THE GRACE OF GOD

Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.

The grace of God is available to stand against the wiles of the devil and will help us keep our flesh under. Grace teaches us something. What does it teach us? How to live the way God wants us to live. We must be continual “learners,” always growing in our knowledge of the Word of God and its place in our lives. We see that grace will cause us to deny something. When you deny something, you say to it, “You can’t be here, you can’t do this, I won’t allow this.” You deny it. In this case, just like sickness and disease, you are not denying its existence, you are denying its right to control you. We are to deny ungodliness. To be ungodly means you act in a way that is contrary to the nature of God, to actively oppose God by disobedience or to be irreverent. We are also to deny worldly lusts. What are worldly lusts? An entire list is offered in Galatians 5:19-21. We are to walk in the spirit and not the flesh and deny those worldly lusts their right to exist in our lives. We are to grow in the fruit of the spirit and run those worldly lusts right out of our lives.

We are then told how to live. First, we are told to live soberly. We are to live with self-restraint and self-control. You do this through God power, not just will power. When His will becomes your will, just like Jesus in the garden, you can do it! To live soberly, we must have a sound mind. How do you get a sound mind? By renewing your mind every day. When you think like God, you can act like God. Thank God for the new birth. Thank God for grace. Because of the new creation and the grace of God, we can live with self-control. Second, we are to live righteously. We have been made the righteousness in God by Christ Jesus. You need to know that but then, you must live it out. To live righteously, we must do what the scripture teaches in 1 Timothy 6:11 and pursue righteousness. Being righteous is doing things in the manner that God would do them. The fruit of righteousness is acting out the nature of God that is in you; it’s who you are, so act that way. Last, this scripture tells us to live godly in this present world. We are to be a representation of God on the Earth. We are to be an Epistle read of all men. When someone encounters us, they should know a little more about God Himself. They should see Him in us. The more we are like Him in speech, conduct, and manner of living, the more help we will be to our family, friends, and neighbors.