Page 17 - October 2026 - Truth & Tidings

he previous article considered the if necessary, through rebuke and chastise-
past appearing of the grace of God ment, to produce in all of us greater godly
Twhen the blessed Saviour came character.
into this world, bringing salvation within It is evident from 2:11 that if the grace
the scope of all humanity (Titus 2:11). For of God provides salvation, then any
believers in the Lord Jesus who have been thought of man’s working for salvation
blessed with this salvation, the rich grace must be excluded. Grace and works are
of God should continue to shine forth in mutually exclusive: “Now to him that
a practical way in our lives, showing that worketh is the reward not reckoned of
we “receive not the grace of God in vain” grace, but of debt” (Rom 4:4). Those who
(2Co 6:1). 1 seek to mix together grace and works for
The conjunction “For” at the start of salvation might reason that if salvation is
2:11 links the truth of the verse with the by grace alone, then a professed believer
earlier practical exhortations for godly can go on living in sinful ways: “Shall we
living by “aged men” (v2), “aged women” continue in sin, that grace may abound?
(v3), and their teaching ministry towards God forbid” (Rom 6:1-2). That kind of
“young women” (vv4-5), “young men” reasoning profoundly misunderstands
(vv6-8) and believing “servants” (vv9- the Bible doctrine of grace. Titus 2:12-14
10). The unmerited favour of God in the emphasizes the moral power of God’s
giving of His own well-beloved Son to grace to discipline the life of believers. The
provide for man’s salvation is the basis grace that saves does not give any licence
for practical godly living by believers of whatsoever to live sinfully and please
all demographics. self. Rather, grace motivates and teaches
believers to live for God’s pleasure, and to
The Moral Power of the Grace produce a saved people who are “zealous
of God (Titus 2:12) of good works” (2:14).
For all recipients and beneficiaries of First, divine grace teaches us to be “de-
God’s grace, who have by faith come into nying ungodliness and worldly lusts.”
the possession of the salvation that the We must be markedly different from the
incarnate Son of God made available for world of unbelieving men around us,
all, there is to be a practical expression of those whose lives have not been touched
that divine grace in our lives. The grace by the grace of God through salvation.
of God is to be “teaching us that, denying This is something we must do decisively
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should in our lives, actively denying ourselves
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this the ungodly things of this world and the
present world [age].” The word “teach- “worldly lusts” with which unregenerate
ing” is the idea of the training or disciplin- ones seek to fill their lives. The verb “de-
ing of a child. The rich grace of God that nying” is the Greek aorist or point tense,
saves the soul is also the effectual grace indicating a determined once-and-for-all
that trains our lives as believers, even, act, “having denied ...”; we then need to
be in the good of that decisive denial daily
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV. in our lives.
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