"Just say no." As a kid in the '90s you heard that phrase over and over again. It was when every year a DARE representative would come in and tell you the dangers and shortfalls of drugs and alcohol. We were taught to "just say no" in order to live lives that were productive and fulfilling.
Paul told Titus in Titus 2:12 that grace for the redeemed is, "instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age."
The grace of God that has appeared to all peoples instructs God's people to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in our present age.
To really understand this, we have to break it down.
The word "instructing" is a present tense participle in the Greek meaning "continuous training."
Paul wrote to Titus about how God's grace affects the believer. It should continually instruct the Christian to deny ungodliness and worldly desires. That word "deny" in the Greek means to basically "say no."
Paul said to Titus that grace continuously instructs God's people to live (conduct themselves) a certain way.
There is a negative element and there's a positive element of what God's grace brings.
The negative element is "say no" to sin and the positive element is it changes us to live our lives conforming to God's Word and standards. We become more sensible; we live justly, and we live godly per Titus 2:12. If we have experienced God's grace, we will be different towards each other. We will love our neighbor as ourselves increasingly.
Now....being "godly" in Titus 2:12 ultimately speaks of an entirely new mind, will and affection orientation. We will be growing in our awe and love of God and desire to enjoy Him forever. A genuine born-again Christian's life is being conformed to the character of the Lord Jesus. Before we were converted (if you are reading this and are a Christian), we hated God. We may not have said it, but we hated the idea of reporting to and living for God.
Now after having experienced God's amazing grace, we, for the first time, love God and desire to say no to sin and yes to His Word in our everyday lives.
The grace of God changes us internally as God in our conversion applied the perfect sacrifice of Jesus to make us right with Him forever and made His dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 16:19-20). This means we should be greatly different than what we used to be as time goes on.
God's grace should forever change God's people per Titus 2:12.
Has God's grace changed you?
Saying you know Jesus with a life that has never changed is like saying an anvil was dropped on your head from the top of a 50-story building yet there is not even a scratch on your head.
Have you been crushed (in a glorious way) by God's anvil of grace?
The marks of such an event will be evident in your life to God's glory.
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Justin Miller is a husband, father and lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Puxico. He holds a Master of Divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and a Master of Accounting from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He and his wife JoDawn are the parents of four children. He is the author of "Genuine Christianity."