"To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior." Titus 1:4

The little book of Titus has only three chapters. It follows the books of First and Second Timothy. Titus is a small portion of God's Word, but it has a great message. yes, a little book with a big message.

This letter was written by Paul to his son in the ministry, his son in the faith, Titus. Paul signed his name at the beginning of the letter. We sign our name at the end of a letter.

Paul wrote to Titus, "To Titus, mine own son..." in verse four. Titus had been connected to Christianity through the gospel of God's grace as taught by Paul. Titus was Paul's son after the common faith (same grace, same faith) that saves anyone. It is common faith, common salvation. What a great message we have in Titus, a message of grace. That's the very first thing Paul writes Titus.

In chapter three, verse seven, Paul says "That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." In verse 15, he says, "All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you. Amen."

This book, although only three chapters, is filled with God's amazing grace. Paul was proud of Titus. You see, Titus was a golden nugget, he was a hero of grace. You might say that Titus was a beam of light shining the grace of God. Paul put Titus in the spotlight when he went up to Jerusalem. He put Titus on display. That is how much Paul and

Titus trusted and believed in grace.

Galatians 2:1 "Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and took Titus with me also."

In Galatians 2:3-5 we see that the Galatia city was filled with religious people who were mixing works and grace.

What kind of person are you? Are we spotlights of grace? Would be golden nuggets like Titus? Can the people of your community see God's amazing grace in you? We should not only be witnesses, we should be part of the evidence. Just look at Titus in Jerusalem.

Paul's son in the faith

Do you have any children in the faith? Paul not only had a son, Paul had grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the faith.

July 1, 1885, a man named Kimbell had a burden for a shoe salesman, by the name of Dwight L. Moody - D.L. Moody. This layman, Kimbell, went to the shoe store and talked to young Moody about his salvation. Moody got converted. He began Bible classes and then later began preaching. He went to England and preached in Dr. F. B. Meyer's big church. Meyer's life was touched by the Holy Spirit through the Moody's preaching.

F. B. Meyer came to the United States and was preaching in a college at the chapel service and his sermon was about full surrender. He said, "If you cannot tell God you are willing to give Him everything, ask Him to make you willing to be willing." Wilbur Chapman, who was listening to Meyer, said to himself, "He is talking to me, I've been ready to quit, give it up and get out of the ministry." Wilbur Chapman was touched by God and let God use him in a mighty way.

Chapman then began to look for someone to help him in evangelistic work. He found a professional baseball player, a young man converted from a life of drunkenness in Chicago. His name was Billy Sunday. When Chapman got old, he turned his work and equipment over to Sunday. Billy Sunday became a world famous evangelist. He was in his generation was Billy Graham has been and his to his generation.

In 1924 Sunday preached a city-wide crusade in Charlotte, North Carolina. Out of that revival meeting a group of men formed a men's prayer group to pray for the world. They prayed for Charlotte to have another great revival.

God sent another evangelist named Mordecai Hamm. Hamm went to Charlotte in 1934 to hold a crusade. Under the big tent were two young men, Grady Wilson and 15-year-old Billy Graham. Graham was converted in that crusade and dedicated his life to telling others about salvation. Grady Wilson became a preacher too, and the two of them worked together for many years.

Look at the chain reaction: from Kimbell to Moody to Meyer, to eventually, Billy Graham. Most of us have never heard of the Bible class teacher named Kimbell. We have dropped his name and only remembered the famous Graham, but heaven has not lost his name. His name is written down in glory. You never know what you set in motion when you help win a soul for Christ.

What is grace?

When we speak of grace, we have in our mind God's amazing grace. Grace is unmerited favor toward us as sinners. We did not merit it and we did not deserve it. Grace is a free gift of God. Without price and without anything to give, God gave us grace. We call it free grace.

My seminary professor, Dr. Murdock, said of grace, "Grace is God's supreme love and goes in search of the sinner and without anything good in the natural man, God forgives His sins and makes him an adopted son of God. Grace has to do with the past, the present, and the future. Grace is "God's riches at Christ's expense."

"Amazing grace how sweet the sound!" There are three aspects to God's grace: the delight of grace, the denial of grace, and the distortion of grace.

We see liberty in the delight of grace. Freedom in the grace of God as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you understand the grace of God, then you begin to live in freedom and liberty. John 8:36 says, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Galatians 5:1 reads, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

It is God's sovereign grace that caused us to come to Christ. God had His eye on you a long time before you had your eyes on Him. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love him, because he first loved us." When we go to Jesus, he will receive us. In John 6:37, Jesus says, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

Seeking grace

Romans 3:11 says, "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."

How does God seek us? Through a kind person showing an interest in our soul salvation. Perhaps through a piece of literature or perhaps because of mother's prayers. Maybe we attend church and through the Bible study class or during the sermon, the Holy Spirit brings home to our minds the need of having our sins forgiven and our coming to Christ in full surrender. Seeking grace is searching grace. Adam and Eve ran from God, but God searched and sought them out.

Saving grace

Saving grace is that which gives salvation without works or good deeds. Romans 11:6 says "And if by grace, then is it no more works: otherwise grace is no more grace. "But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." You cannot mix grace and works.

Securing grace

How do we keep saved? How do we continue our salvation? By His grace and by our yielding to do His will. By our love for Him and following Him, Christ (Truth) in us. We are not struggling to be saved, we are not striving to be saved, but rather, we are striving to live the Christian life. The Christian life is in conflict with world and that is

because we are born twice.

Satisfying grace

In Titus 1:4, there are three words, grace, mercy, and peace. This is the trinity of blessing. Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. And peace is the result of receiving what we do not deserve and not receiving what we do deserve. How do you know peace? We know peace through the grace of God. It is always grace, then peace; never peace then grace. Grace always precedes peace.

The denial of grace

The denial of grace is legalism. Anytime the devil sees a person celebrating grace, he will move in to break up the joy and happiness. Titus 1:5 says, "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee." A legalist had come in to the city of Crete and had begun to preach strict legalism.

The legalism subverts whole houses, and splits churches. The devil cannot handle the grace of God. He cannot live under love and liberty. He works for the gain of self-glorification. The devil has to have pride and when it comes to salvation, he will plant a seed in your mind. That seed will tell you of all the works and rules you have to follow to be saved. The aim and goal of Satan is bondage. Galatians 5:1 reads, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

The distortion of grace

Now I want us to see the other side of the coin: that is license. In simple language, license is the misunderstanding of grace. License is believing that since I am saved by grace, I can just go and do as I please. But this is distortion of grace, which is cheap grace, and is not accepted by God. His grace is expensive. God's son on the cross is not cheap, but the most expensive event in the universe.

This amazing grace changes us, gives us a desire to live for Him. Grace fixes my wants, too. Those old things we once loved we now hate and the things we once hated, we now love.

What is the difference between cheap grace and true amazing grace? First, cheap grace justifies the sin. Second, God's amazing grace justifies the sinner. True grace changed the sinner and the difference is not what you do, but why you do it.

On the right side of the ditch is legalism, and on the left side, there is license. But on the top on the road there is liberty. Thank God for the grace that brings liberty, that brings true soul salvation.