Grace Apparent - Word Today with Rev. Elbert Joseph

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, (Titus 2:11) instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, (12) looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; (13) who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (14)

This sentence from the pen of Paul, covering 4 verses, is a call for precision in Christian living.  Like John 3:16 it declares the extent of divine grace and the destiny of those who receive grace.  The text leaves little room for private interpretation by defining grace as a divine initiative and all men as the objects of that grace.  This assures us of a divine plan that has humanity at the centre.  Those who persist in so-called atheism and all forms of impiety must be reckoned as blind because grace is neither hidden, nor complicated, nor illogical, but is, by design, apparent.

Paul's statement also addresses the redemptive nature of Messiah's appearance.  Grace is first of all a saving proposition.  Those who turn away from grace do so at their peril.  All humans need grace, and without it we remain lost and condemned (John 3:18 & Jude 1:3-4). This need for grace sits at the core of God's creative acts, because all creatures are needy.  The whole creation ages, groans and decays.

And, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands; (Hebrews 1:10) They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment, (11)

Paul treats salvation as a learning and empowerment experience.  God's grace, he says, teaches us:

> to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.

The next part of Paul's statement ought to prevent believers from living as if all that matters is today, because Paul directs the believer's mind towards the second appearing.  This direction provides empowerment against doubt and disillusionment. To live as if grace's central theme was either the future (going to heaven) or the conduct of this life is a manifest misapprehension of divine grace.  Christian moderation may well have its epicentre in these two bits of information.  Namely that Christians need both a life of self-denial and a deep-seated hope in the Second Advent.  The two involve a healthy tension that keeps us from extreme positions.  Grace creates balance.  It instructs us about daily life and attaches us to the happiest, yet future, occasion in the cosmic record.  Let us, dear reader, lay hold then of God's saving grace which has appeared to all men, and we will find that our place in two worlds is assured.  Like Noah we are discoverers of divine grace, being saved, saving others, carrying in our breasts the expectation of our destiny, and occupied with beautiful (good) works.  How wonderful it is that the heavenly Father’s grace is manifested to the world all men and through all believers without regard to time.