"Eureka"
“For the grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared; Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
— Titus 2:11-14
James L. Edwards wrote a poem he titled “The Angel Message” which was eventually published in the 1903 Zion’s Praises hymnal as “I Have Found the Glorious Gospel,” the beginning of the first verse of the hymn. Many have read or heard the testimony regarding his poem and the beloved hymn it became. Mrs. Edwards had a dream a number of year prior where she saw herself and a number of Saints seated in church. Her husband placed an open hymnbook in her hand and said, “Sing Eureka.” For some time after her dream, they searched for a hymn called “Eureka” but none was ever found. As the testimony unfolds, James and his wife eventually put together that “eureka” means “I have found” and the poem turned into a hymn loved and sung by the Saints became a fulfillment of her dream.
What is found, James wrote is the glorious gospel, full and free. It opens our once blind eyes and when obeyed washes our sins away. And because this thrills us with gladness, we work and watch and humbly bow our knees. These sentiments as penned by Brother Edwards, are also captured in the above verses from Paul’s letter to Titus. Paul knew that being always precedes doing. In other words, what we do is a direct result of who we are, and who we are determines what we choose to do.
The word “appeared” in Titus 2:11 best translates its underlying Greek word epiphaino, from which we derive our word “epiphany.” An epiphany is akin to a “eureka” moment. It adds an element of delight and surprise to the idea of discovery. Humanity did not receive grace and salvation after a diligent search, or by pleading for help, or by approaching God. His grace “appeared” by His own initiative, motivated solely by His goodness, despite our unworthiness. God voluntarily reached down to rescue humanity from our own self-imposed, sinful condition.
Grace, we know, annuls our works as the means of securing or maintaining God’s affection. If it were not so, then it would not be grace because grace is receiving something that we do not deserve. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. The natural human inclination, as a result, is to suppose that if our good works do not determine God’s affection, there is no reason to do them. Why be concerned about godliness if we are saved by grace? It is a question that Paul addressed forcefully when it seemed some wanted to continue in sin so “that grace may abound,” by saying “God forbid.” (Romans 6:1-2)
Consider Alma the son of Alma’s eureka moment. In his words he says, “the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to
snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God; My soul hath been redeemed from the gall
of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of
God.” (Mosiah 11:190-192) God’s merciful grace had snatched Alma from eternal torment. What was Alma’s
response? He and the sons of Mosiah became men of “sound understanding” because ?“they searched the
scriptures diligently that they might know the word of God.” (Alma 12:4) They had also
When we realize we have been rescued from the clutches of evil against which we were helpless, our resolution is strengthened never to go back there. We never want to allow the evil to take hold again. That is why the rescue of grace results in prohibitions (denying ungodliness.) Not because the prohibitions rescue but because the rescued, who truly recognize the danger they were in, desire and strive to be forever free of its clutches and so we deny ourselves worldly lusts and live soberly and righteously.
These prohibitions are not the means to get to God. Rather, they are a consequence of the appearing of grace. The same grace that fell on Alma the son of Alma. When Isaiah saw the majesty and holiness of God, the prophet fell down and cried out, “Woe is me! for I am undone.” (Isaiah 6:5) When God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush, the deliverer of God’s people hid his face. Paul expects the effect of seeing God so clearly in the grace revealed through Jesus Christ to affect us no differently.
When we have seen God clearly in the appearance of his grace, we have an intense awareness of our unholiness. Grace in this context “teaches us.” A true apprehension of grace instructs us of the magnitude and repugnance of our sin. That is why Paul says that the grace of God that has appeared teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness. We want to be rid of what stained us before the radiance of his glorious grace. God’s saving grace should make us so in love with Him that we cannot stand whatever in our lives re-soils us and offends Him. God’s grace makes us intolerant of evil in our lives. But saying no is not our only obligation. Isaiah rose and said to God, “Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) Moses walked from the burning bush to do as God required.
If being a Christian only involved self-control over our passions and “upright” behavior before others, we might get the idea that the Christian life was only a matter of living according to certain rules or performing in an acceptable way. By adding the word godly to the ways grace teaches us to live, Paul reminds us that the Christian life is one of dependence on God. Godliness is not a consequence of human resolution or willpower. It is a relationship with God that results in a life honoring to God. This is only possible when we are filled with His presence, and we yield our hearts to Him. (Helaman 2:21)
When we have our eureka moment, God’s grace enters in, and our once blind eyes are opened. We see our sin and obey the gospel and are washed clean. In our cleansed vessel, God comes to dwell. Yielding our hearts to His presence gives us the strength and ability to say no worldly lusts and transforms us into sober, righteous, and godly new creatures. The resultant joy that now fills our rescued lives motivates and drives us to zealously work for Him that He might be honored and glorified in all we do.
This we do while we wait for Christ’s return, when His “glorious appearing” will mark our ultimate deliverance from the evil and suffering of this world. This is our “blessed hope.”