We don't often do this here in our times of worship, but there are many churches who utilize
the historic Christian creeds and confessions as a vital part of their weekly worship services.
These statements like the Apostles' Creed, or the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, or
the London Baptist Confession, or the Westminster Confession, or the Heidelberg Catechism,
there are a number of them historically that the church has used. What these statements do is they
helpfully summarize for us and express the core doctrines of the Christian faith.
We must be careful that we never elevate them to the level of Scripture or even above Scripture,
as many denominations and Christian traditions have done. We must be careful not to do that.
We believe in sola scriptura, that the Scriptures are the authority above all else, and even the
statements that we use to summarize these core doctrines that are found in the Scriptures must
be subservient to the Scriptures. And insofar as they agree with the Word of God, they are very helpful
to us, and they can be edifying to recognize them and to meditate on them. When churches incorporate
these creeds and confessions into their corporate worship Sunday by Sunday, they're really following
in the footsteps of Christians from the early church. In fact, our primary text for this morning,
verses 4 through 7, is believed to have functioned as an early creedal statement of early Christians,
or at least perhaps a hymn that would have been sung in the worship of first century believers.
And what a tremendous confession it is. Can you imagine gathering with believers in Crete 2,000 years ago,
and together, either in song, they believed that this was probably used at the baptismal services that they would have,
as you gather for a baptism or maybe in the service, whether you're reciting it or you're singing it.
Can you imagine lifting your voices together, and this is the thing that you say.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us.
And you move on from there to talk about the roles of the Holy Spirit and the Son, Jesus Christ.
What a wonderful confession it actually is.
Before we get into the details of what is actually being said here,
let's first acknowledge why Paul is actually using it.
Why has he inserted it here in this passage?
Remember, the structural pattern for chapter 2 and chapter 3 is exactly the same.
Paul begins with exhortations for the Christians in Crete to follow him.
He grounds them in the gospel of grace,
and then he concludes them with pastoral instruction for Titus and the other elders to follow.
In chapter 2, the emphasis is on Christian behavior in the church.
In chapter 3, the emphasis is on Christian behavior in the world,
outside of the church and the testimony that we have before others.
And so as we look at the structure of chapter 3,
that's the reason I wanted to read all 11 verses there just a moment ago,
because we need to see the bigger picture here,
else we'll get lost in the weeds and we won't know exactly.
It will be fruitful for us to dig into 4 through 7,
but it is important for us to know why Paul has it here.
The main appeal is in verses 1 through 2.
We talked about that two weeks ago.
And everything else flows, all the way down to verse 11,
flows out of verses 1 and 2,
where Paul has exhorted Titus to remind the people
to behave in particular ways in the world.
In verses 4 through 7, where we study today,
Paul lays the foundation of God's grace
as the source and motivation for the Christ-likeness
that he has commanded in verses 1 and 2.
And then when we get to verses 8 through 11,
he gives more pastoral instruction,
particularly how Titus and the elders
are to insist on these things
and how they are to discipline people in the church
who do not insist on these things
or perhaps even contradict them.
So Paul takes what might have been
an early Christian creed or hymn,
and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
he employs it to emphasize that God's grace toward us
is the very reason why we should act with such grace
toward the unbelievers around us.
Do you see that in the big picture?
Because I'm going to move on from it,
but I want you to see that first
before we dig into the details.
Paul takes this creed in the middle
and he inserts it to say,
behave this way because this is the way
God has behaved toward you, okay?
That's the motivation, the gospel of grace.
Now, everything in verses 4 through 7
revolves around a single phrase,
and you find it at the beginning of verse 5.
Look at it with me.
He saved us.
Saved here means to be rescued.
And it brings into view the desperate condition
each of us is in as a result of our sin.
We're all guilty before God.
We're guilty of sinning against God.
By nature, we are enemies of God,
destined to face His eternal wrath.
But to be saved is to be rescued
from the penalty of sin.
It is to be reconciled to God in peace.
And when we come to verse 5,
we see the central focus is on this phrase.
God rescued us.
And what did He rescue us from?
Himself.
It was the holy wrath of God,
destined to condemn us for all of eternity.
And it is the loving grace of God
that provides a way for sinners
to be made right with Himself.
He saved us.
And the text emphasizes that this salvation
is God's work of grace
apart from any merit or action of men.
Twice in these short verses,
God Himself is declared to be the Savior.
We see it in verse 4,
the goodness and loving kindness of God,
our Savior appeared.
And then we see it again in verse 6,
whom He poured out on us richly
through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
And all of the saving action in this passage
is attributed only to God and to His work.
You see, salvation is not a reward
for those whose good outweighs their bad.
Salvation is not a debt that God owes us
for religious services that we render to Him.
Salvation is the gracious act of God
whereby He grants forgiveness
and eternal life solely on the basis of His mercy.
And if you forget everything else I say this morning,
I hope you will at least remember this,
that if anyone is to be saved,
it will only be as a result
of the gracious work of God in their life.
And that's the emphasis of this gospel of grace.
It's not only the emphasis of the gospel of grace
in Titus chapter 2 and Titus chapter 3.
It is the emphasis of the gospel of grace
from Genesis 1 to the end of the book of the Revelation.
It is all of God's grace.
And we find a particular, wonderful,
glorious statement of it here in this early creed.
The creed declares three wonderful truths
about the saving grace of God.
It tells us when He saved us.
It tells us how He saved us.
It tells us why He saved us.
That's the structure I want to take with you this morning.
First, let's see when He saved us.
When He saved us.
Verse 4,
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
He saved us.
Goodness and loving kindness of God
toward the Cretan believers in the context here
is set in contrast with the spirit of those Christians
in Crete toward the unbelievers in the world around them.
They perhaps had fallen into pride,
into rebellion,
into arrogance against the unbelievers.
But in contrast to that,
Paul highlights the goodness and loving kindness of God
that was shown to them when they were unbelievers.
And Paul calls them to show this same grace to others.
The same grace that they had experienced from God,
they were to show to others.
And how had God shown this grace to the Cretan Christians?
His grace was demonstrated through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And appeared, the word appeared is significant here.
Just like in chapter 2 and verse 11,
it's the same word that we get,
epiphany,
meaning a sudden manifestation or appearance of something.
It is something being made visible.
And what Paul is saying,
or the Creed is saying,
and Paul is saying through the Creed here,
is that the goodness and loving kindness of God
are not abstract ideas
that we just kind of theoretically attach to God up there somewhere.
No, they are tangible realities
that we see in the person and the work of Jesus.
In other words,
if you want to see the goodness and the loving kindness of God,
look at Jesus.
If you want to see the grace of God,
look at Jesus.
That is how God has manifested his grace.
Another way to say it is to say this,
but God shows his love for us
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Or we might could say it another way.
We were by nature children of wrath,
like the rest of mankind.
But God, being rich in mercy,
because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ.
By grace you have been saved.
It's the theme of the Bible.
It's everywhere.
Now I want you to notice here in verse four
that the timestamp of our salvation
is given in the past tense.
When the goodness and loving kindness of God appeared,
the person and work of Jesus in the past,
he saved us in the past.
How are we to understand this?
Simply reverse the phrases
to see it maybe a little bit more clearly.
He saved us when the goodness
and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared.
And I want to take just a moment to show you
why I think this is so significant.
Don't turn me off yet.
This is good.
I want you to think about the various dimensions
of salvation recorded in the Bible.
The first thing I want to point out to you
is that our salvation was determined
before the world began.
So in eternity past,
God sets his love on his people.
We see that in Ephesians chapter one.
He chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world
that we should be holy
and blameless before him.
In love, he predestined us for adoption
to himself as sons through Jesus Christ
according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace
with which he has blessed us in the beloved.
What does he mean by that?
That our salvation in one sense
was determined before we were ever even created.
Indeed, before anything else was ever created.
But then we see our salvation is confirmed
at the moment of conversion.
It is determined before the world began.
It's confirmed at the moment of conversion.
Romans chapter 10.
Because if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.
If someone were to come to you this afternoon
and they said,
hey, I heard you are a Christian.
I've heard that being a Christian
means that you have to be saved.
Tell me, when were you saved?
Your immediate reaction
is gonna go to the moment of your conversion
because that's the moment
that your salvation
graciously given to you by Jesus Christ
was confirmed
through your faith in Jesus Christ
and his finished work.
So salvation is determined
before the world began.
It's confirmed at the moment of our conversion.
Thirdly, our salvation will be completed
at Christ's return.
will be completed at Christ's return.
Hebrews chapter 9.
So Christ, having been offered once
to bear the sins of many,
will appear a second time.
He's coming back.
Not to deal with sin,
but to save those
who are eagerly waiting for him.
Now, I thought we were already saved.
If we know Christ,
God has predestined it
before the world's began.
It was confirmed at the moment
that I trusted Christ.
Why is he saying that I won't be saved
until Jesus returns?
Because there's this past,
present, future dimension to salvation.
We are saved.
We have been saved.
We are being saved.
The gospel is transforming us
by the work of the Holy Spirit
to be more like Christ.
We will be saved.
That is one day.
All of this will be brought to completion.
Glorified.
No more sin.
No more death.
No more disease.
It will all be over.
We will be saved,
and we will be with him in eternity.
And I say all of that to say this.
It's determined before,
confirmed at conversion,
completed at Christ's return,
but it is secured at the cross.
Our salvation is secured at the cross.
We read it last week, John 19, 30.
When Jesus had received the sour wine,
he said, what's the next three words?
It is finished.
It's finished.
It's done.
What's done?
Everything necessary for our salvation
was done.
It was complete.
We were saved.
It was secured at the cross.
The salvation of sinners is God's work
from beginning to end.
It's his plan, born of his mercy.
And if you are in Christ today,
it's not because you met a certain standard,
and it's not because you fulfilled
your religious duty.
Your salvation was won and secured
at the cross when Jesus bore the wrath of God
in your place,
making a once-for-all time atonement
for your sin.
We were saved when the goodness
and loving kindness of God appeared,
and how did it appear?
In the cross of Jesus.
And if God secured your salvation
at the cross,
he will see it through to the end.
He will see it through.
He will not say,
your redemption is good for now,
but if you cross me again,
I'm taking it away.
No, it's secured.
It's been secured for 2,000 years.
Romans chapter 8.
Think about this.
This is so awesome.
Romans 8.
For those whom he foreknew,
he predestined to be conformed
to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those whom he predestined,
he called.
Those whom he called,
he justified.
Those whom he justified,
he glorified.
What shall we then say to these things?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
When did he save us?
When the goodness and love
and kindness of God appeared.
When did that appear?
On the cross.
Our salvation was secured.
It was God's work from beginning to end.
And it's the only place
that we can begin at this point
in this creed.
When he saved us.
Secondly,
how did he save us?
How did he save us?
Verse 5.
He saved us,
not because of works
done by us in righteousness,
but according to his own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration
and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us richly
through Jesus Christ,
our Savior.
Again, Paul is very quick here
to remind us
that our salvation
does not come as a result
of anything that we do.
And here's why.
We cannot possibly
be saved by our own righteousness
because according to verse 3,
put your eye back on it.
According to verse 3,
before God's gracious intervention
in our lives,
what were we?
We were foolish.
Led astray.
Slaves to sin.
So on and so forth.
A foolish person.
A person that is led astray.
A person that is a slave to sin.
This is a picture
of all of those
who are without Christ.
That kind of person
will not just wake up one day
and decide,
you know what?
I think I'm going to be
a Christian now.
It doesn't work like that.
No.
So how does God save us?
Without the righteousness of Christ
being imputed to us,
our very best efforts
are worthlessly ineffective.
You can go to church every Sunday.
You can give in the offering
every week.
You can do all the things.
You can greet all the people.
You can fulfill
and tick all your boxes
on the religious things.
And it will be completely ineffective
for your salvation.
Why?
Because he saved us
not because of works done by us.
It's not about us.
It's not about our righteousness.
Our righteousness
will never be good enough.
Paul knew this
better than anybody.
Remember in Philippians chapter 3,
Paul says,
if anyone else thinks
that he has a reason
for confidence in the flesh,
I have more.
And he goes through his pedigree.
Circumcised the eighth day.
Tribe of Benjamin.
Hebrew of Hebrews.
As to the law,
a Pharisee.
That means that he kept it
to the nth degree.
As to zeal,
a persecutor of the church,
thinking he was fulfilling
the will of God.
As to righteousness
under the law,
blameless, he says.
But whatever gain I had,
I count it as loss
for the sake of Christ.
Indeed,
I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Jesus my Lord.
For his sake,
I have suffered the loss
of all things
and count them as rubbish,
he says.
Rubbish.
All of the righteous efforts
that you've put in
are nothing but trash,
Paul says.
Because the only way
to know Christ
is through faith,
by his grace.
So if God doesn't save us
through self-righteous works,
how does he then save us?
And the answer
is succinctly given here
in verses 5 and 6.
And it has everything
to do with God's grace.
But what I love so much
about this creed
is that it is ultimately
Trinitarian,
revealing how the Father
and the Son
and the Holy Spirit
work together
for our salvation.
Bill Mountain
said it this way.
This passage has one
of the most elegant
descriptions of the Trinity
anywhere in the New Testament.
It shows the three members
of the Godhead
actively involved
in the salvation of sinners.
God the Father
as planner and initiator.
God the Son,
Jesus Christ,
as the agent of redemption.
That's verse 6.
And the Holy Spirit
as the instrument
of regeneration
and renewal.
That's verse 5.
Gordon Fee calls it
an inerrant Trinitarianism
that sees Father,
Son, and Spirit
working co-jointly
jointly for our salvation.
And why does that matter?
Because our salvation
is all of God.
So how then
does God save us?
Well, the entire plan
of redemption
is based on the Father's mercy
that has been revealed
to us in the sacrifice
of His Son.
We've touched
on those already.
Let me focus now
for our time this morning
on this work
of the Holy Spirit
in verse 5.
There's a two-fold work
that is stated here.
Two words are given.
Regeneration
and renewal.
Regeneration,
the kids have learned this
in Adventure Club.
Kids,
what does it mean
to be regenerated?
Do you remember?
Gus,
it means to be born again.
That's exactly right.
Regeneration means
to recreate,
to bring to life again.
It's when sinners
who are dead
in their trespasses
and sins
are cleansed from sin,
awakened to new life
in Christ Jesus.
And in John chapter 3,
Jesus called it,
as Gus said,
being born again.
John chapter 3,
verse 5,
Jesus answered Nicodemus,
truly I say to you,
unless one is born
of water and of the Spirit,
water there being
the cleansing of sin
by the Holy Spirit
and being born of the Spirit
being the regenerating work,
unless one is born
of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter
the kingdom of God.
He cannot be saved.
That which is born
of the flesh is flesh.
That which is born
of the Spirit is Spirit.
And he says,
do not marvel
that I said this to you.
The wind blows
where it wishes.
You hear it sound.
You do not know
where it comes from
or where it goes.
So it is with those
who are born
of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit's
work in regeneration.
The wind blows.
The wind of the Spirit
blows when the Word of God
is declared
and the Gospel
is declared.
And the Holy Spirit
does this.
Sin,
cleansing,
regenerating work
where he takes
dead sinners
and he gives them
new life.
The regenerating power
of the Holy Spirit.
The second word
is renewal.
Renewal refers
to the quality
of life
that is given
to us
by God's Spirit.
And it is a life
that is distinctly
different
from the one before.
That's Paul's point here.
Think about it
in Romans 12 too
where the same word
is used.
Do not be conformed
to this world
but be transformed
by what?
The renewal
of your mind.
Don't be like the world.
Be transformed
by the renewal
of your mind.
Well you can't renew
your own mind.
That's the work
of God's Spirit
according to the Word.
The Holy Spirit
transforms us.
He renews us.
How about Colossians 3?
Do not lie
to one another
seeing that you have
put off the old self
with its practices
and have put on
the new self
which is being
renewed
in knowledge
after the image
of its creator.
It's this work
of sanctification
that the Holy Spirit does.
He brings us back
to life
and he renews
the quality
of that life
to be distinctly
different from
what we were before.
So he not only
gives us life
he gives us
a different kind.
And this regeneration
and renewal
is part and parcel
of the motivation
behind our pursuit
of Christ-likeness
in the world.
It's how it relates
back to the first two verses.
If you have
the Holy Spirit
that has brought you
to life
and is renewing you
actively,
progressively
in your life
in sanctification
you will progressively
change
from being so frustrated
and arrogant
and prideful
to the world
to where you will
now humbly show
the grace of God
and the forgiveness
of God
and the mercy of God.
God does this.
It is his work.
But perhaps
you're wondering
how does the Holy Spirit
actually go about
doing this?
I mean is it just like
you just happen
to be standing
in just the right place
like a person
getting struck
by lightning
and if you just happen
to be in the right place
suddenly the Holy Spirit
just bam
you're there
and it's done.
No that's not
how it works.
The Bible tells us
in Ephesians chapter 6
that there is a sword
that the Holy Spirit
wields to do his work.
The sword is the word
of God.
The Holy Spirit
accompanies
the Holy Scripture.
The wind of the Spirit
blows in regeneration
and renewal
when the word of God
is preached
and shared
and studied
and what this truth
should do
is radically affect
our efforts
at evangelism
and our spiritual maturity
neither of which
can be fruitful
apart from
the scriptures.
They cannot be
because the way
that the Holy Spirit
does this work
is through
the word of God.
That's why we want people
we want to invite
unbelievers
to a church service.
That's why we don't
want to just
encourage them
to be
like Christians.
We want to encourage
them with the word
to believe
and follow Christ
because it is
the word of God
that the Holy Spirit
uses
to make
the people
of God.
Hebrews chapter 4
the word of God
is living
it's active
sharper
than any
two-edged sword
piercing
to the division
of soul
and spirit
of joints
and of marrow
and it discerns
the thoughts
and the intents
of the heart
not because
not the book
itself
it's not
that there's
a magic button
here
that if you
just open
your Bible
one day
and you start
to read
through a passage
that there's
something
that comes
alive
out of the pages
itself
and does
some type
of mystical
work in you.
No that's
not how it
works
it's that
it is brought
to life
through the
regenerative
and renewal
work of the
Holy Spirit
as the word
of God
goes out
he always
accomplishes
his purposes
and as he
accomplishes
his purposes
he does it
through the work
of the Spirit.
So how then
has God
saved us?
Not through
anything we've
done
our salvation
rests solely
on God's
sovereign work
of grace
accomplished
through the
death of
Jesus
and the
transformative
power
of his
Spirit.
I know
that was
heavy
and that's
a lot
but perhaps
it'll marinate
on your mind
for a while
when we were
saved
how he
saved us
finally
why he
saved us
why did
he even
do this
if salvation
is God's
work from
beginning to
end
if it flows
out of his
mercy
and through
the
demonstration
of the
love of
Christ
on the
cross
and it's
this
regenerative
work of
his
spirit
if it is
God's
doing
from beginning
to end
why does
he care
to do
it
why
verse 7
so that
it's the
purpose
statement
of the
creed
so that
being
justified
by his
grace
we might
become
heirs
according
to the
hope
of eternal
life
let's
condense
it down
again
he
saved
us
so
that
being
justified
by his
grace
we might
become
heirs
according
to the
hope
of
eternal
life
again
grace
is set
in contrast
with works
of righteousness
and it
reiterates
how God
saves us
but the
ultimate
goal
of God's
gracious
initiative
is to
make us
his own
people
is to
make us
his own
adopted
into the
family of
God
we've been
praying for
the Blevins
for some
time now
they're in
this
waiting
cycle
for
the
adoption
of a
child
from
Columbia
and
whenever
the Lord
sees fit
to bring
that child
into their
home
legally
bestowing
all rights
as being
their
children
will be
given
to that
child
adopted
into
their
family
belongs
to
them
all
the
rights
all
the
inheritance
all
the
things
belongs
to
this
child
and
that's
the
image
that
God
uses
of
us
here
we
become
heirs
if
salvation
came
from
works
then
its
benefits
would
be a
payment
that
God
owes
us
and
our
relationship
with
him
would
be
merely
contractual
and
professional
that
is
we do
something
for
God
and
in
return
he
does
something
for
us
okay
if
it
was
through
works
that's
how
it
would
function
but
the
true
gospel
is
so
much
more
glorious
than
that
it's
amazing
actually
because
salvation
is of
God's
grace
its
benefits
belong
to
us
positionally
not
because
of
something
that
we
have
done
but
because
of
who
we
are
and
who
are
we
are
the
children
of
God
and
our
relationship
to
him
is
not
contractual
and
professional
our
relationship
to
him
in
grace
is
covenantal
and
personal
it's
glorious
Galatians
4
when
the
fullness
of
time
had
come
God
sent
forth
his
son
born
of
a
woman
born
under
the
law
to
redeem
those
who
were
under
the
law
that's
the
when
and
the
how
here's
the
why
so
that
we
might
receive
adoption
as
sons
and
because
your
sons
God
has
sent
the
spirit
of
his
son
into
our
hearts
which
causes
us
now
to
cry
out
to
God
as
father
so
you
are
no
longer
a
slave
but
a
son
and
if
you're
a
son
then
you're
an
heir
through
God
and
what
is
the
inheritance
that
you
have
it
is
eternal
life
that
was
won
for
us
at
the
resurrection
of
Christ
all
that
belongs
to
Jesus
our
elder
brother
now
we
might
say
all
that
belongs
to
Jesus
now
belongs
to
us
not
because
of
what
we've
done
but
because
of
who
we
are
in
him
and
why
would
God
do
this
why
such
marvelous
grace
there
is
only
one
possible
answer
it
can
only
be
out
of
love
that's
the
only
answer
that
could
possibly
work
Ephesians
2
we
quoted
this
while
ago
let's
quote
it
again
God
being
rich
in
mercy
because
of
the
great
love
with
which
he
loved
us
even
when
we
were
dead
so
his
love
doesn't
come
because
of
something
we've
done
it's
not
something
that
we
are
it's
just
his
love
because
it's
his
love
so
that
we
might
receive
adoption
excuse
me
that's
the wrong
quote
so
that
he
made
us
alive
together
with
Christ
by
grace
you've
been
saved
and
it
goes
on
we
sing
about
this
grace
and
this
love
could
we
with
ink
the
ocean's
fill
and
where
the
skies
of
parchment
made
where
every
stalk
on
earth
a
quill
and
every
man
a
scribe
by
trade
to
write
the
love
of
God
above
would
drain
the
ocean
dry
nor
could
the
scroll
contain
the
hole
though
stretched
from
sky
to
sky
why
has
God
saved
us
because
he
loves
us
because
he
loves
us
now
this
passage
is
immediately
relevant
on at
least
two
levels
first
expresses
the
truth
of
salvation
by
grace
alone
it's
God's
work
from
beginning
to
end
but
he
calls
us
to
enter
this
love
by
trusting
the
work
of
Christ
by
faith
we
are
justified
by
faith
no
matter
what
no
matter
what
your
background
is
and
I
don't
know
everyone
that's
here
today
I
don't
know
what
your
background
is
and
what
your
particular
position
is
in
regards
to
spiritual
things
or
in
regard
to
the
things
of
God
but
no
matter
what
you
are
where
you
are
you
are
trusting
in
something
for
life
and
peace
you
may
be
trusting
that
your
good
outweighs
your
bad
or
that
you've
done
just
the
right
kind
and
amount
of
religious
works
you've
done
the
baptism
and
you've
done
the
catechisms
and
you've
done
the
confirmation
and
you've
done
the
church
things
you
do
all
the
things
and
you're
trusting
!
Maybe
you're
completely
irreligious
you
are
struggling
with
whether
or not
you
even
think
that
God
is
there
that
he
exists
well
that's
a
trusting
action
there
is
an
element
where
you
are
trusting
life
and
peace
to
the
fact
that
there
is
no
God
to
which
you
must
be
held
accountable
no
matter
how
you
look
at
it
either
way
the
issue
eventually
boils
down
to
faith
and
according
to
the
scriptures
what
God
has
told
us
in
his
word
true
salvation
only
comes
to
those
whose
faith
is
in
the
grace
of
God
through
Christ
that's
where
salvation
lies
true
peace
true
love
true
grace
can
only
be
found
in
Christ
that's
the
first
way
that
we
apply
it
the
text
is
also
relevant
because
it
shapes
the
entire
perspective
of
how
we
live
and
worship
doesn't
it
when
we
understand
and
focus
on
the
grace
of
God
it
will
always
produce
in
us
humble
praise
humility
worship
joyful
service
to
God
that
is
the
product
of
grace
it
affects
the
way
we
view
and
treat
others
because
those
who
have
received
God's
grace
are
keen
to
show
God's
grace
and
if
you
find
that
your
spirit
toward
others
is
arrogant
or
harsh
or
if
you
determine
that
your
worship
is
cold
distant
mundane
it's
not
because
the
structure
of
the
service
is
not
beneficial
it's
not
because
the
word
of
God
has
failed
it's
not
because
people
are
worse
today
than
what
they've
been
at
other
times
in
the
world
it's
not
because
of
any
of
those
things
it's
because
you've
lost
sight
of
the
grace
of
God
in
your
life
and
the
only
solution
for
you
is
to
look
to
Jesus
that's
the
only
solution
to
look
to
Jesus
and
understand
the
grace
and
love
of
God
will
lead
us
to
love
others
it
will
lead
us
to
worship
God
in
humility
we
will
want
to
be
at
worship
not
only
on
Sunday
on
the
Lord's
day
Sunday
by
Sunday
we
will
want
to
worship
him
at
home
we
will
want
our
kids
to
know
him
we
will
want
our
kids
to
understand
his
grace
we
will
want
to
evangelize
the
people
that
are
around
us
because
our
eyes
are
set
on
Christ
and
because
we've
come
to
understand
the
grace
of
God
if
you're
struggling
in
those
ways
just
remember
God's
grace
isn't
that
what
Paul
says
remind
them
remind
them
to
live
this
way
because
of
who
God
is
and
what
he
has
made
them
in
Christ