Sermon Title: The Compelling Prospect of Grace
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the 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 wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
So we are “saved by grace” – what do we do now? That’s a question that I think most Christians answer at some point in their walk with God. I know that I am a child of God, I know that I have faith in Christ, they say to themselves, but they ask, “Okay, now what?”
In the Scripture passage above, the Apostle Paul attempts to answer this. He says our lives are now changed to live in the grace that we have received from God. Receiving and living in this grace empowers us to live our lives pleasing to God, living in the ways that He taught us to live. And in living that life, we will see God do things that will amaze us because those things can only be done by God.
Dr. David Jeremiah speaks to this when he writes the following in his book, “Captured By Grace,”: “Grace changes people as nothing else can do. It cleanses the sins of the past. It enables righteousness in the present. And one thing it does for certain: it constantly surprises us. For the essence of grace is surprise. There is nothing shocking about giving people exactly what they deserve. Grace subverts the rules and gives people what they don’t deserve. It is motivated by the warmth of love rather than by cold calculation. Therefore, grace is always doing something we didn’t expect. For example, what does grace do in the present? It walks to the blackboard and begins to teach: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us” (Titus 2:11–12).”
God’s grace is truly amazing – and living a life filled with God’s grace is just as amazing. This coming Sunday we will conclude our sermon series entitled, “Captured By Grace,” by discussing how grace teaches us to renounce sin, respect others and revere God. Hope to see you then!
