“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Titus 2:11-14

That’s quite a run-on sentence! Let’s break it down piece by piece.

But before that, let’s review what the word “For” indicates to us. Whenever you see the word “For” or “because”, it is important to look back at what was just said. Paul begins Titus 2 with an exhortation for a church to be blameless. In this piece of scripture, he explains “Why”.

Grace brings salvation: In very few words, verse 11 presents a tremendous piece of truth. Salvation is not something to be earned. It is a gift. The word grace describes unmerited favor. It’s something given freely. We also see here that this grace is available to ALL men. Whether or not a person CHOOSES to accept that grace is another story.

Grace influences how we live: A healthy understanding of God’s grace should effect a response from us. To deny ungodliness is to reject the things that are not of God and to disassociate ourselves from the things of our fallen world. To live soberly is to live with an accurate understanding of who we are and our position with God. We are sinners. He is holy. To be godly is to be righteous, because God is righteous. One key thing to understand here is that we are to live righteously and godly lives not to earn God’s favor, but as a response to the favor He has ALREADY given us.

We have hope in Jesus: If someone gave you an amazing gift, wouldn’t you be anxious to see them, to be able to say thank you face to face? What greater gift is there than salvation from eternal separation from God; something we all deserve. Jesus’s sacrifice redeemed us from everything we’ve done wrong and the hope of seeing him is what we are to look forward to us we continue life on this side of eternity. Let’s be honest, living a godly life isn’t easy. Sin is something we will always have to deal with until we die. But as we remember what Christ did for us and for the purifying work he has already done and continues to do in our lives, this should free us from any feelings of guilt we may have from sins past, present, or future. The freedom from that condemnation is what makes us zealous for good works, to share that grace given to us to other people.

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