Titus 2:11-12

Titus 2:11-12 – 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.

           Without grace we would have nothing. According to the law we have to be obedient to achieve righteousness. We cannot do that, we will always fall short. There is no way that we could be righteous before God on our own. That’s where grace comes in.

           Grace is defined as “Unmerited favor.” That means it is favor from God that we could never earn and don’t deserve. God’s grace overrides the law and salvation is made available to everyone. This time we don’t have to earn it. Salvation does not come to us by what we have done, but by what God has done through Jesus.

           Grace now appears before everyone, giving us all an opportunity to receive salvation. And grace does not stop there. It continues on in our lives and teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions. Before we received grace we would attempt to say “No” to achieve righteousness, but now we say “No” because we are already righteous.

           Now, because we are recipients of God’s grace we not only receive salvation and righteousness, but are able to live the lives that He called us to. We can be self-controlled, upright and godly. So through grace we are able to do what was beforehand impossible. We are able to truly live in the unmerited favor of God. Now we are obedient, not because we have to be, but because we want to be.