2 Timothy 2:1
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Take Paul’s charge to be strong in the grace
To be strong in grace or we won’t be strong at all
My goal. Started reading Romans and books on grace; deeper understanding
Find myself in the performance trap
Find myself motivated by fear, pleasing people (need for approval, acceptance)

“Key to failure is trying to please everyone. it Leads to unnecessary stress and unfulfilled life.”

Be motivated by Grace
“When we get grace, God gets us”

A. Saved by Grace

Ephesians 1:7-10
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.

When we look at the way Paul speaks about Grace, it is obvious that for Paul it was a powerful truth
Riches of God’s grace (7)
Then he points that this Grace from God was lavished on us
Paul begins his letters and ends his letters with grace. He was motivated and consumed by grace

What is Grace?
Grace (God’s unmerited favour), Gift to us, seen in the cross
Grace refers to the ultimate expression of God’s love – Christ atoning sacrifice for us while we were sinners
Jesus gave himself for us to redeem us and purify us
Although we don’t deserve it or earn it, God gives it

Ephesians 2:1-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Saved by Grace is the heart of the gospel
Yet, why is it that we can feel more saved on days when we are doing more good deeds than days when we fail and sin?
We believe our performance plays a role in saving us and keep us saved and loved by God
If being right with God was about our performance, we would all fail the test
Our performance made us objects of wrath (2:3)
Salvation is not about any righteous acts we have done, but God’s grace
We are fully accepted by God and treated just as if we never sinned at all (justified by Grace Titus 3:3-8)
Tapes from our childhood, experiences keep playing on our minds, telling us we don’t measure up
We spend a lot of time in life trying to measure up (perform well)
At times hard to accept ourselves, even when God accept us
Salvation is not based on our personality, physical strength, hard work, but God’s grace

B. Taught by Grace

Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the 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 wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

i God’s Grace Teaches
I believe Paul spent his entire life trying to grasp the depth of grace
Teaches to Say No to Ungodliness, worldly passions
God’s grace is never a license to sin
When saved or rescued from something, there are always lesson your learn
You recognize your wrong choice and change
We have to learn how to say no; to ungodly acts, chatter, bitterness
W have to say yes to righteousness, forgiveness

Motivate
What we do is to grow out of grace
God’s grace motivates
Keeps us going everyday
To live self-control and upright lives
To Be a Waiting People
heirs of eternal life (3:7)
lives of holiness, love, unity, peace, selflessness
live it now
live the life of what to come. Live the values of the life of Christ
On earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:9-10)
People eager to do what is good

Apply grace then means extending grace
When we fail to pass on grace, we often forfeit its value in our lives
Grace by its nature is not giving people what they deserve, probably judgement, but instead giving them what they did not deserve (forgiveness and acceptance)
Grace is the idea that those who deserve nothing are treated as if they deserve everything
The grace of God teaches us, trains us to relate to others the same way

Logic says put up your fists, Grace says extend a helping hand
Logic says strike your enemy, Grace says turn the other cheek
Logic says, she doesn’t deserve it, Grace says your right, and neither do you