“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:11-14
The human mind
cannot comprehend the power of God’s grace.
We can no more begin to grasp this concept, than we can begin to
conceptualize the vastness of the cosmos.
What God has done for us, in contrast that with what we deserve, is as
far as from the east to the west. The
grace that brought salvation is truly an amazing grace.
The grace that
bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men.
The Holy Spirit will bring conviction and the conviction of the Holy
Spirit is the revealing of the righteousness of Jesus Christ; which
subsequently illuminates the fact that you are a sinner that needs a
Savior. Jesus is that Savior and he died
for you. When a penitent soul pours out
their transgressions in earnest at an altar of prayer, you can rest assure that
it is the Spirit of God that brought that about. That soul who repents to the bottom and truly
forsakes his: wills, ways, and wishes; effectively dying out to all that he/she
is, was, and ever will be. That soul is
truly converted; and when that soul approaches God once more and seeks the
blessing of Sanctification he/she will obtain the Spirit of Jesus dwelling
inside. This Holy Spirit will burn out
carnality with the same consuming fire that scorched the sacrifice on Mt.
Carmel and licked up the water around (1 Kings 18); this Spirit can very much
keep you from all sin and lead you in paths of righteousness. This is the grace that bringeth salvation, it
is not a grace that keeps you in sin.
Grace calls us, converts us, sanctifies us, keeps us, and corrects
us. It is forgiveness, it is absolution,
but forgiveness and absolution are but a part to the whole. Grace is in absolution, but grace is not
absolution. Like a lawyer representing
you in a court room. Pleading the blood
of Christ, and your identity to his sacrifice (i.e. dying to your wills, ways,
and wishes) will result in a not guilty verdict and absolve you of your crimes
against Almighty God. However,
absolution was not the goal of Jesus’s sacrifice. It was the grace of God that Christ died for
you, paid the price for you, and redeemed you.
It does provide a covering so that you can approach the throne and plead
the merit of Jesus begging for forgiveness, and then go right back to your
sinning. The grace that covers all sin
is not a grace that you use to gain absolution, so you can continue to live in
sin. Using God’s grace like you would a rug that you lay down over the stain
your dog left on the carpet. The grace
of God that brings salvation is the kind of grace that convicts, calls, and
commands you to sacrifice yourself. This
grace brings full deliverance from all sin, which is salvation. Salvation from sins committed and the desire
to sin. Every Sunday, masses walk into a
church to hear a sermon. If we peach
sermons that promote absolution over grace, then we undermine the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ. The message is grace, but
the grace of God that can bring salvation; and I believe that there are many
people in this world who no longer wish to just exist in sin, but rather live
in righteousness and true holiness.
The grace that
bringeth salvation hath appeared. It
appears in the human conscience, in a Spirit lead sermon, whenever the power of
God pulls on a human heart it appears and appears unto all men. This grace will bring salvation; do not let
it be callused over by the continuing call of the world, the business of life,
or the desire to remain in habitual absolution.
Break with the half-truth that Jesus came only absolve our sins and
embrace the grace that brings complete salvation from all sin.
