Living Under Grace. Titus 2:11-12.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.
Dear Friends of God, Just in case someone forgets,
Paul reminds us that the instructions he has given can only be adhered to with the enabling of God. It is not by our own strength, as that is feeble against our sinful nature.
Appeared (v. 11). The grace of God was revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Here, the grace in question is saving grace, by which God offered to all people salvation instead of damnation. We all stood condemned already, having earned death as the wages for our sin (Romans 6:23). But God offered us eternal life in Christ, instead.
Abandoned (v. 12a). All who have responded to the grace of God by receiving Christ as saviour have also renounced “ungodliness and worldly passions.” The grace of God causes in those who believe a revulsion to ungodliness, because of the Holy Spirit with whom we are sealed (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30).
Adopted (v. 12b). Believers take up a new way of life characterized by uprightness and godliness. Paul expounds on this elsewhere, calling it “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23). Put simply, a true encounter with Christ is transformative. Anyone for whom life remains as it was before coming to Christ must ask himself if there was an encounter, at all.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.