship that was involved in the slave trade. He transported hundreds of West Africans, who had been kidnapped by other tribes, to various parts of America and the Caribbean.
The slaves were put on what was known as the ‘slave deck,’ about 2½ feet high. Hundreds of those captured African slaves would be crammed into that small space for several weeks. Most of the time, only half of them would survive the journey across the Atlantic Ocean. This was the life of the young man who saw all the cruelty, he saw all the suffering, and he was part of it.
Through great dangers at sea and other dramatic incidents in his life, he reached a point whereby he saw this deep sinfulness in his life and he cried out to Jesus Christ to save him, and he was converted. He was not only converted to Christ but he became a pastor, he became a writer, and he was best known for the hymn that expressed his own testimony most powerfully:
"Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound,That saved a wretch like me!"
His name was John Newton. Indeed, the grace of God is so amazing. John Newton understood that, and many of us have also experienced this wonderful grace of God in our lives.
Some people describe the acronym of the word "GRACE" as: God's Redemption At Christ's Expense. Grace is something that we do not deserve but is given to us in spite of the fact that we do not deserve it. If it is something that we deserve, then it is not grace. Grace is undeserved.
The good news of the grace of God is the transforming, saving power of Jesus Christ based on the merits of His life, death, and resurrection, which is available to mankind. It was the grace of God that transformed the life of John Newton from a slave trader to one of the greatest preachers of all time. And most certainly, the life of Paul—from a persecutor of Christianity to a pastor, an evangelist, a church planter, a theologian, and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Remember the Apostle Paul was giving Titus specific instructions on how the members of the church ought to live their lives—from the aged men to the aged women, young men, young women, to the servants. Then, it was as if he paused to explain why they should live such transformed lives. It was all because of the wonderful grace of God, which is the title of our message.
Dear friend, likewise you and I ought to pause and ask ourselves: How are we saved? Why are we worshipping and serving God? Why are we endeavouring to live this Christian life, which is so different from the world and so often opposed by the world? Why are we doing what we are doing? Is it not because of the wonderful grace of God?
I. The Penalty Of Sin (Justification)
In understanding the wonderful grace of God, we must first begin with how the grace of God has saved us from the penalty of sins, which is about our justification.
Beginning with Titus 2:11: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." What is a man's greatest need? To understand a man's greatest need, one has to understand his greatest danger and pain.
The Bible says: ‘All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23), without exception, and ‘the wages of sin is death’ (Romans 6:23). Because of our sins, there is a price or penalty we have to pay, which is death—physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death. All of us must die physically unless we are raptured. We are spiritually separated from God, and for all eternity, we will be cast into the lake of fire where the fire never stops burning. The pain of eternal hell is something that no words can ever express.
Man's greatest need is to be delivered, to be saved from the penalty of sin, and that is the meaning of salvation. God must punish us for our sins; otherwise, He will not be a just God. Yet, at the same time, He is a God of love and is longsuffering, and not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Therefore ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). That is what it means: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11).
The grace of God was this remarkable intervention of Jesus Christ at a particular point in history. It was not some vain imagination or some mythical story that someone had invented. It was an actual event—it was a time when God entered history and became a man.
Jesus Christ came at a particular time, at a particular place, and for a particular purpose. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into this world. He lived a perfect life and suffered under the hands of the religious and political rulers. He was subjected to the worst forms of punishment and at the cross, He bore the sins of the whole world.
His birth was prophesied many years, thousands of years, before He was born. God came in the flesh. Jesus was born in Nazareth in a manger. He was not a child of great wealth. He had no political authority. He did not write any books. Yet no one in history is talked about, or written about, more opposed, or more trusted in than Jesus Christ who was God.
He came for one sole purpose: to save men from their sins. He came to pay the price of sin, which men could not pay. Through His life, His death, the shedding of His precious blood, and His resurrection, the grace of God brings eternal salvation to those who place their trust in Him.
There are some people who believe that a person's salvation can be forfeited, which means they can lose their salvation. If that is true, then it will be obvious that God's grace is not everlasting. It lacks everlasting power, and the life He bestows on the believer is not eternal. If that is the case, then the believer's hope is only temporal—happy at one moment and miserable the next. He will be in constant danger of losing his salvation.
If our salvation is dependent on our faithfulness and our ability to avoid sin, that will mean that our power to sin is greater than the power of God to save. God forbid! Our Lord Jesus, who came in the flesh, emphatically said in John 6:37, ‘Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." In John 10:28, He said, ‘And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand;
God will not revoke the believer's salvation, and no one else can—not the believer, not another human being, not even Satan can revoke it. Once saved, always saved! We will never lose our salvation if we are true believers.
The grace of God that delivers sinners from the penalty of sin is the greatest miracle. Take all the miracles in the Bible—the parting of the Red Sea, the provision of manna from heaven, the healing of all sorts of sicknesses, the raising of the dead—you name all the miracles, and the greatest amongst them all is a man who is dead in sin and trespasses but, by the grace of God, can be raised to life and become a new creature. It is the saving grace of God that transforms a person from a child of darkness to a child of light, from a child of Satan to a child of God, from a child bound to hell to a child bound for heaven.
The believer who has been saved from the penalty of sin and hell, the fire of the gospel should always be burning in our hearts. There should always be this desire to want to carry this message to every single person. If we truly believe that we have been saved from the penalty of sin and hell, and then we think of all our unbelieving relatives, loved ones, and the millions out there who are still lingering outside the kingdom of God, how can we not be concerned? We have the message that every living human being on this planet needs to hear.
We should be motivated, we should be compelled, we should be moved, we should boldly proclaim the message of the gospel—that only Jesus Christ can deliver them from the penalty of their sins. And then we plead with them: if you want mercy, you can have it; if you want forgiveness, you can have it; if you want grace, you can have it; if you want salvation, you can have it. But the key is that you must have it now and you must die with it. It will not come to you from the other side of the grave. Today is the day of salvation. Today, the grace of God is made available to you. Come and believe in Jesus now. Once you draw your last breath, it will be too late.
II. The Power Of Sin (Sanctification)
Our second point is: the grace of God has saved us from the power of sin, which is our sanctification. We have a beginning in saving grace; we have been justified. But we also have the sanctifying grace of God, which transforms our lives.
Look at verse 12: “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”
The believer who has trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour is being sanctified—set apart unto God from sin and to serve Him for His glory. The grace of God will move us from a place of sinfulness to holiness. The words ‘sanctified’ and ‘made holy’ are of the same word. 1 Peter 1:15–16 says: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” - God said.
We are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. But our righteousness is in Jesus Christ. We strive for that perfection, but we will not attain it until we get to heaven. But the more spiritual we are, the more conscious we will be of our sins, shortcomings, and failures.
When Jesus saves us, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our hearts, in our lives. Romans 8:9 says: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” When you and I yield our lives to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will be more and more spiritual, righteous, and holy.
When a person is genuinely saved, truly converted, and is given a new life in Christ, there is this life transformation. It is not possible to be saved from the penalty of sin and not be saved from its power and dominion. A person who is born again is no longer under the dominion of sin and Satan because he is a new creature. He has a new nature and he has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He simply cannot habitually and continuously live in sin.
Martin Lloyd-Jones gave a good illustration describing the believer and the power of sin. It is a picture of two fields with a road dividing them. Throughout his life before Jesus Christ saved him, Martin lived in the field where Satan was king. Satan always told him what to do, and his human nature simply responded in sin.
The field on the other side of the road was controlled by Christ. By the grace of God, one day he crossed over the road into the new field by placing his faith in Christ. The field is under the dominion of Christ and controlled by His righteousness and holiness. Christ is his new master.
The only problem, Martin said, was he often would experience this: Satan would be barking from the other side of the field. Satan had a clever way of making him interested in following what he ordered him to do, even though he was no longer under Satan’s dominion. But Martin Lloyd-Jones said that was the most Satan could do—he could only bark from the other side of the field. The power of sin has been broken. We are free from the dominion of sin.
Dear friend, is there any sin in your life that is troubling you right now—whether it is the sin of lying, cheating, stealing, jealousy, envy, pride, anger, immorality, pornography, or certain forms of addiction? Ask the Lord for His grace, and you can overcome that sin.
Sanctification is the process of separating the believer from sin and unto righteousness. Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts and live soberly, righteously, and godly. You cannot be a Christian and not be obligated to live a life free from worldliness and ungodliness.
There is no excuse for a Christian to live in sin. The grace of God will teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Ungodliness is simply living a life that is self-centred rather than God-centred. It refers to a lack of reverence and devotion to God. Worldly lusts refer to those sinful desires and cravings that characterise the natural man. A person whose life is characterised habitually by ungodliness and worldly lusts cannot be truly saved, no matter how vocal his profession of faith may be. To deny is to say “no.” You do not give way, you do not give excuses, or reasons. You deny the desires of the flesh by saying, ‘No, I will not do this because this is sin. I am a child of God.’
If the grace of God has come upon us, then along with it comes the obligation to live as a child of grace. So you and I are expected to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, to fight the good fight of faith, to battle against sin and temptation, and to be trophies of God’s saving grace.
As one theologian puts it plainly: you cannot live like a child of God and a child of the devil at the same time. It does not mean that we are perfect—no man is—but what it means is that we cannot be living in habitual sins because the grace of God will teach us to live soberly, righteously, and godly. To live soberly is to have a sound and healthy mind. It means to live a life conscious of the value of time, the purpose of life, and the importance of investing in spiritual things.
We are aware that we are living in this present world, which one day will perish. And it is a world that is heavily influenced by the evil world system, and God puts us here for a purpose. He wants us to live such a life. We do not live our lives like a joke. Certain things are funny. Hell is not funny. Sin is not funny. Eternity is not funny. Spiritual things are not funny. We do not joke about those things and make a mockery out of our lives.
We live soberly, always bearing in mind that everyone will have to give an account to the Almighty God. If we live our lives knowing that one day we have to give an account for the stewardship of our time, our money, our resources, and our talents, that means we will live soberly. That is a sound and healthy mind, aware of the fact that there will come this time whereby we will have to stand before the Almighty God.
We have to live righteously. A righteous man through his life will demonstrate that which is right. He is very careful with the decisions and choices he makes, and he endeavours to do that which is right. We have to be godly. A godly man is one who has a close relationship with his Heavenly Father.
The way to live soberly, righteously, and godly is, firstly, we must know what those things mean and the only way we can know what those things mean is through the Word of God. The Bible reveals to us how we ought to live such a life; that is expected of us to live this transformed life.
This afternoon, when you go back home, you take your Bible and you find a quiet place somewhere. You read your Bible for an hour or two. You want to know more about God, to know about His will and purpose for your life, and to enjoy Him. If that strikes you as something strange, something beyond you, then my friend, perhaps what this text is saying is something directed at you.
Psalm 42:1 says: “As the hart”—or deer—“panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” A Christian who is truly saved from the penalty of sin and hell, genuinely converted, will have this strong desire to dwell on God and His Word.
In the past, we desired unrighteousness, ungodliness, and worldly lusts. But today, the grace of God has transformed our lives, and our desires have changed. We want to live soberly, righteously, and godly. Is this the kind of life you desire to live?
III. The Anticipation Of Christ’s Second Coming (Glorification)
Finally, it is the grace of God that enables us to live in anticipation of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Three times in the last chapter of the last book of Revelation, Jesus said, "Behold, I come quickly." And here in verses 13 and 14, Paul said, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
At His first coming, Jesus abolished death and brought eternal salvation to us through the gospel; you can read about that in 2 Timothy 1:10. And then He promised us that He will come again. But His second coming will be preceded by a great event, and that great event will be when He comes in the clouds.
If we are dead by then, our souls will already be with Him, but our bodies will be raised from the graves to be united with our souls in a glorified body. If we are still alive, we will be raptured or caught up to meet Him in the clouds, and in the twinkling of an eye, we will be transformed into a glorified body. Jesus will come to completely and perfectly save us, which is our glorification.
And so, as we live our days on this earth, we endeavour to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, and we desire to live in godliness, righteousness, and also to live soberly. We do all these things, we live in the newness of life, because our Lord Jesus has redeemed us from the penalty and power of sin, and He is sanctifying us on a daily basis so that we will be a peculiar people unto Him, so that we will be zealous of good works, enthusiastic for the works that will please our Almighty God.
The dictionary would often define the word "peculiar" as strange and weird, but in biblical terms, it does not mean that. It means something that is bought with a price, something that is bought through a purchase. The world may deem the Christians as strange and weird, yes, but in God's eyes, we are special. We are a peculiar people because we are bought with a price—the price of the precious blood of His only begotten Son.
And Paul ends by saying, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” (Titus 2:15). In other words, speak and proclaim God's message, which is not negotiable. Teach the people to live this transformed life. Remind them that they must live such a life in every situation, and remind them of God's grace in their lives. Rebuke those who have chosen the wrong paths and are living in sin. Let no man despise thee.
We do not know exactly what age Titus was, but whatever be his age, there would be some people who rejected his authority and the source of his message. When people have good grounds for despising us—whether we are the pastor, elder, deacon, parent, Sunday school teacher, or the individual believer—perhaps we do not walk the talk, we contradict ourselves, and we are hypocritical. Then we must repent before God and set things right. But when people despise us for faithfully following the Holy Scriptures, living a transformed life, then we ought to persevere. Even if the whole world is against us, do not be afraid, do not worry, because we trust that God knows. And He alone is in control of everything, and He is able to help us, and that is all that matters.
I like to end by saying this: each time we come to partake of the Lord's Supper, we look two ways. We look backward to the cross and we look forward to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, ‘This is my body, and this is my blood,’ and we remember His death and the shedding of His precious blood as often as we eat the bread and drink the cup until He returns.
And the whole of our Christian life is like that. And if I may add, it is not just looking back and looking forward—it is looking backward, inward, and forward. We look backward to what our Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross of Calvary, where He died and shed His precious blood to save us from our sins. He brought the gospel to us, convicted our hearts, and we cried out to Him for salvation, and we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit.
Then we look inward into our hearts, and we experience this transforming work of His saving grace. At every moment of our lives, God is sanctifying us on a daily basis. And then we look forward in anticipation of His soon coming. Someday soon, we will see into His face, and that will be a glorious appearing. It will be a most blessed time. This is how you and I should live our lives—looking backward, looking inward, and looking forward. And what do we see? The wonderful grace of God.
Let us pray:
Our Father in heaven, indeed it is by Thy grace that we are saved, and it is also by Thy grace that Thou continues to sanctify us and transform us into the persons that Thou would want us to be. As we live our days on this earth, we look forward at every moment anticipating Thy soon coming. Thy return is imminent, it can happen at any moment, and someday soon we will see into the face of our Lord Jesus, our Master, our Lord and Saviour, and that will be a glorious appearing. It will be the most pleasant time for us as believers. Help us, through the wonder-working of Thy Spirit, that all of us as believers who profess our faith in the Lord Jesus will live such a life. Teach us that we will look backward, inward, and forward unto the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ. May Thy name be glorified even through our lives. We pray all this in Jesus' name, Amen.
THE BOOK OF TITUSThe Commitment Of A Faithful ServantThe Commitment Of A Faithful ServantTitus 1:1
The Hope Of Eternal LifeThe Hope Of Eternal LifeTitus 1:2-4
Why Do We Need Godly Leaders?Why Do We Need Godly Leaders?Titus 1:5-9
How To Deal With Church Troublemakers?How To Deal With Church Troublemakers?Titus 1:10-14
The Product Of Who We AreThe Product Of Who We AreTitus 1:15-16
What Legacy Are You Leaving Behind?What Legacy Are You Leaving Behind?Titus 2:1-3
How Should Young People Live?How Should Young People Live?Titus 2:4-8
How Can You Witness For God More Effectively At Work?How Can You Witness For God More Effectively At Work?Titus 2:9-10
The Wonderful Grace Of GodThe Wonderful Grace Of GodTitus 2:11-15
How Can You Witness For God More Effectively As Good Citizens?How Can You Witness For God More Effectively As Good Citizens?Titus 3:1-3
Remember How We Were SavedRemember How We Were SavedTitus 3:4-8
Divisiveness Calls For Strong ActionDivisiveness Calls For Strong ActionTitus 3:9-11
Message 6: To Fight the Good Fight of Faith is to Hold Fast the Faithful WordMessage 6: To Fight the Good Fight of Faith is to Hold Fast the Faithful WordTitus 1:9-11
