Second Chances

Second Chances • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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The grace of God brings salvation to everyone and gives us the ability to grow in faith and holiness. This year, we can trust in God’s grace to grow us in righteousness, with firm confidence in our salvation.

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Transcript

Introduction

In last weeks message I mentioned that we do not get to hit the rewind button, nor do we get to do things over. However, that does not that we don’t have a Second Chance at things. While we cannot change the past, we do have the opportunity to be CHANGED by God’s grace and be enabled by His Spirit to make new and better choices from this day going forward.

I am very thankful for the SECOND CHANCES God has given me throughout my life. Today as we turn to Titus 2:11-14 I want us to look at God’s Grace and the SECOND CHANCES His grace makes available for each and every one of us.

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.

God’s Grace Makes a New Chance Possible (vv. 11, 14)

We are introduced to God’s grace immediately in verse 11. The Apostle Paul reminds us that God’s grace has appeared and it is through His grace that salvation is made available for ALL people!

I’m so thankful that the grace of God is not limited to a specific few, but rather is available for all!

1 Timothy 2:3–6 ESV

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

When we think of God’s grace we think of the favor and the blessing of God that is not deserved or earned. Specifically as it relates to salvation we are told this in

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The great Apostle Paul understood and realized that He was only where he was because of God’s amazing grace. He told the church at Corinth...

In verse 14 of our text Paul reminds us of what God grace provided. Notice the verse again...

Titus 2:14 ESV

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.

God’s grace led Him to GIVE His only begotten son! Who did He give Himself for? He gave Himself for US! He died for US! He laid down His life FOR US! He sacrificed Himself for US! He shed His blood for US!

He gave Himself for us to REDEEM US! The Faithlife Study Bible says...

The Greek word used here…means “to release” or “set free,” especially from slavery (Faithlife Study Bible)

We were enslaved to “lawlessness.” We were lawbreakers as a result of our sinful nature! We transgressed God’s Law, and as a result we were “dead” in our trespasses and sins with no HOPE apart from the GRACE of God! The wages of our sin had earned us eternal separation from God BUT...

GOD STEPPED IN AND OFFERED US A SECOND CHANCE! OUR GRACIOUS GOD INTERVENED AND OFFERED US SALVATION, OFFERED TO SET US FREE FROM OUR BONDAGE TO LAWLESSNESS AND HIS GRACE ALSO PURIFIES US AND MAKES US FIT TO BE A PEOPLE FOR HIS POWN POSSESSION WHO ARE ZEALOUS FOR GOOD WORKS!

It’s not only God’s graces that redeems us and rescues us from the penalty and power of sin, but...

God’s Grace Makes a New Change Possible (v. 12)

Notice what grace does AFTER salvation. Grace trains us! A great question is, “how does grace do that? How does grace train us?”

When we place our faith in Christ and are born again we become a new creation! We are born again through the working of the Holy Spirit and He comes into our hearts and lives and dwells there. He begins to produce His fruit in us and through us.

The word that Paul uses for train is a word that is very similar to the idea of a parent/child relationship. David Guzik says...

It speaks of the entire training process: teaching, encouragement, correction, and discipline. Grace is a teacher in this sense.” David Guzik

First it teaches us to “Say No”

It trains us, it teaches us, it encourages us to renounce (1) ungodliness and (2) worldly passions.

In other translations the word “ungodliness” is translated as godlessness and wickedness. God’s grace teaches us to say “NO” to the godless, wicked lifestyle that our flesh is so attracted to.

It also teaches us to say no to “worldly passions.” These are passions/desires that are centered in the present world system in which we live. Grace teaches us to look beyond instant gratification that only leads to regret. Grace teaches us that we have something ETERNAL to live for rather than the temporary here and now.

It also teaches us to “Say Yes”

It teaches us to say yes to living a (1) self-controlled, (2) upright, and (3) godly life IN THIS PRESENT AGE!

The idea of being “self-controlled” is the idea of living a “sensible, decent” life. This is in stark contrast to living out the “worldly passions” that we are called to renounce. In reality, for the believer, a self-controlled life is a life that is under the Spirit’s control.

Secondly it teaches us to say “YES” to an “upright” life. A person who lives an “upright” life is a person that is concerned about “doing the right thing.” They aren’t living for popularity or for what comes naturally or easy, but they are truly seeking to live a life that pleases God and does WHAT IS RIGHT!

It also teaches us to say “YES” to a “godly” life. We’ve all been challenged to ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” Jesus lived a “godly” life and grace teaches us to live in a godly way!

Saying “NO” to ungodliness and wordly passions, and saying “YES” to a self-controlled, upright, godly life DOES NOT SAVE US, but rather is the BY-PRODUCT of GRACE! It’s a by-product of a proper UNDERSTANDING of grace and a proper APPLICATION of grace! And it takes God’s grace and power in order to live this say. As Max Lucado says...

“Grace is the voice that calls us to change, and then gives us the power to pull it off…When grace happens, we receive not a nice compliment from God but a new heart.” Max Lucado

I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon C. The Strength for Godliness (2:11–14)

Paul did not leave the Christian with a list of duties to perform. He called us to a noble purpose, a higher life. He showed us that it is God’s grace—past, present, future—which strengthens and motivates us to live beyond the call of society, embracing obedience to God.

I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon C. The Strength for Godliness (2:11–14)

God wants us to learn how to live to the full. When we believe in Christ as our salvation, we become enrolled in his school of living. In turning to God, we agree that we must turn away from ungodly living and turn toward godly living. We do not just wish for this change to occur; we do not simply hope it might happen. We must take ourselves in hand and say ‘ ‘no” to all those behaviors, attitudes, and desires that are opposed to God. Then we can learn to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.

Has your life been changed by God’s grace? Are you enrolled in the school of the Holy Spirit and growing through the ingestion of the milk and the meat of the Word? Are you becoming more and more like Jesus day after day, and year after year?

God’s grace TEACHES us…are we listening? Are we learning? Are we growing in the “grace and knowledge” of our Lord and Savior?

If we are we will also find that...

God’s Grace Makes a New Confidence Possible for You (v. 13)

As a result of God’s grace giving us a new chance and a new change, we also have a new confidence! Notice again

Titus 2:13 ESV

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Grace also teaches us to wait! But we are waiting for something special and specific. We are waiting for OUR blessed hope! The idea of “waiting for” is the same as “looking for.” In other words we are waiting for Christ’s return with “constant expectation and joy.”

Are you waiting for Christ’s return with constant expectation and joy? If not, we need a better understanding of grace! When we have a better understanding of grace WE WILL LONG TO BE WITH THE ONE WHO PROVIDED GRACE AND WHO CONTINUES TO PROVIDE GRACE.

When we have a better and deeper understanding of God’s grace, and when our hearts and minds are focused upon Him and His return, that will, as one commentator said:

...prove the antidote to worldly lusts, and the stimulus to “live in this present world” as a pure people…zealous for good works.

The Apostle Paul said it this way in Romans 12...

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We have something greater than 2020 or 2021 to look forward to. We have a greater hope than a New Year or promises from politicians…we have the CONFIDENCE of Christ and His return!

Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Are you ready? If He were to come today would you be prepared?

As we conclude today I want to quote Knute Larson who said...

Conclusion

I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon C. The Strength for Godliness (2:11–14)

We deserved the punishment of our sins, the wrath of God upon us for our rebellion and evil. But Christ stepped in and suffered and died on our behalf.

The reason he did this was to redeem us from all wickedness. To redeem is to release at a price, or to buy back. This was a term used for slaves who were purchased out of slavery. Their freedom was bought at a price. This pictures Christ’s purchase of our freedom from slavery to sin. At the cost of his life, we were released from our bondage to evil which resides by nature with all human beings.

But God never quits halfway. He redeems us for a purpose, and this is to purify for himself a people that are his very own. Not only were we paid for; we were released into the freedom of belonging to God, of fulfilling our original design and purpose for which he created us.

God’s plan can be traced throughout the entire Bible. From the very beginning, God chose particular people to belong to him—people who would bear his image and establish his righteousness on the earth. Whether we speak of Noah, Enoch, Abraham, or his selection of Israel as a special nation, God has always worked to establish a community of faith that honors him and lives in obedience to his laws.

In Christ God flung wide the doors of admission into his family, accepting anyone who would trust in Christ’s saving death and resurrection. In the act of faith, we transfer our obedience from wickedness to righteousness, from Satan and self to God. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

Belonging to God carries responsibilities. We should live with the sole objective of pleasing our Lord. Paul told us how we can delight our Savior—by being people who are eager to do what is good.

We’ve begun a new year.

God has given us a New Chance…an opportunity to be saved from the penalty and power of our sins and enter into a personal relationship with our Creator, our Heavenly Father, by faith in Jesus.

This new chance brings with it a New Change. In Christ we become a NEW CREATION, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus “old things pass away, behold all things become new.” This is why we are emphasizing personal discipleship in the new year. Because we realize that GRACE teaches us to SAY NO to ungodliness and worldly passions and to embrace a self-controlled, upright, and godly life!

With the New Chance we also have a NEW CONFIDENCE! Jesus is coming again! It may be today, it may be tomorrow, it may be many years from now, but He is going to return! That’s something we can “take to the bank.” Are you ready?

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