For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. ~Titus 2:11-12

For many years I functionally operated under the unhappy assumption that while God had miraculously and gloriously saved me by an utter act of His grace; that I was basically on my own in my spiritual growth. I had not grasped the truth of Titus 2: Christians are recipients of both saving grace and training grace. This grace teaches us to say no to sin and yes to godliness. The word used in verse 12 is pedagogue which is where we get our word pedagogy (“teaching”). In other words, grace is our tutor for the Christian life.

Now this is opposite of what we might think. We are probably inclined to think that it is not God’s grace, but his law that disciplines us. Despite the fact that we know our salvation is all of grace, it is easy for us to slip into a performance mindset that believes that God’s acceptance of me depends on my own performance. So for instance, we have the impression that God smiles or frowns on us depending on whether we have our quiet time or performed some other spiritual disciplines. This can lead to doing good things so that “nothing bad will happen to me” or so that “God will be happy with me.” But Paul makes it clear that it is God’s grace–his unmerited favor–that trains us. In all of our duty in the Christian life we must remember the overarching truth that God is dealing with us in grace.

This means that our spiritual growth does not ultimately depend on us. Of course this does not mean that we are not responsible to respond to God’s spiritual training in our lives, but it does mean that God is the one in charge of that training. He is our shepherd, leading us in paths of righteousness.

If you’re like me, it’s easy to begin to look at the Bible as merely a big rule book–something that tells you what to do and what not to do, and expects you to perfectly meet all of God’s requirements. This is simply the law of God. It gives you no ability to obey and it only condemns you when you fail, so it can leave you feeling helpless, guilty, and utterly discouraged. As you try to live your Christian life by sheer grit and determination to do right and please God, you bump up against an unflinching reality–the more you try, the more you fail.

But the good news of the gospel is that the grace of God actually enables us to live holy lives. As we allow the reality of what it means to be united to Christ and accepted in him to sink deep into our hearts, it gives us confidence and hope in our struggle with sin. When we get a good view of ourselves and our sinfulness; and a magnificent, glorious view of the immeasurable grace of God–we will respond in joyful, grateful obedience. Obedience then becomes not a matter of grudging, guilty duty; but one of delight.

John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, understood this. He writes about the difference between law and grace:

Run, John, run. The law commands

But gives me neither feet nor hands.

But better news the Gospel brings;

It bids me fly and gives me wings.

As believers clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we do not have just a bare command to do right, but we now have the enabling grace to obey the command!  We need not labor under the crushing burden of sin for the rest of our Christian lives. In Christ we are free. Grace gives us wings to fly.

May we learn to trust the gracious leading of our Shepherd as he leads us paths in of righteousness for his name’s sake.

I love being a pastor. There is great joy not only in serving God personally, but in mobilizing others to do so as well. It’s an unspeakable privilege to put the Great Commission task in front of God’s people and exhort them to give their all in kingdom service.

And yet I’ve slowly come to realize something. Serving God can become an idol. It is possible to put the mission of God in the place of God himself. While the Christian who loves Christ certainly must serve him, he must understand that it is possible to let service displace his love for Christ.

Christians have been given a mission–namely to spread the good news of the Gospel to all peoples for their good and God’s glory. And yet Os Guinness is correct that “first and foremost we are called to Someone, not to something or somewhere.” Our greatest joy is not found even in service of Christ, but in Christ himself. The apostle Paul called himself “a servant of Christ” and says he became all things to all people so that he might win some “for the sake of the gospel.” But the same Paul says that he counts all things as rubbish compared to the surpassing value of having Christ (Phil. 3:8).

In other words, Christ himself is our treasure. Our communion with Christ is what gives birth to our service for Christ. Our joy in him fuels mission in his name. And while that mission dominates our lives, it does not define them. Our identity is not most fundamentally rooted in what we do for Christ, but who we are in Christ.

Many Christians today are using their service for God as the thing that gives them significance and meaning. This is why it is possible to have whole churches filled with people busy about “the work of the ministry,” but doing so with empty souls. They know there should be joy in serving Jesus, but there just doesn’t seem to be. And so they double down and work harder and do more; all in an attempt to drown out the aching of their hearts. And yet Augustine was correct: he has made us for himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in him.

And so yes, we must serve God to be faithful Christians. There is no faithful Christian living without mission. And yet we must be fully persuaded that Christ himself is our highest prize. A heart that treasures him supremely, will serve him in faith.

This fall Jon Albright, Lukus Counterman, Will Galkin, and Jon Kopp are planting Gospel Grace Church in one of the neediest cities in the country–Salt Lake City, UT. You can read about what brought these brothers together, the plan, and the vision at their website Plant For The Gospel. By God’s grace, they desire to see multiple churches planted that center on genuine worship, intentional relational evangelism, gospel-centered discipleship and community, and purposed multiplication.

There is great need for provision of funds and resources for this vision to be accomplished. My friend Jonathan Jarrett is planning to join the team in 2013 and has come up with a creative way to support Gospel Grace Church’s church planting vision. He assembled a group of friends to record and produce a worship album, which can be purchased at his website. All proceeds go directly to supporting these brothers and the church plant.

I’ve listened through the entire album now twice and have really been encouraged. There’s a good mixture of old hymns and new songs. The thread that ties them together is a focus on the exaltation of Christ. The style is simple–almost “congregational” in nature. The instrumentation is mere but enhancing. With the focus on the human voice, the result is that the lyrics are central in a way that is not typical in many worship albums. I’ve been encouraged and pointed to Christ by listening!

Would you consider supporting this church planting endeavor by purchasing this cd? You get a great album, but more importantly you get to participate in the work of the gospel that is happening in a city in great need. If you’re interested, simply click here.