Title: "School of Grace"
Temple of the New Beginning Church Church 1 1527 State Street * Harrisburg, PA 17102 * (717) - 236 - 5882
5882 *
Spiritual Guidance - Page - 2 Sermon of - 21 August 2011 - Sunday Morning Service
Title: "School of Grace"
Delivered by: Pastor Annette Torres
Scripture Reading: (Titus 2: 1-15)
Text: (Titus 2: 11-14) For the Grace of God that bringth Salvation, hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly (serious), righteously (morally right), Godly (devout); (devoted to one God), in the present world, looking for that blessed hope and the Glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity (sin), and purify unto Himself, a peculiar people, zealous of God's works.
Introduction
Our text puts the Christian life in it's proper setting, between a great fact of the the past and a great event in the future:
1. The fact of the past is the appearance of Grace.
2. The event of the future is the appearing of the Lord.
Grace does not just give us a theory and enable us to take hold of it's lessons. Grace disciplines us in order that our lives ay may be transformed.
Grace instructing, educating, admonishing, discipling, molding, and forming character. Grace means to school and train.
(A) Grace does not involve anything that we an earn, but it does include much that we can learn.
(B) Grace says to us: "Do this," and "Don't do that."
(C) Grace encourages us to do what we should.
(D) Grace chastises us when we fail.
I. In the School of Grace, Christians are taught that, Living for Christ is serious business. The lessons learned in this school contri- c o bute to our happiness and usefulness in this life.
*God's Grace teachers us two (2) very important lessons:
1. To deny certain things: According to (Titus 2: 12), there are two things that are to be laid aside and they are the epitome e epitome of all that is sinful:
(A) Un Godliness means whatever is against or without God. Anything that crowds God out of your life. l "What's crowding your life?"
(B) God's Grace has appeared to school us in avoiding the error of living without God in our thoughts, words, a and deeds. Grace teaches us to lay aside or deny anything that's against God.
2. Worldly lust. Worldly lusts includes selfishness, pride, sensuality, and the desires or longing that attach themselves to t things of this earthly life.
*Worldly lust are those things that attract and pull us in the wrong direction. In the School of Grace, we learn to say no to the the t things that drag us down, and tie us up.
*If we never learn anything else in the School of Grace, let it teach us how to say no and mean it.
II. The School of Grace teaches us to do certain things.
(A) With regard to self, we should live our Christian lives soberly; and be serious about living right.
(B) Each Christian is expected to exercise self-control in eating, drinking, thinking, speaking, and acting. We should e endeaver to control our desires and do our best to resist the temptation of Satan.
(C) With regards to others, we should live righteously. Living soberly has to do with rightness on the inside. Living r righteously, has reference to rightness in relationship to others. We must be correct in character before we can be be correct in our conduct.
*Living righteously is "Simply the Outliving of the Indwelling Christ."
We should be just in our dealing; charitable in our judgment; blameless in our conduct; and active for the spiritual spiritual welfare of others.
(D) With regards to God:
We should live Godly. Godliness has an internal and external phase. The internal phase consists of a right k knowledge of God. A complete trust in Him; a cheerful subjection of will to Him; a fervent love for Him, and a g genuine longing for the full enjoyment of Him. What ever we do, it should give God Glory.
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