For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people,

.... teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness ...  and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives .... looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11-13).  Paul had just instructed Titus to  teach some of the detail of what it means to say no to ungodliness,  and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives (verses 1-10). The “For”  of verse 11 links these thing to the motivation, in particular that the “grace of God has appeared and offers salvation to all people.” For Paul, it would be such an abuse of this grace that we should continue in sin. The presentations of our bodies as living sacrifices is the only reasonable response to the tender mercies of our God  (Romans 12:1).

Grace then speaks of the tender mercies of our God, it is God's unmerited favour. It is G - God's - R - riches - A- at - C- Christ's - E - expense. And the price paid,  the expense was indeed great, for you and I (if we are saved) were purchased with His own blood on the cross (Acts 20:28).  He died an extremely painful death in our place  as a substitute for us to save us from wrath (1 John 2:1; Luke 3:7).  In light of this Paul asks in  Romans 6:1 “should we continue in sin that grace may abound?”  English translations of Paul's answer to his own question fail to expresses his abhorrence of such a thought. Translations  include - God forbid – may it not be – certainly not,   absolutely not etc. How can we possibly live in sin, it's unthinkable, it's a betrayal of grace, it is to trample the Son of God underfoot, to  count the blood of the covenant by which we were sanctified as a common thing, it is to insult the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:28).

We come next to  “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”  It is easy, in the midst of it all, all the sin, all the pain, all the abuse, failure corruption etc., to see only that, and to forget the soon coming of the Lord. But as the angel told the eleven on the day the Lord ascended into heaven  “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). And as the Apostles creed has it “He will come again to judge the living and the dead!” Peter tells us that the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but He is longsuffering and the delay is because he would rather no one should perish.  That day  will come as a thief in the night, the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. In light of this and the fact that  we have been delivered from wrath he asks “how should we then live” (2 Peter 3:8-12)? To continue in sin is unthinkable!


Lord Jesus. it's so easy to be weary in doing well. In the words of a hymn “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”  Help us not to forget there's coming a day when righteousness shall reign. In the meantime Lord,  let us be lovers of Your appearing and help us to live godly lives in Your precious Name Amen