Titus 2
ScriptureTitus 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present ageObservationPaul exhorts Titus to first lead by example and then to teach his flock regarding sound doctrine. Paul instructs Titus to encourage the various social classes of this Cretan church, or any congregation, to live lives that reflect the transforming power of God’s word, that protect the gospel from disgrace and that silences accusation from scoffers; with the understanding that the ability to do so is a gift of grace.UnderstandingGrace is the what makes all that I experience in relationship with God possible. It is by grace that I was predestined, chosen and elected. It is grace that places me into right relationship with God. It is grace that grants me all of the blessings that flow from relationship with God; and it is grace that enables me to live a life that walks in pleasing and glorifying obedience to God’s will and His word. It is all a work of grace because these are all favors that I could never earn or achieve. I experience them solely because of God’s love for me. I was not looking for them or asking for them when I received them. They were bestowed upon me in order that, by their transforming power, I might become a new creation that glorifies God and displays His saving power. If I were to “boast” about anything that qualified me to be their recipient, it would only be that I was the worst of sinners who could claim no redeeming quality of his own. It is not the desire of my rebellious will or the effort of my fallen flesh that facilitates even one moment of obedience, surrender or submission; but only the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit that enables me to live a life that honors the Giver of the grace in which I live.Life Application
I have lived many long and discouraging seasons, filled with shame and condemnation, trying to ‘do” Christianity; hoping somehow to be holy by willing myself to “do” the life instructions of the Bible, only to fail miserably time and time again. Paul reminds me that it is grace that teaches me to walk after God; and to let the work of grace so transform me as to have all of the blessings of a life lived according to sound doctrine flow not out of the vanity and futility of works, but as a result of new life and identity in Christ that results from dying daily to the flesh and living according to the Spirit. Oh, grace! Teach me to say “No” to the world and “Yes” to God!
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-Gary Parker