The Grace of God

Let's get a read please in the epistle to Titus chapter 2 and verse 11. Titus chapter 2 and verse 11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, instructing us or 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 or the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, better a people for his own possession, zealous of good works. Now God will add his blessing to what we have read and what we have listened to today. I read a book not too long ago by a man called Packer, J.I. Packer.

The title is Knowing God and when my brother was speaking from Isaiah chapter 6, I was thinking of some things that he mentioned. One was that you can know all about God and not really know God and that's what my brother had been trying to emphasize today, the essential of knowing God. There was a man called J.G. Billet, one of the early brethren a century and a half ago.

He said as far as he was concerned, he said my life is becoming more circumspect. He said my life is becoming more circumspect. It centers around himself and that's what it means to know God.

The more I get to know him, the more I find him true and the more I long that you may know what he can do for you. You see that's why God wants us to read this book. You know you can read through it in a year's time very simply.

If you read three chapters a day and four on Sunday, you can go right through from Genesis to the last chapter in the Revelation in a year. Martin Luther used to read it six times every year. Now I've never done that.

I do try to read it once a year. Now I want you to think a little bit about this younger man, Titus. He's first mentioned in the Epistle to the Galatians, along about chapter two.

It's apparent that he may be one of Paul's converts. He refers to him, I didn't read it, but earlier in chapter one, he says, my own son after the common faith. So it's apparent that Titus was saved as he listened to the apostle preach the gospel and now he's being sent by Paul to the island of Crete to try to settle some of the problems that were there.

It's evident that the Cretans had heard the gospel on the day of Pentecost. They're one of the 14 nations that are referred to, as Luke tells us, those early days in church history when the gospel was preached and about 2,000 souls were saved. By the way, it doesn't say 2,000, it's about 2,000.

And then over a couple of chapters later, the writer says, the number of brethren was about 4,000. So the Spirit of God is teaching us we don't always know every result about the Spirit of God says, about 2,000, about 4,000. But Titus evidently was well respected by the apostle.

He had sent them earlier to the Corinthians when they were collecting for the needy saints in Judea and Titus was one who had been sent there. You see, these Cretans, if we had read it, chapter 1 and verse 2 says, one of their own prophets, history tells us his name was Epidemius, he said, all Cretans are liars. Now, that would be hard to deal with.

But more than that, they were those that were governed by deception and vain or empty talk. They delighted to debate. I've read somewhere, I don't know where, there was an old preacher we had in Ireland years ago, Mr. William Gilmer Stanley might remember him.

He used to say, I don't know if I heard this or read it or made it up. Well, I read it somewhere that these early deceivers in Crete would debate how many angelic beings could stand on the head of a needle. Just something to argue about.

And so you can understand something of the difficult task that faced Titus as he was sent here by the apostle to try and sort out some of their difficulties. Apparently, his experience in Corinth and in other areas had fitted him for this job. It was only a temporary assignment.

The epistle tells us that later either Artemis or Tychicus would be sent there. He was only sent temporarily. You know, the Bible tells us much about this man, Tychicus.

If you went back to the Colossian epistle, you would read that he's a beloved brother. I wonder what the brethren think of you or of me. A beloved brother.

More than that, he was called a faithful minister. Not preaching to the gallery, but preaching what God laid on his heart, trusting it will be of a help to others. And we appreciate the ministry of all our brethren that are here today, because I know some that are prone to preach to the gallery.

You see, that brings popularity, but it's absolutely useless. Tychicus was a beloved brother, a faithful minister. Again, Paul says he was a fellow servant.

That's one that he was able to work with comfortably. They enjoyed sweet fellowship together. So he's to teach these Cretans by example.

Notice what verse 7 in chapter 2 says, Teaching. Teaching. Show thyself a pattern of good works.

In other words, let your life so be patterned that they'll be able to emulate and to copy what you say. The word teaching actually means to teach by discipline, like child training. If you've had children, you know that they need to be trained.

They need to be taught and instructed in right ways so that they'll learn to adjust in this evil world. Now, I want to notice very simply just three thoughts about the grace of God in verse 11, where we began to read. The grace of God.

What is grace anyway? I like the acrostic of the word itself. God's riches at Christ's expense. That's what grace is.

Bestowed upon us, undeserving though we are. I was thinking again when my brother was preaching from Isaiah chapter 6 of that occasion in my own experience over 80 years ago now, when a live coal from off the altar touched my lips. That's Calvary.

I don't know what the live coal in your experience was. Might have been a verse from the hymn book or a text of scripture or maybe none of these, just the truth that I'm the sinner for whom the Savior died. I remember when that live coal touched my lips and I read he was wounded for my sin.

My transgressions. And for the first time I understood why the Savior died. I had the privilege a couple of years ago at the independent community where I now live to speak to over 200 people.

There's a saved chaplain there, a Baptist. There are some saved Baptists by the way. He said, Eric, how about sharing some Sunday and speaking? I said, well you arranged it and I'll pray about it.

So he organized it and I had the privilege to preach to over 200 people. And my subject was how we got our Bible. So I told them a lot about Martin Luther's experience and how he was saved.

He had been sent by the Pope to Rome and as he was going up Pilate's staircase, struggling with the fact of justification. How could it be anything apart from works? It dawned upon him that it's by faith alone that we receive justification or forgiveness of sins, not of works. It's based upon simple faith in what God says.

I told them, I told them my testimony and I had a number that had various comments. But God has left us here that we should represent him. Wonderful to have a moment when the coal, the live coal from off the altar touched our lips.

And so I want to suggest that the grace of God that Paul is talking about here, it procures salvation. It brings the blessing of God right to our own souls. Wonderful to think that one day very soon when this life is ended, we'll be in his presence.

Undeserving sinners, if you're not saved here today, the most important thing in your life is to know this one for whom Christ died. My young brother Johnson told them that in the Sunday school today. I enjoyed what he had to say.

Told those boys and girls that the most important thing in their life was to know their sins forgiven. That's what the grace of God does. It brings salvation.

But more than that, it provides a safeguard. Listen to what Paul says, teaching us, teaching us, there's the word again, teaching that we should live a life that's marked by godliness. That's Godliness.

What is godliness? Well, godliness is a life that is simply based upon conformity to his word. And it comes from a knowledge of God through sound doctrine. Now, if you went through this epistle, you'd find doctrine mentioned at least seven times.

And our brethren have emphasized that right from the start this morning. The need of sound doctrine, sound teaching. Again, Acts chapter 2, the early church, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine.

Sound teaching. You know, all you have to do is listen for a little while and you can know what an individual believes, what their doctrine is, what they stand for. How often Paul referred to that.

We've just been reminded he says to hold fast. Again, he says, hold fast that which thou hast that no man take thy crown. You see, sound doctrine is what enables us to live a life that's pleasing to God.

And then not only sound doctrine, but he says, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. That's purity of life. That's toward our fellow man, turning from this evil, corrupt world in which our lot is cast.

It's defiling. Literature, advertisement, everything that you look at in our day is bent toward defilement. That's what the devil likes.

And then he says, godliness, that's toward our heavenly father. Self-word, denying, seeking to honor him. And so the grace of God, it provides a safeguard.

It procures salvation. It provides a safeguard. But I want you to notice again, he says, it presents a glorious prospect, looking for that blessed hope.

And the appearing of the glory of the great God and our savior, Jesus Christ. Somebody has alluded to that. I'm glad I've sat through a number of conferences lately, and there has been no mention made of the coming again of the Lord Jesus.

I can remember in earlier days that every conference meeting, there was reference made to the Lord's coming. And it's closer today than it ever was before. The stage is all set.

There is no event in God's prophetic program that has to be fulfilled that will hinder his coming. He's coming. We're on the very threshold of that event.

We can almost hear his footfall on the threshold of the door. And I'm sure you can say with me, my heart is longing to be with him evermore. I've had enough of this old godless world.

I've done everything I want to do except skydive. I've never done that. But everything else, as far as the world is concerned, I have no interest.

I'm sure some here are following, what do they call it, the world series. I can't even tell you who's playing. But you see, this world is not our home.

Heaven is our home. And God wants us to realize that we're living in view of eternity. The man who was preaching, When God Saved Me, the late David Craig, greatest preacher I ever heard.

He went through Isaiah's prophecy in a six-week series of gospel meetings. Every night, Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah. I don't remember one of his messages.

But every night he gave out that hymn out of the ivory palaces into this world of woe. Only his great eternal love made my savior go. And he used to tell, as a young man saved at his mother's knee in a little Scottish kitchen, a boy just about to go into his teens.

And he went away down into the mines to mine coal. And he was working beside a hard-living, drinking, fighting Irishman. His name was Barney.

And he used to tell, I've heard him tell it more than once, that when the lunch break came and he had a little sandwich that his mother had made, he thought, I should bow my head and give thanks. But Barney would only laugh. But he said, I closed my eyes and took off my cap.

And I gave God thanks for the lunch and for a mother that had pointed me to Christ. And then I prayed that God would save Barney. And he said, when I opened my eyes, the tears were running down his cheeks.

He said, David, is there any gospel meetings in the area? And that hard-living man went to hear the gospel and God saved him because a boy prayed. Maybe I'm speaking to some teenagers today and you go to the lunchroom at school and you don't even think about closing your eyes and giving God thanks. I told them lately at the place where I'm living that even a chicken doesn't take a drink of water without bowing his head.

Ever notice them? How much you and I should be appreciative of all that God has done for us. The Lord help us to live in view of his coming, a glad hope, a blessed hope, a glorious hope, a hope that makes life worth living for. I'm looking forward to that day when we shall be at home.

This world is not our home. We're only transients, temporary residents. And one day soon, the heavens will burst asunder.

We'll hear the shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, that I take to be all one and the same. One moment here, and the next moment we'll be up there. What a blessed hope the Lord help us to live in view of that day and to realize that God wants us to live for him.

Only one life will soon be passed, and only what's done for Christ will last. The Lord bless you and bless his word for his name's sake.