About that Grace

What’s “for” there For?

Links the idea of grace to all of the “sound doctrine” previously discussed

Varying instructions for different people groups

A Specific Grace

The grace…that gift…here is the Lord Jesus Christ

It is he who brings salvation, making it available to all men

NIV gets the picture pretty well

NIV: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

Christ’s work on the cross is sufficient for all; only of value to those who take the gift

Result of that Grace

The grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions

…trains us to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the here and now

>>>not a gift for some fantasy land; but for the real world

…empowers us to to wait grants us PATIENCE in awaiting the Lord’s return

>>as opposed to some in the 1st and 2nd century who tried to get themselves martyred to hasten their arrival to Glory

A key part

Renouncing Ungodliness & Worldly Passions

Renounce

To deny, repudiate or disown—all may be in view here

Don’t give ungodliness access to our lives

Speak against it when possible

Stay as far from it as possible; remove all aspects of it from our lives

Ungodliness

lack of reverence (where it is owed) or piety

Worldly Passions

The desires that belong to this world

Vary by person, time, circumstances

Our Response

Self-controlled lives, word implies prudence and wisdom

Upright, implies righteousness

Godly—implies piety

Definition of piety 1: the quality or state of being pious: such as a: fidelity to natural obligations (as to parents) b: dutifulness in religion : DEVOUTNESS 2: an act inspired by piety 3: a conventional belief or standard : ORTHODOXY

…so We Wait...

For that blessed hope; His reappearing, our resurrection

Not the sure statement of the divinity of Christ within it

Since this grace redeems us—buys us back from—the chaos of the times

…and He is in the process of purifying us

…to be His own special people

>>zealous for good works

Our Thought Process

Grace, though freely given, to be freely received, logically requires a response

As “new creatures” as other places in Paul’s epistles, our minds should work according to this pattern

NOTE: we’ll tag v. 15 on with chapter 3