Scripture Reference: Titus 2:11-15
One day this present age will have run its course. When it has, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will come again and introduce a whole new order of things. But how are to we to live in the meantime, as we wait for this great event? The grace of God in salvation and the self-giving of Christ on Calvary together point us to the answer.
The New Testament repeatedly traces our experience of salvation to its roots in the grace of God. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, for example, Paul reminds us that “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9). Then there is the succinct declaration the Apostle makes in the second chapter of Ephesians, made and then repeated as if to emphasize God’s gift of grace, “it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:5, 8). Thus Paul repeats the thought here in Titus 2:11 as he writes that “the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” It is God’s unmerited favor to which the whole experience goes back to.
The Apostle is telling the readers that God’s grace has appeared to all kinds and classes of people. God’s grace knows no barriers. It recognizes no distinctions. It brings salvation to young and old, rich and poor, male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile alike.
What Grace Does
This grace of God is a powerful force in our lives as believers. As Paul continues to emphasize, the grace, “it teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Grace not only brings about initial change; it enables us from that point forward to live truly Christian lives.
As it does so, we may become very Christlike indeed. Nevertheless, to the end of our days, we will carry around with us hearts that are still wicked. Because of that fact, there is a constant possibility of sinning. We can still be guilty of “ungodliness.” We may at times still yield to “worldly passions,” that is, to the sinful desires that are all too prevalent in a world in rebellion against God. We aren’t of the world any longer, but we still live in a world where sin is so blatantly prevalent. The temptations are ever among us.
That being so however, we can appreciate the value of God’s saving grace. What does it do? It “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions.” Left to ourselves we would be no match for “the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1). We would fall before it like the pins in a bowling alley. Apart from the mighty influence of God’s grace in our lives, we would find ourselves constantly saying “Yes” instead of “No” and yielding to all kinds of temptations. It is by God’s grace alone that we are able to renounce such behavior and instead “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.”
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 