No Christian can ever use the excuse, I can't help it. Dr. Tony Evans says that's because God's given us a free gift that's more than a match for any habit or hang-up. I don't care how powerful that sin attraction is, grace can up it. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.
Tony Evans. Dr. Evans says the key to increasing the distance between you and your sins is reducing the distance between you and your Lord. He'll talk to us about how that happens as he takes us to the book of Titus, chapter 2, for today's lesson. Grace is unmerited favor.
It is all that God is now free to do that cannot be earned, that is never deserved, and could never be repaid. Yet it is the expression of his goodness. But to experience the grace that has been provided. We've already seen you got to grow in grace. That is, grow in your understanding of it.
and your experience with it. How do you know if you're growing in grace? The way you know you're growing in grace is that you are. changing. If you're not changing, you're not growing.
How do you know that a A baby is growing because that baby is changing. getting taller, getting bigger, able to now speak and articulate. They are changing.
So, no matter how much church you go to or how much religious activity you're involved in, if you aren't changing. Then you want growing. The concern is that you grow in grace. and the growth is reflected in the changes or transformation that occurs.
So today I want to talk to you about Transformed by grace. Remember now, grace is not merely a theory or a theology. It is an environment. It is an atmosphere in which the Christian is to live in order to partake of, benefit from, and experience. This awesome New Testament.
Term called grace, the unmerited favor of God. It is when you get inside of this environment and don't dip in and out, but operate within it. That the changes in your life that you need to occur will begin to occur. once you have become a Christian and accepted Christ. It is because people do not grow in their understanding of grace, or in their execution of grace that they do not experience the transforming power of grace.
even when they sincerely want to change.
So he says in verse 11, the grace of God has appeared. bringing salvation to all men. We said that grace is not merely a theory or a theology. But it is a person. That's why the word appears shows up again in verse 13.
Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. But then it comes to verse 12. He says, the grace of God instructs us. teaches us or trains us.
So what does the grace of God exactly teach us? Verse 12 says, to deny ungodliness. And worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age. When you understand grace, You grow in righteousness and shrink in sin. It says, the grace of God teaches us to say no to wrong and yes to right.
To say yes to the will of God and no to the will of this world order. Because if you're growing in grace, you're changing. And what is the change taking place? Your increasing ability to use your yes and no in the right places. When you're not growing in grace, Ungodliness and worldly desires Get to instruct you.
When you are growing in grace, The grace of God teaches you how to overrule. ungodliness and what he calls worldly desires. What does godliness mean? Godliness means a lifestyle that consistently reflects the character of God.
Now, it is at this point there is a lot of misunderstanding about grace. Any definition of grace that defines grace as covering sin. Is a false definition of grace, and there are a lot of misdefinitions out there on grace. Grace does not cover sin. Paul knew that people could use this word grace and abuse it.
Because it is a merited favor, they might get the impression, God doesn't care how I live because now I'm saved. That's why he says in Romans chapter 1, shall we sin that grace may abound? Shall we sin just because we know God is a forgiving God? He says that is not the right definition of grace. He says the right definition of grace.
is I'm becoming more righteous and less sinful. Grace is unmerited favor. It is all that God is now free to do. According to Romans chapter 5, verse 20 and 21, The reason why, when you grow in grace, it will overrule sin in our lives. Is because Romans 5, 20, and 21 says, grace is greater than sin.
I don't care how powerful that sin attraction is, grace is more powerful than it is. It's more powerful than the drug addiction. It's more powerful than the alcoholism. It's more powerful than the immorality. It is more powerful than the pride.
It is more powerful than the uncontrolled anger. It is more powerful than the selfishness. It is more powerful than, he said, whatever the sin is, grace can up it. Grace can overcome it. What that means is...
No Christian can ever use the excuse I can't help it.
Now, that's a natural excuse to use because that's how you feel.
So that feeling is real. I'm not dissing the feeling. But because grace is greater The issue is not how powerful the addiction is. The issue is, am I growing in grace? Because when I grow in grace, it has the power to override the sin that I think I can't beat.
He says grace teaches us. Here's what grace does. All the grace. You ever need you already have.
So You don't get grace more in terms of its provision. you get more grace in terms of your experience of the provision. See, he's already provided it just like a baby has everything it needs to become an adult. but it has to grow into adulthood to experience everything it got when it was conceived.
So that raises the next question, doesn't it? How do I begin the process of tapping in? to this powerful resource called grace.
Well, look in verse 13. Looking for The blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior. Christ Jesus. Mm. He's talking about grace, but then he tells you to look to a person.
Because Jesus is the dispensary of grace. His job is to pour it out. Grace upon grace, the scripture says.
So he's the delivery system of this grace as you look to him. for it. In other words, now watch this, because this is going to be a little curveball. You must have a Jesus. Focus.
Watch this, not a sin focus.
Now you've got to deal with a sin reality.
Okay, whatever it is, you don't deny it's there. But the problem can help you fix it. In other words, If I'm thinking about ice cream all day. Even though I don't need it, if I'm thinking about it all day, I'm reminding myself of how much I want it. The problem can fix the problem.
The problem must be recognized. The problem must be identified. But only grace through looking to Jesus is able to fix the problem that you want to say no to or need to say yes to.
So therefore it is, here it is. Your proximity. to Jesus that dispenses the grace. To be able to overcome the unrighteousness that you may be battling. And there's not a person in here that's not battling something.
Now, it may be low level, mid-level, high-level. It comes different strokes, different folks. But everybody has these areas in their lives where they need spiritual improvement on. He says, looking to Jesus, because the sin can't help you fix the sin. It is your proximity.
It is because a lot of people who want to get rid of things in their lives are still so distant from Jesus. that they don't see the grace being dispensed to have the victory that they need. Doctor Evans will share a humorous example to illustrate that serious point when he returns in just a moment. First, though, today's lesson is part of Tony's powerful two-volume series called The Magnificent Grace of God. In these 12 lessons, Tony explains what grace really is.
Not just a theological word, but the very foundation of our relationship with God. you'll discover how grace not only saves you, but strengthens you, restores you, and reshapes the way you live every single day. When you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station, We'll say thanks by sending you both volumes of this series. Available on CD, USB flash drive, or instantly downloadable MP3s. And for a limited time, we'll also include Tony's devotional book, Anchored by Grace.
This encouraging resource will help you learn how to apply the reality of God's grace personally and consistently in your life. You can request this special resource package today at tonyevans.org. or call 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night to make the arrangements. That's 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat that contact information for you after part two of today's message.
Here's Tony. See, many Christians are on a Diet plan. I gotta do this and I gotta do that. And I need 12 steps for this and 20 steps for that. And they're on a diet plan.
They go up and down. When Jesus is saying, if we can get this relationship hook up right. Then, what you are going up and down for, which is usually related to the Mosaic law, but it's usually related to the Ten Commandments. It's really related to I got to do this, and God's going to get me if I don't do that, because they don't understand grace.
So, they end this up and down. They victory one minute, they defeated the next minute, they're up and down. When what God says, I want to change the relationship. And if the relationship changes, the grace is dispensed.
Now, what this practically means is Jesus can't be a visitor in your life. See for many people, Jesus is a Sunday visitor. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. He must consume your life.
In other words, he must be brought to bear in every aspect of your life. Because You're in a relationship now and you want the dispensing of that relationship. It's like when you're getting up in the morning, Jesus, come on, you and I hanging out today. Come on, you need to show me what you want me to do today. You need to correct me if I'm going wrong today because it's you and me today, Jesus.
And then when you're going into a meeting, God, I need your wisdom today, Jesus, because I need you to help me to work through this problem. And now Jesus is hanging out with you. The Bible calls it abiding. And when you're biting, He says, now we're hanging out. Man, I'm not a date.
You take me out on Sunday and then you pick me up again next week. No, no, no. You're looking to me. I'm involved in every aspect of your life. And when this relationship is increasing, what happens?
Verse 14: Who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed? and to purify for himself a people of his own possession. zealous for good works. Wow. He says the relationship will...
Clean things up. That are dirty. When your dishes are real dirty, you soak them, right? You put them in the hot water and you just, you let them hang out together. The dirty plate hangs out with the hot water and the suds.
And all they're doing is hanging out. They're just spending time with each other, the water and the plate. They're just in each other's company. But if you leave it in there long enough, you slide the dirt off. If you don't do that, you gotta try to work it out, work it out, work it out, and scrub it all.
But if you hang out and let them have a relationship for an extended period of time, The dirt slides off because of the relationship. Because of the relationship. And so what he says is he wants to purify. That is to clean up. Let me ask you this.
When you took a shower this morning, did you wash up first? Anybody's on? Let me get my washcloth and get my sub and wash my Yeah. A wash up. Before you jumped in the shower.
Because once you jump in the shower, you've covered the washing up.
Now it's your relationship to the shower that makes washing up unnecessary. Because the shower offers you so much more. What God is saying is I want to give you a grace bath. It's not your little wash up here and wash up there. Let me try a little bit over here.
Let me try this. Let me try that. No, no, let me soak you. Let me look at one other passage in closing. 2 Corinthians 3:17 and 18 says, Now the Lord is the Spirit.
And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Freedom. But we all, somebody say all? That means you are not an exception.
So you can't say, but you don't know my situation. I may not, but he does. But we all, so don't make yourself an exception. I don't care what you've been through and how long you've been dealing with it. with unveiled face.
Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed. into the same image from glory to glory, just as the Lord the Spirit.
Okay, now you gotta stay with me on this because this is deep. He's talking about being changed, transformed. He says the way you get changed is by the Spirit of God using a mirror on you. Beholding as in a mirror with unveiled face. We've all been to a wedding and seen a bride come down the aisle with a veil on.
That means it's camouflage. You can't fully see her look. until the veil is lifted. He says, God says, if you want me to change you. You gotta take off the mask.
You must come with unveiled face.
Now that changes your prayer life. Because a lot of us are too seditty with God. We're too perfunctory with God. We tell him all the good stuff we know he wants to hear. You so great.
You so good. You know, you know, God says, take off the veil. I know the mess you're dealing with. I know the thoughts you have. I know the things you're watching.
I know the places you're going. Cut the junk. and take off the veil.
So I can see the real you. I already see you. I just want you to let me know what I already see. Take off the veil. And say, God, I'm dirty over here.
I need to be cleaned up over here. I got some bad situations over there. Take off the veil. Now you can be honest with God. No more fake Christianity.
No more fake spirituality. You come clean with me. And then he says, and the way I want you to do it. is in front of the mirror.
Now Nobody in here Knows what you look like. Because you can't see your own face. You cannot see your own face. You may think you look like Denzel Washington. You may think you look like Halliburry.
But the mirror will tell you you lying. Because you can't see your own face. You need the mirror to show you you.
So watch this now. He says, you got to look at the mirror.
Now in this context, the mirror is the word of God. In James chapter 1, he uses the same word mirror in verses 19 to 25. He says, I want you to stare intently at the mirror.
Now, in biblical days, they didn't have glass mirrors. They had brass mirrors. And because they didn't have glass mirrors, they had brass mirrors, you couldn't get a clear picture at first.
So you had to move the brass around in order to get the reflection to give you a good look at it. That's why James 1 says, look intently into the mirror. And the mirror, he says, is the word of God.
So you look inside the mirror, the word of God, but then he says, when you look in the mirror, don't be like a man. The Greek word there is male. Don't be like a male who looks in the mirror and quickly turns away.
Now the reason he says that is because women do not look in the mirror and quickly turn away. No. Women live in the mirror. They don't look in, they live in. There's mirror number one.
That's the one you get up, you look in the bathroom, and it shows you how messed up you got last night. It shows you boo-boo in your eye, and stuff coming down your mouth, and the weave unraveling, and it just shows you all kinds of stuff because it just lets you know stuff ain't right. That's mirror number one. Then there's mirror number two, rightly called the vanity mirror. Because now you looking in the mirror and making sure the makeup is on and the hair is right and all of that.
And then you got mirror number two and a half. That's the mirror you take here to look back here to see back here how things are going out there.
So that's mirror number two and a half. Then you got mirror number three That's the full body mirror. That's where you're looking and twisting and turning. That's mirror number three, okay? Then You got mirror number four.
That's in the car when you have to open up the visor mirror to look at mirror number four. Oh, but you're not finished yet. Because it comes mirror number five. That's in your pouch right now. That's your vanity mirror.
He says, Don't be like a man. Who looks in the mirror and turns away? He says, You stare at that thing, you work with that thing. See, if you. Forget today's sermon, you didn't look in the mirror.
Because what you're supposed to do with the truth of the day is go back to the Bible and rehearse it and think about it. Get the Bible study offline. Get the CD, look at it, stare at it, work with it, work with it, work with it, work with it until it shows you your face, until you begin to see you in it. And the moment Jesus shows you in the mirror of God's word, not because you showed up, but because you are taking the mirror, staring at the mirror, pulling out the mirror, Jesus says, Then I will begin to work grace in your life. And that grace will begin to twist and turn and begin to bring things into reality.
Because he says in 2 Corinthians 3, 17 and 18, once you look in the mirror, stare at the mirror, work with the mirror, the Spirit of God will kick in and change you. Watch this, from glory to glory. That means from this level to this level, to this level.
So you may have addictions this much, but as you stare in the mirror, it will become this much. And then it will become this much. And then it will shrink to this much. And then it will shrink to this much because you're growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Dr.
Evans will return in a moment with a final story about how powerful a word can be. whether it's from God or someone else. First, though, today's lesson is titled Transformed by Grace. And you can hear additional material in the full-length version that's included when you download or request the Magnificent Grace of God series on C D or USB flash drive. As I mentioned earlier, all 12 messages in this two-volume collection are our gift to you when you make a donation to support the Alternative Broadcast Ministry.
And for a limited time, along with the audio series, we are also including a copy of the companion devotional book, Anchored by Grace. This is a special bundle that will only be around for a short time.
So be sure to contact us right away. Just drop by tonyevans.org where you can get all the details and make your donation online. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or you can call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222. and let one of our friendly team members help you.
That number again, one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two. When you think about how much it costs Jesus to set us free from sin. It's hard to imagine not living out that freedom. But tomorrow doctor Evans explains how easy it is to slip back into slavery. as he talks about what it means to be liberated by grace.
Right now, though, he's back with the final story to wrap up today's lesson. In closing, if you have teenage daughters, you got to watch them in chat rooms because those chat rooms, and when they meet people online, they're discussing relationships with somebody they've never seen. They've never seen them, but the word becomes so strong and they're spending so much time around his word that little girls fall in love with predators over the internet, even though they've never seen them, never heard their audible voice. But the word is so powerful over the internet that she's thinking thoughts she wouldn't normally think. She's saying things she wouldn't normally say.
She's willing to go places she wouldn't normally go because the word. is in flesh. There is a person behind the word backing up the word, causing her to fall in love through the word with somebody she's never seen.
Now, if an evil human being... can take a computer. and change a person's life who they've never seen. What do you think the living God can do with his word when you're meditating on it, focused on it, and falling in love with him can do to change your life? Grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
