Titus 2:11-14 ESV
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
The subject of grace is a popular subject these days, but is
it true grace they are speaking of? Many are presenting God’s grace as teaching
you that Jesus does it all and you do nothing. They say nothing is required of
you other than a one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Then all your
sins are forgiven, and heaven is now guaranteed you when you die regardless of
how you live, so they say. In fact, many are saying we do not have to repent of
our sin and obey our Lord. For they are calling that “works salvation.”
But true biblical grace is not like that. True biblical
grace puts us to death with Christ in death to sin, and then we are raised with
Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness. True grace sets us free from our slavery to sin so
we can now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. So true grace is not
permission to keep on in deliberate and habitual sin. Instead it says, “Are we
to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to
sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24).
God’s grace, which sent Jesus Christ to that cross to die
for our sins, frees us from our slavery to sin and it empowers us to live holy
and godly lives. It trains us in godliness. It does not give us carte blanche
to continue in sin. It teaches us to renounce sin and to live godly, upright,
and self-controlled lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ
died for us on that cross to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for
himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
But does that sound like the picture of grace you have been
given? I hope so, but that is not what I am hearing mostly. I hear so many
people claim that all they have to do is pray a prayer or make some acknowledgement
of who Jesus is and of what he did for us on that cross. Or they just have to
make a public confession of him as Savior and Lord, but is he Lord? Not
usually, for most appear to believe they don’t have to repent of their sins and
they don’t have to walk in obedience to the Lord Jesus.
But what do the Scriptures teach? Jesus said if anyone would
come after him, he must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin
and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of
living in sin and for the flesh, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the
sake of the name of Jesus we die with Christ to sin that we might live to him
and to his righteousness, then we have the hope of eternal life with God (see
Luke 9:23-26).
And he said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,”
will enter the kingdom of heaven but only the one DOING the will of God the Father
who is in heaven. For many are going to stand before the Lord on that day, and
they are going to call him, “Lord,” and they will enumerate all the things they
did in his name. But his response to them will be, “I never knew you. Depart
from me you workers of lawlessness” because they would not obey the Lord (see
Matthew 7:21-23).
And the Scriptures teach that we must obey the Lord and
repent of our sins, and that if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin and
if we do not walk in righteousness in obedience to his commands that we will
not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what professions of faith in
Jesus we made with our lips. For Jesus died to free us from our slavery to sin
so that we would now serve Jesus with our lives in walks of obedience to him.
There’s a Stirring
By Annie Herring
There's
a stirring deep within me
Could it be my time has come
When I'll see my gracious savior face to face when all is done
Is that his voice I am hearing?
'Come away, my precious one'
Is he calling me?
Is he calling me?
I will rise up, rise up
And bow down
And lay my crown
At his wounded feet
Is that His voice I am hearing?
'Come away, my precious one'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yocTjkB6hV8
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