Continuing from the previous section: But in the same book, Titus, we have these words:

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:11,12)

Does Divine grace teach us that God has sovereignly declared us righteous with no effort on our part? What do you think?

A glance at the entire Book of Titus will reveal an emphasis on righteous behavior rather than free grace.

But perhaps what we are saying here is that even if we do not obey the several admonitions to godly behavior found in the Book of Titus, righteous behavior still is not critical because we are saved by grace. Remember, we are addressing Paul's statement to the Christians of Galatia that if they continue to sin they cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Does Titus 3:5 weaken the strength of Galatians 5:19-21, and if not, why not?

It is our opinion that Titus 3:5 does not alter our conclusion from Galatians that the sinning Christian will not inherit the Kingdom of God. We think rather that two different aspects are being presented. The first, as in the early chapters of Romans, that salvation proceeds from a covenant that God sovereignly has issued through Jesus Christ and we cannot earn it by any amount of righteous works.

The second aspect has to do with how we work out the covenant, how we work out our salvation. If we do not permit the salvation of Christ to operate in our daily life our spiritual life will die, as in the parable of the sower. We will be cut out of the vine, as in John, Chapter Fifteen. We will die spiritually, as in Romans 8:13.

We can easily show that the early chapters of Romans, and the other related verses we mentioned such as Romans 10:9,10, cannot be interpreted to mean righteous behavior is not an expected and absolutely necessary outcome of redemption. The larger context precludes this.

Is it true that the larger context precludes the interpretation of Galatians 5:19-21 to mean if we as a Christian continue living in the passions of the flesh we will cut ourselves off from the Kingdom of God?

It is our point of view that there is no passage in the New Testament revealing clearly that this is an incorrect conclusion. In fact there is an abundance of support from the Gospels forward for the conclusion that the Christian who continues to behave sinfully is facing suffering and possibly destruction in the day of resurrection.

When would we apply the position that good works are a necessary part of salvation? Not when an unsaved individual in deep depression and guilt is reaching out to God for help or when a devout Jewish person is racked with guilt being unable to keep the Law. On these occasions an emphasis on God's gift would be in order. We think the Spirit would agree to this, although on some occasions the Spirit of God works in ways contrary to our immediate understanding.

How, then, do the two ideas of grace and righteous behavior come together?

They come together in the following passage.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

We are God's workmanship. He reaches down and saves us for the purpose of creating us in Christ Jesus unto good works.

If we quote Ephesians 2:8,9 apart from verse 10 we have a distorted, very destructive view of the Christian salvation.

We mentioned earlier a complexity that can be added to the above discussion. The Bible does not teach that eternal residence in Heaven is the goal of salvation. Although there certainly is a Heaven in the spirit realm where God, Jesus, and the saints and holy angels reside while preparations are being made for the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth—given all of this, Jesus still does not present Himself as the way to Heaven. Jesus is the way to the Father—an altogether different concept.

Jesus is bringing us to God, not to Heaven as to a place.

To be continued.