For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Titus 2:11
Theologians of various stripes love to use this verse a proof text for their pet doctrines. Calvinists, for example, claim this verse proves that God extends the Gospel to all those whom He chooses to save. It does no such thing, of course, just as Scripture disproves other evil Calvinist doctrines. Others tell us that this verse teaches that everyone hears the Gospel at least once in some form, and still others look at this verse as a proof of their idea that everyone will eventually be saved. All of these theories result from a failure to exercise the most important rule of Bible interpretation: look at the context. The context, of course, is Paul’s instruction to Titus on how to deal with the various classes of people in the Assemblies in Crete where Titus was serving the Lord. Specifically, he was referring to aged and young men and women, and to servants (slaves) and masters. All of these groups were recipients of the grace of God.
Every Assembly has a diversity of backgrounds among its members, although our Assemblies these days don’t have slaves and masters. It is only by the grace of God that any of us are saved and in Assembly fellowship. And that very fact should help to keep relationships among ourselves sweet. Note that our text begins with the word ‘for’. That turns our attention back to the previous verse, the context for what appears in verse 11. Verses 9 and 10 speak of how servants are to be urged to be faithful to their masters, so that they can be a good testimony for their Lord. These servants, or slaves, are recipients of the grace of God. So are their masters, if they are saved. But if their masters are not saved, a Christian slave – acting in accordance with Paul’s directions – would stand out in stark contrast to the behaviour of other slaves, who were notorious for stealing and misbehaviour of all kinds. The hope would be that this good testimony would cause the master to be drawn to such a Gospel that would produce such a faithful slave. Such a display of the grace of God could result in seeing the master saved.
It is the display of the grace of God in our lives that is the most powerful influence in drawing others to God’s salvation. – Jim MacIntosh