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"...instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age..."
(Titus 2:12, CSB)
How are you doing with memorizing Titus 2:11? Today we are going to add Titus 2:12! If you are not ready for Titus 2:12, don't put pressure on yourself; get verse 11 down first, and then move on! If you're doing 11 and 12 together, here is what the first letter of every word looks like (in the CSB):
F T G O G H A, B S F A P, I U T D G A W L A T L I A S, R, A G W I T P A
Now, we learned yesterday that salvation is for all people and this salvation is because the grace of God appeared! Today we look at doing two things that grace instructs us to do: deny and live.
The first thing that we learn from this verse is that we are to deny! "Deny" is the word used by the CSB, "turn from" is what the NLT uses, and "renounce" is what the ESV uses. All these translations have something in common: an intentional action opposing godlessness and worldly lusts in ourselves. We are to be active in our denial of these things! Absolutely, we have been saved from them and freed from them, but they are still things we must deny/turn from/denounce! The things which we are to deny/turn from/denounce are godlessness and worldly lusts, as the CSB puts it. Other translations say "godless living and worldly passions" (NLT) and "ungodliness and worldly passions" (ESV). So, it's very clear that we are to make a conscious choice and take action to deny worldly passions and pleasures and all things that are out of line with God. Is there an area of your life that you are not denying that you need to deny? Is there an area of life that the Holy Spirit is putting on your heart and asking you to deny/turn from/denounce? Take some time to ask the Holy Spirit to search you and reveal any godlessness or worldly lusts.
I love that Paul not only gives us things to deny, but he then gives us the positive side: we are "to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way." How do we do this? If you want to live sensibly, righteously, and godly, then you will live according to the word of God. If you want to do what Paul is writing to Titus, then you will see what the Word of God says and obey it even when it's hard. I think an easy way to know you're living in a sensible, righteous, and godly way is to examine how present the fruit of the Spirit is in your life. It is sometimes easier to see the things we must deny but harder to see if we are actively living in the way that Paul writes. My encouragement to you would be to ask the Holy Spirit, what fruit do I need to show more today? As He reveals to you what it is, practice that fruit throughout your day!
Keep on memorizing! You've got this!
Titus 2:11-12, CSB:
F T G O G H A, B S F A P, I U T D G A W L A T L I A S, R, A G W I T P A
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