It was the Grace of God that provided a way for us to be saved. His Grace provided the sacrifice and because of His unmerited favor to us He gave us His book that is our road map to heaven. His Grace is evident in all He has done for us. You would think no one would complain about doing something for Him.
I'm still reading through this thread. After I began last evening, I took a break and was listening to an interview of a Professor of Philosophy of Religion. In it he said something about 2 types of knowledge that reminded me about God's Word. In essence he said, 'someone can read everything there is about bikes and know everything there is to know about bikes, but still not know how to ride a bike.'
There's something about Grace that always seems to take a back burner if it's even brought into the discussion. For at least some brevity I'm beginning in Titus 2:9 but all of Titus is context:
NKJ Titus2:9-15 Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back,
10 not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
- Paul is commanding Titus to set the Ekklesia in order by commanding Christians how to behave.
- The purpose for proper behavior (aka good works) is to beautify - to cause something to have an attractive appearance - in all things the teaching of God our Savior
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
- Paul now elaborates on this good behavior that makes our Saviors' teaching attractive - He explains what God's Grace that brings salvation does
- God's Grace is being personified as God our Savior who appeared to all men
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
- God's Grace / God our Savior taught:
- We are to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts
- We are to live soberly/moderately/showing self-control
- We are to live righteously
- We are to live godly
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
- God's Grace taught us how to live while looking for His glorious return
14 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.
- The reason God's Grace - Jesus Christ - gave Himself on our behalf was to:
- Redeem/Free us from all lawlessness (sinfulness)
- Cleanse for Himself a special people who are earnestly committed to good works
15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
- Paul commands Titus to get this into Christians heads and lives and to let no one disregard/despise him.
Paul has just explained and commanded what Jesus Christ died for - what God's Grace and Salvation is for:
- Christ freed us from sinfulness and is cleansing (God's work) a special earnestly/zealously committed to good works
- Christ's cleansed special people are living (Christian's cooperative work) self-controlled, righteous, godly lives doing good works
All this focus on Grace that provides initial Salvation through Faith misses what Grace Salvation is really for - what Jesus Christ our Savior really died for.
This godly living in good works is what Paul is targeting re: God's Grace:
NET Titus 1:1 From Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ,
to further the faith of God's chosen ones and
the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 2
in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began.
Coming full circle back to what I was saying re: knowledge:
- When Paul says, "the faith of God's chosen ones" - he's speaking of the Faith that was originated and perfected/completed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Heb12:2) and that was once for all handed down to His Holy Ones (Jude1:3). He's talking about the Gospel in its full scope with all of its instruction that Jesus Christ - God's Grace came teaching us (Titus2:11-14) above.
- When Paul says "and the knowledge of Truth which is in accordance with godliness" he's making these 2 statements tied together with "and" parallel. IOW The Faith - the Gospel - that Jesus Christ handed down to us - the teaching God's Grace Jesus Christ came teaching - is the knowledge of Truth re: godliness - living godly doing good works - that cause The Faith - The Gospel - the Teaching of God's Grace our Savior to look attractive.
- This is too long already but look at 1Tim3:16 to see that Jesus Christ is the living example of godliness. A full harmonized study of godliness lead me to see it explained as, 'living a willingly obedient, righteous, holy life as Jesus Christ did.
- "knowledge" here is an emphasized knowledge that also through a full harmonized study I came to translate as "practical/experiential knowledge. Unlike knowing all things about the bike - godliness - God's Grace Jesus Christ our Savior came teaching us how to ride the bike - how to do godliness - so we can actually ride the bike - live godly lives zealously committed to good works - making the teaching of God our Savior attractive in all things.
That's God's Grace and God's Salvation.
You would think no one would complain about doing something for Him.
I agree with you.
I also wonder why professing Christians seem hell-bent on pushing an incomplete picture of Grace and Salvation that Jesus Christ - God's Grace Himself - our Lord and Savior died to provide and accomplish.
