If there is one thing that is certain in human life, that is death. Death can happen in the mother’s womb, in the crib, in the school, in the playground, in the workplace, and we never know when some calamity is going to take place. Calamity happens to relatively good people and bad people. It happens to believers and unbelievers alike and is not in control of when. The current death rate is 100%, and one day we all will die. If you’re not dead yet, you are living on borrowed time.

The Bible says that we are all sinners, and we all deserve to die. We are all living on borrowed time that we don’t deserve. Since the moment we were conceived, we were conceived with a sinful nature. “The wages of sin is death.” God has a right to kill every sinner instantaneously and it is a just act. Now, the question is, why is God so patient and so gracious towards the sinner? Why does God allow the sinner to live? Why does He still tolerate us, as we continue our work of sin and destruction upon His planet that He created for His own glory?

The answer is because God is gracious and He is merciful and compassionate toward sinners and it causes Him to hold back what we deserve. He gives more time for the sinner to repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God gives sinners many gospel opportunities in this life. God will by no means leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:7). God does not always settle His account in September. The real punishment for sin comes in the next life. “It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Everyone is headed for death and everyone will have to give an account to God on judgment day, and everyone is going to live forever either in heaven or hell based on the choice they made about Jesus Christ.

God’s mercy has limits

God is merciful and gracious, that is the reason why sinners live. But that mercy has limits. “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him, And His justice to the children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts, so as to do them” (Psalm 103:7-18). The everlasting mercy of God belongs only to those who love and worship Him. Everyone else is living on limited mercy, limited patience.

Borrowed time is not permanent. God’s patience is not permanent. Sinners should settle the case before they get to court before they appear in the final judgment. There is only one advocate, there is only one mediator, there is only one guarantor between the man and God the judge, who is Jesus Christ who is able to save the sinner from eternal punishment.

Isaiah 55:6 and 7, “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thought, let him return to the Lord and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

God is the savior

This is the heart and soul of the Christian faith -God saves His people from their sins. This is the very purpose of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He is called Savior in connection with His people, but it is in reference to their sins because it is from their sins that they need to be saved. If they had never sinned, they would never have required a Savior.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. – Titus 12:11-14

Here are 03 things that the grace of God accomplishes:

It delivers us from the penalty of sin – Salvation (v11)

The penalty of sin is hell; the wages of sin is death, and that is eternal death. Here, “The grace of God has appeared” refers to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). He came to Bethlehem’s manger, and afterward to Calvary’s cross, with this as His one mission, that He might save sinners. If we put our faith in Jesus Christ we will be spared from the ultimate punishment which is hell. But, if we do not put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will perish (John 3:16).

It delivers us from the power of the sin – Sanctification (v12)

Saving grace not only affects a change in our future position, but it also affects a change in our present condition. It not only eliminates the penalty of sin, but it becomes our tutor and guardian. It instructs us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly desires and to live self-control, righteous, and god-fearing life in the present age. Saving grace gives a new life and power to break the dominion of sin. God is righteous. We are made righteous in Christ, and therefore we practice righteousness (1 John 3:9). The Spirit of God who lives in us moves us towards sanctification.

It Delivers from the presence of the sin – Glorification (v13, 14)

The expected result of salvation is a life that grows to become more and more like Christ, but this does not mean an immediate change to perfection. We live in a hope that one day Jesus will come and then we will be like Him -perfect (1 John 3:2). When Jesus will appear, believers will receive a new sin-proof, incorruptible, and immortal body. And they become His own possession because the Lord paid the price and the justice of God was satisfied and the purchase was made.

Plead to the unbeliever

Unbeliever, if you’re still breathing God is still patient with you. Today is a Day of Mercy; now you have an extraordinary opportunity, in which Christ has flung open the Door of Mercy wide, and calling out to you to repent of your unbelief and believe in Him. Now is the time of God’s favor: you may put your trust in Christ and cry out for Mercy. But, when once the Day of Mercy is passed, your most mournful cries and screams will be in vain; you will be completely lost and thrown away into misery.

“Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them” (Ezekiel 8:18).