Training Us to Renounce Ungodliness

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our 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 lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14 ESV)

I love this passage of Scripture, for it gives us a biblically accurate picture of the grace of God which is different from what so many people today are calling God’s grace. For so many people today are describing God’s grace to us as forgiveness of all sins and the promise of heaven when we die based on a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ which does not require that we die with Christ to sin and that we now walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. But that is not biblical grace!

For the grace of God is what sent Jesus Christ to the cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus, we might be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So sin is no longer to have mastery over our lives to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, in practice, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is our practice, its end is eternal life (Romans 6:1-23).

For Jesus Christ did not give his life up for us on that cross just to forgive us our sins and so that we can go to heaven when we die. He died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died so we would now live for him and no longer for self. And he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of addiction to sin so that we will now serve and honor him with our bodies (with our lives). For Jesus said we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Luke 9:23-26]

So, we need to get out the message that God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself up for us, not just to forgive our sins, and not just so we can go to heaven, but to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (see also Ephesians 2:8-10).

And the Scriptures also teach us that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of whether or not we profess faith in Jesus Christ with our lips. For if we say that we are in fellowship with God, or that we know God, but we continue living sinful lifestyles, and we are not in the practice of obeying our Lord’s commandments, the Bible says that we are liars who don’t live by the truth.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Sadly, there are many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips who are convinced that all their sins are forgiven and that they are on their way to heaven, but who still make sin their practice, their go to. Even if they are able, at times, to temporarily stifle the temptation to sin, they keep returning to the same sins over again, for they are the self-indulgent who are addicted to particular sins, who run to those sins habitually. They are also liars and deceivers who will fake faithfulness when being unfaithful.

So they will promise change and faithfulness and death to sin and the breaking of sinful habits, but the promise is fake, for it is also what gets recycled over again. So they keep on returning to their vomit. And so they give permission to themselves to ignore the reality of their own conditions so that they do not see their own damaged lives for what they are, and so they don’t see that they are not in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ nor with their spouses. For out of sight, out of mind. So they lie to themselves.

“Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” (Titus 2:15 ESV)

But we are to be servants of the Lord Jesus who not only are living godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient lives to our Lord, by his grace, but who are declaring to the world and to worldly professers of faith in Jesus Christ the truth about what God’s grace really is, and the truth about what salvation from sin really is. And we need to be letting others know that if we walk in sin, we will die in our sins. We will not have eternal life with God unless we turn from our sins and obey our Lord, in practice.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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