Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Titus 2:12

"instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world;" — Titus 2:12 (ASV)

Grace also goes to work in the lives of the saved. Grounded in God’s nature, it makes ethical demands of Christians consistent with his nature. It instructs the believer in the things “in accord with sound doctrine” (2:1). The verb “teaches” (GK 4084) comprehends the entire training process—teaching, encouragement, correction, and discipline.

The negative pedagogical purpose of grace is to train us to renounce our past by saying “ ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions.” “Ungodliness” (GK 813) denotes the impiety and irreverence that characterizes the unsaved life; “worldly passions” are those cravings characteristic of the world in its estrangement from God. Such renunciation, standing at the beginning of a life of Christian victory, must be maintained in daily self-denial.

This negative work clears the field for its positive aim for believers: “to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.” Our entire course of life should be consistently characterized by the three stated qualities. They look in three directions, though sharp distinctions need not be pressed: (1) inward (“selfcontrolled”; GK 5407), already stipulated for different groups (1:8; 2:2, 5) and now demanded of every believer; (2) outward (“upright”; GK 1469), faithfully fulfilling all the demands of truth and justice in our relations with others; (3) upward (“godly”; GK 2357), fully devoted to God in reverence and loving obedience.

Such a life is a possibility and a duty “in this present age” (Galatians 1:4), which holds dangers for the believer (Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 4:10) and stands in contrast to the anticipated future.