If you pay attention to what's happening in the larger
evangelical community, you're probably aware of a
controversy that is currently brewing regarding sanctification
and the biblical distinction between law and gospel, grace
and works. It has become popular in some circles to teach
that gratitude is the only legitimate motivation for holiness.
If you obey God out of a sense of duty, or fear, or obligation,
then your thinking is legalistic and your obedience is utterly
fleshly and therefore counter-productive to your
sanctification.
That way of thinking is so common that any preacher who
highlights the commands in Scripture is likely to get a
scolding. He'll be told he shouldn't focus on imperatives; if
he does that, he is preaching law. Instead we should leave the
commandments aside and preach the gospel indicatives.
Don't speak of moral duties; don't chastise people for their
failures; don't point to the Bible's commandments; speak
only of what Christ has done on our behalf. Reading some of
the written material that comes from people who hold this
perspective, I sometimes get the impression they think
Christians simply should not be troubled in conscience when
they sin. One book at Amazon.com is being promoted with
Titus 2:11-15 2
ad copy that says the author's goal is to tell Christians "we
can never lead a blameless life, [but] we can relax in
knowing that we are completely forgiven."
Now there is some truth in that. None of us is sinless, and
we can be sure of complete forgiveness. But that's not the
full truth, and it is not what Scripture says about how
Christians are supposed to deal with sin in their own lives.
Scripture never tells us to "relax," or "let go and let God," or
sin so that grace may abound. The Bible's teaching on
sanctification is full of imperatives. The idea that personal
effort has no legitimate role in our sanctification is patently
unbiblical. Here's Peter's counsel on the issue (2 Peter 1:5-7):
"Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and
virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and
self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with
godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly
affection with love." Hebrews 12:14: "Strive for peace with
everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the
Lord." "Strive for . . . holiness"Cbecause without it, you are
not fit for heaven. When the subject is holiness and the
pursuit of personal sanctification, you will not find passive
language in Scripture.
That whole way of thinking is wrong. The tension
between the indicatives and the imperatives in Scripture is
not a question of either/or. It is absolutely true that the finest
What Grace Teaches 3
incentive for holiness is the gospel. So by all means remind
people of their position in Christ. Remind them that they
have been fully and freely forgiven. Remind them that Christ
offered a full atonement for our sins and His righteousness in
exchange for our guilt. Remind them that our own works
contribute nothing to our justification; our good deeds add
nothing to the atonement; and our obedience does not in any
way enhance the efficacy of Christ's work on our behalf.
That should be the theme and the centerpiece of all our
preaching, because it is the very essence of the gospel
message.
But none of that nullifies our moral duty. That's what
establishes our true accountability to God as His redeemed
people and members of Christ's body. That position doesn't
make holiness optional; it makes it more urgent. You have
no basis for claiming to be a believer or thinking you are in
Christ in any sense if you have no desire to pursue
holinessC"to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk
humbly with your God."
And what we find consistently in Scripture when the issue
of Christian duty comes up is that both/and emphasis: "Work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who
works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
(Philippians 2:12-13). The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians
15:10: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace
Titus 2:11-15 4
toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than
any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with
me." You see how he consistently keeps that dual emphasis?
Our perfect standing in Christ doesn't eliminate our duty
to obey Him. Grace doesn't void the proper uses of the law.
God's work in us doesn't eliminate the need for us to serve
and honor Him. And the indicatives in the New Testament
don't nullify the imperatives.
Let me make the point in a different way: if you are
ambivalent about holinessCif you're not the least bit troubled
by the remaining sin in your life; if your sin doesn't trouble
your own conscienceCthat's not because you have a superior
understanding of grace. It could very well mean that you are
not a partaker of God's grace at all. Authentic saving grace is
never indifferent with regard to holiness. And I want to show
you that this morning from Titus 2:11-15.
Titus 2, and we'll cover verses 11-15, with a particular
focus on verses 12-13. Let me make a few preliminary
remarks while you are turning there.
To confound law and gospel is no small error. It's an easy
error to make, and let's be candid: there seems to be
something in the fallen human heart that makes us prone to
that error. It's the error that lies at the heart of every kind of
legalism. I think it is a tendency of every fallen human mind
What Grace Teaches 5
to default towards legalism, and it is right that we should
resist that tendency. There is no more deadly blunder in all of
theology. Some of the strongest words of condemnation
anywhere in the New Testament were aimed at those who
supplanted gospel promises with legal demands (Galatians
1:6-9).
So are we clear on this? Legalism is a grave error filled
with all kinds of mischief. For multitudes, legalism is a
damnable delusion.
However, it is also a serious blunder (also condemned in
very strong terms by the apostle Paul) to imagine that the
gospel disagrees with the moral standard set by the law. It is
likewise a grave error to think justification by faith
eliminates the need for obedience. And it is a damnable lie to
tell people that the perfect freedom of God's grace gives
license for unholy living. Good works, obedience to Christ's
commands, and encouragements and admonitions to be holy
are necessary aspects of the Christian life. They are not
necessary (in the way the legalist suggests) to earn favor with
God. In fact, our works are worthlessCtotally impotentCfor
that purpose. But obedience is a natural, and inevitable, and
essential expression of love for Christ and gratitude for His
grace. This is the chief practical lesson we learn from the
principle of grace: grace compels us to love and good works.
Titus 2:11-15 6
Grace constrains us to renounce sin and to pursue
righteousness.
Listen: The gospel is more excellent than the law, but the
two do not disagree. Believing the gospel sets us free from
the law's condemnation, but it does not release us from the
moral standard set by the law. Or to say it another way: the
principle of sola fideCjustification by faith aloneCis not
hostile to good works. The gospel puts good works in their
proper place, but if we properly understand the principle of
sola fide, it should make us zealous for good works; earnest
in the pursuit of holiness; and eager to obey our Lord's
commands. We don't need to be the least bit hesitant to
"provoke [one another] unto love and to good works."
And that's what we're going to see in the passage we're
looking at in this hourCTitus 2:11-15. Let me start by
reading the text, and as I read, listen with these questions in
mind: What lessons do we learn from a biblical
understanding of the principle of grace? What is grace
supposed to be teaching us? In all our talk about
grace-saturated, gospel-focused, Christ-centered ministry,
have we actually understood "grace" properly, or have we
unwittingly fallen in step with "ungodly persons who turn the
grace of our God into licentiousness"?
Now, here's our passage (Titus 2:11-15):
What Grace Teaches 7
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation
for all people,
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly
passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly
lives in the present age,
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory
of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all
lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own
possession who are zealous for good works.
15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all
authority. Let no one disregard you.
Let's start with a word about the context and the
circumstances that prompted this epistle. Paul is writing to
Titus, whom he has "left . . . in Crete, [so] that [Titus could] set
in order what remain[ed] and appoint elders in every city" (1:5).
So Titus is training and appointing structured leadership for
the churches in Crete. And Paul sends Titus a short list of
qualifications for the men he is to appoint as elders in the
churches. It's essentially identical to the list given in 1
Timothy 3. The central principle, of course, is that leaders in
the church are "God's steward[s]" and therefore they need to
be morally and reputationally "above reproach." Paul
reiterates that same expression twice at the start of his list, in
1:6 and again in verse 7.
Titus 2:11-15 8
He follows that with a list of specifics that spell out what
it means to be "above reproach." Notice: except for the ability
to teach (which is a gift that is absolutely necessary to fulfill
the calling of an elder) the requirements Paul names are not
skills and talents. They are character qualities. And all of
them have to do with maturity, self-control, and moral
rectitude.
This is the kind of man who is qualified to lead the
church. He is not a clown or a comedian. Not a frat-house
bad-boy or a super-cool trend-setter with celebrity potential
written all over him. Not an entrepreneur, an innovator, or a
motivational speaker. Not a guy with a huge ego and a gift
for being glib. There's nothing here about appealing to one
generation or another; nothing about artistic ability,
educational degrees, political correctness, business acumen,
clothing style, cleverness and creativity, or his knowledge of
popular culture. In other words, the qualifications the Bible
gives for men in positions of leadership include none of the
things churches today tend to weigh heavily when looking
for a pastor.
But the elders Titus was to train and ordain simply needed
to be mature, godly, disciplined men, able to handle the
Word of God accurately and teach its truths to others. Godly
men who are fully mature and steadfast.
What Grace Teaches 9
If you grasp what Paul is saying here and compare it to
the typical 21st-century evangelical church, it should cause a
bit of cognitive dissonance. The strategy Paul is telling
Timothy to use in the church planting enterprise is nothing at
all most of like today's church-planting organizations say is
necessary.
I cannot imagine that Titus read this epistle and took Paul
to mean that he needed to start teaching classes on
contextualization, sponsoring sex seminars, staging
symposiums on innovation and church marketing, or offering
courses on leadership borrowed from the latest works of
whoever the first-century equivalent of Peter Drucker might
be. It has always mystified me how so many church leaders
today can read the dreck that is published by church-growth
gurus and ministry-philosophy experts today and not see the
glaring discrepancies between what the Apostle Paul
commanded and what is actually being done in mainstream
evangelicalism and the megachurch fringe.
And (I know this is a bit of a digression, but) I want to say
this plainly: The greatest threats to the gospel today are not
government policies that undermine our values, not secular
beliefs that attack our confessions of faith, not even atheists
who deny our God. The greatest enemies of the gospel today
are worldly churches and hireling shepherds who trivialize
Christianity.
Titus 2:11-15 10
And that's not a new problem. It was true even in
apostolic timesCin the very earliest churches. In Philippians
3:18-19, the apostle Paul wrote: "For many walk, of whom I
often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are
enemies of the cross of Christ." One of the chief
characteristics Paul named about these enemies of the
crossCenemies of authentic graceCwas that they "set their
minds on earthly things." They "pervert[ed] the grace of our
God into sensuality." They twisted the idea of Christian
liberty into an opportunity to gratify the flesh. They "[used
their] freedom as a cover-up for evil." In the process, they
trivialized the cross, corrupted the idea of grace, and
perverted the gospel. None of the apostles were squeamish
when it came to calling them out.
And here in our text, Paul employs the principle of grace
itself to refute such a trivialized, worldly, lawless notion of
religion. He says the true lessons we learn from grace fly in
the face of everything that is shallow, worldly, unrighteous,
disobedient, or even merely passive in that deeper-life,
let-go-and-let-God, quietistic sense.
As a matter of fact, Paul is admonishing Titus not to give
in to the trends of secular Cretan culture. Chapter 1, verse 12:
"Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." That
probably wasn't a politically correct thing to say, even then,
but Paul adds emphatically, "This testimony is true. Therefore
What Grace Teaches 11
rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith." He
was telling Titus that the church is to be counter-cultural,
resistant to the evils and character flaws of secular society.
Church leaders are not supposed to be obsessed with gaining
accolades and admiration from the world.
Instead, Paul says (2:1), "teach what accords with sound
doctrineC"and he goes on to give a series of commands for
specific categories of people in the church: "Older men" (v.
2). "Older women likewise" (v. 3). "Young women" (v. 4).
"Younger men" (v. 6). "Slaves" (v. 9). And Titus as the
missionary church-planting pastor is given a particular
directive: "In all respects . . . be a model of good works" (v.
7)Cespecially for the sake of the young men who represent
future leaders in the church.
Now, notice: verse 1 speaks of "what accords with sound
doctrine," and then Paul goes on to itemize a short-list of
things that we would probably label "practical duties" rather
than the types of things we would designate "doctrinal
truths." See, one of Paul's main points here is that he doesn't
want Titus to spend all his time teaching doctrine as theory,
focusing only on objective biblical, historical, and
theological content at the expense of exhorting the church to
obedience and practical holiness. And I'll be honest with you:
I think that is a peculiar danger in my style of teaching. I
tend to take a didactic approach that's heavy on material truth
Titus 2:11-15 12
and objective doctrineCsometimes I have to remind myself
that's not enough; all Scripture is profitable for practical
exhortation, and we haven't really heard what the text is
saying to us until we listen with an obedient ear. Not merely
with the ear of a scholar, but with servants' ears.
Paul's point is that the vital practical duties of holiness
and obedience are in perfect "accord with sound doctrine."
Calls to obedience and exhortations to virtue are not
inconsistent with the doctrines of graceCmuch less are they
opposed to grace. In the words of verse 10, what Paul has
outlined in this chapter are actions and character qualities
that "adorn the doctrine of God our Savior."
In other words (if you'll allow me to quote the NIV), these
are things that "will make the teaching about God our Savior
attractive"Cnot "attractive" in the sense that they turn the
message into a story the world will like. The gospel is still "a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." Christ
Himself is still "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense."
His warning in John 15:18-20 still holds true: "If the world
hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you
were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but
because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the
world, therefore the world hates you. A servant is not greater
than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute
you." So in the words of 1 John 3:13: "Do not be surprised,
What Grace Teaches 13
brothers, that the world hates you." You cannot change that
and be faithful. Stop trying so hard to win the world's
affection.
And yet, authentic virtue is attractive in the sense that it
captures the attention of the world and gives our message an
undeniable measure of credibility. In that sense, the
cultivation of basic virtue is a thousand times more attractive
than any currently-popular brand of stylish evangelicalism,
hipster religion, or postmodern contextualization.
That's the apostle Paul's strategy for reaching a hostile
culture. And what intrigues me is how he uses the principle
of grace to make his point. In contrast to those who turn
grace into licentiousness, Paul says the biblical principle of
grace teaches us something entirely different.
In fact, I see three distinct lessons Paul says we can learn
from grace. They all have to do with how we live (in other
words, they are practical, not theoretical, lessons). All three
lessons give us instruction and incentives for righteous living
and obedience to the lordship of Christ. That, Paul says, is
what grace ought to produceCnot a lax attitude about virtue
and vice; not a casual acceptance of worldly values; but the
exact opposite. The real fruit of divine grace is a holy life.
The three lessons grace teaches us are outlined for us in
verses 12 and 13, but before we zero in on those two verses,
pay attention to the structure of the larger passage, starting in
Titus 2:11-15 14
verse 11. Did you notice the two occurrences of the word
"appear"? Verse 11: "For the grace of God has appeared."
Verse 13: We're "waiting for . . . the appearing of . . . Jesus
Christ." It's the same basic word in the Greek (just like in
English). The word in verse 11 is the verb form (to appear)
and the word in verse 13 is the noun form (appearance). And
the Greek word has the connotation of brightness (literally,
"to shine forth" or "to be brought to light").
And those two words point to the two advents of Jesus
Christ.
Verse 11: "the grace of God has appeared." How,
specifically? In the incarnation and ministry of Christ. "For
the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ." That's John 1:7, and I think it's important to
stress what John meant when he wrote that. He was not
suggesting, of course, that the Old Covenant was devoid of
grace. He was not saying that grace is something new that
Christ introduced at his first advent. He simply means that
Christ is the very embodiment of divine grace. Moses, on the
one hand, was the lawgiver; Jesus, on the other hand, is the
source and the living representative of God's grace. Law was
the dominant feature of the Mosaic covenant; grace and truth
are the dominant features of the New Covenant. John 1:14:
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen
his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace
What Grace Teaches 15
and truth" (John 1:14). Moses was the representative and
instrument through which the law was handed down on stone
tablets. Christ is the Person in whom grace and truth are
incarnated. But Moses and Christ are not adversaries. Quite
the contrary. Christ came as the fulfillment of everything
Moses ever wrote about.
And that includes the law. Grace fulfills the law, it does
not overthrow it. Jesus Himself said this at the start of His
Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17): "Do not think that I
have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them but to fulfill them."
So grace "appeared" in a unique and definitive way
through the incarnation and atoning work of Christ. Paul
refers to this again in Titus 3:4-5: "When the goodness and
loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us . . . "
The word "appearing" in Titus 2:13 (of course) is a
reference to the second advent of Christ: "Our blessed hope,
the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ." Now, we don't have time to go into detail on this, but
the way Paul words that statement is instructive. Here's an
example where the King James Version is less helpful and
virtually all the modern translations get it exactly right. This
is a reference to one Person, not two: "our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ." It's an affirmation of the deity of Christ,
and it's an exact parallel to the expression found at the end of
Titus 2:11-15 16
verse 10: "God our Savior." Jesus Christ is both our God and
our Savior. It is His appearing in glory that we await.
Meanwhile, we live between those two adventsCthe two
"appearings." At the end of verse 12 Paul refers to that
time-span between the two appearings as "the present age."
So he points us to the past, when "the grace of God . . .
appeared." He wants us to live "in the present
age"Cexemplifying the virtues of grace in the hectic here and
now. And he wants us to keep an eye expectantly on the
future, as we "[wait] for our blessed hope," the return of God,
our Savior in His full resplendenceCwhich will be the final
culmination of both grace and glory.
In other words, there are past, present, and future
dimensions to grace, and the present dimension is the main
focus of our text. While we live between these two advents,
grace takes us to school. This whole "present age" is the
school of grace. And I see three main lessons grace teaches
us. They are all hard lessons, because they run contrary to
the natural tendencies of our fallen flesh, and we have to
keep re-learning these lessons daily. But here they are.
Lesson number 1. Grace trains us:
What Grace Teaches 17
1. TO REPUDIATE THE WORKS OF THE FLESH
Verses 11-12: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and
worldly passions." Now, I need to comment on verse 11, but
we cant linger there. Obviously, this text is not saying that
grace brings salvation to each and every person who ever
lives, because Jesus repeatedly and expressly taught that "The
gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and
those who enter by it are many" (Matthew 7:13). Jesus'
descriptions of the final judgment always included urgent
warnings that many in that day will be told, "Depart from me,
you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels."
So Titus 2:11, is not teaching any doctrine of universal
salvation. The King James Version translates the text so that
it says "the grace of God . . . has appeared to all men." But
here, too, I think the majority of modern translations have it
right. It's "salvation to all men." The ESV says, "salvation for
all people." And that has to be read in its own context. Notice
the conjunction "For" at the beginning of the verse. It ties the
statement to what preceded itCand it's that long list of
people-categories. "Older men . . . Older women . . . young
women . . . younger men . . . [and] slaves." "For the grace of
God has appeared, bringing salvation for all [kinds of
peopleCall] people [old men, old women, young girls,
Titus 2:11-15 18
younger men, and slaves alike], training us [all] to renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions."
That is the first lesson we learn under grace as our
instructor: "to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions."
That's a direct quote from the NIV again, and it's a pretty fair
rendering of the sense of the text. The Greek verb is
arNEomai, meaning "deny" or "refuse," or "disavow."
It's a strong word, like the English synonym I've used:
repudiate. Not as strong, perhaps, as the word Paul
occasionally uses elsewhere: "mortify." Romans 8:13: "Put to
death the deeds of the [flesh]." Colossians 3:5: "Put to death
. . . what is earthly in you." Galatians 5:24: "Crucif[y] the flesh
with its passions and desires." The sense, however, is exactly
the same. "Repudiate ungodliness and worldly passions." How
forcefully should we repudiate such things? Just go ahead
and put them to death. Exterminate them.
That is the first lesson grace teaches us. It's what
repentance is all about: the total, unconditional renunciation
and disavowal of fleshly works and worldly desires.
Now, this is not optional. The notion that repentance is
optional is the very same lie that was at the center of the
lordship controversy. No-lordship doctrine is found mainly
in old-school dispensationalist circles. But it is a close cousin
to a type of thinking that is currently popular in certain
segments of the contemporary Reformed community: The
What Grace Teaches 19
idea is that every demand for obedience and every appeal for
holiness is by definition legalistic, pietistic, moralisticCand
therefore such things are to be avoided as if they were a
serious threat to the gospel and the principle of grace.
That is a foolish way to think. We all understand (I hope)
that sanctification is not effortless and automatic. Yet we
also realize that "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives
in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son
of God."
If you think every appeal for holiness sounds like
legalism, you've got a problem. On the other hand, if you
think the actual remedy for defeat in the Christian life is to
double down and work harder at achieving holiness, you've
got a problem, too. Above all, you have a skewed view of
grace if you think grace eliminates any necessity for
holiness. You have a skewed view of grace if you think grace
simply overthrows righteousness in favor of free-and-easy
forgiveness. Whether you think that brand of so-called "free
grace" sounds dangerous or you think it sounds fun, if you
think grace renders all moral duty moot, you don't
understand grace at all.
Contemporary evangelicals are dangerously susceptible to
both legalism and license, because evangelicals have been
toying with a superficial understanding of grace for
Titus 2:11-15 20
generations. The problem goes back, I think, more than a
century.
Grace was first degraded into an escape-hatch from hell.
Then it was portrayed as a means of personal fulfillment.
Nowadays it is generally perceived as a principle that
nullifies the need to be or do right. That's what some people
think grace is: A principle that nullifies the need to be or do
right. I'm tempted to say that may be the dominant idea in the
contemporary evangelical attitude toward sanctification. It is
a flat-out lie, and it is emphatically refuted by the apostle
Paul right here: "the grace of God [teaches] us to renounce
ungodliness."
Notice: this first lesson alone makes a stark contrast to the
conventional notion of grace. Grace is not a syrupy sentiment
that makes us always passive and positive. Grace itself is
dynamic. It is the active expression of God's favor. It is
undeserved favor. More than that, it is the exact opposite of
what we do deserve. But it is a potent, powerful force. By
grace God lays hold of undeserving sinners, unites them
spiritually with Christ, clothes them with His righteousness,
awakens their dead souls, removes their stony hearts and
gives them a living, tender heart of flesh, and blesses them
"with every spiritual blessing."
And the very first response grace elicits from the
regenerate heart is a negative confession: we "renounce
What Grace Teaches 21
ungodliness and worldly passions." In other words, the first
motion of our repentance is a gift from GodCa work of
grace. Every aspect of authentic repentance is motivated and
energized by grace. The person who has not repented has not
received grace at all.
We speak of "irresistible grace." I like that expression,
because it conveys the sense that grace is dynamic, not
passive. But it's also subject to misunderstanding. When we
say grace is "irresistible," we don't mean God employs
coercion or duressCdragging us or arm-twisting us to Christ.
Grace is irresistible in the same sense that I find my wife
irresistible. Not that she threatens or forces me to bend to her
will, but that I am captivated in a very positive way by her
inherent appeal.
In a similar but even more profound way, divine grace
draws us to Christ by attraction, not by constraint. And if you
have been drawn to Christ by graceCif you truly love
HimCyou will hate everything that opposes him. That is how
the same grace that draws us to Christ teaches us "to
renounce ungodliness and worldly passions." This, I think, is
the very same truth Paul has in mind in Romans 2:4 when he
says that "God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance"
You've heard of Martin Luther, and how he nailed his 95
theses, on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
Listen to the very first of his 95 theses. He wrote, "When our
Titus 2:11-15 22
Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said 'Repent,' He called for
the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." We
"renounce ungodliness and worldly passions" on a daily basis,
and it is grace, properly understood, that instructs us to
repent at the beginning of our Christian life, and then
prompts and energizes daily repentance from then on. That is
lesson number one that we learn from grace: to repudiate the
works of the flesh. Here's a second lesson. Grace teaches usC
2. TO CULTIVATE THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Second half of verse 12. Grace trains us "to live
self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age."
Notice the threefold stress on sobriety, righteousness, and
godliness. The first term is from a Greek word that literally
refers to soundness of mind. Its connotation is self-control,
moderation. The King James Version says "soberly," and the
New American Standard Bible says, "sensibly." All those
ideas are inherent in the word. The ESV says
"self-controlled," and that's a decent English synonym. The
idea is not merely temperance and moderation, but wisdom,
prudence, circumspectionCclarity of mind. It's describing a
virtue whose chief benefit accrues to the individual himself.
Grace trains us to be clear-headed and to exercise cautious
self-control.
What Grace Teaches 23
The second term describes a virtue that defines our
relationships with others: Grace trains us "to live . . .
righteously." The ESV and the NIV use the word "upright."
To quote the great Baptist theologian John Gill, this speaks
of living "'righteously' among men, giving to every man his
due, and dealing with all according to the rules of equity and
justice; as being made new men, created unto righteousness
and true holiness; and as being dead to sin, through the
death of Christ, and so living unto righteousness, or in a
righteous manner; and as being justified by the
righteousness of Christ, revealed in the Gospel." That covers
every dimension of righteousnessCboth practical and
forensic. But because the context clearly is about how we
live our lives, I think the stress here is on our dealings with
our fellow human beings. "Upright" living is the fruit of
grace's training.
And then the third term, "godly," by definition has a
Godward focus. So grace teaches us our duty with respect to
God, our neighbor, and ourselves. Keep that in mind. We'll
come back to it.
This third word ("godly") is an adjective meaning "pious."
The Greek word is etymologically the exact opposite of the
word translated "ungodliness" earlier in the verse.
"Ungodliness" is aSEBeia. "Godly" is euSEBos. They are
negative and positive forms of the same root. Grace teaches
Titus 2:11-15 24
us to shun impiety and live piously. This is all very simple
and straightforward. Paul is not giving Titus some complex
and mysterious idea. It's quite simple: Grace (authentic
biblical grace; not the shabby modern evangelical substitute,
but the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ) teaches us to repudiate
the works of the flesh and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit.
Paul teaches this very same idea in Galatians 5, where he
contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:18-24:
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
[Of course, believers are not under the law, but under
grace. So what Paul is doing in this passage is making
a clear contrast between what the flesh produces under
the yoke of the law, versus what the Holy Spirit
produces in us through the liberty of grace. Listen to
the contrast. And notice that the only commodity our
fallen flesh can produce is corrupt works. But the
Spirit's work in us is called "fruit," and it's entirely
virtuous:]
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual
immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,
rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn
you, as I warned you before, that those who do such
What Grace Teaches 25
things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [Those are the
very things Titus 2:12 says we repudiate: "ungodliness
and worldly passions." Now here are the things we
cultivate:]
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; [and notice this:]against
such things there is no law. [Again: grace and law are
distinct, but they are not in disagreement. Paul goes on
in Galatians 5:24 to say this:]
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires.
In other words, what defines us as Christians is this very
thing: that we do repudiate the works of the flesh. Grace, not
the law, is what trains us and motivates us and empowers us
to do this. And at the same time, Grace teaches us to cultivate
the fruit of the Spirit.
So, lessons 1 and 2 that we learn in the school of grace:
To repudiate the works of the flesh; to cultivate the fruit of
the Spirit; and now thirdC
Titus 2:11-15 26
3. TO ANTICIPATE THE BLESSEDNESS OF ETERNITY
Here is the key distinction between law and grace. For
any thoughtful, self-aware, honest worshiper, the effect of
the law alone, apart from grace, is sheer terror. Because we
are sinners, the law threatens sinners with utter destruction.
But grace fills us with expectation and anticipation for
blessings that will last eternally. Verse 13: "Waiting for our
blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ."
In short, the eschatology of grace is different from the
eschatology of law. Where the law pronounces
condemnation and swears eternal vengeance, grace
pronounces a blessing and promises eternal reward. Grace
teaches us to live in the light of that hope.
All the lessons grace teaches us are incentives for
holiness: our hatred of unrighteousness, the debt we owe to
Christ's righteousness, the reward we are promised in
eternityCall of these things are incentives for us to "renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the present age."
And notice: this was Christ's own aim in redeeming us in
the first place. Verse 14: "[He] gave himself for us to redeem us
from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his
own possession who are zealous for good works."
What Grace Teaches 27
Now, don't tell me that there's anything inherently
legalistic about being zealous for good works. And don't tell
me grace rules out any kind of good works. Zeal for good
works is the ultimate objective of grace.
Now bear in mind: this passage covers all tenses and all
perspectives: past, present, and future. Self, others, and God.
In every respect except one, the lessons of grace are in
perfect agreement with what the law tells us. They say the
same thing. Both law and grace say we should "renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions." Both law and grace say we
should "live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the
present age." Both law and grace humble us and show us the
virtue of self-control. Both law and grace say we should live
righteously and love our neighbor as we love ourself. Both
law and grace instruct us to love the Lord our God with all
our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In every respect, grace is
in agreement with the commands and directives of the eternal
moral law of God. Don't ever entertain the thought that law
and grace or law and gospel contradict one another.
But there is this one vital distinction between law and
grace, and the difference lies in this third lesson: the law
threatens us with destruction because we cannot obey
perfectly. Grace gives us both the desire and the power to
obey. That is what Philippians 2:13 says: "It is God who works
in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." The will
Titus 2:11-15 28
and the energy for obedience are gracious gifts from God. So
while the law and grace agree in that they both urge us to be
holy, the law can only condemn us for our failure and
threaten us with destruction. Grace is the remedy for our
failure, and it guarantees eternal blessing.
The one key difference, succinctly put, is that the law
cannot give life; it can only bring death. Second Corinthians
3:6: "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." We are saved
"through sanctification by the Spirit," according to 2
Thessalonians 2:13. The gracious work of the Spirit in our
hearts guarantees our sanctification. Listen to Romans 8:3-4:
"God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not
do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [And what? thereby
overturned and eliminated the moral imperatives of the law?
No:]in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according
to the Spirit."
The distinction between law and grace has nothing to do
with the commandments, or the moral content of the law.
What grace eliminates and overturns are the law's curses. As
far as the moral imperatives of the law are concerned, grace
is in full agreement. Paul says so expressly in Galatians 3:6:
""Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not!
For if a law had been given that could give life, then
What Grace Teaches 29
righteousness would indeed be by the law" (Galatians 3:21)."
The problem with the law was our inability and our lack of
desire to will and to work for God's good pleasure. Grace is
the remedy for that.
And the result? Verse 14: That we should be "redeem[ed]
from all lawlessness and [purified for ChristC] a people for his
own possession who are zealous for good works." And there is
nothing the least bit "legalistic" about that zeal.
The command Paul gives Titus in verse 15 has
implications not only for those of us who teach, but also for
every one of you, as you encourage and admonish one
another. This is a command for all of us: "Declare these
things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard
you."