Grace and Judgment Part 3: Our Response (Titus 2:11-14)

So I was walking through the halls of our preschool Thursday and I saw a great many characters inhabiting the classrooms.  Three Buzz lightyears, at least two dozen princesses, most of them Elsa from Frozen, a few Bumblebees, and not the stinging kind but the robot from Transformers, Batman, a ladybug, and a few other interesting people.  But the most interesting character had to be a tiny little Ruth Bader Ginsberg.  She’s a popular character during Halloween because the Supreme Court Justice, now 86, has become a popular feminist icon and pop culture icon in her own right.  A judge for a little girl’s costume.  I can’t imagine the child saying, mommy, I want to dress up as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court Justice, but that’s just me.  Still, it’s very clear how much impact a judge can have on a society.

There is a great power in judgment.  It holds sway over the fate of so many, especially in a court like the Supreme Court.  We see the raw emotion when Justices are chosen to be lifetime appointees as important rulings that affect everyone will be determined by a handful of people in our country.  The grace and judgment shown by judges can affect countless lives and countless generations.  However, there is no greater impact on humanity than God’s grace and judgment.  As we have discussed the past two weeks, both our measure of grace and judgment and God’s measure should be considered when determining how we should approach both subjects.  As we close this discussion I want us to consider the heavy responsibility that comes with answering this question:  How do we respond to God’s grace and judgment?

Titus 2:11-14

¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Our response to God’s grace and judgment is everything in determining the kind of life we live today and the life we look forward to living after this life is over.  So what do we do with a grace deeper than any ocean, wider than any sea?

Should

·         Soberly, righteously Godly are the words that go along with should live.  These words are our immediate response to grace and the meaning of should is everything to us:  I should really clean, eat better, not eat my kids Halloween candy, save more money, spend more time

·         Our should is often so weak in our hearts because we have not denied ungodliness and worldly lusts, because we have forgotten both God’s grace and judgment:  Romans 6:20-22

²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²² But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit ^[a]to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

·         In order for us to properly respond to God’s grace and judgment our should in our hearts needs to be must:  I must versus I should (Go to this ball game, watch this movie, eat at this restaurant)

Anticipate

·         Grace is not merely a removal of sins, but an invitation to a place of freedom from all that sin has taken from us:  So some people just skip Thanksgiving because they get so excited about this time of year, the anticipation is so powerful.

·         It is our welcoming of God’s invitation to be with Him in the appearing of Jesus that creates in us an eagerness not only to see Him but to live differently because of where we’re headed:  What did Abraham get excited about?  For that matter, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph?  What about Moses?  What filled Isaiah with wonder in his vision of Israel's future?

·         When we see God’s grace on us and the coming judgment of the world it should fill us with anticipation of what’s to come, and fear for those who do not have the grace of God:  What if hope was the same as finances?

Zealous

·         God’s grace creates people who are extremists when it comes to doing good:  Little boy putting candy in empty free candy bowl

·         We are zealous for good because we have been zealously loved by God and zealously redeemed by the gift He gave us on the cross:  Galatians 2:20 ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Radical)

·         God’s grace makes us a people of surpassing value to God, which means that our deeds on earth should be of surpassing value to others:  What kind of person are you?  Are you kind?  Are you forgiving?  Are you patient?  Are you good to others?  Are you generous?  Are you thoughtful?  What kind of person should you be?

God Bless,
Michael