Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
Home Group questions:
Discuss why some people say that the God of the Old Testament is angry but the God of the New Testament is kind and nice.
How would you answer someone who believes this?
Take a mental journey through the stories that you know from the Old Testament and consider how God's unmerited favor is displayed?
How is Ephesians 2:8-9 such an important verse when if comes to grace based salvation compared to works based salvation?
Bryan Chappel wrote an article in 1998 saying that there wasn't a great deal of difference between the values and morals of the culture and the values and morals of the church. Over 20 years later do you think the church has progressed in a positive way, a negative way, or remained roughly the same? Why do you think that is the case?
Discuss what Dr Martin Lloyd Jones means by the statement: "One of the reasons we have such superficial Christians in the church today is because we have a superficial view of the Cross of Christ."
How could a misunderstanding of grace contribute to Christians failing to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions?
Read Romans 6:1-14. What does it teach us about a Christian's relationship with sin now that we have been saved by grace?
It is grace that saves us but what is the continuing role of grace in our lives? See 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, Romans 12:3-8, 1 Peter 4:9-11.
How does grace train us to live in these three areas of our lives:
self-controlled lives
upright lives (in relation to the world around us)
godly lives (in relation to God)
Lastly, how does Spurgeon's quote help give us the right perspective in regards to sin in our lives: "If Christ has died for me, ungodly as I am, without strength as I am, then I cannot live in sin any longer. I must arouse myself to love and serve Him who has redeemed me. I cannot trifle with the evil that killed my best Friend. I must be holy for His sake. How can I live in sin when He has died to save me from it?"
