Qualities of Saving Grace

Qualities of a Sound Church - Message 8 - Qualities of Saving Grace. Titus 2 tells us that the grace of God has appeared to all men, and not only that, this grace teaches us a few things. It teaches us first that we need to let go of lust. We are to live in such a way that we deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts.” We reject worldly thinking and influences and we turn away from and flee lust, those desires that originate in our fallen flesh and work to lure us away from the truth and away from righteousness. Secondly grace teaches us to live godly lives. As we have learned from our study in Titus 2 this involves hearing and heeding sound doctrine as is evidenced by the qualities that are produced in our daily lives. Living like this is to live “soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.” That means we have been taught by grace how to live here and now, without excuses based on how evil the days are, and without anyone else to blame for our decisions and responses. Thirdly grace teaches us to look for our Glorious Lord! When we struggle and are under pressure from the world, the flesh, and the devil, we have hope and a reason to press on. We are able to fight the good fight and persevere because we have not been abandoned here. The return of Christ is described as something we should be looking for, as if to describe a constant scanning of the horizon hoping for His appearing. This is a blessed hope, it will be a glorious appearing, and in case there is any doubt, grace affirms that Jesus is our Great God and Savior.