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Titus 2:11-14 “GRACE HATH APPEARED”--No one questions the existence or reality of grace, nor its need in our salvation. It indeed has been made known to us in God’s revelation in His word. “TEACHING US”--If we are saved by grace, what have we learned of our responsibility to meet the conditions of its blessing? Can a person be saved by grace and ignore its teaching? Will we be saved by grace if we refuse to deny worldly lusts and live righteously? “ZEALOUS OF GOOD WORKS”--Not only does grace require a response in obedience to become Christians, but the whole of a spiritual life following is one of “zeal in good works”. (Titus 2:14) In fact, we were spiritually created toward this end. (Eph. 2:10) So can grace be grace without works of obedience it requires? Grace is not a total, unconditional act of God that leaves man passive and without responsibility toward His Maker. To the contrary, grace teaches us certain responsibilities we must fulfill toward God and of which we will be held accountable in the Day of Judgment. “THAT HE MIGHT REDEEM US”--Here was indeed the very essence of grace in its purest form. Jesus’ atonement for our sins was God’s act in our behalf that we could not perform for ourselves. But we can, and we must, meet the terms of receiving this grace that it was God’s will to require, in our obedience. All these works in submission to God’s ordinance cannot earn salvation, which God’s gift in Jesus Christ alone can provide. So we are still saved by grace and do God’s will to obtain it. Frank Driver
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