STUDY GUIDE THE RESOLUTIONS OF GRACE

This weeks study was written by Pastor Mike McCullough, church planting resident with Christ Fellowship.

A N EW Y EAR
Its almost the beginning of a new year, a time for reflection on the past and anticipation about the future. For many of us this is a time of self-examination where we take stock of the different areas of our lives and think about how we might want to improve over the next 12 months. But the idea of self-improvement, goal-setting and resolution-making isnt unique to our culture or generation. People from all nations throughout history have been trying to make wise decisions that lead their lives on an upwardprogression of happiness, impact or development. That seems like a positive thing, doesnt it? Yet, orthodox Christianity is rooted in the work of Jesus, not ourselves, so we avoid the idea of "self-improvement" that is inherent in religion. We are not working our way to God through our performance or behavior, but are completely accepted in Christ. So, this truth begs the questions, should a believer make New Year resolutions? And, if so, what makes a resolution uniquely Christian? The short answer is yes, Christians should be evaluating their lives and seek to live wisely. Paul states in Ephesians 5:15-16, Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Over the next few days we'll look at Titus 2:11-14. We will see how a Christian's resolutions should be different from those made by any other person on earth.

D AY O NE
A Christians Resolutions are ... Grounded in Grace that Covers
Each day we will start by reading Titus 2:11-14. Titus 2:1114 (ESV)
11

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the 13 present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and

12

Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

14

Did you see how Paul starts this passage of his letter to Titus? He tells us that the grace of God has appeared. For some of us that grew up in the church or have known a grace-based salvation for a long time, the concept of grace can at times become a little mundane to us. I can admit sometimes I can take it for granted. But Paul is telling us here that all the rest of the amazing gifts of God that come to believers start with the proclamation of Gods grace. Its as if grace is the spring from which all the blessings of God in the life of a believer flow. Let us never become bored or tired of grace, but be constantly in awe that the God of the Universe chose to wrap himself in flesh, be born into our world and take upon himself the suffering of this world. He bore on himself Gods holy wrath against our sin, and rose victorious in order that he might give us the free gift of grace that covers all our sin, selfishness and everything in us that rebells against the Sovereign God of all! Praise be to God for grace that covers my sin. Lets get specific. Do you believe in Gods grace that covers your sin? Can you list specific sin in your life that Jesus' grace on the cross paid for? Take some time and try to be as specific as possible. Do you admit that you are a sinner, guilty before a holy and good God? To understand grace a little bit more lets get a little deeper. Do you know that God was not forced to come rescue us from our sin? God would still be God if he looked at the sin of mankind and sought to simply judge it rightly, fully and powerfully by condemning mankind to the fate it deserved. If God chose to do that would he be any less holy? Would he be any less praise-worthy, loving or good? The answer is: no. God didnt come to save us to make himself good, loving or praiseworthy. God didnt come to save us to add anything to how great he is. He came to rescue us simply because of one thing his great LOVE for us. Thats grace! Grace is that God didnt need to save us for his own sake, but he endured a cross, death and judgment because he loves us and chooses to save us for OUR sake! And what Paul is talking about here is not "a big ball of grace" that dropped from the sky to earth this grace that has appeared is a person. Its Jesus! Looking back at that list of sins you wrote before

W R IT E

OUT A RESPONSE TO

GOD

Write out a prayer of thanksgiving for the truth that this grace has appeared and is present for you here and now and forevermore. Tell God what it means to you that this grace has appeared in your life. Christians who makes resolutions have assurity that their security and identity do not rest in their own ability to clean themselves up. Christians also do not rely on "religious" self-improvement. Our identity and hope is in Jesus who died in our place and rose again victorious. Not ours, but his obedience is our security. His grace is our hope.

FOR

FURTHER STUDY

To explore how grace covers our sin, read Ephesians 2:1-10 and write down what that passage tells you about grace.

D AY T WO
A Christians Resolutions are ... Grounded in Grace that Moves
Titus 2:1114 (ESV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Yesterday we looked at the fact that the unfathomable grace of God has appeared to bring us salvation, and that grace has come personified in Jesus. And we saw how the grace of God has bought and paid for all our sins, faults, failures and wickedness. But did you know that grace also does something else? Read verses 11-12 and write out what the grace of God does actively in our lives:

The same grace that covers our sin also moves us toward godly living. It does both. To fully understand this we must realize what we are without the grace of God. Not only are we guilty because of our bad things, but God tells us that

even our good things are bad things when they are not rooted in and focused on the glory of God. Read these verses and write down how God describes peoples "good deeds" apart from his grace: Isaiah 64:6 Romans 3:20 We need Gods grace to cover our sins (bad things) and to give us the power to live godly lives and do truly good things. God is so good and pure. Paul knew he was helpless and tainted by sin. He knew that to live a life of obedience was going to require Gods grace. Thats why in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 Paul said that all his accomplishments as an Apostle werent just a work ethic, but these actions were prompted by Gods grace moving in him to live out the life God desired for him.

ASK YOURSELF:
Do I believe I need Gods grace to move in me to live a life of obedience as much as I need it to cover my sin? In what areas have I seen Gods grace move me toward a life of obedience to him? In what areas in my life do I need to surrender to Gods grace and begin walking in obedience? Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, is quoted as saying, We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone. The grace that saves us is also moving in us to godly living. A Christian makes resolutions to grow in wisdom and obedience. This is not done on sheer power of will, but by the power of Gods grace moving in them.

D AY T HREE
A Christians Resolutions are ... Eternally Minded
Titus 2:1114 (ESV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from

all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Can you guess what is the number one New Years resolution each year? I bet you probably can because it might be your number one as well. It is to be healthier. Whether it is to quit a bad habit or start a good one, getting in shape and living a healthier lifestyle is always at the top of the list. And although its a noble goal, a recent survey suggested that nearly 20 percent of all people making a resolution to healthier habits have reverted back to their old ways before January is over (livescience.com). Write down three resolutions you want to keep in 2013: 1) 2) 3) The past couple of days we have been asking ourselves, What makes a Christians resolutions unique? Weve seen so far in Titus 2 that for a Christian they know they are first covered in the grace of Jesus. This grace is what reminds us that our righteousness is in Jesus obedience, not our own, but it is also changing us to live lives pleasing to God. Today we will see another piece of the puzzle that makes a Christians resolutions different from any other: the fact that a Christian is eternally minded. As we walk this life we know there is a bigger story going on that lasts way longer than our short lives on this earth. What we do here impacts eternity. Re-read Titus 2:13 We must understand that as Christians we are no longer primarily citizens of a country, state or city. While on official documents it may say you are an American citizen or your drivers license may say you live in Texas, but God tells us that when we put our faith in Jesus and become adopted into Gods family our citizenship changes. Read these passages and write down what they tell you about your citizenship and identity as a child of God: Philippians 3:17-20 1 Peter 2:9-10 What do these verses tell you about your new family, your new citizenship and your new identity?

With our true hope and future hope being with God in the new heavens and new earth, Paul tells us in Titus 2:13 that Christians are waiting for Jesus to come back to earth to gather together his children and take us to the fullness of life, existence and paradise. So because we know that life forever with him is our destiny, we should think about this short life in light of that future. Thats why Paul can speak to us from 2,000 years ago about our New Year's resolution to get healthy in 2013. He says in 1 Timothy 4:7b-8, ...Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. Did you catch that? Paul is saying that there are some things that might be slightly beneficial to us in the short term of this life, but there are choices in life that we can make that are helpful in this life and in the one to come. Lets go back to the New Years resolutions you wrote a few minutes ago. How can you take those and look at them through the lens of eternity so they not only impact this life but also the life to come? Here are some ideas: Get in better shape. (Eternally minded: so we can live life with more energy and focus to serve God better and love others better) Read more. (Read and think in such a way that we are worshiping God; read books that drawing us closer to him or teach more about his truth) Spend more time with spouse/family. (Find ways to encourage each other and love each other in a way that models the love Jesus has for his church) Its not wrong to want to make wise changes to your life for beneficial reasons. Its just ultimately a waste if your resolutions lead you to results that will go to the grave with you. Lets keep eternity in mind when we think about the life changes we want to make!

D AY F OUR
A Christians Resolutions are ... Redeemed and Purified
Titus 2:1114 (ESV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and

godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. The last few days have been rich, but sort of heavy. Today, let's keep it short and simple. Gods people are called to live lives that look different from those who dont know the holiness, love, grace and authority of God. It would makes sense that if we claim to know God, to follow God and to have Gods Spirit inside our lives, that our lives would be about the things hes about. Today is just a reminder that a Christian resolves to do things in light of their new identity, things that are "redeemed and purified." Read these Scriptures and let Gods Word show you what his heart is for our lives and see how your resolutions match up to these. Colossians 3:1-4 (and 5-17 are good, too!) Philippians 4:8-9 Using these passages as a grid, what specific resolutions could you make on how youre spending your time and what types of things you are dwelling on in your mind. Think about the media you intake: the internet, television shows, movies, magazines, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. What about making a resolution to look less at the things of the world and to spend more time dwelling on the types of things found in Colossians 3 and Philippians 4? Where do you find these sort of godly things to think about? The Bible is the best place to start. But what about Christian books, listening to more Christian music, or listening to sermons or podcasts? A Christians resolutions are about putting more "redeemed and pure" things into the head and heart.

D AY F IVE
A Christians Resolutions are ... Centered on Christ
Titus 2:1114 (ESV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and

godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. This lesson is simple and yet hard. Its simple to grasp intellectually in our heads but it may be difficult to live out in our lives.

CHRISTIANS BELONG TO GOD

The Bible uses many different words and images to describe the relationship God has with his people. The most frequent is that of a family. God describes himself as our Father, Jesus refers to him as our Father, and adoption is a major theme of the change that happens when someone puts their faith in Jesus (Romans 8, Galatians 4, Ephesians 1). But as true as that is, its also important to know that God isnt just a big daddy in the sky. He is the one and only true God of heaven and everything created belongs to him (Psalm 24:1). Jesus has ALL authority in heaven and earth to do as he pleases (Matt. 28:18). Let us not forget whenever anyone entered into the presence of God they were struck with terror by his holiness, power, majesty, might and everything else of which God alone holds complete possession. Isaiah, Ezekiel and John each fell down as dead men in the presence of the almighty God who stands in authority and ownership over everything. So when Paul tell us in Titus 2:14 that Jesus purified us for himself and that we are a people for his own possession we must understand the depths and fullness of that. As Americans we struggle with authority more than anyone. Our founding document is the Declaration of Independence. We are born into a mindset that we can be anything we want to be and that we control our own destiny. Thank the Lord that Jesus rescues us from that short-sightedness and claims us for something much greater. He takes our small, finite, self-absorbed ideas, dreams and hopes and claims ownership of all we are. Then he gives us HIS ideas, dreams and hopes about life and eternity. Paul makes this clear. He told the church in Corinth, You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor. 6:19b20)

A Christian is someone who hasnt accepted Jesus in their life, but someone who has been accepted into Jesus life. We have died and a new Christ-centered life has been resurrected (Romans 6, Colossians 3). This has clear implications for our New Years resolutions. What are some resolutions that you can think of that are more centered around ourselves or what other people think of us? What might it look like to make resolutions that center around Jesus? Describe how these different types of resolutions can be Christ-centered, and not self- or approval-of-others centered? Some examples might be to Get healthier Spend more time with people Volunteer more Work harder But all of these goals should be for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the savior who rescued us from darkness. We have work to do in this world to share our Fathers blessings with those who need it. Centering our resolutions on Christ helps us to accomplish his purposes for our lives. A pastor once said, No one stumbles into godliness. That means that no one naturally grows in obedience and affection for Jesus. It takes intentional effort. The same will be true for our resolutions. No one naturally makes Christcentered resolutions. They may be blatantly self-centered or aimed at garnering other peoples approval. But when we center our thoughts on Christ and view our lives through the lens of his grace, our lifes goals will align with what he has purposed for us.

C O N C L U S IO N
God speaks through Paul in Titus 2:11-14 in truths that can help us navigate our resolution-making, self-improvement and wise decision-making seasons of life. Praise God that we have a different hope than the rest of the world and that Christians making resolutions know they are covered by grace, moved by grace, eternally minded, redeemed and purified and centered on Christ. Those are the resolutions that last not just for a year, not just for a lifetime, but for eternity!