Watch: Book of Titus, The Bible ProjectTitus, a co-worker of Paul, was left in Crete to address significant issues within the local church. In his brief letter, Paul advises Titus on selecting elders, addressing false teaching, and instructing different groups within the church on living lives worthy of the gospel.
Discussion Questions1. What similarities do we share with Titus?
2. What advice from the Apostle Paul do you think is applicable in our society today?
Read: Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7Discussion Questions1. How would you define “grace”? What does it mean to you?
2. Why is it important to understand that our salvation is a gift of God’s grace and not based on our own efforts?
3. According to verse 12, what is the role of grace in our lives beyond salvation? How does it train us?
4. Verse 13 speaks about our "blessed hope" and the appearing of Jesus Christ. How does this hope influence the way we live our lives now?
God’s grace means His unmerited favour. The Apostle Paul believed that for the gospel of grace to prove its redemptive power in the public square, eg. For the gospel to thrive in a place so corrupt as Crete – our lives need to be the message. The gospel message will become compelling when Christians fully participate in public life and through their character, their lives, families, homes are counter cultural, filled with God’s grace being fully devoted to God
Read: Titus 2:15Discussion Questions1. What does grace look like to others? Where have you seen an example of grace?
2. Paul instructs Titus to "declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority." What do you think Paul is emphasizing here, and how does it apply to us today?
3. What are some practical ways you can demonstrate God’s grace to others this week?
Cheap Grace vs Costly Grace
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German pastor and theologian whose courageous and outspoken opposition to the Nazis led to his arrest by the Gestapo in 1943. During two years in prisons and concentration camps, he ministered to his fellow Prisoners until his execution by the S.S. in 1945.
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's concept of "costly grace" emphasises the sacrificial nature of God's grace and our response to it.
Discussion Questions1. What did grace cost God?
2. What should grace cost us?
Closing Prayer: Thank you for your gift of grace that transforms us and empowers us to live counter-culturally in a world filled with ungodliness. May we continually recognise and be thankful for your grace in our lives and share this transformative gift with those around us.
~Amen
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