Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

These three verses are all one sentence in the Japanese, as I’m sure they are in the Greek. The thing that strikes me about this is that this is a very different picture of grace than we generally think about. The dictionary definition is “unmerited favor,” but this certainly goes into much more depth and detail than we are used to. I like the way the NIV starts out better than the way the Japanese does, but I understand it’s a matter of translation. The Japanese says, “God’s grace that saves all people has appeared,” but that contradicts much of the rest of the Bible! God’s grace has indeed appeared to all, but it saves only those who believe and accept it. It’s the next part that really upends our usual thinking about grace, however. We tend to think of it as a “get out of jail free card,” essentially allowing us to do anything we like, but here Paul is saying the opposite. The better we understand God’s grace, the more we will live like Jesus Christ. And then he ties it all in to the second coming of Christ, which we generally don’t associate with grace at all! In one way the Japanese is better than the NIV here, because in Japanese grammar the “teaches” comes at the very end, and the Japanese translators said, “teaches to the point of deep understanding (satori)”. It should be obvious by this point that our usual understanding of grace is pretty shallow! All of this brings to mind something Peter wrote. “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9) In other words, if we aren’t living Christlike lives, we don’t understand God’s grace!

This is very personal for me, because as I have written before, the 2 Peter passage got me out of a stubborn “besetting sin” that I kept falling into, because it helped me understand that when I repented and received forgiveness, I really was forgiven, so the sin no longer had any hold on me. This also is the perfect antidote to legalism, because when we realize that it is all grace, we can follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in us and not hang up on external rules. I am to proclaim God’s grace the way Paul expressed it to Titus, not as an excuse for sin but as a powerful motivation to avoid it, so that I and those to whom I minister may avoid the lies of the devil and live as disciples of Jesus Christ indeed, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for the excellent message I was able to listen to last night. Thank You for the message You have given me for the prayer meeting this morning. Help me hear You accurately at all times, so that I may speak what You are saying and nothing less, as an agent of Your kingdom for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!