God's Salvation

"The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world 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."—Titus 2:11-14.
THIS is the right rendering, as the margin gives it, of this lovely passage. It is not true that salvation has appeared to all; some have not heard it. But grace brings it for all. It is unlimited in its aspect.
Here the first thing is salvation, and how we get it, —by "the grace of God." Then next we have the effect of it, the lessons it affords, —" teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." Then lastly, we get the hope that grace presents, —" looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
It is most important to bear in mind that you cannot learn the lessons that grace would teach, nor look for its hope, unless you know and have received the salvation which it brings. Are you a saved person? Do not say that you cannot know; it is not true. Either you are saved, or you are not.
But, you say, do you mean to tell me I can know I am saved? Certainly! Look here, “the grace of God that bringeth salvation unto all men hath appeared." It is not sold, —it is given. There is a similar passage in Acts 28:28 that will help you to understand it. The Holy Ghost says, —" Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”
Now mark, my friend, the grand part of this passage is, that the sinner is to "hear" of this salvation which God sends. Have you heard it? If not, listen to it now; and if you are wise, you will embrace it on the spot. What is sent? Salvation. Who sends it? God. To whom is it sent? To the Gentiles. If you are a Jew, there is salvation for you; but if you are a Gentile, then thank God there is grace for you, "for there is no difference "(Rom. 3:22).
“The salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and they will hear it." Paul does not say how it is sent in Acts; but in Titus he does, for he tells us that it is “the grace of God that bringeth salvation." Ponder it well, my friend; contrast it with what is due to you and me by nature, — only damnation, if we come into judgment, as the due reward of our deeds. Can you stand in the judgment clay? Certainly not. Even the sweet psalmist of Israel says to the Lord, —" Enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified "(Psa. 143:2)." With thy servant," too, he could say. Are you that?" No," the devil says," not he; he is my servant, he is mine.”
Do not forget that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment;" and the latter is eternal damnation. If the question of your sins be raised, what then? Job says, "If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand" (9:2). Sin is a terrible thing, because it makes God a judge. But judgment is His strange work; and to avoid the necessity of judging us in righteousness, God, in grace, sent His Son to bear sins and sustain the judgment due to them, and thus He provided a righteous basis on which to show forth His salvation. Ponder it; it is God's salvation.
Well, you say, who is it for? It is for Gentiles, for ruined man, for every sinner who will accept it. You have sinned, and have not deserved clemency; you have neither righteousness, nor a bit of title to mercy, but grace brings you salvation. Yes, grace brings it, and Christ personifies it. Moses and the law could tell you what you, ought to do, and to be, —you should be this, and do that,—but grace tells you what Jesus is, and what He did. His love is so real, so perfect to you, that He died on the cross for your sins, and has broken the power of Satan. Jesus brings salvation, this eternal salvation, to you; and He likewise brings the sinner to God. It is the grace of God that brings salvation; and this word, salvation, takes in all the goodness God can show to ruined man.
Christ is God's salvation, for you will see that Acts 13:47 was spoken of Jesus. It is a quotation from Isaiah 49., —"that thou mayest he my salvation unto the ends of the earth." God is telling us here about Jesus, and of what He is to make Him; not telling us what we should do, —that day is gone by. The law tested man for a long time; but let the claims of God be what they might, man never answered to them. You kick against them, though I daresay you think you have a polite mind, or a good mind; yet God says of you, the "carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). The carnal mind cannot be subject to God's law. That is very solemn, and very plain. You cannot keep the law; no, not for five minutes! Suppose I say I saw a most extraordinary thing to-day, and you must neither know what it is, nor want to know,—you immediately say in your heart, if not with your lips, "I wonder what it can be." The flesh is so bad, that the very thing which the law prohibits, is just that which the flesh of man wants to do.
The law says, "Thou shalt not covet." Oh! you say, there is no harm in looking at this,—something you see, perhaps, in a shop window; then you wish to have it. No harm, do you say? You have coveted, that is all; for you have wished to have what is not yours; and it is written, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). It takes a very small spark to kindle a fire, and that just illustrates what the flesh is. The simple inference is, that I am lost. Man is ruined by sin, unable to keep the law, and is treated and addressed as utterly lost. How does the Gospel address us? As lost; not as man thinks of himself, but as God sees him to be.
People make a great difference in the way they think of their bodies and of their souls. Nine people out of ten think their bodies much worse than they are; but they do not like to face the solemn reality as to their souls, that they are lost. The grace of God "bringeth salvation to all men," so it is clear that all are lost. That is a sweeping sentence, you say. It is a large enough net, and the mesh sufficiently small to catch you, my friend. I daresay that you are a member of some religious denomination; that you judged that you were in a fit state to be thus received simply because you belonged to a respectable family. Your parents are respectable and religious, and you wished to be like them; or you wanted your child baptized, so you became a member of some church in order to this. All this is not salvation, my friend; and it is salvation you need, as a poor, lost, guilty sinner.
The Gospel net acts in this way: God comes down and says to men, “You are lost in sin, and I bring you my salvation." Oh, grace is a charming thing! You and I do not in any wise deserve its actings; but that is just how grace shines in its true character. Grace is God acting from His own heart, and doing what is worthy of Himself, and a credit to His Son,—viz., saving worthless sinners by the blood and finished work of Jesus.
There are four lovely characters in which the salvation of God is presented in the New Testament.