"Grace That Saves Us, Changes Us"    2010

Titus 2:11-14, 3:3-7                  Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

 

Titus 2:11-14, 3:3-7

11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, 13while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. 3For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. 4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

 

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

13Let mutual love continue. 2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” 6So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” 7Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 15Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

 

A few days ago, I visited

            and prayed with a man who was dying, and his family.

 

I reminded them that we are all loved, and precious to God;

            that God is with us and for us,

                        and constantly working to bless us;

and that God is always present with us,

            giving us hope and strength even when we struggle & suffer.

Finally,      I reminded them of our Christian hope in God's

            promises & gracious love concerning our eternal salvation.

 

I am often asked to comfort & reassure those dealing with death,

            for at such times we do need to hear hope and assurance

                        that the promises of the gospel are real and true …

      … and  answering a most critical question of that moment,

                           "How can I know for sure

                                                that the God's promises are trustworthy,

                                                            and that I really can  rely on them?"

 

"How can I know for sure …"

            I remember my struggle with that ultimate question

                        when I was grieving after the deaths of my parents.

 

And I suspect that if we are honest,

            we all grapple with that question from time to time.

Sometimes the harsh and shocking realities of this world

            can shake us up causing to doubt our faith,

                        or need to reexamine why we believe what we do.

 

I am not bothered or anxious about such questioning doubts,

            because my experience is that those struggles can be

                        an important part of the process of God's grace

                                    that helps keep our faith fresh and growing deeper.

 

So, how can I declare with integrity that I do know

            that the promises of God and the claims of the gospel

                        that I believe and proclaim,  are really true …

                                    … when I have never

                                                actually seen grace or God in a physical way?

 

Drawing on the explanation that Jesus gave to Nicodemus,   

            I have also never actually seen electricity or the wind,

                        yet I am convinced that they both physically exist.

  

I know,  because I have seen the effects of when the wind blows.

            So too, we can see and recognize the effects of God's grace

                        or when the Holy Spirit blows through a human life.

 

For example, when I was a teenager,

            I got to serve as a counselor at a Billy Graham crusade.

   I recall a young man who came up front during the alter call

            who  it was my privilege   to help through that process.

 

As he and I talked together, I learned

            that he had absolutely no church or religious background,

                        and in fact had never even been inside a church.

From a spiritual perspective he was a blank sheet of paper

            with no previous experience of God or God's grace,

                        and he had no idea of what it meant to be a Christian.

 

I did my best to explain about Jesus Christ and salvation,

            and that night I answered his questions as well as I could.

 

Then, in a most amazing and powerful moment of God's grace,

            he prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior…

                        and I got to see him begin his journey of faith.

 

                Something happened,

                        he wasn't a Christian, then a moment later, he was;

            and he began that journey of faith with no idea or knowledge

                        about living a Christian life, the Church or Scripture.

 

We developed a friendship, and for the next couple of years,

            we stayed in contact by phone and exchanging letters.

    I remember explaining to him how to find things in the Bible,

          how to pray and what we mean about God answering our prayer.

 

It was all new and exciting to him  and he wanted

            to understand everything about Christianity all at once.

    He asked lots of questions that I didn't know how to answer.

 

It was amazing how quickly and dramatically his life changed

            as grace, the Holy Spirit, Scripture and experience

                        seemed to transform everything about who he was.

 

He moved away from his former life and life-style

            especially as he got more involved with other Christians;

                        many of whom were telling him lots of churchy-things,

                               which he found to be a bit confusing & overwhelming.

           

So I suggested that perhaps the best way to start,

            was to focus on getting to know God through God's word;

                                    because if he really understood that God loved him,

                                                and trusted that God was working to bless him;

               then over time, the rest would probably fall into place

                        as God's Spirit and grace gradually reshaped his life.

 

The changes in his life that I observed helped strengthen

            and define my own faith,   because it demonstrated to me

                        that when faith is real and alive,

                             God's presence & promises do make a real difference.

 

There was no mistaking or delusion that I saw

     how God's truth and grace increasingly guided his decisions,

               as his growing faith was changing every aspect of his life,

                                    since that first night when he prayed

                                                and invited Jesus Christ into his life.

 

One of the reassuring ways that I know that God is real,

            and that the gospel promises and truths are all true,

                  is by the power of God's grace to bring healing and hope,                                        and transformation into human lives and situations…

                                         … as in the life of that young man called by God.

 

Another story.  Two neighbors, both church members had been

            fighting over some disputed waterfront property for years.

One of them came to my office and told me about something that

            happened during a worship service, that moved him that day,

                        to visit his difficult neighbor that same afternoon

                            & try to make amends, reconcile & reach an agreement.

 

He explained that he came to see  me because he was stunned;

            because he was not the sort of man to do such a thing ---

                        and he couldn't understand why he did.

                I warned him that it was just the beginning,

                        and that it was a God and grace thing taking hold of him.

 

The passage we read from Titus is about this same thing, vs. 11-12

            For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions,       and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly.

 

Beyond just the grace that promises eternal salvation,

   that power of God's Spirit and grace also brings healing,      

      hope & the transformation of our lives in this present world.

 

Continuing in Titus 2:14:

              He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

 

The same giver of grace who assures us of eternal salvation,

            also grows our faith and transforms our present life

                 into living lives that more and more reflect God's grace…

                                    … as the Holy Spirit works in and through our lives.

 

This suggest to me that instead of asking, "are you saved",

            it  might be a better question to ask, 

                 "the presence & grace of God, how are they changing you?"

That's not

            a question of what are we doing or are we trying hard enough,

                        but it’s a grace question …

                             what is God up to, and how is that grace affecting us?

 

As Christians of the American and Presbyterian flavor,

            we do like to do for ourselves and we like to feel in control.

                        So the challenge for many of us is,

                                    that having received the free gift of God's grace,

                            that grace is so wonderful that it's unbelievable;

                                    and wanting to do for ourselves and feel in control

                                                we dredge up our old sin, guilt and regret…

               … as if we still needed to earn or be worthy of God's favor,

                        as if that gift of grace   only applied to our salvation.

 

By supposing that God's grace applies primarily to salvation,

            we limit the peace and joy God intends for us now

                        as we try to live out a life of Christian service

                                    driven by our own will-power and human effort…

            … as if God were some divine employer or task-master

                        who now demands our service as a duty & debt repayment.

 

Do you see how that creates a problem because

            that shifts the focus to our own works and performance,

                        and our own efforts to fulfill God's requirements? …

                                    … rather than all the glory and honor

                                                being focused on God and His gracious love.

 

If we see the Christian life as something we do or accomplish,

            then we are failing to recognize and appreciate that

                  Christianity is really about our relationship with God,

                                    a relationship of grace and joyful gratitude…

                                                … that our lives are in Jesus Christ,

                                                            as by the Spirit, Christ dwells in us –

  --- and it is by that grace that our faith redefines how we live.

 

It is in that sense of the power of God's Spirit and gift of grace

            continuing to transform us and guide how we live,

                        that the author of Hebrews gives specific examples

                              of  how God's grace changes our lives and attitudes.

 

By God's grace,

            we become more hospitable and welcoming to strangers.

By God's grace, we become caring and compassionate,

            as the struggles & suffering of other people matters to us.

                        By God's grace, we do honor our marriage commitments.

 

As the Holy Spirit's presence and God's grace transforms us,

            our lives become evidence of God's truth and promises.

This is not about our own efforts or our accomplishments,

            or the result our trying harder to live Christian lives.

 

It is simply the recognition that as we draw nearer to God,

            then God's presence & grace affects more of our lives…

                        … and because I see the evidence of this in my own life                                               and in the lives and situations of others,

                                                I know and can proclaim with certainty that:

 

1)        That we are loved and precious to God,

                        regardless of whatever came before

                                    or whatever we have ever said or done.

 

2)        That surely God is with us and God is for us,

                        and always working for our good in order to bless us.

 

3)        That God does want us to know Him and enjoy Him;

                        which calls us to look for the grace and hope

                                    in all situations, even our troubles in life ----

                        which calls us to look for the grace and hope

                                    in all of the relationships of our lives,à

                for truly there is grace and hope

                        and good to be found all around us,

                                    if we through eyes of faith will see.

 

4)        If we really do believe    that God is sovereign,

                        then doesn't that mean

                                    that God and God's grace are always present,

                                                even when we struggle and suffer? …

                        and that in all things,  there is something further

                                    to learn about God, about God's love and grace.

 

The truth of these affirmations give me the confidence I need

            to assure even dying people and their loved ones

                        that God's love is real and certain, and that we can

                                    count on God's grace, promises and presence;à

 

            à and that if we will look, then we will see

                        the difference God's grace has been making all along.

 

As God promised, given through the prophet Jeremiah 29:11-14

            For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

                        Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.  When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord.