After the Message - On Grace
The Mighty Coat Rack: Understanding the Full Weight of God's Grace
Imagine coming home after a long day, hanging your coat on a sturdy rack by the door. Now imagine that same coat rack somehow holding not just your coat, but every coat in your closet. Then grocery bags. Then furniture. Then your car. Your house. Your job. Your fears. Your dreams. Your entire past, present, and future—all suspended on a single, unshakeable stand.
Impossible? Of course. Yet this absurd image captures something profound about the grace of God: it holds absolutely everything.
Grace: More Than a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card
When most people think about grace, they think about forgiveness. God's not mad at me. He loves me despite my mistakes. He offers mercy when I mess up. And yes, grace is all of that. But if that's all grace is—if grace only means "I'm forgiven but unchanged"—we're in trouble. A grace that gives us everything but calls us to nothing would actually destroy us. It would turn us into spiritual monsters, swallowed alive by our own selfishness.
Think about parenting. If you only ever said "I forgive you" to your child without ever calling them to change their behavior, you wouldn't be showing them love—you'd be abandoning them to their worst impulses. God's grace refuses to do that.
Grace as a Personal Trainer
The book of Titus presents a striking picture: grace doesn't just forgive us; it trains us.
"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 present age" (Titus 2:11-12). Grace is our coach. Our trainer. Like an Olympic athlete who doesn't accidentally stumble into world-class performance, Christians don't accidentally stumble into godliness. We're trained into it—by grace itself. This training involves two movements: renouncing and pursuing. We're called to push away ungodliness and worldly passions while simultaneously pursuing self-control, uprightness, and godly living.
The Problem with Worldly Passions
Not all desires are created equal. The Bible celebrates some passions—deep desires for God's presence, longing to see fellow believers, hunger for righteousness. These are good. But "worldly passions" are different. These are desires that arise from our sinful nature: greed, lust, the craving for revenge, the addiction to comfort, the hunger for control. Just because a desire feels natural doesn't mean it's good.
We live in a culture that tells us to "obey your thirst" and insists that "love is love"—as if every desire and every feeling labeled as love automatically deserves to be followed. But we know better. Not every thirst should be obeyed. Not everything the world calls love is actually what God calls love. This is where many believers struggle. Some wrestle with intrusive desires they never asked for—fits of anger, urges to control others, particular sexual temptations. These passions feel overwhelming, even unwanted, yet persistent.
The Apostle Paul understood this battle: "I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing" (Romans 7:18-19).
Sound familiar?
Here's the key: grace isn't a plumber who shows up, fixes the problem in an hour, and leaves. Grace is a trainer who works with us persistently, over time, through ongoing practice. We shouldn't expect worldly passions to disappear in a puff of smoke. But we also shouldn't assume we're helpless against them. Through God's grace, we can grow in holiness. We can learn to respond to temptation in God-honoring ways. Even if certain struggles persist throughout our entire lives, we can still make real progress in the present age.
Waiting in Hope
Grace doesn't only work in the present—it also shapes our future. Titus tells us we're "waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Jesus came once. He will come again. And when He appears in glory, it will be a blessing—but not to everyone.
Jesus Himself described the final separation: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Matthew 25:31-32).
For those who have placed their faith in Christ, this future appearing is not something to fear. Jesus won't come as our accuser but as our defender. Not as a sword against us but as a shield for us. Not in wrath but in grace. The grace of God helps us wait with good hope—trusting His timing, believing His promises, knowing His appearance will be good. And we don't wait alone. Grace waits with us.
The Finished Work
Perhaps most importantly, grace has already accomplished our salvation in the past. Jesus "gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession" (Titus 2:14).
Notice the language carefully: Jesus didn't give Himself to make salvation possible. He gave Himself to accomplish redemption and purification. This isn't a door that Jesus opened, leaving us to walk through on our own strength. This is Jesus actually carrying us through. If salvation ultimately depended on our choice, our decision, our faith generated from our own hearts, then we wouldn't be saved by grace—we'd be saved by ourselves. And arrogance would creep in: "Good for me for choosing Jesus. I chose better than those who didn't."
But Scripture is clear: "By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Even our faith is a gift. Even our ability to come to Jesus flows from His grace. Salvation—all of it—is His work, not ours.
The Result: Zealous for Good Works
Because salvation is secure—finished in the past through Christ's work—we're not called to sit back and coast until Jesus returns. Instead, we're called to be "zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). This zeal itself is a result of grace. We become passionate about the good works God calls us to precisely because His grace is training us, waiting with us, and has already saved us.
The Unshakeable Stand
The grace of God holds everything. Your past sins and your future hopes. Your present struggles and your eternal destiny. Your worst moments and your best days. Your deepest fears and your highest dreams.
This isn't a flimsy coat rack in a hallway. This is a mighty redwood with branches wide enough and roots deep enough to hold the weight of the world—to hold the full weight of your entire life. Grace is great because God is great. And when we see the full scope of His grace—training, waiting, saving—we can rest everything on it. May the grace of God be with you.
Impossible? Of course. Yet this absurd image captures something profound about the grace of God: it holds absolutely everything.
Grace: More Than a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card
When most people think about grace, they think about forgiveness. God's not mad at me. He loves me despite my mistakes. He offers mercy when I mess up. And yes, grace is all of that. But if that's all grace is—if grace only means "I'm forgiven but unchanged"—we're in trouble. A grace that gives us everything but calls us to nothing would actually destroy us. It would turn us into spiritual monsters, swallowed alive by our own selfishness.
Think about parenting. If you only ever said "I forgive you" to your child without ever calling them to change their behavior, you wouldn't be showing them love—you'd be abandoning them to their worst impulses. God's grace refuses to do that.
Grace as a Personal Trainer
The book of Titus presents a striking picture: grace doesn't just forgive us; it trains us.
"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 present age" (Titus 2:11-12). Grace is our coach. Our trainer. Like an Olympic athlete who doesn't accidentally stumble into world-class performance, Christians don't accidentally stumble into godliness. We're trained into it—by grace itself. This training involves two movements: renouncing and pursuing. We're called to push away ungodliness and worldly passions while simultaneously pursuing self-control, uprightness, and godly living.
The Problem with Worldly Passions
Not all desires are created equal. The Bible celebrates some passions—deep desires for God's presence, longing to see fellow believers, hunger for righteousness. These are good. But "worldly passions" are different. These are desires that arise from our sinful nature: greed, lust, the craving for revenge, the addiction to comfort, the hunger for control. Just because a desire feels natural doesn't mean it's good.
We live in a culture that tells us to "obey your thirst" and insists that "love is love"—as if every desire and every feeling labeled as love automatically deserves to be followed. But we know better. Not every thirst should be obeyed. Not everything the world calls love is actually what God calls love. This is where many believers struggle. Some wrestle with intrusive desires they never asked for—fits of anger, urges to control others, particular sexual temptations. These passions feel overwhelming, even unwanted, yet persistent.
The Apostle Paul understood this battle: "I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing" (Romans 7:18-19).
Sound familiar?
Here's the key: grace isn't a plumber who shows up, fixes the problem in an hour, and leaves. Grace is a trainer who works with us persistently, over time, through ongoing practice. We shouldn't expect worldly passions to disappear in a puff of smoke. But we also shouldn't assume we're helpless against them. Through God's grace, we can grow in holiness. We can learn to respond to temptation in God-honoring ways. Even if certain struggles persist throughout our entire lives, we can still make real progress in the present age.
Waiting in Hope
Grace doesn't only work in the present—it also shapes our future. Titus tells us we're "waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Jesus came once. He will come again. And when He appears in glory, it will be a blessing—but not to everyone.
Jesus Himself described the final separation: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Matthew 25:31-32).
For those who have placed their faith in Christ, this future appearing is not something to fear. Jesus won't come as our accuser but as our defender. Not as a sword against us but as a shield for us. Not in wrath but in grace. The grace of God helps us wait with good hope—trusting His timing, believing His promises, knowing His appearance will be good. And we don't wait alone. Grace waits with us.
The Finished Work
Perhaps most importantly, grace has already accomplished our salvation in the past. Jesus "gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession" (Titus 2:14).
Notice the language carefully: Jesus didn't give Himself to make salvation possible. He gave Himself to accomplish redemption and purification. This isn't a door that Jesus opened, leaving us to walk through on our own strength. This is Jesus actually carrying us through. If salvation ultimately depended on our choice, our decision, our faith generated from our own hearts, then we wouldn't be saved by grace—we'd be saved by ourselves. And arrogance would creep in: "Good for me for choosing Jesus. I chose better than those who didn't."
But Scripture is clear: "By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Even our faith is a gift. Even our ability to come to Jesus flows from His grace. Salvation—all of it—is His work, not ours.
The Result: Zealous for Good Works
Because salvation is secure—finished in the past through Christ's work—we're not called to sit back and coast until Jesus returns. Instead, we're called to be "zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). This zeal itself is a result of grace. We become passionate about the good works God calls us to precisely because His grace is training us, waiting with us, and has already saved us.
The Unshakeable Stand
The grace of God holds everything. Your past sins and your future hopes. Your present struggles and your eternal destiny. Your worst moments and your best days. Your deepest fears and your highest dreams.
This isn't a flimsy coat rack in a hallway. This is a mighty redwood with branches wide enough and roots deep enough to hold the weight of the world—to hold the full weight of your entire life. Grace is great because God is great. And when we see the full scope of His grace—training, waiting, saving—we can rest everything on it. May the grace of God be with you.
Discussion Questions
- How does understanding grace as a trainer rather than just forgiveness change the way you approach your ongoing struggles with sin?
- Paul describes in Romans 7 the struggle of wanting to do good but doing evil instead. What worldly passions do you find most difficult to renounce, and how might God's grace be training you in those areas?
- The sermon states that salvation comes entirely from God's grace, not from our choice or faith. How does this challenge or comfort you, and what does it mean for how you view yourself and others?
- If grace is strong enough to hold your entire past, present, and future, what specific burdens or fears are you still trying to carry on your own instead of resting on God's grace?
- How does waiting for Christ's return with blessed hope rather than fear affect the way you live in the present age?
- The text says believers are purified to be God's treasured possession who are zealous for good works. What does it look like practically to be zealous for good works without falling into works-based salvation?
- Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats at his appearing. How should the reality of future judgment shape our evangelism and relationships with unbelievers?
- C.S. Lewis said we are far too easily pleased and our desires are too weak. What legitimate, godly passions might God be calling you to pursue more zealously?
- If even our faith is a gift of God's grace rather than our own doing, how does this eliminate boasting and cultivate humility in the Christian life?
- The sermon emphasizes that Jesus gave himself not to make salvation possible but to actually accomplish our redemption. How does this certainty of completed salvation impact your daily confidence and spiritual growth?
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