October 12 – Hope is Believing

“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,”  Titus 2:11–13 (ESV)

In this letter by Paul to Titus, he had explored that godly living is what God’s truth demands from us. In these verses Paul changes his emphasis to determine the central aspect of God’s truth which demands a godly life. The word ‘for’ (gar) suggests that Paul is establishing the basis for what the he had just written. (The last phrase, (v. 14) references Christ act of self-sacrifice to redeem us from lawlessness and make us pure for Himself.) When fully understood, it is the gospel of the grace of God which teaches Christians how to live. This promise is clear: grace has brought salvation to all men and it is universally available. The message is that God’s grace leads Christians, to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and live positively self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. Because we are Christians, we look forward and wait for the blessed hope which is the appearing of our Great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. This hope in its essence is the same substance as faith. It is believing God. Faith believes what God has said, what God has done, and hope believes what God has promised yet to do. 

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Titus, whose name appears 13 times in 12 verses in the Apostle Paul’s letters was a Gentile convert who had served and traveled with the Apostle Paul. Titus had also served as a faithful messenger to the troubled church in Corinth. Like Timothy, he was trained by Paul and appointed as an Overseer who established other overseers in the churches under his care.