message of Scripture in a few words, he
readily replied: “There is forgiveness” (Psalm
130:4). God’s chief weapon to win us over is
his amazing grace (1 Tim 1:12-17).
GODLINESS: However, a real experience of
God’s grace is to move us in the direction
of godliness (2:12). Godliness is another way
of speaking about Christ-likeness – God’s ultimate goal in our lives (Rom 8:29).
Years ago, Max Beerbohm wrote a fairy story
called The Happy Hypocrite. A rich man, aptly
called Lord George Hell
is a real ugly character
who “looks like a sinner”. But then he falls in
love with Jenny, a saintly girl, and feels he cannot live without her. But
Jenny would only marry
someone who “looked
like a saint”. George
cannot find any other
way except to put on a
mask of a saint. He now
becomes Lord George
Heaven! She promptly
falls in love with him
and they are happily married. George is now
“the happy hypocrite” – for now he is willing
to do anything for his beloved Jenny. But
remember he has a mask on! A long time
went by. But one day, a woman from his
past confronted and exposed him. Sadly, he
now has to remove his mask. But to his and
everyone’s surprise, beneath his mask is the
beautiful face of the saint he has become!
the beauty of Jesus. We are embraced into
the family of God – as an heir (3:7) – and
surely, God wants his heirs to be beautiful!
GOODNESS: God’s people are “eager to do
what is good” (2:14). Doing good works is
a clear emphasis in this short letter (3:14).
Paul says elsewhere that “we are God’s
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10). Of course
we are not saved by good works but for
good works. To the women
in Ephesus the reminder is
that real beauty will not
come from gold, pearls, or
expensive clothes but from
good deeds, appropriate
for women who profess to
worship God (1 Tim 2:10).
Our Lord said: “Let your
light shine before others,
that they may see your
good deeds and glorify
your father in heaven”
(Matt 5:16).
What a
beautiful
picture of the
work of the
Spirit in the
believer’s life!
What a beautiful picture of the work of
the Spirit in the believer’s life! In Tit 3:5-7
we read the beautifying work of the Triune
God. The Holy Spirit is the Divine Beautifier
who washes us clean and renews us into
If we yield to the Beautiful
One, the Para