Book of Titus - Ch. 2, v. 12

The Grace of God as the Foundation for Christian Living

All righty, good morning everybody. Y 'all know where to turn. Let's go to Titus check chapter 2 and We're so close to the end of this chapter. And yet and yeah It just happens. It just so happens to be some of the best stuff.

And so we covered Well, we we did a little bit of review and then we covered verses 11 and 12 last week and we're in those same verses this week and so Again, there's so much here We can't possibly miss anything.

Certainly not some of the bigger stuff. And so Go ahead and go to verse 11 and we'll we'll pick it up right there. And of course last week You know, we're talking about the fact that we Paul has been talking about the most practical stuff.

And we're going through it and then all of a sudden you get to verse 11 and it's just like this Big reminder of the big picture he's down In the particulars of Christian living and Talking about for every group of people that could possibly be in a local church telling them how to thrive as believers Showing them what it looks like to be a thriving believer.

And so we're super zoomed in we're again in the particulars. We're in the nitty-gritty of Christian living the sanctification process all these things and then he gets to verse 11 and he just Zooms all the way out for a second and he reminds us by saying the grace of God, but well, I left out a word There's a very important word at the beginning of verse 11 for The grace of God that bring us salvation hath appeared to all men and that word for of course links Everything we've talked about in this study up to this point to this Phrase to the foundation of Everything we've been talking about the reason why everything Paul has said is not only true But also meaningful in other words not just Paul's Experience not just his wisdom.

He had all these things, but that's not what he was sharing. He was sharing very Explicit particular details as the Holy Spirit was moving him to write these words of What the effects look like of this great thing that he talks about in verse 11 the grace of God That brings salvation.

And so then we Talked about the fact that we asked the question God has been He has been in union that so the the triune God of Scripture has been in perfect communion perfect union Perfect love perfect grace mercy all of the attributes and character that he's always had for all of eternity Including before the universe was even created and so we asked the question He's always had this saving power.

He's always had the ability to save creatures that don't deserve it and creatures that are in fact unlovable in their sinful state. He's always had that and so how on earth is he going to demonstrate it?

Well, he's going to demonstrate it by rescuing them by delivering them From their sins we talked about that last week. We talked about the fact that we are in fact a new creature and New creation in Christ and so being this new creature like we said last week a living demonstration of God's saving power as we live our lives and we live out all of the Instructions and mandates of chapter 2 that we've read up to this point as we live that out.

We are a walking demonstration of what God's saving power looks like. Otherwise the world and even the creation would have never known what it looked like. The angels are perfect. They didn't need to be saved.

They've been in a perfect state since they were created. There are plenty of rebel sinners that actively take pleasure in their rebellion against God and all of these types of things and Push him away push him away from their consciences until the point where they are seared and all of these Things that Paul talks about elsewhere, but you have this remnant that was a part of that same fallen race and yet is Peculiar is different is strange and have been in fact saved from Their sin and that is the demonstration of God's saving power and so again being this new creature a walking demonstration a living demonstration of God's Saving power is exactly what he intended us to be all along.

It was the purpose of why we were created. In fact, he made plans to die on the cross From the foundation of the earth being laid. So before we before the earth that is our habitation was even created he had already made plans to die on the cross for his people so that he could make a People that are holy and transformed and that bear much fruit for the world to see for what purpose to demonstrate God's saving power and.

Salvation in Time, Before Time, and in the Future

So this salvation came to the world and with it came instructions. For how to live now remember verses 1 through 10. We read all of them last week to kind of reset the context a little bit. Verses 1 through 10 were precisely about this instructions.

Again it is wisdom, but it is wisdom from above showing us exactly how to live out our lives after we're saved. Paul has been telling Titus how to tell others How to behave themselves in all of these churches on the island of Crete and as we've said previously After doing this after giving Titus all of these instructions telling him how to teach others.

He links all of the preceding passages like we said a moment ago with the word for and then he gives that foundation for all Christian living or behavior or conduct. Paul stops at verse 10 with the instructions.

He emphasizes God's grace unto salvation in verse 11, which is what we just read a second ago and as we're gonna see he's gonna finish out the chapter as he does that he gets right back into the Effects of that saving grace again and in verses 12 through 15 I mean here in a second we'll get into this more but he gets right back into denying and godliness and worldly lusts in Living soberly and righteously and godly in this present world and he in in 14 He gave himself that he might redeem us from all iniquity.

Purify himself unto a peculiar people zealous for good works. And so all of the stuff we've talked about leading up to verse 11 comes back into view again. After this pause where he lays that foundation as we've said several times in other words.

Again, he pauses the instruction to remind us what the source of the instruction is. Where does where do these instructions come from? Where does any of this come from? What is the source and it's God's grace.

So he pauses he reminds us of this in verse 11 and then he presses on. Now we can look at God's actions In many different ways and for many different angles as we study the Bible and we get into the New Testament in the New Testament doctrines we can see that salvation isn't a.

Singular.

Thing it's not a it's not a static thing that just we said this last week. It's not something that just sits in our past. It was something that happened and it's back there now and we move on. It's also not a single stream of anything in particular either.

Salvation is incredibly broad and We see this in so many different ways you can look at it so many different ways so we can look at God's actions. With regard to salvation we can start with outside the bounds of time now.

That's that's hard for us to grasp because we were specifically created in time and for a good purpose. And so sometimes we can get a little bit carried away. Trying to think of things from God's viewpoint or you could even say from the father's viewpoint.

The problem with that is he's transcendent. He's outside of time. He's in a place that we can't even comprehend let alone talk about as if we could just oh, yeah. This is how it works. Now. There are flickers of understanding given throughout the scripture there are Passages that are amazing in from the Psalms all throughout the Old Testament all the way into the New Testament.

Isaiah talks about Certain aspects of this where we see this decree of God and we see his plan and we see things working together. Accounts according to the council of his own will as Paul talks about Ephesians and then in Acts chapter 4.

Where Peter is talking?

He.

Summarizes basically what put Jesus on the cross and he lists all the groups of people from Pontius Pilate to the Jews To the Romans that that actually did the act of crucifixion. But then he links it all back to the predetermined plan.

And so we get these flickers of God's plan outside of time. It's not the the tone of the Bible in general is very much. How we would perceive things and how we would understand things in time. But every now and then we get a picture of God's actions outside of the bounds of time.

Such as we're talking about salvation here. We're talking about his grace. Such as with things like his election. So you could start there and I'm gonna I'm gonna kind of bounce around for a second just to give you all a few Examples of these different angles.

We can look at so in 2nd Timothy Chapter 1 verse 9. And you don't have to follow along if you want to jot these down you can. Because I'm gonna go somewhat.

Quick.

But in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse 9, he says this. Who have saved us? So we're talking about salvation, which is what is in view in our Titus chapter or our Titus passage. He has saved us called us with the holy calling not according to our works now.

This is interesting because we're specifically talking about works. Zealous works in fact in our Titus passage. We'll get back to that more but not according to our works, but according to his own purpose his own purpose and grace.

That's another thing in view in Titus, which was given to us in Christ before the world began. How can how does that even work? How could we comprehend such a thing? Well, it's true. We can take it as truth.

Though we might not be able to as a pastor I admire greatly often says we can't put it up on a whiteboard and do the math but we can know that it's true we can have the first principles of these realities and as Moses tells us in Deuteronomy chapter 29 Rest in the fact that while the revealed things are ours.

We own them. We possess them there are heritage that which is in the Word of God and even natural revelation in his creation the secret things belong to God and We can we can rest in that we can have faith in that reality.

We can understand that while we can't do the math on the whiteboard. He can and he knows it. He knows how it all works. So again, we can look at God's actions outside of the bounds of time such as with his election in that passage.

We just read is a good example of that things that happened before the world even began. But we can also look at God's action at a point in time. Such as when we were born again, and when I say actions, I'm talking specifically about his grace his actions by grace.

For the point of saving a people so in John chapter 3 and we all know this passage so well. But in John chapter 3, this is Jesus talking to Nicodemus and he tells him truly truly I say unto you except a man be born of water and of the Spirit.

He cannot enter the kingdom of God. That's verse 5 and in the verse 6 he says that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit and this is all right after he uses this amazingly provocative phrase that totally through Nicodemus for a loop.

And he said unless you're born again, you can't see the kingdom of God. What is that? It's the spiritual birth. It is our regeneration, which is something that is in this book of Titus. We'll get to eventually in chapter 3 and so We can look at salvation and God's grace outside of time.

Such as with that passage us being put into Christ before the world began. We can also think about his actions in his saving grace in time at the moment. We were born again. Much like we have a physical birthday.

It is a punctiliar point in time that just it's just an historic fact. Just like our birth that is also true for our spiritual birth the moment we were saved when we were born again. That is God's action in linear space and time stuff happened outside of time, too.

But it happened in time where we can see it and we can understand it. We can point back to it and that's what Jesus was referring to. With regard to this spiritual birth being born again. It is an action in time.

Now we can also look at God's actions. Also in time but more specifically throughout time so what's interesting is Yes, we're saved spiritually. We are born again spiritually just like We are physically born once we are spiritually born once.

But just like we are physically born and then live a life from that point forward. When we are spiritually born we have a spiritual life from that point forward and in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18 Paul says this for the preaching of the cross is To them that perish.

Foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God now when you're reading that in the KJV. It's a little bit tough to understand. It's tough to see exactly what Paul is saying because the English the older English doesn't quite Translate the Greek because if you look at the term perish and if you look at the term saved in the KJV.

They sound past tense. But if you look at the Greek, it's actually in the present participle, which means Here's how it should be read for the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing. That are perishing foolishness, but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God.

He's talking about sanctification. We are spiritually born once we are regenerated. We are justified at a point in time. But what happens from that point forward? We are sanctified. We are being sanctified for the rest of our lives and sanctification is just as much a Part of salvation is anything else and some people forget that we can't forget it because that is exactly.

What is making us more like God as we live our lives? And so when Paul says the preaching of the cross Is power for those being saved he's talking about Christians. Actively being just excuse me sanctified in real time.

And so again, we can look at God's actions outside of time. We can look at it at a point in time when we are born again. We can look at it throughout time and sanctification and we can even look at God's grace in the future.

If you want to look at Philippians chapter 3 really quick again. If y 'all are either jotting them down or turning there with me. One of my favorite passages of all time Philippians chapter 3. Listen to this for our conversation.

And if you want to if you're if you read a KJV like I do you might put in the margin. Citizenship, what Matt? Did you have a thought? Oh, sorry verse 20. Philippians chapter 3 verse 20. That word conversation it's old English word it.

In more modern vernacular, it would be citizenship. That's what the Greek term means. So it could be read this way for our citizenship in other words the country By which we belong the country we belong to our homeland.

Our citizenship is in heaven. It's a beautiful phrase. From whence also we look for our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, but look at this Who's who shall in the future? Change our vile body that it may be fashioned like into his glorious body.

According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things into himself in that beautiful. So we can look at God's actions with regard to saving grace outside of time at a point in time. Throughout time and in our future at the moment.

We are glorified. It is huge. This is a man salvation is a massive topic with massive.

Sub.

Categories that are all equally important not a single one of them is any less important than the other it's one big picture and it's all glorious. So what is the point? Why are we looking at all this?

Why are we considering all these different angles? Well, what is Paul talking about back to Titus chapter 2 verse 11 this grace of God that not only brings salvation. But remember and when we get to verse 12, that is also our teacher.

No matter which part of salvation that we look at any of those angles that we just barely Scratch the surface on you could pick any one of those and spend weeks upon weeks upon weeks studying them. It doesn't matter which angle you look at all of it is established or Predicated on the same thing and that is the grace of God this grace that he's talking about in verse 11.

It's it's the source of every angle of salvation want to look at. Our justification our sanctification our glorification. Regeneration the moment we were born again all of these different things. It's all tied back to the same thing, which is the grace of God.

The Grace That Teaches Us to Deny Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts

Now from the point of salvation onward. Okay, so remember Paul pauses in verse 11 he reminds us what the foundation is for all of the the works and Christian living in conduct and holy behavior that he's been talking about for the whole book up into this verse.

He pauses he reminds us of the south of the foundation which of course is salvation by grace. But from that point onward from the point of salvation onward we are instructed by our infallible teacher.

Which is who? It's the grace of God. The grace itself because remember it says for the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men all men. Teaching us the teacher is the grace that lives within us.

He's with us all the time. Of course, Jesus is grace personified. His spirit lives within us. The very his very essence and his attributes are within us. In his Holy Spirit all these amazing things. This teacher is with us all the time and this teacher Is teaching us to deny something so now we're back in verse 12 Teaching us that denying so he's teaching us to deny something what is it ungodliness and worldly lusts.

So Paul.

Kind of zooms back in for a second. He zoomed way out to remind us of this grace. He zooms back in and says this grace is going to teach you something. And in the negative it's going to teach you to deny a couple things ungodliness and worldly lusts.

Now.

We know elsewhere in some of paul's other writings that We are every one of us and the world at large around us at this moment. Took if we in the past took pleasure in those living in the present in a sinless state are taking pleasure in our ungodliness.

And that was the case for us that was our previous state prior to being liberated by this grace. We just finished talking about in brief. So prior to being liberated by this grace We were taking pleasure In this ungodliness that he now the grace is now teaching us to totally deny.

We were living in it. We were reveling in it. We were taking pleasure in it. And paul talks about this in first thessalonians or second thessalonians. And yet we've been liberated from it and can now deny it.

We now have the power and it's god's power and it's through him alone to deny this ungodliness and these worldly lusts. So now we have old patterns and old habits to break After the point in time when we are saved.

Depending on when you got saved it's different for everybody. But even if you're a little kid We have formed habits and patterns that are now Needing to be broken and in fact denied post salvation. We have to break these habits and we know that it's not immediate.

We know that the moment that we get saved it doesn't just.

Wholesale.

Break us. It doesn't make us perfect in a sinless Sense. Okay now paul. Throughout the new testament. We use that phrase perfect talking about believers, but it's not perfect as in sinless perfection.

If you look at the greek it's talking about being a complete man. Being a complete man or woman.

And so.

We know that at the point of salvation When we call upon the name of the lord that it doesn't make us a sinless Saint in that sense at that time. The reason we know that is because paul wouldn't have said that we are being taught to deny these things in the present tense.

He's talking to christians here. He's talking to titus here. He's telling titus how to talk to his members of all these other churches. And he's saying that this teacher which is grace in the present tense is teaching us how to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.

So we are liberated in the sense that we don't have to do these things. We don't have to partake in these things that are gradually Degrading us degrading our bodies and all these things over time. Our souls our spirits regardless of what angle you want to look at.

We don't have to we have the power to deny them now. It won't happen wholesale until the moment we are glorified in our future which goes back to that philippians verse. We just read a second ago when jesus Fashions our vile bodies in the likeness of his glorious body at that moment.

We will be sinless. We will be perfect. But right now in these earthen vessels and these corruptible bodies. We have a fight to we have a fight. We have a battle to fight. And this is what paul is talking about.

These are why he's saying all of these things and why he's telling us we do have this power to deny.

Ungodliness.

Uh.

Worldly lusts. You know when you're when you're going into a battle it would be good to know that your weapons are effective. And he's saying your weapons are effective. It doesn't mean it's not a hard fight.

It doesn't mean it's not a hard battle. But what it means is that it's a battle you can win Because of this grace that lives within you. The term ungodliness in this verse if you look at the greek word, it simply means to have.

If you are ungodly, it means to have a lack of reverence toward god. So he's saying deny that.

Deny.

Having a lack of reverence toward god when he says to deny ungodliness. And again, this was our previous state. This is where we were living prior to our salvation experience. We were in a state of ungodliness of.

Having a lack of reverence toward our creator all the time.

And.

We are to deny this that can still happen in our lives now. As christians we can fall into a state of ungodliness. We can fall into a state where we lack reverence. Toward our creator toward our lord.

But what's the difference between being a christian in that state? Or falling into that state as a christian versus as an unbeliever. The difference is the christian has the power to deny it. He has the power to say i'm not going to be Ungodly, I am not going to lack reverence for my lord.

I'm going to give him what he deserves from me as his slave as his servant. So that's the first thing we need to deny is ungodliness that lack of reverence toward god, but we also need to deny worldly lusts.

And this is a terrific Translation because that's exactly what the greek term is intending to get across.

Lusts.

Forbidden desires. Forbidden desires that are characteristic of pagans in a worldly system.

So.

Believers god's people can even find themselves in a state where the lusts and the forbidden desires they find themselves kind of gravitating toward. Are that of of the pagan world that of the enemies of god outside of the camp so to speak.

But we can find ourselves in that state ourselves, so what do we do? Paul says to deny it. How do we deny it? The grace of god that is our teacher teaching us to do it teaching us how to do it and helping us do it.

And then paul gives us the positive side.

Soberly, Righteously, and Godly in This Present World

So.

We're still in verse 12 and you know, y 'all keep looking at this as we kind of talk through it because. There's a lot of details to cover here, but I don't want to lose the broad scope either.

So.

We have grace living within us the same grace that brought initial salvation that justified us. Is is still with us to this day? It's not in the rearview mirror. It's still with us and he is now our teacher.

Grace is now our teacher. And it's teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Those are the negative that's the negative side of it. But he also teaches us on the positive side as well. And what are these?

That.

Uh worldly lusts. That we should live soberly righteously and godly. And we'll look at that last phrase in a minute in three statements here Paul is describing What a transformed life looks like. He gives us the negative because he wants us to remember that.

That still there's still temptations out there. There are still plenty of opportunities for us to mess up. And then at that point we go to the lord and we confess those sins to him and then it's as if they never happen.

But we we still don't want it to happen in the first place either. So paul is warning us that they could gives us the negative and he says Deny those things, but then he gives us the positive because he wants us to remember What the transformed life looks like and the fact that we are a new cre a new create a new creation new creature.

Either one it's it's said in both ways in different in different places. Remember that verse we ended on last week. Therefore if any man be in christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away.

Behold. All things are become new. Second corinthians 5 17. We are this new creature now and he wants us to he wants to remind us that this creature this new creature Is a transformed Thing it is a transformed person.

And in three statements he describes what that looks like. We should live soberly righteously and godly. Now the greek term for soberly there is one of paul's favorite words to use apparently at least in this epistle you guys will Recognize it, uh in a second as we look at some of these verses, but it's it's the greek word.

Sofran. And it's the same word that we've seen several times in this brief epistle already up to this point I think the fourth time he's used this word in a different context. We've seen it several times that he uses the the translators use a different english word Depending on the on the context in each in each instance.

But the meaning is the exact same it's the exact same greek word with if you can picture paul talking Speaking this out loud or writing it. He's using the same word in all of these instances. And so You look at chapter 1 verse 8 I guess we can look at those together really quick.

He says but be a lover of hospitality. He's talking about elders and the qualifications of pastors a lover of hospitality a lover of good men sober. Just holy and temperate. So right there same greek word sofran.

It means self-control. So that's the first instance then you look at chapter 2 verse 2. He's talking about older men not pastors anymore, but older men in the church and he says that the age men be sober.

Grave.

Temperate. Sound in the faith in charity and patience now here. The greek word is temper the the english word is temperate. He uses sober the. The reason the translators did this is because. The first when you see sober in verse 2, he's literally talking about sobriety from alcoholism.

So they didn't use the english word this uh this time for sofran. They used the english word temperate. Same greek word though. What does it mean self-control? Then you look at verse 5 of the same chapter to be now he's talking about women to be discreet.

Chaste keepers at home. Young women. In fact good obedient to their own husbands. That the word of god may not be blaspheme. The word discreet. Sofran same greek term, what does it mean self-control.

And then you get to the fourth use of it in verse 12 one more time. Teaching us that denying ungodliness worldly lusts. We should live soberly. There's the greek word.

So.

Paul.

Self-control in the christian life is something that paul has been emphasizing Continuously in this very brief brief epistle and he uses it uses the term in in first timothy as well. But he's used it four times now in titus alone.

He wants us to remember that self-control.

Is.

Absolutely paramount in the christian walk. Now remember in one of jesus's most provocative statements that he ever made he claimed that a person who sins even one time Is a slave to sin. He says this in john chapter 8 as he is talking to the pharisees and the scribes and the sadducees.

And he is not so subtly letting them know how evil they are. And he tells them That if you sin, you are a slave to sin. So going back to our previous state one more time. Before that grace of god appeared to us that paul talks about in verse 11.

We all served a slave master. There are people around us today that aren't aware of this and it is a sad thing. Because they feel like they are liberated. They feel like they're free they feel like they are free from the bounds of religion.

Or the bounds of a particular religious Framework whether that be christianity or otherwise. But the sad thing is that in what they feel is their liberation. They are actually enslaved In in in the the total sense.

They are enslaved to a very particular master and it's a very evil master. It's a master that wants to kill them. It's a it's a master that hates them. In fact and wants the most pain to come upon them, but In usually speaking in in the very slow fashion.

So in other words a very slow Death and that slave master is their own sin. That's what jesus is talking about. If a person sins they are enslaved to that sin. And then after making this again, very provocative statement.

He goes on to say that the son. Who is that? That's jesus. The son abides forever. And the son shall make you free. That famous phrase that we are all aware of he later on He kind of restates it in a different fashion and the truth will set you free.

But prior to that he sets the tone by saying it's the son that makes you free. Right after telling them that they are enslaved to their own sin. So he's saying here's here's the first truth. You are a slave to your sin.

It's an evil slave master that wants to kill you and he wants to to kill you brutally slowly over time. But here's the second indicative. Here's the second fact of.

Reality.

The son can make you free. So you're enslaved to this evil master, but you can be freed by a loving and good master. That's the whole point of his teaching in that passage again. That's john chapter 8 and verse 34 is the specific verse where he makes this statement.

You are a slave to sin.

Now.

Why do I bring this up? Again, paul is emphasizing By using this term soberly this greek term sofran he is Emphasizing self-control in christian living. He's done it four times now. And we're you know, just barely halfway through this already very short letter.

He's emphasizing self-control. The lost world does not know what self-control is. Because you can't exhibit self-control when your slave master is telling you to do the thing. So you're not going to be able.

To.

Have self-control over a particular sin habit. When that sin habit is actually the slave itself. Bending your will to do the thing you don't. You don't have a lot of self-control there when the master is cracking the whip and.

You are just again being brutalized by that particular slave master. So self-control. Is something that is unique. This the kind of self-control that paul is talking about Is unique to the christian?

Because it's not until we've been freed by the son, which is the second statement that jesus makes in john chapter 8. It's not until we've been freed by the son and serve him. Rather than our own sin.

That we are able to exhibit the self-control to curb Our sin proclivities our passions our illicit desires. Until you have been freed by the sun you cannot do those things because those very things that you are now pushing away and denying.

Were your slave masters if you want to think about it in the plural if you have a number of different sin habits. Or just is this monolithic thing the sin of man in general. That is what we were serving prior to being freed by the sun.

And so the self-control when we see this these terms sober discreet, um, uh living soberly. All of these terms he uses being temperate. We need to remember the power that is within that term. We need to remember the power of the fact that we as christians get that.

We.

Are allowed if I could speak in these terms for a second to have self-control as a means of grace. Because without being freed by the sun We have no self-control. We're simply enslaved and there's no hope.