Daily Devotional

This is a beautiful passage that breaks up nicely into three distinct sections, giving us a message of good news and hope, an explanation of what that good news does for us, and finally some instructions for us as a result of the good news. The first part is that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to everyone! We know that we are fallen and broken sinners in need of salvation and right off the bat we read that God’s grace has brought us salvation. Now let me remind you of the difference between grace and mercy. Mercy is not receiving punishment or harm that you deserve, whereas grace is receiving good things that you do not deserve. We do not deserve salvation and yet by God’s grace it is bestowed on us despite ourselves.

Now the second part, what does this salvation do for us besides saving us from eternal punishment? It teaches us that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. If you are saved from the punishment of your wrong deeds, your response should be to try and live better and obey the one who saved you. Imagine a vile criminal that is pardoned by the state and then given a large inheritance by which to live a lavish life, but then immediately turns around and continues to murder and steal while being free from his punishment and living the high life. It would seem that the man was abusing the mercy and grace that was shown to him by the state. So it is with God’s grace and mercy. We are not compelled to do good works to earn our salvation, but we strive to do those things which please God as a way to honor His mercy and grace in our life. Besides that how are we supposed to spread the gospel, the good news that lives in us, if we look more like the fallen world then like Christ? The world will rightly call us hypocrites and ignore our message of the hope that is found in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Finally the last part is instruction for us. We are to speak these things to all people, exhorting and rebuking with all authority. This is the great commission, we need to spread the news that there is hope for us in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. And notice there are two parts of this, we are to exhort people, which means to strongly encourage or urge people to do something. In this case to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But we are also called to rebuke. The world often likes to tell Christians that they are fine with us exhorting about Christ, but they tend to push back when we rebuke them, which means to express sharp disapproval or criticism over someone's actions. They will say that Jesus was love and so we should only love and exhort. But the scriptures are clear that we are to call out sin as well. While God does forgive sin, it is not with the expectation that we just keep on sinning and ignoring God’s commandments. In Romans 6:1-2 Paul asks “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin live in it any longer?

Therefore be bold and proclaim the hope that lies within you through the salvation of Jesus Christ, exhorting and rebuking in the name of Jesus that many would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as Lord and Savior!

New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.