Martin Luther is quoted as saying “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times.” What we believe in (faith) will largely determine the directions we take and choices we make. Believing in God’s grace prepares us for life in the way nothing else can. Grace has a profound impact on the Christian life and has a powerful role in our salvation. I’d like to examine in this article the difference between a religion focused on human effort and a gospel centred on God’s unmerited favor, drawing from Titus 3:3-7 as a primary passage.
Two Approaches to God
There are two fundamental ways to understand our relationship with God. The first, which we might call “religion,” is centred on human effort. It operates on a principle of conditional acceptance: “If I obey, then God will bless me.” This approach emphasizes personal actions, believing that through sufficient obedience, good deeds, and adherence to rituals, one can earn God’s favor and eternal life. This system is often driven by fear, insecurity, and a desire to control one’s standing before God. This system often looks down
In the second approach, the “gospel,” begins with God and focuses on His initiative. It understands the relationship as: “God has blessed me, therefore I obey.” This perspective embraces grace as the core of our connection with God. Obedience is not a means to earn God’s love but a response to it, a joyful expression of gratitude for the blessings already received. The motivation here is not fear but a deep, heartfelt joy for what God has freely given.
Charles Spurgeon’s illustration of the gardener and the king, vividly portrays this difference. A gardener, out of genuine love and respect, presents the king with a magnificent carrot. The king, recognizing the gardener’s sincere heart, bestows upon him a generous gift of land. Later, a nobleman, motivated by self-interest, presents the king with a prized stallion, expecting a greater reward. The king accepts the gift but offers nothing in return. He explains that the gardener gave the carrot as a genuine act of love, while the nobleman gave the horse to gain something for himself.
This analogy highlights the contrast between giving out of gratitude and giving to earn something. Both approaches can sometimes look similar – both will highlight doing good and trying to be righteous. But when we look closer we see that basing our relationship with God on our own efforts, we make it about ourselves. Our prayers become focused on our needs, our self-worth becomes tied to our performance, leading to either pride in our perceived piety or despair in our inevitable failures. We become prone to idolatry, clinging to things like talents, moral achievements, or social status for security and acceptance. We find ways to tear down those better than us and look down on those we deem worse.
In contrast, a life grounded in grace centres on God. Prayers become expressions of praise and communion, self-worth is found in Christ, and a balance of humility and confidence emerges. While good things like family, work, and spiritual disciplines remain important, they do not become ultimate, we learn not to let them become idols. We recognize that we have already received everything freely from God.
Biblical Examples of Approaching God by Grace
Several biblical passages further illustrate this contrast. In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee, confident in his own righteousness, boasts of his religious practices. The tax collector, aware of his sinfulness, humbly asks for mercy. Jesus declares that the tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified before God.
The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) offers another compelling example. Both sons were alienated from their father, though in different ways. The younger son sought control of his inheritance through disobedience, while the older son attempted to earn his father’s approval through dutiful obedience, harbouring resentment and a sense of entitlement. Both ultimately missed the true nature of their father’s love and grace.
1 John 4:7-11 emphasizes that love originates from God. It highlights that God’s love for us preceded our love for Him, demonstrated by sending His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This underscores the core of the gospel: God’s initiative in extending grace to us.
Our Sinful Condition and the Gift of Salvation – Titus 3:3-7
Titus 3:3-7 provides a powerful depiction of our state before encountering God’s grace. Paul reminds Titus and the church of their past lives, a stark portrayal of human nature apart from Christ. The people of Crete were known for their immorality, but Paul includes himself in this description, acknowledging the universal human condition of sinfulness.
The Bible consistently presents humanity as flawed, imperfect, and in need of redemption. Sin is not merely a series of isolated mistakes but a deep-seated pattern of living that is destructive and enslaving. Paul describes this state as “foolish,” lacking spiritual understanding; “disobedient,” knowingly rejecting God’s will; “deceived,” led astray by lies; “slaves,” controlled by sinful passions; and characterized by “hatred,” both hating and being hated.
This unflinching portrayal of sin underscores the depth of our need for salvation. It reminds us that no one is exempt from the grip of sin and that apart from God’s grace, we are all lost.
Now we get to see the transformative power of God’s grace. The passage introduces a crucial “but”—”But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared.” This marks a turning point, highlighting that a right relationship with God begins with His action, not ours. God’s goodness and kindness preceded any human effort. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Salvation is not based on our merit but on God’s unmerited favor. Grace, by definition, is undeserved. God’s love is not contingent on our worthiness but is freely given even to the ugly, the broken, and the lost.
This salvation comes through a “washing,” which we understand as baptism, which symbolizes our union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Baptism is not a work that earns our salvation but a point of encounter with Christ, a symbolic participation in His sacrifice and His work. It is a powerful symbol because it is something done ‘to me’ as much as ‘by me’, reflecting the passive nature of receiving grace. We choose to respond to God’s initiative, but our choice alone cannot overcome sin; it is only through God’s grace that we are saved and declared righteous. It is where we find the combination of our desire to submit and follow, and God’s powerful grace that transformation and salvation abound.
Through this washing, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, strengthens us, and guides us as we live for God. The Spirit is poured out “richly” upon us, signifying an abundant and transformative presence. This process involves washing, renewing, and regeneration, all centred on Jesus Christ, our Savior. His sacrifice paid the price for our brokenness, offering us life not because of our actions or beliefs but because of God’s gracious character.
This salvation extends into the future, promising an eternal inheritance, a full realization of God’s promises in this life and the life to come.
Daring Confidence in God’s Grace
In three follow up articles I would like to examine the questions of (1) how grace leads us into a life of obedience, (2) the danger of abusing God’s grace, and (3) the foolish but human pattern of abandoning the grace that saves us and turning again to legalism.
The foundation of our relationship with God (how it is possible for us to be his children, to receive his promises, to have the hope of life) comes not from what we have done but by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. We must begin by accepting that. We need to humbly know that Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. That we have awesome gifts because of that grace – the gift of cleansing of our sins, the gift of regeneration, the gift of the Spirit of God, and the gift of eternal life – all by the grace of God. Let us live never forgetting that God has treated us this way – while we were lost in sin, he chose to bestow grace upon us, to love us, to die for us, so that we could have the opportunity to choose to put him on in baptism and enter that grace. Praise God for his grace that saves us, and Lord give us the strength to put to death the pride by which we live our lives when we claim, in deed or in word, that we paid the price. We are washed, renewed, and saved by the powerful grace that comes through the blood of Jesus our savior. Praise God!
Stratford ON