For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the 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 wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titis 2:11-14).

Paul gives a brief summary of the Gospel. First, notice that the grace of God brings salvation to all people. We all need salvation. We are like a drowning person too far from shore to swim to safety and save ourselves. It will do no good for those on shore to shout to us, “Save yourself! Swim to safety!” We cannot save ourselves. Our only hope is that a lifeguard will reach us before it is too late. In the spiritual sense, Jesus is our lifeguard.  He has jumped into the water and brought us to safety. This is the salvation spoken of in our text. Paul elaborates in vs.14 when he reminds us how it is that Jesus saved us. He “gave Himself for us.” He went to the cross to “redeem us from every lawless deed.”

This is the foundation of our faith. Those who have true faith in the Son of God understand the basic Gospel message. We are on the right path when we also understand that this salvation has come to us from a gracious God. We need to remind ourselves of this foundation regularly.  More on these verses tomorrow.

Father, I thank You that you included me when You acted to bring salvation to the world. Thank You, Jesus, that You were willing to give Yourself for us on the cross that we might find forgiveness. Amen.