"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

Titus 2:11-14

In this passage we are faced with the tension between the grace of God, which, by definition, we don’t deserve, and our responsibility to choose to live a godly lifestyle. Paul makes it very clear that we cannot simply live as we like while relying on grace to save us.1 At the same time, we are not saved by the things we do.2 Put simply, the grace through which we are saved ‘teaches’ (v. 12) us to live for God and to turn away from an ungodly lifestyle.

Saying ‘No’ to the things that tempt us is part of our growth and maturity in following Jesus. There are lots of things in the world that want to draw our attention and entice us from our walk of faith. Some of them are big and obvious, others are subtle and can creep up on us. We have to remain open to hearing the Holy Spirit prompt us and direct our choices.

CLOSING PRAYER

Holy Spirit, continue your work in my life; help me to be more like Jesus in all that I think and do.

(Edited from Encounter with God)