God's grace - instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires

Titus 2 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But as for you, proclaim the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. ² Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.

³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, ⁴ so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

⁶ Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; ⁷ in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, ⁸ sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

⁹ Urge slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not stealing, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, ¹² instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.

¹⁵ These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. No one is to disregard you.

Some people believe that because Jesus died to forgive us of all sins, past present and future, that we can continue in sin because it will be forgiven. That is a misunderstanding of and a presumption on grace.  Today’s text says: The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. Far from embracing our sin, God’s grace instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, to live sensibly and righteously. Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. God didn’t change His mind about sin, making it acceptable to Him because of Christ’s sacrifice for us. He redeemed us from sin. He changed us. He purified us so that we would be acceptable to Him. Because of grace we should not want to continue in sin, but rather be eager for good deeds. We are not only reconciled to God, but also for Him. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says: You have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

In John 5, after healing a lame man at the pool of Bethesda, in verse 14 it says: Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” Also in John 8, after Jesus defended the woman caught in adultery, in verse 11 it says: Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.” Jesus associated with sinners and outcasts when He was here, but it was not to accept or embrace their sin and ungodliness. In Luke 5:32, when Jesus was asked about it, He said: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”  In Matthew 7:13-14;21-23 Jesus says: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it… Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

John 3:16 is perhaps one of the most familiar verses in the Bible. It says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”  Verses 3 and 17-21 help us to understand the context of what Jesus is saying, and so to understand what should be the result of our believing. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”

The exhortation of today’s text then is: Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be pleasing, not argumentative, not stealing, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. Our lives should adorn the gospel. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Thank You for Your amazing, life changing grace. Amen.