Teaching us

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. – Titus 2.11-14

The grace of God did not 'just' appear bringing salvation. The grace of God also teaches us a few things. The grace of God replaces the Law of God in teaching us how to live.

Deny ungodliness

Deny worldly lusts

Live soberly

Live righteously

Live godly

And then he says 'do this in this present age.'

This is the simple instruction on grace living while we wait for Jesus to return.

Grace living is not bound by the Law. Grace living is what happens in response the the grace that God has shown. It is not a bunch of rules and regulations. It is a statement of how the grace of God is manifested in our lives. We no longer fear the wrath of God, but we are grateful for His grace and the power to live for Him. Grace living means that we stop living in self-serving ways, but we choose to live lives that honour Christ.

And, to be honest, all of these things are good for us. Think of the world of trouble we could save ourselves if we turned away from ungodly living and destructive worldly lusts. Think about if, instead, we were self-controlled, doing right, and striving to be godly in our actions. Those things would certainly help us to avoid all kinds of troubles from our own actions.

Apart from the grace of God these things would not be possible. But God's grace teaches us how to do it.