It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
Titus 2:12
Without thinking very much at all, I bet that we can all instantly name our favorite teachers. Now there will be lots and lots of reasons these people are remembered with fondness. Maybe they were funny. Maybe they tutored you in a difficult subject. Maybe they helped fill in a gap when your life was falling apart.
I have a friend who had a teacher come over to his house when his father was going off the rails. This teacher spoke with the man and convinced him to let his son come back home. You should see my friend’s face when he retells this story. Even though the circumstances were terrible, his face lights up when he talks about the teacher.
While I had lots of very good teachers, only one invited me to their house. Mr. Metzger knew that I was a basketball fan, so he invited me to stop by his house before we went to an NBA game together. We had courtside seats right underneath the basket. It was fun to watch this quiet and reserved teacher, who always wore a suit and tie, go bananas as he jumped up and down, screaming and cheering for the whole game.
Paul’s reminding Titus that when he’s living and speaking about Jesus, that God’s grace is to be his main motivation. And what does God’s grace empower and enable Titus to do? To climb a mountain? To perform a miracle? To heal? To deliver powerful sermons and to predict the future?
I’m afraid it’s nothing so exciting. Nothing so public. Nothing that’s going to bring down the house, the walls of Jericho, or anything like that. It’s also not going to blow the roof off his social media numbers either. It’s nothing so dramatic. As a matter of fact, it’s downright boring.
God’s powerful grace is going to teach us and energize us to (wait for it) just say no. That’s it, just say no. No long speeches. No protest marches. No internet media campaigns. When we just say no we close the door. Shut it down. Turn away from it. Walk away from it. And if necessary, we’re to run away from it.
But say no to what? Turn away from what? The answer is pretty simple. Titus is to teach everyone to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. Ungodliness is anything that’s not from God. It’s everything that’s not in line with who God is. Worldly passions are those desires that are not from God.
If you want examples, think about what Joseph did. When faced with Mrs. Potiphar’s bold and sexual offer to “come lie with me,” what did Joseph do? He didn’t think about it. He didn’t blast out a text message asking for advice. He didn’t even post a poll on social media. I’ll tell you what he did; he said no with his feet. He ran[1]. This was another step in the making of Joseph, a man of integrity.
Another example is from the life of David and what he didn’t do. When he saw the beautiful Bathsheba bathing, what did he do? Instead of just saying no, he had her brought into the palace where he slept with her[2]. This was the start of the downward spiral of David’s life and that of his family[3].
But teaching is a whole lot more than just saying no. It’s more than talking to a bunch of people. It’s even more than having good content and being interesting. It’s more than just being informative. Paul tells Titus that his teaching’s to have three specific things in the lives of his listeners.
Self-controlled. Their lives are to have balance that comes from God’s power and Holy Spirit living inside them. Their faith is to be directly plugged into how they live.
Upright. When people and God look at their lives, they will see someone who lives an approved life. Their words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes will follow the person of God and what he’s said.
Godly lives. While they have God personally living in them, he will be visible for all to see in how they live. There won’t be a part of their lives that God doesn’t influence or control.
But where are these people to live like this? Are these kinds of lives and attitudes only to be expected by the super spiritual? Are these things to be seen only in the lives of pastors and church leaders?
Not on your life. Every believer in Jesus who has emptied all their bad and good works in exchange for God’s goodness and righteousness in Jesus has God’s Holy Spirit in them. He gives more than enough power for you and me to say no to anything that’s against who God is.
But the question is do we want to say no? Do we think that God’s hiding something really great behind his refusal to let us have it? In case this sounds a little bit familiar, it’s because it’s almost a direct quote from the snake to Eve just before she and Adam fall into sin. When will we trust God? When are we going to listen and say no when God says no?
Noodling Question
Describe one of your favorite teachers or instructors.
Which one of the three parts of Titus’ teaching is most difficult? Explain.
Why do we think that God’s hiding all the really good blessings from us?
[1] Genesis 39:12
[2] 2 Samuel 11:2-4
[3] 2 Samuel 1210-12
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