SERMON: The Ordinary Means of Grace (Titus 2:11–12)
The Ordinary Means of Grace (Titus 2:11–12)
Series: Reformation
Day Sermons Text: Titus 2:11–12
By: Shaun
Marksbury Date:
October
29, 2023
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion:
AM Service
I.
Introduction
Perhaps you have struggled with how to receive more of God’s grace in your life. You’ve wondered if there is a secret, thinking that perhaps devotions at 4am instead of six in the morning will radically change your spiritual walk. Perhaps you think it might be going to a special revival or conference. Or, perhaps, it might be changing everything about your lifestyle, moving to a foreign country as a missionary, or perhaps as a monk. It’s not that the Lord doesn’t sometimes bless changes in our lives, but the solution may not be something out of the ordinary.
This
is a struggle highlighted in the past 516 years of church history. With this being Reformation Sunday, we want
to remember important men and teachings arising from the Reformation. It was on October 31st of 1517
that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg. Though that wasn’t the absolute start of Reformation
thinking, it was a clear moment challenging long-accepted teachings. Luther and his other contemporaries of were
not trying to start a new religion; they were trying to reform the false
teachings and corrupt practices of their beloved Roman Catholic faith, which is
why we call it the Reformation.
One
of the teachings the Reformers challenged was just how we get the grace of God. We
can start to see the answer to this struggle in this letter, where Paul leaves
Titus to build a healthy church. If
Titus is to establish a healthy church, he must understand and teach how God’s
amazing grace works in people’s lives.
Paul explains here that it appears, bringing two new realities for those
who trust the gospel — we must trust that God’s grace saves us (v. 11) and
schools us (v. 12).
Yet, as we consider
this, we want to understand just how we receive this grace. So, we’ll first define grace. Then, we’ll consider what means through which
grace comes.
II.
What is Grace?
What is χάρις,
“grace”? Another word for it would be kindness,
favor given with no expectation of return.
The grace of God is best
typified in Christ. This is why, even
though the word predates the birth of Jesus, no one understood it well.
For instance, one commentator notes that, “in pagan Greece,
this favor was always conferred upon a friend, not upon an enemy.”[1] The New Testament, however, strips grace of
the idea of it being earned through friendship. As
Paul wrote, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died
for the ungodly. For one will hardly die
for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to
die. But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.
5:6–8). With the terms helpless, ungodly, and sinners, we see God
granting what we do not deserve.
Here, the
incalculable grace of God epiphanies,
appears out of the sky. Paul carries this thought forward into
the next chapter, where, in v. 4, he says, “the goodness and loving kindness of
God our Savior epiphanied, appeared.”
God’s grace gilded the sky in the past; in Luke 1:79, Zechariah prophesied over
the infant Lord that the sunrise has visited us “to give light to those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.” God’s grace appeared through the
entrance of the Son into the world through His first advent, when He came “full of grace and truth” (John
1:14).
A.
How does grace save?
The term
“salvation” modifies χάρις, as in, “the saving grace of
God has appeared to all people.”[2] The
word “saved” means many things. Physical
salvation figures large in Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, where we
see God delivering Israel from enemies.
Scripture also speaks of spiritual salvation; as Jesus warns in John
8:34, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that
I am he you will die in your sins.” That
death doesn’t mean stopping a heart from beating; Jesus said, “And do not fear
those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can
destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). The second death is eternal separation from
God in hell. That’s the bad news.
But, praise God,
we’re talking about what grace does.
First Thessalonians 1:10 says that Jesus “delivers us from the wrath to
come.” Here in Titus 2:11 and in 3:4, we
read about God’s grace appearing, and according to 3:7, it justifies or makes
it as though, legally, we had not sinned.
This is all “according to the riches of his grace” (Eph 1:7). God’s grace delivers
us from our deserved condemnation.
B.
Who does grace save?
The text says that
grace saves all men or people. Some
might misread this to mean universal atonement, that God will eventually save
every person in the world. However, God
nowhere says this. If He were to save
everyone, why should the early Christians face persecution by Roman
swords? If everyone is saved, then
there’s no need to get everyone’s theology right—Titus would only have to pat
everyone on their heads and tell them to play nice. No; Jesus said you must believe in Him,
requiring a response of faith and repentance.
What Paul means
here is that all kinds of people are saved, that there is a universal
availability. As such, we can pray that
God’s way and salvation may be known among all nations (Psa. 67:1–2). So, regardless of whether Titus is
instructing the elder or the younger individuals on the island of Crete, slave
or free, man or woman, he can tell them about when God’s saving grace
appeared. The gospel of this grace is
available to all and saves those who trust in it.
The grace of God
doesn’t just save the soul, either. It also
teaches or schools us. It trains us even
after we’ve come to Christ in what we need to know and do. The question, though, is how we receive that
grace, which is what we want to consider next.
III.
What are “Means” of Grace?
The Latin term for “means”
is media, meaning “channels.” Of
course, today, when I talk about media and channels, you might imagine flipping
through the stations on your television to get the news. (That illustration might be a bit dated
today!) The terms come, though, from the
concept of disseminating information — we get our information through various
media, whether it be websites, televisions, radios, etc.
What media do we
turn to for God’s grace, though? Some of
you might think about websites and stations which host Christian programing,
but I don’t mean it quite that way.
There may be recordings of God disseminating His grace in many places,
which may in turn bless us, but that isn’t what we’re referring to when we talk
about the means of grace. After all, the
definition of “means of grace” must be able to apply to all believers in church
history, even those who lack our current technologies. In fact, the term that theologians use with
this is “ordinary;” these are channels that God commonly works through.
Moreover, we may
incorrectly identify one of the many ways God can bless us as a means of grace. For instance, a kind word or wave is enough
to bless. Some people may find
edification in songs that others do not enjoy.
Some people can feel uplifted through the same pain and sorrow which
might embitter another person. So, don’t
think of the “means of grace” are just anything and everything God uses to
bless us — we can be thankful for those, as well, but that’s not our focus this
morning.
You might ask,
“Well, what are the means of grace?” As
Charles Hodge defined it, “The phrase is intended to indicate those
institutions which God has ordained to be the ordinary channels of grace, i.e., of the supernatural influences of
the Holy Spirit, to the souls of men.”[3] The
Westminster Larger Catechism has a similar definition: “The outward and
ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his
mediation, are all his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer;
all which are made effectual to the elect for their salvation.”[4] These
are ordinary ways in which God blesses His people.
We’re starting to
see, though, that they are also standards.
These are means through which God promises to work grace into the life
of believers. The three identified here
are the Word, the sacraments, and prayer.
A.
First, the Word is a Mean of Grace
The first and
primary of these is the Word. We call it
the “Word of God” because it is inspired or breathed by God, and it
communicates grace. For instance, we
cannot learn about Jesus Christ except through the Word which reveals Him. It’s true that an evangelist or a preacher
might tell you about Jesus, but he learned about the Lord through Scripture,
and it’s the Lord of Scripture he’s introducing to you. In James 1:18, we read, “In the exercise of
His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind
of first fruits among His creatures.”
Similarly, 1 Peter 1:23 says that the Christian has “been born again not
of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” Finally, Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the
word of Christ.” As such, even though
television, radio, and other methods might bear limited fruit, the ordinary way
God works to bring people to Himself is through His Word.
This is where the
information about grace comes. Salvation
is the clearest grace we know, but God’s grace doesn’t end there. As Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Sanctify them
in the truth; Your word is truth.” God’s
Word causes us to grow in salvation and builds us up in faith (1 Pet. 2:2; Acts
20:32). In fact, Titus 2:11–12 parallels
the idea of Scripture training us in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, God graciously trains us through
the reading and preaching of His Word.
B.
Second, the Sacraments are Means of Grace
When we’re talking
about the sacraments, we are typically referring to something sacred. Now, this might be a term that makes you
think of the Roman Catholic Church. As
one theologian notes, it has “seven sacraments, adding to baptism and the
Lord’s Supper, matrimony, orders, penance, confirmation, and extreme unction,”
but there is no biblical support for this.[5] That
is why we noted that the Word is the primary means of grace, for it informs us
on these issues!
Now, because of the
Roman Catholic history, “sacraments” typically isn’t the term that Baptists and
some other Evangelicals prefer when they talk about The Lord’s Supper and
baptism. It’s not that the word is
necessarily wrong to use, but the term might create confusion. As such, many prefer “ordinances,” those
things which God has ordained, and that is also an acceptable term. We might use these terms synonymously.
The word “baptism”
is a transliteration of the Greek which could be translated “dip” or
“immerse.” Through immersing a person in
water, it speaks of the washing or purification from sins that one receives
through Christ. It is a symbol, but it
is also a tangible, felt reminder of the cleansing we have received from our
former way of life. It likewise
demonstrates how we are linked with the work of Christ, who was also baptized
for righteousness sake. Finally, it is a
seal of the New Covenant into which we come through faith.
We must be clear
here. Baptism is a means of grace,
reminding us of these important spiritual realities. It is not, however, a work through which we
become saved. The water is ordinary;
saving grace is reserved through the work of Jesus Christ alone. The baptismal waters do not regenerate
us. Christ, not the washing of water,
saves.
It's a normal
process. We don’t need to liven it up by
putting a water slide or a diving board into the baptismal. We don’t need firetrucks and water guns to
add elements of excitement. We don’t
need to invite people for spontaneous baptisms, just to see what happens. We instead follow the process that God has
set out for us.
We have explained
why baptism is important, but not the Lord’s Supper. Various passages (Matt. 26:26–28; Mark
14:22–24, Luke 22:19, 20, 1
Cor. 10:15–17, 11:23–29)
demonstrate the Lord’s institution of communion for the worship service. These two elements (again, ordinary elements
— the breaking of bread and the cup with the fruit of the vine) remind us of
the tangible realities of Christ’s death.
Just as we taste and smell the elements, we are reminded of Christ’s
real death for us. We also participate
in it and proclaim it as we consume.
We call it the
“Lord’s table” or “Lord’s Supper” because it is His, and He will one day dine
with us again. We also call it
“communion” because we are reminded of our fellowship with Him and with each
other. There was confusion in Rome in
how Christ is present; they began to believe that the priest could transform
the elements into Christ’s literal body and blood. However, He is here in spirit while His body
remains in heaven, an ever-present offering for us before the throne of
God. In communion, we receive the
graceful reminder that both His atonement still applies to us and that His
Spirit is with us. We are truly fed in
these elements.
Again, these are
ordinary elements. Some people quibble
over incidentals, like must cup have alcoholic wine or is non-alcoholic okay,
or whether the bread must be unleavened or if leavened is acceptable. Churches will have to decide on those
issues. What we’re not given permission
to do is to change things up. For
instance, there was a church that, in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s 2012 death
in Florida, offered a communion of Skittles and Tea in the name of social
justice. When some churches locked down
in 2020 for the COVID scare, pastors encouraged their home-bound congregates to
partake of communion by themselves using whatever they had, even if it was
cookies and milk. Invention is not a
freedom that the Lord allows His faithful.
We’re united to Him
in our spiritual baptism, meaning our water baptism reminds us of our freedom
from the bondage of sin and the hope of His resurrection (Rom. 6:3–6). When we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we
proclaim the death of Christ (1 Cor. 11:26) and collectively participate in the
blood and body of the Lord (10:16–17).
These are precious moments in the Christian life, working grace in our
hearts.
Because the working
is through Christ and His Spirit, the grace is only for those who are
believers. “They may have a natural
power on other than believers by presenting truth and exciting feeling, but
their saving or sanctifying influence is experienced only by believers.”[6] It’s
possible for unbelievers to receive baptism or the elements, but they will not
experience the true grace of God otherwise.
C.
Prayer is a Mean of Grace
We do not operate
with the Word of God in a detached manner.
When we engage in prayer, we are seeking the Lord of grace. And in that prayer which is pleasing to Him,
He grants grace.
As an aside, we
could note the reverse. It is not prayer
in itself that blesses, for many pagans and unbelievers pray. Prayer must be shaped by the inspired Word to
be effectual.
For instance, we
could step back and consider salvation for a moment. There are some who believe that there are
people who are Christian but don’t know it; they might be Buddhist, Muslim, or
Atheist, but supposedly, they are still Christ’s without their knowing. That is an unbiblical and wrong notion, for
we’ve already seen that they must have the message of grace in front of them in
the first place. Moreover, Scripture
says, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13);
people aren’t saved if they don’t call upon the name of the Lord.
Beyond salvation, we
need His grace every day. As the
disciples asked Christ to increase their faith, so can we (Luke 17:5). In Christ, we can “draw near with confidence
to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in
time of need” (Heb. 4:16). We’re also
following along with the pattern of the early church, where they were “continually
devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
As such, God’s grace not only grants faith and brings us near, God
promises that we can receive more grace in times of need.
IV.
Conclusion
The distinctions
we’ve seen today are important. First,
grace is favor we receive, not something we earn. It is a work of God, not of us. We do not merit God’s grace even in reading
our Bibles, partaking of the sacraments, or praying. If you heard that today, you need to
reconsider what Scripture says about salvation.
Second, this is a
grace that is not regenerating. In other
words, you are not saved from Hell just because you crack open a Bible, pray a
prayer, or get baptized. God’s grace is
present in each of these, but only in the sense that it teaches you to become a
Christian and sanctifies your life.
Roman Catholicism may have taught that you need infant baptism,
communion, pay indulgences, and live a lifetime of faithful participation to
gain enough grace to ensure heaven, but these things do not get you grace for
your final justification before God.
Rather, He justifies you in Christ alone, and then you read and pray,
experiencing the conversion of the soul.
Third, these are
ordinary means of grace. There is not
fanciful about them. The Pope invents
teachings such as following him on Twitter will help the state of your eternal
soul,[7] but God inspired specifics which should not
be added to. We don’t need to “think
outside the box” to make things more interesting or easier for God. We just need to follow His ways.
You still might be
struggling with this, though. You might
say, “It can’t be that simple. I’ve come
to church and nothing changed!” However,
ordinary blessings operate in an ordinary timetable. You don’t remember all the meals you had as a
child, but they were all essential for nourishing you into the person you are
today. In a similar way, the means of
grace may not seem flashy, and you might not remember every sermon, every
prayer, every time of communion — but it’s essential, nonetheless. Let the work of God have its way in you.
[1] Wuest, Tt 2:11.
[2] Louw, p. 241.
[3] Charles Hodge, Systematic
Theology, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 3:466.
[4] Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition,
(Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851), 333.
[5] Hodge, 3:492.
[6] Hodge, 3:500.
[7] Jessica Hartogs, “Vatican: Get time off in purgatory
by following Pope on Twitter,” CBS News, July 17, 2013, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vatican-get-time-off-in-purgatory-by-following-pope-on-twitter/.
