Do You See God? (Isaiah 6:1-7)

Isaiah 6:1-7; Key Verse: Isa 6:1,5

"I have seen the Lord...my eyes have seen the King, the Lord God Almighty."

When Isaiah saw God, his life would never be the same again. Let us examine who this God is whom Isaiah saw and what the result is of seeing God. Briefly, our God is holy, and when we see him, we will experience a revival in our soul that will last for an eternity.

Grace Before Obedience (Exodus 19:1-6)

Exodus 19:1-6; Key Verse: Ex 19:4b-5a

"I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me..."

Mt 28:19, 1 Pet 2:9, and Ex 19:4-6 are significant signature verses that have driven UBF over the past half century, especially the phrase "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:6). Ex 19:1-6 shows that--in the history of God's people and God's work in the Bible--grace always precedes and comes before obedience (to the Law) and mission. Today's sermon has 3 parts, which necessarily stresses the importance of the order. In his BST Commentary on The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage, Alec Motyer, OT scholar, says that this order is crucial to our understanding of the Bible:

1. The saving acts of the Lord.
2. Our responsive obedience.
3. The blessing that comes from obedience.
   

Nothing must upset this sequence. Stated differently, this biblical "spiritual order" is:

1. Grace (Ex 19:1-4): How God saves us.
2. Obedience (Ex 19:5): Our response to grace is obedience to the Law.
3. Mission (Ex 19:6): The blessing and reward of obedience (and punishment for disobedience).

He Saved Us Because of His Mercy (Titus 3:1-15)

Titus 3:1-15; Key Verse: Tit 3:5,8

"...he saved us ... because of his mercy ... stress these things, so that (we) may be careful to ... (do) what is good."

Because of his mercy, God saves us to do what is good. Do you comprehend the depth of God's mercy, so that your life overflows with doing what is good? A classical hymn (1958) says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days, all the days of my life." This is the happy testimony of every Christian who has ever tasted the mercy and grace of God.

Good works is a major theme or topic of the Pastoral Epistles, in particular Titus. Gordon Fee says (1, 2 Timothy, Titus, The New International Biblical Commentary, 1984), "The dominant theme in Titus ... is good works ... that is, exemplary Christian behavior, and that for the sake of outsiders" and "in contrast to the false teachers." It is "the recurring theme of the entire letter."

However, our good works or goodness always follows our realization of God's goodness, mercy and grace; our goodness is never the basis of God's goodness to us. (The BCD of teaching the Bible.)