GRACE TEACHES US. Titus 2:12 We are saved by grace, but grace also teaches and trains us on how to live soberly, righteously, and godly. The entire process of training a child involves more than just giving instructions. Encouragement, correction, discipline, and praise must be taught and learned. Salvation comes with righteous demands that we must also understand. Ungodliness is the rejection of God's moral and righteous standards, characterized by living without religious or ethical restraints. Worldly lusts go beyond the lust of the flesh to include a desire for wealth, power, fame, pleasure, and other pursuits based on worldly ways. Denying such things requires a clear and intentional rejection of anything that diminishes or rejects God's grace.
There is a new nature within us, one that rejects ungodly lusts and passions that deceive and lead people into sin. We desire to embody heavenly values in our hearts, rather than conform to worldly fashions. Our longing is to live holy lives characterized by godliness and honesty before others, and we naturally value our spiritual brothers and sisters. Part of us wants to separate ourselves and have nothing to do with the lost, while another part longs to reach out and save them, no matter the cost. So here we are in the world, but not of it, charged with sharing the truth with authority and grace. We aim to reveal to them the Savior of incomparable worth.
The grace of God trains us not only by giving us instructions that are linked to truth but also by disciplining us to "deny ungodliness and worldly lusts." Ungodliness encompasses more than just our actions; it refers to a person who is not morally upright and does not want God to interfere in their life. An ungodly person may live a life that appears pleasing to people who consider themselves "good people" but are without God. "Worldly lusts" include everything that is "not of the Father but of the world." That refers to "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life"; in contrast, grace enables and empowers us to conduct ourselves with self-restraint that affects us personally, righteously in how I interact with others, and Godly as someone who can live in fellowship with God. This grace principle shows how a believer is to live in and before the world. The grace of God, as seen and practiced in the life of a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, has a deeply positive impact on those around us in the world. When a believer is dedicated to God in their heart and life, they live in the present evil age with the core virtues of holiness. Sober and righteous living show others that we are aware of God as we live and anticipate the Lord’s return. Godly living is known by God, who understands the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, mind, and emotions. These are marks of the eternal life we have received and are essential to the divine nature we possess now and will keep forever.