Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. Take God's word. Find Titus chapter 3 and begin reading with me now in just a moment.
In verse 3. Titus 3, verse 3. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish. Disobedient. Deceived.
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy. Hateful. and hating one another, but After that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared. Not by works of righteousness that we have done. But according to his mercy He saved us.
by the washing of regeneration. and renewing of the Holy Ghost. which he shed on us abundantly. Through Jesus Christ. our Savior.
that being justified by his You see that word? Grace. We should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal Life. We're speaking today one more time on the amazing Grace of God. And grace is amazing.
And it is so contrary to human nature. Help me a little bit. and finish these sentences for me. There's no such thing as A free lunch. All right, we make money the old-fashioned way, we.
Earn it. God helps those who Help themselves. You get What you pay for. I mean, it's just ingrained in us, isn't it? I mean, grace is absolutely contrary to human nature.
We want to do it ourselves. Materialism says? Buy your way out. Politics say? Legislate your way out.
Militarism says Fight your way out. Industry says Work your way out. Philosophy says Think your way out. Deception says Bluff your way out. But the grace of God.
is the way out. It is absolutely contrary. To human nature. It is the amazing grace of God. Paul is telling Titus he was there in Crete and he was saved, twice born in a place of once-born people, and that he should live like a Christian there and display Christian.
character. This world is not our home. We're passing through. A Strangers away from home. A vagabond has no home.
But a pilgrim is going home. We're pilgrims. This world is not our home. We're on our way. To glory.
But while we're on our way, we're to demonstrate the wonderful grace of God to all of those who are around about us. And then after he gives those first two verses, He begins to talk to us about our lives. Our grace lies. Ralph Edwards used to come on television with a program called This Is Your Life.
Now, this is your life we're going to be talking about right now. If you're saved, And if you're not saved, this is the life that you can have. And I pray, God, you will have. Matt. Paul divides our spiritual life up into three categories that are quite natural: the past, The present.
and the future. And I want you to see as he talks, first of all, about our past life. What we used to be. And we're going to call that Past Guilt. Do you have it?
Look if you will in verse three. Here's our past guilt. For we ourselves also were. Thank God for the were. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish.
Disobedient. Deceived. serving divers lusts and pleasures. Living in malice and envy, Hateful. and hating one another.
And as he talks about our past guilt, he talks about what our past guilt was intellectually. What our past guilt was morally. and what our past guilt was socially. It's all right there in that verse, so look at it. What does he say we were intellectually?
What was our past guilt intellectually? He says we were foolish. Do you see it? We were foolish. The word foolish doesn't mean here lacking in intelligence.
That's not the idea. You can have a big IQ and be foolish. The Bible says great men are not always wise. And put in your margin 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 18 through 20. Listen to this.
For the preaching of the cross. is to them that perish. Foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. Amen.
If you're saved, it's the power of God. If you're not saved, it may seem foolish. And then God says, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, that is the intellectual topwaters, the high muckety-mucks, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. And then God throws out this challenge: Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? Question: If we're so smart, why are we in such a mess? Think about it if we're so smart. Why are we tottering on the brink?
God says, what has all of you vaunted? Education done.
Now the cross that we preach is foolish to this world. It's Christ alone. We're saved by the cross alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The statesmen, the movers, the shakers, the philosophers, the thinkers, the educators. They don't understand this.
It's foolishness unto them. I remember Our Lord sang over there in John chapter 3 verse 14, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. Remember what had happened, the people had disobeyed God? And God sent fiery serpents there into the camp to bite them, because the serpent is a symbol of sin, and the people were dying.
And they went to Moses, and Moses went to God, and God said to Moses, Make a brazen serpent and put it upon a pole and tell the people that whoever looks at that serpent in faith will be healed of his snake bite.
So, wonderful Old Testament graphic illustration of salvation. Because in the New Testament, the Bible says in John 3, verse 14, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That brazen serpent represents the Lord Jesus. You say a serpent representing Jesus? Yes.
Him who knew no sin, God hath made to be sin for us. He took our sin and carried it to the cross. Brass is a symbol of judgment. And Jesus was sin being judged. That's what it's all about.
And in the Old Testament, they were told to look and to live. I want you to go back into that desert time. I want you to imagine what it must have been like. Those fiery serpents were everywhere, under the bed covers, behind the bushes, on the ground. People were dying everywhere.
Faces were white with fear. Hands were trembling. Eyes were red with tears. There were hurried funerals everywhere. I want you to imagine.
A woman. whose husband has been snake bitten and he's dying. She hurries to the tent. her face radiant as the noonday sun. She says to her husband, husband, Oh, I've got wonderful news.
You don't have to die. God has made a provision. Moses went to God, and God told Moses: if He put a serpent upon a pole, that whoever would look at it would be healed of snake bite. And husband, Hallelujah, you're going to live. You don't have to die.
I have wonderful news for you.
Now, just imagine that husband saying, now, wait, are you talking about the brass snake theory.
Well, sweetheart, I'm talking about it, but it's no theory. People have been healed all over the camp. I mean, it's wonderful. It's not a theory. He's, wait a minute.
Wait a minute. I'm sick. I'm miserable. I'm dying. And you come in here with your foolish, superstitious religion.
Look, I... I'm not the smartest man in the world. But I'm smart enough to know there is no possible connection between my dying condition and some stupid piece of metal on a pole. That's bad enough in here without your bringing your religion into this household and I. Refuse To have you speak to me about that any More.
Do you understand, lady? But, husband, no butts about it. I don't want to hear any more about a brass serpent. And so he dies. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.
But unto us who are saved is the power of God. You can refuse Christ if you want to. We were sometime Foolish. And look as he goes on to describe what we were intellectually. Disobedient.
You know what the word disobedient means? It doesn't mean simply that we disobey. I look this word up and it has the idea of willful, obstinate, stubborn disobedience. Disobedience? in the light of truth.
I mean not wanting to know the truth. I was reading an account of a lawyer. And this lawyer was arguing about the truth of Christianity with another person. And then this person asked this lawyer a very penetrating question. He asked him this.
Well, now wait a minute. I want to ask you this question. If you were convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. If you were convinced, would you follow him? He said no.
See, his problem was not in his mind. His problem was in his heart. That's what this word disobedient means here. It has the idea of being unyielding, and then it says deceive. Why are we so foolish?
Why are we so willfully disobedient before we get saved? Because there's a devil, the great deceiver. The Bible says he deceives the whole world. And if you die and go to hell, you can say, Satan lied to me. He deceived me.
That's what we were intellectually before we got saved. Thank God we got saved out of it by the grace of God. By the grace of God, because no one like this would be saved apart from the grace of God. And look what we were morally. Look at it, serving divers lusts and pleasures.
Weymouth translates it this way, habitual slaves to all sorts of passions. That's what we were. That's our past guilt. We were just simply living. For us.
for self, habitual slaves to all sorts of passions. Living in sin. is not only a vice, it's a trap. The more we are into it, the deeper we sink. It may be the sins of the back alley, drugs and sex and violence, or it may be the refined pleasures and treasures of the social club and the boulevard and the niceties of this world, but it doesn't make any difference.
Sin is Sin. And then he talks about what we were not only intellectually and not only what we were morally, but he talks about what we were socially, living in malice and envy. hateful and hating one another.
Now, the reason we hate one another is we're hateful. I mean, the problem is in us. You say, I can't get along with other people.
Well, it's because you can't get along with yourself. Let me give you something that ought to cause you to hang your head, according to William Bennett. former Secretary of Education of the United States of America. He has said, That's since 1960. There has been a 560% increase in violent crime.
I said 560%. I didn't say it had doubled. That's since 1960. What is that?
Well, friend, the problem is in one little three-letter word, and it's sin. That's an old-fashioned word, isn't it? It is sin. Past guilt, that's what we were, what we were intellectually. What we were.
Morally. What we were socially. Hateful and hating one another. You say, Well, now, Pastor Rogers, I've never committed a crime like that. I guess I must be all right.
Do you know your self-righteousness is probably the most stinking sin of all? Let me tell you something. It is not the amount of sin, it is the fact of sin that condemns us. More people have drowned in nine feet of water than have drowned in 90 feet. We are sinners.
Sinners by birth. Sin is by nature. Sinners by choice. and sinners under condemnation, but most of the people in America are egomaniacs strutting to hell thinking they're too good to be damned. Paul tells in verse 3 what we were.
That's past guilt. But now. I want you to see what we are. Present grace. Oh, thank God for this.
Now look, if you will, in verse 4. And verse 4 begins with a little word, but. I love it. But. This is a corner verse here.
God turns the corner. But. Hallelujah. But. After the kindness and love of God, our Savior toward man appeared.
Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. Why are we saved? What is this present grace?
Well, number one, It is rooted in the sovereign love of the Father. Look at verse 4. After that, the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared. Do you know what you have going for you today? God loves you.
God loves you. Some time ago. I heard a preacher named Bugner Fanning. Preach a message, and he told a story, and that message, I've not been able to forget it. It was about a man who lost his dog somewhere out.
in the Midwest, I believe. He put an ad in the paper. And it said something like this. Lost dog. Reward offered.
Mixed breed. Limps due to automobile accident and arthritic condition. Blind in one eye. Large patches of fur missing. Due to mains.
does not hear well. Answers to the name lucky. Yeah. And he said, and I agree with him. You know.
He was a lucky dog. You know why?
Somebody loved him.
Somebody loved him.
Not for anything else, just somebody loved him. When you think about us folks, we're more than lucky dogs. We're blessed. Blessed because God Loves. Yes.
That's grace. The Bible says God committeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, verse 3. But God loved us. Verse 4. That's grace.
God doesn't love us because we're valuable. We're valuable. Because God loves us. That's what the gospel is all about. And so he says, it's not by works of righteousness that we have done.
I mean, if it were by works of righteousness that we have done. How can we save ourselves? Because the Bible says in Isaiah 64 verse 6, all of our righteousness is as filthy rags, stinking rags in God's sight. Those of you who are still trying to work your way to heaven, How are you going to do it? You don't have any righteousness.
Even our righteousness is as filthy rags in God's sight. Let me tell you how grace spells salvation. Not do. And not don't. But done.
That's the way you spell it. It is not addition. There is nothing you can do that will take away what you've already done. It is not subtraction. There's nothing you can stop doing.
If you drink and you stop drinking without getting saved, you'll just go to hell sober. What I'm trying to say is this, that sin is sin. It must be atoned for. And if you try anything else other than the grace of God, you go to die and go to hell. I read somewhere about a man who fell out of a rowboat into the Niagara River.
And the river was flowing toward the falls. And they tried to save him. And so they threw him a rope. And he held the rope for a while. But then he saw a big log coming past.
and let go of the rope. and grabbed hold of the log. That was pretty stupid, wasn't it? Because both he and the log went over the falls. You see, no matter what else you hold on to.
If you are not linked by the rope of grace to the heart of God, You're going to perish. It's not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. And I'm so glad. I'm so glad we're not saved by works because, you know, if we were saved by works, we could brag about it. Ephesians 2:8 and 9 says, For by grace you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves that is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
When I played high school football, We played Daytona and It was raining. It was a miserable night. There was water standing on the field. I roomed that night with a big tackle. I mean, he was a big guy.
And in the course of the game, Just by happenstance. A pass was intercepted by this tackle.
Now he was not the pass intercepting type. He was overweight. Actually, he didn't really intercept it. It just fell there and stuck. And he looked down and there it was.
So he wrapped both hands around it.
Now, I'll tell you something, folks. It seemed to me. that we blocked every man on the field three times. In order to get him down the field.
Now, he wasn't a speedster. When he ran, he would say right leg, left leg, right leg, left leg. But Scotty, he scored. I mean he ran it back. And I roomed with the bird.
All night long, he talked about those brilliant moves, you know, and how he went down. I'd hate to be in heaven with people talking about how they got themselves to heaven. The Bible says it's not of works. Lest any man should boast, friend, we're going to heaven by the grace of God, and all glory and praise and honor goes to Him. you won't be able to take that much of it.
Not by works of righteousness that we have done. What is the grace of God?
Well, listen to me, friend. It is the sovereign love of the Father, and secondly, it is the supernatural work of the Spirit. Look, if you will, now in verse 5. By the washing and regeneration by the washing of regeneration. and renewing of the Holy Ghost.
the love of the Father and the work of the Spirit. You see, salvation is supernatural. He regenerates us. He calls it the washing of regeneration. This is not baptism.
Water on your skin can't take sin out of your heart. How are we washed? Put these scriptures down. Zachariah 13 and verse 1 in the Old Testament, in that day... There shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness.
There's going to be a fountain. and you can wash in that fountain for sin and uncleanness.
Well, what is that fountain? Revelation chapter 1 and verse 5, the Bible speaks. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it calls him the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. And then it says, Unto him that loved us.
and washed us from our sins. In his own Blood. Listen to it. unto him that loved us. And washed us.
from our sins in His own blood. In Revelation chapter 7, verse 14, a great multitude is there. And I said unto him, Sir, Thou knowest, and he said unto me, These are they, listen to it, these are they which have come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes. and made them white. in the blood of the Lamb.
We're not washed in water. Friend, we're washed in blood. But we are washed. Hallelujah. We're washed.
Put this verse down. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. And if you've been in deep sin, listen to this. This is a shouting verse, if there ever was one. Know ye not?
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators Nor idolaters. Nor adulterers. Nor effeminate.
nor abusers of themselves with mankind. Nor thieves. Nor covetous. No drunkards. No revilers.
Nor extortioners Shall inherit the kingdom of God. You say, Well, Pastor Rogers, What's so good about that?
Well, listen to verse 11. And such were.
Some of you. But ye are washed. You're sanctified. He doesn't say such are. You.
You may have been a fornicator. You may have been an adulterer. You may have been sexually perverted. You may have been a thief, a murderer, an extortioner. But when you get saved, you are washed whiter than snow in the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
There's a wonderful lady. in our Southern Baptist Convention, who was a street harlot in San Antonio. She got saved. And in her testimony, and I love to hear her give it. She said, I got on my knees.
A filthy harlot. I got up. A pure virgin. Search. Where?
Some of you. Hey folks, you're not just... Paint it over. You're not just remodeled. You're made new.
If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation. Old things are what? Passed away. They're gone, buried in the grave of God's forgetfulness. There is the washing of regeneration.
How? In the blood of the Lamb, there's a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood. lose all A double L, their guilty stains. Friend, that's grace. Folks say, well, you say, well, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Baptist.
You better be a washed-in-the-blood Baptist. It doesn't make any difference. You can be a Baptist and go to hell, but you can't be saved and go to hell no matter what denomination you are. And if you're saved, you're going to be saved by the grace of God. There's no other way to be saved.
What is this present grace?
Friend, it's the love of the Father. It's the work of the Spirit by the washing of regeneration and renewing. of the Holy Ghost.
Now he makes you new and he keeps renewing. This means continuous action. Day by day, moment by moment, he keeps us, he renews us, he restores us, he refreshes us. His mercies are new every day. He doesn't just forgive us and then say that's it.
Oh, this is the grace. Yeah. It is. The sovereign love of the Father. It is the supernatural work of the Spirit, and it is the saving death of the Son.
Look, if you will, in verse 6, which He shed on us. abundantly through Jesus Christ. Our Savior. Our Savior. And by the way, our Savior is God because, let me just show you something while we're in the neighborhood.
Verse 4 calls God our Savior. And verse 6 calls Jesus Christ our Savior.
Now, is God our Savior or is Jesus Christ our Savior? The answer is yes. The answer is yes. God, our Savior, Jesus Christ, died for us. There's the sacrificial work of the Savior, He provided Himself.
an innocent sacrifice. He bore our sins. Jesus stepped out of heaven, came to this earth, lived a sinless life. Allowed puny hands of wicked men to strike him on his cheeks. There in Pilate's judgment hall, they took bamboo clubs and they.
Put a crown of thorns on his head and then beat him upon the head. Then they blindfolded him. and played blind man's bluff with him. They played games with the King of Kings. They shoved him to one of those wicked soldiers to another.
There was the Son of God being brutalized. They would take their big fist. and strike him in the face with their fists. The blood would run down his nostrils. They would say, ha!
If you're a prophet, Tell us now, who hit you? And they'd strike him. The Bible says that they pulled the beard from his face. His face looked like a piece of Raw meat. They spat in his face.
Humans spit in the face of God. Then they took him out. stripped his garments from him. Put him on a rack. until his back was smooth as silk.
And then they took some psychopathic dungeon keeper who was probably a volunteer for the job. And with a whip called a cat of nine tails, with little bits of bone and lead and glass in the end. They began to flay open the back of the Lord Jesus Christ. Flesh would hang down like ribbons. Many people die just from the flogging.
Just from the scourging. And after that, they put A purple robe on him. They put a wilted reed in his hand, and they bowed down and said, Ho ha, hail, King of the Jews. Then they took him out. Stretched him out.
on a hellish cross. and took great spikes. And a coal hammer. and drove those nails through his quivering flesh. And his fingers clutched those cold nails and his torn flesh.
They drove those nails through his feet. They lifted that cross up. Dropped it. Jesus Christ there. and the taunting rabble in the crowd.
Suffered as no one else has ever suffered. But old friend Not the fist in the face, not the spit. Not the nails, not the crown of thorns, not the mockery. But consider this. That God the Father had to turn his back.
on Jesus. Because he became sin, and the Bible says that God the Father is of pure eyes and to behold sin. And Jesus. Jesus, him who knew no sin. took mine and yours.
and carried it to the cross. You know what you call that, friend? Grace. That's grace. Back!
Hands. Grace, and I love you. I love Jesus. I do. Blessed Redeemer.
Precious Redeemer. Seems now I see him on Calvary's tree, wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading, blind and unheeding, dying for me. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. This is present grace.
The love of the Father, the work of the Spirit, the death of the Savior. Thank God. For his Amazing grace. Then I want you to see Something else. Dear friend.
Not only our past guilt. Not only our present grace. But I want you to see our future glory. There it is. Guilt.
Grace. and glory. Verse 3 speaks of our guilt. Verses four through six Speak of grace. And verse 7 speaks of glory.
Look at it. that in order that because of that being justified by his grace. We should be made heirs. According to the hope, of eternal life. That's talking about what is coming.
That is talking about our future. Heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Do you know what a joint heir is? A joint error means we share.
and share alike. We are heirs of God. We inherit all things. That's what the Bible says. We inherit all things.
The best is yet to come.
Now the Bible calls the Holy Spirit in our hearts that we have right now the down payment. The Holy Spirit in our hearts right now is called the earnest of our inheritance. Do you know what the word earnest means? You're going to buy something, give somebody some earnest money. You see?
The Holy Spirit in your heart is the earnest money. that you're getting the full legacy. Later on. You don't have it all now. There's the future glory.
That's the reason I told you this world's not our home. We're just pilgrims. We're just passing through. Do you know what I love in the Old Testament? I love the story of the man named Eleazar.
who was sent by Abraham to get a bride for Isaac. Isaac is a picture in the Old Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a type of Christ. Eleazar is a picture and a type of the Holy Spirit. who seeks a bride for Jesus.
Abraham is a picture of God the Father who sent Eleazar to seek a bride for his son. Because God the Father is seeking a bride for his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what the Old Testament story is all about. I love that story because it's such a beautiful story. Can you imagine Eleazar now?
Abraham gives Eleazar just all kinds of incredible wealth.
So Eleazar has all of the disposal of the father at his hand to go seek a bride. And Eleazar goes into a far country. And there he finds the one led of God. whose name was Rebecca.
Now you talk about a salesman. Eliezer. Had to convince Rebecca to go with him. To marry a man She had never seen.
Now think about it. She went with a man she had never met. to marry a man. She had never seen. That's pretty persuasive, isn't it?
That's an illustration of how the Holy Spirit teaches us to love Jesus, whom having not seen, we love. See, that's the work of the Holy Spirit.
Well, Eleazar got Rebekah. The whole time Eleazar is telling Rebekah about Isaac. how handsome Isaac is. How strong Isaac is, how wealthy Isaac is, what a wonderful father Isaac has, how blessed she's going to be, how she's going to inherit so much. And so he tells her all of this.
And finally, Rebekah says. Deliezer, all right. I'll go. And they start back to the Mr. Kanan.
And there's Rebekah and Eleazar. Eleazar is the servant representing the Holy Spirit. And the Bible says, that along the way he would take treasures and gifts. and give them to Rebecca. You know, they'd be going along there.
He could look over and see her chin quivering a little bit. Maybe see a tear in the corner of her eye. Maybe see her just fumbling with her fingers and say, you know, she's sad, she's homesick, she's a little nervous. She's wondering, is there really And Isaac. Is he really?
That wonderful? Is he really? That rich. You know what O Eliezer would do? He'd open that little box of jewels.
He'd take a necklace out and put it around her neck. That's from Isaac. He just wanted you to have it. Then a little later on, you know, they'd be going along and he'd see her tear again. He'd reach in and get a ring and put it on her hand.
Say that's from Isaac. He just wanted you to have it. You love Izzy. All the way, he was dropping little gifts. Little tokens into her heart.
Till that day. She arrived. And there was Isaac. standing there at the edge of the field. And when she met him, She'd already heard so much about him, she knew him.
Said, that's him. Didn't need any introductions, Eleazar. had done his job. Friend? That's what the dear Holy Spirit does for you.
All along the way, he just drops little gems into your heart. He sees our fears. He sees our tears.
So this is from Jesus. He just wants you to have it. This is a jewel of joy. This is a pearl of peace. He wanted you to have it.
But friend. We get the full legacy. Later on. Right now, we just have the earnest of the Spirit. He was just giving her little tokens, little down payments.
But you see, the Bible speaks of our future glory. We're going to inherit all things in the Lord Jesus Christ. Aren't you glad you're saved? I mean, think of our past guild. Think of our present grace.
Think of our future glory with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the amazing grace of God. If I would offer you The money in this bill fold. You say, How much is in there, preacher? Not much.
If I would offer you the money in this bill fold. I say, you want the money? Come get the bill folded. When you got the bill folded. You get the money that's in it.
Friend, when you receive Jesus. You receive the eternal life. It's in Jesus. You can't have that life. without having Jesus.
In him is life. Receive him. See, salvation is a gift. You receive it, you'll never earn it. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Forgive my sin and save me. For Christ's sake. And he will. I know you are interested in the things of God or you wouldn't be here today. Why don't you just say, Lord Jesus, today's the day.
I'm going to give my heart to you. I'm not going to wait any longer. I'm not going to boast about tomorrow because it may not get here. Today I'm going to settle it. Today I'm going to give my heart to you.
And I'm going to make it public today. that I belong to you. Father, I pray that many will. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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