“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:11-14 NASB1995)

I love this passage of Scripture, for it describes for us accurately what God’s grace is really all about. And that is important that we understand what God’s grace is all about, for we live in a day and time when God’s grace is being massively misconstrued in so many gatherings of the church (or what are falsely being called “the church”), and by their preachers/pastors. So many have weakened God’s grace to forgiveness of all sins and a promise of eternity in heaven only, but absent of what God’s grace is really all about.

For, why did Jesus Christ give his life up for us on that cross? It was not just to forgive us our sins so that we can go to heaven when we die, and not to hell. Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross to become sin for us and to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him we will now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, and so we will no longer live as slaves to sin. He died to change us, not just to forgive our sins.

Jesus Christ died on that cross, and he rose from the dead, to give us new lives in him free from the control of sin and self, and so we will now walk with him in surrender to his will, in submission to him as Lord, in obedience to his commands in holy living. Sin is to no longer have mastery over our lives to where we habitually and deliberately obey its lusts. For Jesus died to set us free from our addiction to sin. And now Jesus Christ is to be Lord and Master of our lives, directing our paths and leading us in his righteousness.

God’s grace, therefore, doesn’t just pardon our sins and give us the hope of eternity with God in heaven, but his grace instructs us to deny (renounce) ungodliness and worldly passions and desires, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For redemption is not just about forgiveness, but it is Jesus buying us back for God with his blood, out of our bondage to sin, so we will now serve our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, by the grace and power of God.

But then we have so many people today teaching that God requires nothing of us other than a profession of faith in him and a belief in his death and resurrection. But Jesus gave himself for us to deliver us out of our addiction to sin so we will now live for him, as his possession, under God’s control, zealous for good deeds. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (see Ephesians 2:8-10, and don’t leave out verse 10).

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

By Your Grace

An Original Work / June 27, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Speak Your words to my heart,
Let Your grace and love impart.
Be to me all I need
To love and serve Christ my King;
To love and serve Christ my King.
Change my heart; be like You;
Let me love and serve in truth.
Guide my steps ev’ry day,
As I bow my knees and pray;
As I bow my knees and pray.

Love You, Lord. You love me.
You died so that I’d go free
From my sin; pure within;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin.
Invite You in my heart;
Now I have a brand new start.
Repented of my sin,
So that I’d be cleansed within;
So that I’d be cleansed within.

Live for You ev’ry day,
List’ning to the words you say.
Make You Lord of my heart;
Be Your witness, grace impart;
Be Your witness, grace impart.
Obey Your ev’ry word;
Do the things I’ve seen and heard.
Your word, Lord, in me burns,
While I wait for Your return;
While I wait for Your return.

What God’s Grace is Really All About
An Original Work / January 3, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love