“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 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.” (Titus 2:11-14)
In the short letter of Titus, containing only three chapters, Paul packs in the exhortations to practical godly living so that we, may adorns the doctrine of God our Savior (Titus 2:10).
But how are we to do that? What is our motivation? Shall we, like Ebenezer Scrooge, grovel at the sight of our own sins and ask God for another chance to improve ourselves? This would be the Gospel according to Scrooge.
In contrast to this, Paul grounds God’s calling in our lives, to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled godly lives, on the great fact of Christmas. And what is the great fact of Christmas? It is the fact that, the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. In other words, our motivation and our focus is not on our performance at all, but it is found in the grace of God which appeared in the coming of Christ at Christmas. Our salvation, which he accomplished for us, produces the fruit of our godly living in this present world as a display of his grace at work in us. It trains us, not by coercion or force, but by transformation and faith.
The word appeared is epiphany in the Greek, and was used in contemporary Roman society for the elaborate displays of the Roman emperors who made their grand appearances to inspire awe and admiration (and eventually to demand worship) from the people. What Paul says, (without even using the name Jesus), is that on that first Christmas, grace appeared, which is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of the grace of God that has appeared in Jesus Christ. So the evidence of that grace continues to be displayed as his people set their hearts and hopes upon his perfect life, his sacrificial death and his glorious resurrection and return.
