Are You Sensitive to Being Overly Critical？

The third aspect of the grace that disciplines is what it leads to. Don't miss this now. Once again, you will notice that this saving grace has a two-fold effect of teaching. It has a negative and a positive impact as it teaches to deny but also to live in a godly manner. It's significant, brothers and sisters, when we cultivate greater awareness of grace teaching dynamic for godliness. We not only turn away more easily from evil, but we are much more readily inclined to walk in righteousness. I mean, it just seemed like the Christian life. Yes, it's still a battle. Yes, we have to fight the good fight of faith. But listen, there is a marked difference because you are more readily inclined to be obedient to God and to walk before Him and to know the sweetness of His presence. You don't want to offend Him. Sobriety here that it leads to means to be self-controlled. I don't see very much temperance in the lives of so many professing believers in North America today. And once again, I'm talking about Reformed churches, especially among young people. You see, it pictures a man under the influence of grace who keeps his fleshly appetites in check. He knows the grace-giving principle of self-restraint. I'm over in, it was Italy, with a missionary that's not connected with heart cry. Sitting down there for a conference and our dear brother, precious brother in Christ, Keith, twice during the meeting, I started a conversation that leads to one of my tendencies that I have to constantly be conscious of and seek to quickly mortify, and that is to be critical. And on two different occasions, I mentioned some negative comment about a certain person. And both times, Keith said, well, let's pray for them. And so, Don, would you lead us? And man, I'm just rebuked. I'm smitten. We had the privilege when we were young to do a conference with Roy Hesschen. And one night, after the service was over, we went to a local Shoney's or something, some restaurant. Cindy, my wife, had to go back and get the kids down. They were very small at the time. And so I went out and I spent some time with Roy and his wife. And during our conversation, I asked him about a certain English preacher. I said, you know this British preacher? And he said, yes. He said, I do. And I said, he's had a wonderful ministry. I really appreciate his heart and all. And Roy said, yes, yes. And then he proceeded by saying, you know, he is a good brother, Brother Don, but he said he just really hasn't come into the message of grace as of yet. It didn't mean grace for salvation. It meant grace for sanctification. We went on to something else and talked. We talked for about an hour and a half before we went back to the motel. Next morning, I had the first session. This group of preachers and laymen that are in there and Brother Hesschen is sitting toward the front. I preach. Nothing I said had anything to do with the night before. But he comes walking up to me and he's just a very short little man. You can imagine, I'm six foot seven. And he looks up at me and he said, Brother Don, could I have a word with you? And I said, yes, Brother Roy, what is it? He said, last night, you asked me about a certain English preacher. And I said, yeah. He said, Brother, in my comments, I made a negative remark about him. I was critical. Would you please forgive me? The guy was 80 years old. They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of their God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing to show that the Lord, he is upright. He was still walking the Calvary Road. What do you attribute that to? Grace. These excerpts were taken from Don Curran's full sermon, The Discipline of Grace, that is on Titus 2, 11 to 13, in which he speaks of how the grace that saves is a grace that sustains and motivates the believer and teaches them to be godly in this present world. This message can be found on illbehonest.com.