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good morning everyone welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church on this brisk Sunday morning few announcements before we get started this morning we're having a baptismal service I'm sure we're all aware that Charelle Neil and Becca Abby are going into the Waters of baptism today it's time of great rejoicing again for us as a church as we see a visual uh picture of what God has done in the lives of these two people our evening service at 5:00 p.m we're going to be observing the Lord's Supper this evening uh Wednesday night bible study at 7:30 as usual and then next Sunday we'll be having a fellowship lunch and following the morning service there'll be more information coming out about that during during the week for our call to worship this morning please turn to Jeremiah 31 Jeremiah CH 31 we're going to read from verse 31 through verse 34 the promise of the New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31 behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt my Covenant which they broke though I was a husband to them says the Lord but this is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people nor more no more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them says the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more amen for our first hymn we're going to turn in the trendy Salter Himel to Psalm 22 Psalm 22 selection d as in delta 22d and please stand with me as we sing [Music] the end of all the Earth shall and turn to the Lord in all of the Earth sh and worship [Applause] him all to him King of Kings for is the king the of he rules the Na by his to all the Lord of Lord the king of King all to all of Lord King of Kings and the and shall worship him on children children shall the Glorious his [Music] of King of Kings Lord uning rightousness all generation shall come from to what [Music] work to all Lord of Lord king of [Music] King you may be seated let's let us turn to the Lord in prayer our gracious Father in heaven we thank you for this opportunity we have as your people to gather to together in this place on your day and we pray that your name would would be hallowed and exalted in our midst today we pray that your kingdom would come and your will would be done on Earth as it is in heaven we know that the kingdom comes through the advancement of the Gospel through the preaching of the gospel and the work of the holy spirit in the hearts of men and women and boys and girls and we thank you Father today that we have this great opportunity to witness the baptism of Charelle and of Becca we thank you for the work that you've done in their hearts and we thank you than you Lord for the work that you're going to continue to do through the rest of their entire lives on this Earth and throughout eternity we thank you Father that once you have regenerated us and brought us into your family and adopted us you will never reject us but you continue to work and continue to uh perfect us until the day of Christ we thank you for the preaching of the Gospel that is going forth in this place and all across the the Earth and we pray oh God that you would cause your church to grow thank you Father that you are building your church we pray oh lord for our sister churches here in Canada the ones that we are associated with in the church plants bless the congregation this morning in Su bless Pastor Kirk Patrick as he preaches to them give him Clarity and unction and Lord I pray you would cause your people to grow and to mature there do the same for our Brethren up in Armstrong bless Pastor malar as he preaches this morning as well encourage that congregation and we pray you'd encourage the group that gathers every Sunday out in Ryden Ontario we thank you Lord for these congregations we pray that you would continue to plant more and continue to see more works like these established in this country we thank you for the other churches in our own City that are preaching the gospel this day we pray that your blessing would rest upon those Ministers of the gospel and their congregations and all across this land and Lord we pray for the churches abroad that we are in contact with and for missionaries that are preaching the gospel in various Fields some where they are seeing much fruit to their labors and some where the the labors are very difficult we pray oh God that as the gospel is sown in the ground that you would bring forth fruit bless the work in Elder Kenya bless pastor ogallo and his fellow ministers there we pray oh God that you would continue to bring in a harvest of Souls there and continue to allow them to send out preachers of the gospel and to train others in that nation of Kenya Lord we pray for the work of the of the Gospel in the Honduras as well bless our Brethren down there I pray you'd bless John and Molina and continue to encourage them continue to use them for good in your kingdom Lord we pray again that your blessing would rest upon us here we pray Lord for the young people and the children in this congregation that even today as they sit under the preaching of the Gospel you would work in their hearts and Lord for visitors amongst us and we pray that you would do them good bless and encourage those who are your children and those who have not yet embraced the truth who have not yet tasted and seen that the Lord is good for themselves experientially I pray oh God that you would draw them to the to yourself today and cause them to see that the Lord is gracious and merciful please goeth as again as we continue to worship I pray your blessing would rest upon on your people and be pleased with our sacrifice of praise we pray in Jesus name amen amen please stand with me as we turn in our himels again to number 405 405 I love thy kingdom [Music] Lord the house of Might the church are bless with his [Music] PR th Church walls the dear as the apple of my and on my for fall for my PR toes ands till to and be my Joy iise her heavly ways meret and Praise Jesus our Our Savior and our King and every and shall [Music] great shall be the brightest glor and you may be seated well please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Titus Titus Chapter 3 our Focus will be on Verses 4 to8 Titus Chapter 3 Paul's letter to a young ministerial colleague who was on on the island of C which was a sort of a Pioneer missionary setting for that young man and so the Apostle writes to encourage him to emphasize gospel truth and to continue to give glory to God in the gospel of his beloved Son Well I want to read the entirety of the chapter Titus Chapter 3 and then as I said our Focus will be on Verses 4 to8 so beginning in verse one remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities to obey to be ready for every good work to speak evil of no one to be Peaceable gentle showing all humility to all men for we ourselves were also ones foolish disobedient deceived serving various lusts and Pleasures living in Malice and envy hateful and hating one another but when the kindness and the love of God our savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ Our Savior that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life this is a faithful saying and these things I want you to affirm constantly that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works these things are good and profitable to men but avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions and strivings about the law for they are unprofitable and useless reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition knowing that such a person is Warped and sinning being self def uh uh condemned when I send Artemis to you or Titus be diligent to come to be at neopolis for I have decided to spend the winter there send Zenus the lawyer and apollis on their Journey with haste that they may lack nothing and let our people also learn to maintain good works to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful all who are with me greet you greet those who love us in the faith Grace be with you all amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for this beautiful day we certainly recognize the the righteousness and the glory and the Majesty of God revealed in the created order we thank you for your uh handiwork we thank you as well for your Sovereign Providence that you govern all your creatures and all their actions and As We Gather here in the church Church of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Lord's day we re re rejoice in the doctrine of salvation we know God it's not we who have saved ourselves it's not we who have helped you or assisted you in that that undertaking but Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone and we thank you for the privilege today to witness the baptism of two trophies of your Sovereign Grace we pray that you would encourage each of our hearts and build us up in our Most Holy Faith and God for any and all who are here dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that your Holy Spirit would come that they would know something of that regeneration and that renewal and that justification by God's grace through the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ forgive us now for all sin and unrighteousness cleanse Us in his Precious Blood and guide us by the Holy Spirit and we pray in jesus' name amen well as I said Titus was stationed on the island of cre to set in order the things that were lacking if you notice in Titus 1 at verse 5 Paul expresses that particular uh concern for this reason I left you in cre that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint Elders in every city as I commanded you and then in our text if you look at chapter 3 specifically at verse eight at verse 8 he says this is a faithful saying and these things I want you to affirm constantly I think the connection is simple God calls men to function as Elders in the capacity of the local church we call them Ministers of the gospel and Paul's emphasis in verse 8 and chapter 3 is that Ministers of the Gospel need to minister the gospel that's the primary calling that's the primary emphasis that's what God is concerned with in the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ the proclamation of his truth the law so that men may see their misery and their deadness before a holy God and the gospel that redemp uh redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue needy Sinners so as we focus on this particular passage this morning in Verses 4 to8 the word washing there at verse 5 does not refer to baptism so I'm not going to preach baptismal regeneration this morning but what we have in the waters of baptism is an external communication of what God does internally recorded here specifically in verse 5 we'll see that in a few moments but as we map out our passage in Verses 4 4 to 8 there's three emphases I want to look at first the appearance of the love of God in verse 4 secondly the application of the grace of God in verses 5 to7 and then thirdly the affirmation of the word of God in verse 8 so let's look first at the appearance of the love of God in verse 4 notice Paul tells Titus what the people of God in cre are supposed to do so in verse one he says remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities to obey be ready for every good work to speak evil of no one to be Peaceable gentle showing all humility to all men and then he highlights what he and they had been prior to their conversion to Jesus Christ notice in verse three for we ourselves were also once foolish disobedient deceived serving various lusts and Pleasures living in Malice and envy hateful and hating one another in other words there was a time when we could have never emed what God calls us to in the uh in verses 1 and two we were that that's sort of a a before seen relative to the Christian Life and when we read that God pours out the Holy Spirit abundantly through our Lord Jesus Christ keep verse three in your mind have you ever had those Seasons or occasions in your life where you realize that you've made a mess of things that you're not what you ought to be that you've got all kinds of sins and all kinds of issues and all kinds the problems well verse three pretty much encap encapsulates what is the problem with man prior to his coming to our Lord Jesus Christ again notice what he says and Paul here includes Paul he doesn't say you guys you wretches on the island of creit all of you Heathen out there know the Apostle includes himself which we would expect 1 Timothy chapter 1 he says this is a faithful saying it's worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save Sinners of whom I I am chief so Paul never forgot the Rock from when he was heed Paul never forgot the before picture relative to his spiritual State and so Paul includes himself in verse three and says for we ourselves were also once foolish disobedient deceived serving various lusts and Pleasures living in Malice and envy hateful and hating one another other words that's a description of man outside of our Lord Jesus Christ there is that reality when you look at the world around us that's the problem we try to blame politics and I'm not suggesting there's no blame in politics we try to blame economics we try to blame you know social status we try to BL uh blame gender or race it's a sin problem that's what affects the world today and that's what makes what Paul says in Verses 4 to8 so wonderful if all we had was verse three and no redeeming work and power of our Lord Jesus Christ if we had no gospel we would be of all men the most miserable but it's in the context of verse three that God does the redeeming work in Verses 4 to8 so he introduces this love of God in verse four he says when the kindness and the love of God our savior toward toward man appeared so what he wants to do is to show us that though we were verse three we by God's grace are now redeemed so that we have the power and the ability by the spirit who lives and dwells in us to do verses 1 and two and again that's the emphasis in verse 8 notice I want you to affirm constantly the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ so that those who have believed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in God should be careful to maintain good works in other words so that they may be the kinds of people that are described in verses 1 and two but back to this statement when the kindness and the love of God our savior appeared he highlights the Perfections of God there now the Perfections of go of God are those things which we speak about concerning God God reveals himself in the Bible in a whole host of ways he does so uh does so through his names but as well through his Perfections or sometimes we call them attributes God is Spirit he's infinite he's Eternal he's unchangeable in his being wisdom power Holiness Justice goodness and Truth those are his Perfections but when the kindness of God or rather when the the the love of God appeared what does Paul highlight here specifically is that he says when the kindness and the love of God our savior the Perfection of God's goodness the Perfection of God's love it wasn't our goodness and it wasn't our capacity to love that brought God's saving faith favor down upon us that's not it at all it's God's love it's God's goodness it's God's mercy it's God's kindness that brings Sinners out of death and darkness and depravity now if you hear that this morning and you're not a believer in Jesus Christ may I encourage you to listen to pay attention and to understand that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that God demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us in other words the gospel reveals to us the love and the kindness of God toward needy Sinners so if your condition this morning is described or summarized in verse three don't throw up your hands in hopelessness but rather flee to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith because that's the purpose for when or for which the son of man came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost so Paul highlights that love of God that has appeared but specifically when he speaks in verse 4 I think he's referring to the father but when the kindness and the love of God the Father Our Savior notice the way that Paul uses this language interchangeably look at 2113 looking for the Blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ he uses that terminology uh uh synonymously because every work outside of God is done by the one true and living God but there are times and instances in scripture where certain works are applied to certain persons of the Trinity again it's not like 33 and A3 per is taken up by the father 33 and A3 per is taken up by the son 33 and 33% is taken up by the spirit no The Works of God are done by the true and living God the Bible at times appropriates specific Works to one of the persons to demonstrate something to us about the glory of God most high so here when he speaks about the love and kindness of God our savior appearing I believe he's referring to the father we see similarity in in that statement I've already referred to in John 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave well Romans 58 God demonstrates his own love toward us as well we see that reality in Ephesians chapter 2 Paul Paints the picture in verses 1 to3 what we look like before we came to a saving knowledge of of Christ then he says but God who is rich in Mercy Brethren friend that's the god that we have to do with he's not just a little bit merciful a little bit kind a little bit benevolent he so loved the world now the glory of that statement isn't seen in how good the world is the glory of that statement is seen in how bad the world is he so loved this mass of humanity that in the midst of it he calls out of Darkness into Marvelous Light Those whom he has set his love upon and so Paul is rehearsing that here but then notice the time that this love appears but when the kindness and the love of God our savior toward man appeared if you think about God's works in the Bible it's good to sort of categorize them in three heads first he creates just look at the world around you today you ever met an atheist well where's the evidence for the existence of God just do like that the Sun the moon the stars the globe the Earth the universe mankind the human hand where's the evidence for the existence of God where isn't the evidence for the existence of God so creation God's sovereignty God's power God's wisdom God's God's glory is manifested in the created order then that we speak about Providence this world is not halfhazard it's not chance Justin Trudeau's you know prime minister because God is Sovereign that may be tough to square with us at times but we recogn recognize that God was Sovereign over Ahab God was Sovereign over Manasseh he governs all his creatures and all their actions God was Sovereign over Nero but the reality is is that in that Providence he again demonstrates his wisdom and his power and his goodness but it's in Redemption it's in Salvation again we see Power we see wisdom we see goodness but we can subset goodness in terms of grace and mercy so when does this love and kindness of God most vividly appear it's at the Incarnation of the Son of God what Paul speaks of in Galatians 4:4 in the fullness of the time God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so when does God's kindness and love most manifestly appear it's in the babe and the manger it's in the word became flesh it's in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world you want to see the love of God creation teaches Providence teaches but Redemption teaches in a way that those other works don't get at love is seen in the sacrifice of our blessed savior love is seen in this mission of recovery and rescue and Redemption that he undertook on our behalf love is seen in his life of perfect obedience he was a Man of Sorrows he was acquainted with grief he says to one in his Earthly Ministry the foxes have holes and the birds have Nest but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head in fact prophesying prior to his coming that Isaiah says he has no form no comeliness there there's nothing about him that draws the eye uh the physical eye don't walk around with a Halo he didn't walk around with 18inch biceps he didn't walk around with a you know an Armament on him he was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief why because of Love why does he go to the Cross he has love for for his friends he has love for his people and he lays down his life for them he says No Greater Love Is there than this that I lay down my life for the sheep and then that resurrection and current to S uh sashet at the right hand of God Scripture says with reference to our beloved Jesus that he ever lives to make intercession for us why is that because of great love he is our Advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous why because of that great love love so the love of God the kindness of God is manifested in Creation in Providence but supremely and superlatively in the doctrine of redemption in the gospel of our Salvation in that empty tomb in that Risen Lord in that Blessed Redeemer in that Advocate with the father and that love is not just minuscule it's not just a little bit it's not just a a a a few people that may experience the scriptures tell us that there's a great multitude in the age to come that praise God most high for the Salvation that they enjoy so don't vote yourself out or don't consider yourself well I I'm unreachable I'm an abundant sinner well bless God there's abundant grace to be had in the Savior so the Apostle contrasts what we were verse three and he now demonstrates what we are and he predicates this or States this as uh uh connected to the love of God but then notice the application of God's grace so we ask the question well well God's love was manifest God's love appeared specifically and supremely in the Incarnation but but let's just kind of Flesh it out a bit you know sometimes husbands or wives they might say something like do you love me and I don't know that that's necessarily you know calling into question their credibility but it's nice to hear once in a while and then if they're a bit you know even more ambitious well well why again maybe it's that inner desire to be praised for something I don't think that's always a good thing but well I love you cuz you take out the trash I love you because you cook delicious meals I love those aren't bad things Brethren I mean it's good to have some schlub to take out the trash and somebody good to cook a good meal but we kind of like to know the answers or reasons or or or or or rather the descriptions of the demonstrations of that love again generally God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son Romans 5'8 God demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were at sinners Christ died for us so what Paul is doing now he speaks of the love of God having made its appearance in the Incarnation of the son and now in verses 5 to 7 he gives us the the details he he sort of draws it out he he applies it for us so that we can stand in awe that what we were verse three has been overcome by the love of God in a particular and concrete way through the Redemptive work of of Jesus Christ so that's what he does now notice specifically three things here in verses 5 to 7 I want to look at the fact of Salvation secondly the basis of Salvation and then the means involved in Salvation but note the fact verse five not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us now verses 4 to7 are one sentence now they're not I don't think in the English version but in the Greek it's one sentence what's the simple sentence taking all of you back to grammar school talking to kids who probably already know this when you look at a big long sentence what's the first task in trying to understand the big long sentence find the simple sentence because often times you have a simple sentence and you have a bunch of words around it just describing that simple sentence a little bit more and that's what Paul is doing here specifically in verse 5 the simple sentence is right about the middle of verse five those three words he saved us that's Paul's emphasis the love and kindness of God appeared at the Incarnation the first concrete way that we know that he loves us is that he saved us which in light of verse three is truly mindblowing isn't it remember Jesus says I didn't come to call the righteous but Sinners to repentance Luke 15 all the tax actors and the Sinners Drew near to hear him it's almost as if God has in his mind the salvation of horrible people yeah that's exactly right ask anybody you're sitting around this morning that has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ describe yourself prior to your conversion in one word horrible would probably be right at the top they might even say it's that way now but by the grace of God he deals with my sin he supplies the spirit and he keeps me on track so the verse three backdrop is the the the the the context in which he saved us now this is a common refrain in scripture it's always intrigued me that people come to the Bible for some of the weirdest things I remember years ago there was a famous preacher and not not reformed but sort of you know in the broader Evangelical world and and I think he wrote a book on the Daniel diet you know Daniel the the prophet was given a specified diet when he was there in Nebuchadnezzar now I'm not suggesting we can't learn something from what Daniel em bibed but I would suggest that if you're getting diets out of the Book of Daniel you're missing the point or you've probably heard David at the valley of aah facing Goliath well there's a story calculated for you to overcome your personal Giants no it's not or we want the Bible to speak to quantum physics or we want the Bible to speak to autome mechanics or we want the Bible to speak to just about everything you know what the constant refrain of Holy scripture is he saved us the Bible is a book about the Redemption of God through his son the Lord Jesus Christ to bring glory to him that's what the Bible again we can learn learn things about math and history and science and all those sorts of things but if we're searching the scripture for non- remp ends we're missing the entirety of God's word so this simple sentence is all over scripture remember Jonah 2:9 he says salvation is of the Lord or Jesus at the the the the the time when he calls zachus down from the tree and everybody grumbles and they murmur why because Sinners were no different then than they are today we hear about a notorious sinner getting saved well that doesn't seem right he's a pretty bad guy he's a horrible specimen of a human being well that's how they responded with zakus so Jesus sees us upon the opportunity and says the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost I didn't I didn't come for the righteous doctors don't visit the healthy they rather go to the sick Jesus comes to the Dead the mission of God the love of God is demonstrated in that wondrous work Ephesians 2:8 for by Grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves Revelation chapters 5 and 7 you've got these scenes where the Saints of Christ are Before the Throne of God and they shout out antiy praise to God and specifically in Revelation 7 they say salvation Belongs To Our God who sits on the throne and the lamb they don't say thank you for the Daniel diet I was really able to curb my appetite and lose a few nasty inches that's not the point the point is the Salvation of God most high through Jesus Christ Our Lord for the glory of God most high Father Son and Holy Spirit the Bible is a Redemptive book The Bible has a specific Focus the Bible is about the doing and the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus Christ the Old Testament promises and anticipates the New Testament brings the Savior and shows us what he does shows us how he did it and shows us his glory in the having done it so Paul says he saved us but then notice those words around it now become very necessary to understand he first gives a denial and then an affirmation so remember the simple sentence is he saved us well how did he save us did he do it because we were savable did he do it because we had a lot of good works acing did he do it just to kind of meet us halfway no there's a denial at the first part of verse 5 notice not by works of righteousness which we have done it's not by works of righteousness which we have done there's no sort of cooperation in the matter of Salvation well if I do 50 good works in 19 or 2024 19 wow where'd that come from 2024 well then God will reward me in December with this great salvation we treat God as if he's a you know a bartering agent we treat treat God as if you know we'll do and and and then you do and we'll sort of meet at the meet at the table here we'll write it on the Note we'll pass it back and forth and we'll come to the terms no he saved us not according to our our works of righteousness well the first and most obvious reason is because there were no works of righteousness there were none nada zip zil we were described very effectively in verse three for we ourselves were also once foolish disobedient deceived serving various lusts and Pleasures living in Malice and envy hateful and hate hating one another what part of that do we bring to the table to barter with God none of it there's no good works simple sentence he saved us denial not by works of righteousness which we have done it's not the good that we bring to the table it's not the contribution that we give there is none there is none righteous no not one to speak of Paul in Romans chapter 3 there's none who seeks after God there's no fear of God Before Their Eyes what does the prophet Isaiah say in chapter 53 all we like sheep have gone asay we all have pursued these various lusts we've all pursued those things that are contrary to God that are rebellious in his sight that that break and transgress his law and lack Conformity unto it so you got to understand he's saying saved us not according to our works of righteous uh righteousness not according to any good thing that we bring not by works of righteousness which we have done but then notice this affirmation that he gives or an affirmation so after this not by works of righteousness which we have done he goes on to say but according to his Mercy according to his Mercy just highlighting once again the love and kindness of God that appeared in the Incarnation according to verse 4 so it's not our works but it's God's mercy it's not our efforts but it's God's kindness it's not our attempts but it's God's efficacy again there is great hope In this passage perhaps you've grown up in a church perhaps you've heard the gospel all your life perhaps you still sit dead in your trespasses and sins and contemplating this idea that well there's just no hope for me there might be hope for everybody else in here but there's no hope for me well I would encourage you to reconsider that consider the fact that that the Apostle celebrates God's love God's kindness God's mercy and God's grace now he doesn't just as I mentioned earlier just you know a portion it out in Little Bits well you know here's your little bit in verse five he's going to talk about pouring out the spirit abundantly was reminded of John Newton he says I'm a great sinner but I serve a great savior or again Paul in 1 Timothy 1 trustworthy faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save Sinners of what of whom I am chief Brethren friend there is hope to be had in this God there is Mercy there is Grace there is an abundance of it in fact you can't tap it out you can't exhaust it you can't use it up turn over to Ephesians chapter 1 for just a moment and something of a parallel passage just to see how Paul celebrates the abundance of God's grace Ephesians chapter 1 he says in him Christ we have through Redemption through his blood and then he goes on to explain that in a particular way the Forgiveness of sins and then note that next Clause of according to the riches of his grace not just a little bit of Grace not just a little bit of Mercy not just a little bit of kindness but as the Apostle says in many places in his writings and here as well in Titus 2:5 but according to his Mercy he saved us there's a passage in the prophet Micah and the name Micah basically means who is a God Like You and it's interesting because Micah ends his prophecy on that note he asks the question who is a God Like You and then he fills in the response and the response is a bit contrary to what we might expect I think we might expect who is a God Like You who visits the Wicked with punishment who visits the ungodly with judgment who visits the unrighteous with eternal hell that's not a Le Lexing question is it in a moral Universe governed by a good God who is altogether just and righteous and holy the punishment of sinful offenders doesn't evoke question does it I mean Romans 6 for the wages of sin is death is anybody shocked by that do we wait a minute I can't believe that no that's perfectly acceptable you commit the crime this used to be a principle in modern western or in Western jurist Prudence you you commit a crime and you do the time I realize that's not always the case now but in a moral universe that is the way it's supposed to be so when we come to this question by Micah using his own name Micah who is a God Like You here's what comes from his lips who is a God Like You pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he does not retain his anger forever because he what he Delights in Mercy it's again if you're sitting there and you've not come to the Lord Jesus Christ you might have this weird thing going on well I can't come I don't want to come I don't I shouldn't come or I've always been told I'm not supposed to come but he's rich in Mercy in fact he Delights in Mercy there's no there's no wanting or lacking or absence of it in the Divine Essence there there's not a a a a bit where he comes up short everybody in the room believed on the Lord Jesus Christ he's not gonna say well you know what I I got to get back to y'all because I got to go find some more mercy and Grace God is Mercy and Grace he is his Perfections he is all that he is and it's most wondrous and glorious and so the Apostle tells us he saved us he makes a denial it's not by works of righteousness which we have done but then he makes this affirmation but according to his mercy and then notice the specific means involved he speaks there of the act of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit again this isn't water baptism the ladies that go into the the the tank this morning they're not coming through that to Jesus they're going through that because they've come to Jesus it's an external display it's an external sacrament of an internal reality and the internal reality demonstrates or rather the external reality demonstrates passages like this so when we see these sisters go through the waters of baptism this is the message we ought to hear preached not owing to them congratulations Charelle and Becca you've done it you you you you've really sided with Christ no no no no the the one celebrated today is the god of Titus 3 4 to8 it's the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who sent the son of his love into this world to live to die and to be raised again so as we look at these particulars notice in verse six or ver at the end of verse 5 through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit now regeneration means what we often hear in common Christian Parliament the new birth or to be bornn again remember in John 3 Nicodemus comes by night to the Lord Jesus Christ and he says teacher we know that you're a man from God we know that no one can do these great things unless God sends him Jesus Cuts right to the quick and he says unless a man is born again he shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven it's just not going to happen why because we're dead in our trespasses and sins we're the kinds of people that traffic in the muck of verse three in Titus 3:3 in order to get between A and B we've got to have something happen from uh to us from outside of us and the Apostle indicates that here the love of God is manifested in the Regeneration of dead sinners in the making of them alive and it's not just John 3 Because as Jesus continues with Nicodemus Nicodemus starts to ask some odd questions and Jesus chides him and he says are you a teacher in Israel and you don't know these things why does Jesus do that because there was a promise in the prophet Ezekiel about the New Covenant era and God the Lord says then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your Idols I will give you a new heart and a new spirit within you I will take the Heart of Stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of Flesh I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them the washing of regeneration and Renewal by the Holy Spirit points to that Divine work of God wherein he causes a man a woman a boy or girl to be born again so that they may pass from Death unto life and when they by grace are born again they're granted The Graces of faith and repentance and you see that movement in our very text the renewing or the regenerating and renewing power of the the holy spirit is then seen in justification by God's grace notice what the Apostle says there so we've got the Holy Spirit who regenerates us we've got the Holy Spirit who renews us he makes us alive and then in verse six he says whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ Our Savior that having been just ified by his grace we should become Hees according to the hope of eternal life so we receive the spirit we're Made Alive we have now the ability by God's grace to believe the gospel so when these ladies go into the baptistry that's what's being declared that's what's being evidenced and that God gives these good gifts shows his love that God gives these good gifts Pro prolifically shows his love that God will station a great multitude on that day that no man can number argues there is hope for the most notorious sinner who hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord that bit in Luke 15 when all the Sinners and the tax collectors draw near to him to hear him how do the Pharisees respond to that the Pharisees they look down their big Moses and they say this man receives Sinners and eats with that that's their complaint they don't like the thought that all the tax collectors and the Sinners are drawing near to he him well I've often thought about myself being one of those tax collectors in Sinners I'd want to know how Jesus responds wouldn't you if he's accused of receiving to himself Sinners and tax collectors as a sinner not a tax tax collector but a sinner i' want to know what's his response what's he going to say is he going to disown that claim and so no I don't I I don't receive Sinners I don't receive tax collectors I'm just like you Pharisees they're filthy vile scum and I want them far far from me is is that how he responds no Jesus responds threefold he says he's like a Shepherd who loses one of his sheep and leaves the 99 Grazing In The Meadow to go find that one if I was a sinner or tax collector I'd say wow that that sounds good and when he finds that sheep what does he do does he give it a few in the side just to teach it that it never does that again does he does he pinch it does he hobble it does he cut off a little sheep foot so that sheep can never wander astray he puts it on his shoulders and he returns to his fold rejoicing and then Jesus says he's like a woman who loses a coin what does she do does she say well I've got nine others no she moves the furniture she gets the broom out of the closet she starts looking for that coin why because that which was lost I want to find and when she does it she tells her friends and and what's the response there's there's great rejoicing and then Jesus says he's like a father who had two sons and one of the sons says father give me my share the inheritance right now I I want to go do my thing I I want to go out and sew my oats I want to go I want to do my thing he's basically saying to the father you're better off to me dead than alive isn't that when an inheritance typically comes so the father gives him that share the inheritance so what does the son do oh he goes out and he invests he does good deeds and he no he squanders it through wretched living vile Wicked living and he's at the point where he's you know with pigs and slopping the pigs and wanting to eat the pigs slop thankfully I've not been at that point but I think it's a point I want to avoid as far as I'm able because pigs will eat anything and I'm sure the smells emitting from that bucket were enough to suggest I don't want to eat that but if I was hungry enough I I guess it would look tasty so so what happened The Boy comes to himself not to Christ The Boy comes to his senses not to God and he reasons as we often do well first he goes to try to find some help that's not God and then he says I I know what I I I'll do and typically we refer this as to his conversion I don't think he's converted at this point I I know what I'll do I'll I'll go back to my father's house I'll cast myself on his mercy and I'll become one of the day laborers that way I get three Hots and a cot I'll at least be looked after I don't have to you know crave or covet pig slop so I'll I'll just go cast myself on his Mercy again not savingly not salvific not because he's seen the error of his ways no his Bell's pinched and he wants good food so what happens you know the story if you've been in our church you know this story a lot the the father on the porch sees the son when he's a long way off as Spurgeon says he looks through the telescope of love and what does the father do the father runs to him does he run to him to hobble him to punch him in the stomach to chide him for the the public Scandal that he's created in their little village that's not what he does he falls on the boy he kisses the boy he brings the boy home this is his conversion and it's symbolized in that coat that he places upon him that ring he puts puts on his finger and then the other boy the other son he's the Pharisee in the story what's his response well I never got that I never got a fatted calf I never got all these benefits how does God the Father respond to him it is right that we make marry my son who was lost is found my son who is dead is now alive this idea that God really isn't about saving Sinners is unbiblical God really is about saving Sinners that love of God made its Grand appearance in the Incarnation of the son of his love that love of God is demonstrated every step of the way in the messiah's life we see it come to its Pinnacle it is death and Resurrection so there's hope that's the point and justification is by God's grace alone through faith alone in in Christ alone and that's what uh Paul is highlighting here we've got the love of God and it is absolutely applied or concret uh concreted in this work of redemption and then notice he says that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life so what we were Titus 23 for we ourselves were also once foolish disobedient deceived serving various lusts and pleas Pleasures living in Malice and envy hateful and hating one another and now what we receive the promise of eternal life again it's not owing to our moral behavioral change it's not owing to what we've accomplished it's not owing to how we've performed but it's through the washing of regeneration and the renewal by the Holy Spirit who is poured out abundantly through Jesus Christ so that that being justified by his grace we have this blessed hope of eternal life so when these sisters go into that water that's the message that's communicated not kudos to you for deciding for Jesus and now going to get baptized but glory to God most high from whom all blessings flow namely the powerful redeeming work of God seen and affected by the Lord Jesus Christ and then notice the affirmation of God's word on the heels of this statement so verse 8 this is a faithful saying there are several faithful sayings in what we call the Pastoral Epistles 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus and some suggest that this is a faithful saying applies to what follows this is a faithful saying constantly affirm people to do good words I don't think that's the faithful saying saying I think the faithful saying is Verses 4 to 7 the faithful saying is the gospel of our Salvation the faithful saying is that he saved us not according to our works of righteousness but rather according to the riches of his Mercy that's the faithful saying that needs to be proclaimed by faithful ministers that Gospel of Jesus Christ ought to occupy Center place in any Church of the Lord Jesus again the ible is a big book it does speak to a lot of things there are principles of Christian ethics there are you know practical applications of the Gospel we're working through that our in our studies in the book of Ephesians there in chapters five and six husbands and and wives children and parents not suggesting those things are absent but the central focal point of God's book is God's son and his life death and Resurrection so Paul says this is a faithful saying and these these things I want you to affirm constantly I've heard people before say you know at my church I don't ever preach the gospel why is that your church it's like I take my car to the mechanic but he doesn't fix it I go to the lawyer and all he ever tells me is you're guilty I go to the doctor and he diagnoses me and then says well too bad for you which I understand is pretty much the case for lots of medicine today why would we go back the gospel is to be maintained constantly not just for unbelievers such that they'll get saved but Brethren is there anything more needy for you needful in your life than a good dose of Jesus Christ and his life and his death and his resurrection is there anything calcul ated out there to promote what Paul then goes on to say than that and again notice the specific order this is a faithful saying the truths of Verses 4 to7 and these things I want you to affirm constantly the truths of Verses 4 to 7 so that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works notice not the inverse go do good works and then you experience the love of God now the gospel is you experience the love of God by God's grace through the Regeneration and renewing power of the Holy Spirit you're Justified freely by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ that is the condition the consequent is then engaging in Good Works see man's religion puts good works as the condition if I do such and such if I go to such and such if I stop engaging in such and such then God will reward me with eternal life life that's the religion of the devil and man the religion of God's grace is I save dead Sinners not me God Saves dead Sinners according to the riches of his Mercy his grace his kindness through the effective power or the the work rather of his son through the power of the Holy Spirit he saves us so that now we be careful to maintain good works it's a consequent it's a fruit IT issues from the fact that we have been justified by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ so if you're a verse three kind of guy or girl right now the answer isn't get better fix it stop doing this stop going here stop seeing that no the answer is to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith to with the Open Hand of faith receive Redemptive benefit in all of its blessed profuseness this God of love and mercy and Grace runs from the porch falls on Sinners kisses them puts rings on their fingers robes on their backs and orders the slang of the fatted calf there is everything in the scripture this morning to argue that you come to Jesus you believe on Jesus and you you will be forgiven you will receive a righteousness by which you may stand in the presence of God Paul's order is conspicuous justified by God's grace so that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works these things are good and profitable to men I take the these things back to Verses 4 and 4 to 7 we don't need to be told that our good Works done to men are good for them no if I hand you a bag of money you don't need me to say this is a good thing well of course I'm holding a bag of money no the things are the things of Verses 4 to7 so this is the emphasis these things are good and profitable to men the fact that they hear of Christ the fact that by God's grace they believe in Christ and the fact that they now are inherited of eternal life in conclusion we ought to appreciate God's Perfections we ought to appreciate God's Tri Unity the father uh the love of God the Father appears in the sending of the Holy Spirit based on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ one true and living God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit all of the works outside of God are attributed to that one true and living God but there are times that the Bible appropriates to persons in the Trinity specific things so we can stand in awe and Marvel and Amaze at uh uh be amazed at our great God and then as far as the doctrine of baptism I want to make sure I'm sensitive to the occasion and to the young ladies that are identifying I sometimes say ladies I didn't want to call you girls um um but it as I've said in the past and bless God we've had a few baptisms recently it is a privilege of the ministry in the church to be able to speak with converts to talk to them about their testimony to be encouraged in my own heart about that testimony and then to hear them want to identify publicly with our Lord in the waters of baptism it is a real blessed privilege with reference to baptism as I said when they go into that water it's not so that they may receive the benefits of Verses 4 to 7 they go into that water because they have received the benefits of Verses 4 to 7 they have been regenerated they have been renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit and that because of the work of Jesus Christ they have been justified by God's grace through faith in that blessed savior King but the baptism of Believers represents in the language of our confession the sorts of realities that we see here in Verses 4 to 7 so our confession at chapter 29 paragraph 1 says baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection of his being engrafted into him of remission of sins and of giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life so in other words baptism is the external emblem or symbol or picture of what God does internally he has saved them they did not save themselves I didn't go and talk to them or hear from them and say you know I cleaned up my ACT I started going to church I started reading my Bible I started doing the right things I stopped doing the wrong things and and lo and behold God rewarded me with salv no that wasn't it at all grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone which is good news if you're not a Believer here this morning God does it he's doing it he's manifesting this power this Glory this Majesty in the saving of guilty vile helpless Sinners and remember this day young ladies now it's young ladies with reference to the baptism and public identification with our Triune God Walk in that newness of Life follow the trajectory of the Apostles words you've been justified by his grace now engage in those good works now engage in those things that are pleasing in his sight now bring glory to him that language of the Lord Jesus let your light so shine before men that they may give uh May glorify your father in Heaven it's not oh what a wonderful person you are no you become a vehicle by which to shine the light of God's glory upon the object of that Glory so when we see the baptism think Titus 3 4-7 when you girls think baptism think about the day that you identified as having died been buried and raised again for everlasting life well let us pray and then we'll move to the water Our God and Father we thank you for your word we thank you for the clarity of Titus 34 to 4 to8 specifically and what it teaches concerning the doctrine of salvation and our heart's desire and Earnest pleas is that more and more people would come to a saving knowledge of our of Our Redeemer we thank you for your work in cherelle and for Becca we thank you for their confession of faith in the living and true God their confession and the life death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and for their testimony and their consistency we pray that you would bless them in their time at our church may you encourage them may you build them up in their Most Holy Faith and as well may they be prayerful and seek as well to encourage the the encourage the brothers and the sisters around them and may you indeed continue to be pleased to add such as should be saved to your churches throughout this world and we ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord Lord amen well our brother Mark's going to come up and lead a hym while we go and change our clothes do you know what do you know which one before we sing If the parents who have children a child or children down in the nursery could go gather their children right now so that the nursery workers could also join us for the baptism we're going to turn to number 457 together and we will sing 457 you can stand with me while pastor but and young ladies are getting changed for the baptism Jesus thy blood and righteousness my beauty glorious World up my hand shall I stand in my great for my through I am s from and sh the to my the shall be all Jesus and for Jus the praise toless Mery for glasting PR [Music] Bey Jesus love and well thanks to everyone for joining with us this morning it's always a Grand Occasion in our church when we have baptisms we typically invite the younger people up so they get a better better view of it we believe that in the sacraments of the church we see the gospel I think corporate Worship in the context of the church is we pray the word we preach the word we read the word we sing the word but we also see the word we see it in baptism and the Lord's supper and as I mentioned probably a lot uh what we see there in Titus 34-7 is the kind of stuff communicated through baptism I did want to just read a few things relative to the ordinance from our confession I already read paragraph one in terms of the significance but then it goes on to speak of the subjects of baptism those who do actually profess repentance towards God faith in and obedience to our lord Jesus are the only proper subjects of this ordinance so of course we believe as Baptists the Believers baptism those who look to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith are the ones included in the sacrament we see that in Jeremiah 31 31-34 as well the New Covenant is marked not not by uh people that just have some sort of an external conve uh con uh connection to the church but it is those who have the spirit those who have the law of God internalized those who have received the Forgiveness of sins and those who know the Lord and then in terms of the outward element it is to be water wherein the party is to be baptized in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and then immersion or dipping of the person in water is necessary to the due administration of this ordinance and does capture what well the the spiritual significance that we see Paul invoke in in Romans 6 so when Paul wants to sort of straighten out the Romans in terms of the Roman Believers in terms of their conduct it's interesting he doesn't first go to the law he does do that he tells them to no longer present their instr or their members as instruments of unrighteousness but before he gets to that sort of a commandment or imperative he points to their baptism in Romans 6 1:4 and I think the idea is simple you've been justified by God's grace you have died to sin you have been buried with Jesus and you've been raised again so therefore why would you continue in sin so the gospel is most properly the powerful motivation to Godly living if we think that we're going to earn our Salvation we become mercenary but when we've been saved by God's grace and pursue the good works or pursue the things that God's ordained for us were prepared before us that's the proper order that's the proper motivation and that's the proper trajectory for the people of God so immersion or dipping of the person in water is necessary to the due administration of this ordinance and then shows that imagery death bual Resurrection with Jesus Christ well Charelle I have a few questions for you do you believe there is one true and living God who exists eternally as father Son and Holy Spirit do you believe that you have sinned against God and justly deserve his punishment for your sins do you believe that Jesus Christ the son of God lived in obedience to God's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for Sinners and Rose on the third day and do you believe in Jesus Christ Alone to save you from your sins and do you commit to walk in obedience to God through faith in Jesus Christ amen turn this way I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy [Applause] Spirit it'll move a bit but it's and then Becca is going to give some some words of testimony here good morning I'd like to begin by sharing some of my story and how I got here I was raised in a Christian home and that is something I'm deeply grateful for I'd like to thank my parents for the work they did and the sacrifices they made that directed my path to know My Savior Jesus Christ I've always had a sensitive conscience and at the age of 13 I felt convicted of the truth of Christianity at 19 I professed my faith before the body of Believers I was with at the time for a while after that I often thought I knew most of of what I needed to know to be a Christian it wasn't until I was 21 and spent a month with youth with a mission that I realized my need for continu sorry this is emotional for me continual sanctification it was a humbling and life-changing experience for me more recently I've become married to a wonderful man of God Shane and began attending free Grace over the last number of months I've become convicted by scripture to complete what I started years ago to follow the command of my savior to be baptized on my own accord this is a symbol of my profession of faith and my allegiance to Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior I'd like to thank my husband my family and Pastor Butler for their support in my faith Journey which has brought me here today thank you I B you in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy [Applause] Spirit as I said it's always a happy occasion to hear God's people testify concerning God's grace and to go through the waters of baptism and demonstration of God's saving power through our Lord Jesus Christ so I'm going to pray and then again our brother Mark will come up to uh finish the service with the doxology but let us pray our gracious and our Holy Father we stand in awe at your Amazing Grace we sing of it we pray concerning it we see it revealed in scripture and we get these benefits to see it in the waters of baptism thank you again for Charelle and for Becca thank you for your mercy and your grace displayed in their lives thank you God that you have shown that what we find in scripture is not some Fable it's not some some fairy tale but it's the truth of God reconciling the world to himself through his son the Lord Jesus Christ may this gospel go forth today conquering and to conquer may it run swiftly and be glorified and may you indeed call many out of Darkness into Marvelous Light and may you cause us to reflect upon your goodness each and every day and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen [Music] all s pra him all creatures PR heav PR father son Holy G [Music] oh