Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Titus 2:12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
12. teaching us that ] Rather, ‘training us’; and the present participle implies a continued training, putting us under discipline; this form of the word is explained on 1Ti 1:20. The comma should be before ‘that,’ which has its proper meaning in order that. This ‘training,’ ‘discipline,’ ‘education,’ is through the means of grace. ‘The moral aim of the disciplining in question is expressed first in the negative then in the positive form.’ Fairbairn.
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts ] Better, having renounced, though R.V. keeps ‘denying’, and Alford urges that the aorist participle and aorist verb cover the same extent, the whole life. This no doubt is a thoroughly correct use of the participle, but not a necessary use; and the position of the participle at the very beginning and the verb at the end of the clause suggests rather the other equally legitimate use of the participle, to express the priority of the renunciation. So ‘I renounce the devil, the world, the flesh’ is the first act in the first of the ‘means of grace,’ holy baptism.
ungodliness ] The opposite of ‘godliness,’ see notes 1Ti 1:9; 1Ti 2:2. Our present word and its connexions occur three times in the Pastoral Epistles, three times in St Peter, three times in St Jude; otherwise only in Ep. to Romans.
worldly lusts ] The adjective ‘worldly’ is only used once besides in N.T., in Heb 9:1, of the sanctuary in the wilderness, ‘a sanctuary of the world.’ Here the phrase covers the ground of 1Jn 2:16-17, where see Bp Westcott’s full note. ‘The desire of things earthly as ends in themselves comes from the world and is bounded by the world. It is therefore incompatible with the love of the Father. In themselves all finite objects, “the things that are in the world,” are “of the Father.” It is the false view of them which makes them idols. The three false tendencies which S. John marks cover the whole ground of “worldliness,” the desire to set up the creature as an end.’ This word ‘worldly’ occurs in the Apostolical Constitutions, vii. 1, ‘abstain from fleshly and worldly lusts,’ apparently combining this passage and 1Pe 2:11, though its original, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, has ‘fleshly and bodily,’ 1.4.
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly ] The clause is adopted to describe a true Christian life in the Pr.-Bk. ‘General Confession’ and ‘Baptismal Service for Adults.’ See above and Tit 2:11. Bp Ellicott rightly; ‘Christian duties under three aspects, to ourselves, to others, and to God; but not to be too much narrowed, though the order and the meanings point to this;’ and see notes on 1Ti 2:9; Tit 1:8.
this present world ] See note on 1Ti 6:17.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Teaching us – That is, the grace of God so teaches us; or that system of religion which is a manifestation of the grace of God, inculcates the great and important duties which Paul proceeds to state.
That denying ungodliness and worldly lusts – That by denying ourselves of these, or refusing to practice them, we should lead a holy life. The word ungodliness here means all that would be included under the word impiety; that is, all failure in the performance of our proper duties towards God; see the notes at Rom 1:18. The phrase worldly lusts refers to all improper desires pertaining to this life – the desire of wealth, pleasure, honor, sensual indulgence. It refers to such passions as the people of this world are prone to, and would include all those things which cannot be indulged in with a proper reference to the world to come. The gross passions would be of course included, and all those more refined pleasures also which constitute the characteristic and special enjoyments of those who do not live unto God.
We should live soberly – See the word soberly ( sophronos) explained in the notes at Tit 2:2, Tit 2:4. It means that we should exercise a due restraint on our passions and propensities.
Righteously – Justly – dikaios. This refers to the proper performance of our duties to our fellow-men; and it means that religion teaches us to perform those duties with fidelity, according to all our relations in life; to all our promises and contracts; to our fellow-citizens and neighbors; to the poor, and needy, and ignorant, and oppressed; and to all those who are providentially placed in our way who need our kind offices. Justice to them would lead us to act as we would wish that they would towards us.
And godly – Piously; that is, in the faithful performance of our duties to God. We have here, then, an epitome of all that religion requires:
(1)Our duty to ourselves – included in the word soberly and requiring a suitable control over our evil propensities and passions;
(2)Our duty to our fellow-men in all the relations we sustain in life; and,
(3)Our duty to God – evinced in what will be properly regarded as a pious life.
He that does these things, meets all the responsibilites of his condition and relations; and the Christian system, requiring the faithful performance of these duties, shows how admirably it is adapted to man.
In this present world – That is, as long as we shall continue in it. These are the duties which we owe in the present life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. Teaching us, that, denying, c.] . Instructing us as children are instructed. Christ is the great teacher and men, in order to learn, must become his disciples-must put themselves under his tuition, and learn of him.
Denying ungodliness] . All things contrary to God; whatever would lead us to doubt his being, deny any of his essential attributes; his providence or government of the world, and his influence on the souls of men. Every thing, also, which is opposed to his true worship; theoretical and practical atheism, deism, and irreligion in general.
Worldly lusts] Such desires, affections, and appetites, as men are governed by who have their portion in this life, and live without God in the world. Gluttony, drunkenness, lasciviousness, anger, malice, and revenge; together with the immoderate love of riches, power, and fame.
We should live soberly] Having every temper, appetite, and desire, under the government of reason, and reason itself under the government of the Spirit of God.
Righteously] Rendering to every man his due, injuring no person in his body, mind, reputation, or property; doing unto all as we would they should do to us; and filling up the duties of the particular stations in which it has pleased God to fix us, committing no sin, omitting no duty.
And godly] . Just the reverse of what is implied in ungodliness. See above.
In this present world] Not supposing that any thing will be purified in the world to come that is not cleansed in this. The three words above evidently include our duty to God, to our neighbour, and to ourselves. 1. We are to live soberly in respect to ourselves. 2. Righteously in respect to our neighbour. And 3. Godly, or piously, in respect to our Maker.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness; all atheism or false religion, living without regard to any Divine Being, or according to our own erroneous and superstitious conceits and opinions of him.
And worldly lusts; and such inclinations, and unlawful desires, and lustings after secular things, as are commonly found in men of the world.
We should live soberly; we should live, with respect to ourselves, in a just government of our affections and passions.
Righteously; and with respect to others, giving to every one their due.
And godly; and with respect to God, piously discharging the duties and paying the homage we owe unto him.
In this present world; so long as we live in this world, where we have temptations to the contrary.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. TeachingGreek,“disciplining us.” Grace exercises discipline, andis imparted in connection with disciplining chastisements (1Co 11:32;Heb 12:6; Heb 12:7).The education which the Christian receives from “the grace”of God is a discipline often trying to flesh and blood: just aschildren need disciplining. The discipline which it exercisesteaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and tolive soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world(Greek, “age,” or course of things) where suchself-discipline is needed, seeing that its spirit is opposed to God(Tit 1:12; Tit 1:16;1Co 1:20; 1Co 3:18;1Co 3:19): in the coming world wemay gratify every desire without need of self-discipline, because alldesires there will be conformable to the will of God.
thatGreek, “inorder that”; the end of the “disciplining” is “inorder that . . . we may live soberly,” c. This point is lostby the translation, “teaching us.”
denying . . . lusts(Lu 9:23). The Greekaorist expresses “denying once for all.” We deny”worldly lusts” when we withhold our consent from them,when we refuse the delight which they suggest, and the act to whichthey solicit us, nay, tear them up by the roots out of our soul andmind [ST. BERNARD, Sermon11].
worldly lustsThe Greekarticle expresses, “the lusts of the world,” “allworldly lusts” [ALFORD],(Gal 5:16 Eph 2:3;1Jn 2:15-17; 1Jn 5:19).The world (cosmos) will not come to an end when thispresent age (aeon) or course of things shall end.
live soberly, righteously,and godlythe positive side of the Christian character;as “denying . . . lusts” was the negative.“Soberly,” that is, with self-restraint, in relationto one’s self: “righteously” or justly, inrelation to our neighbor; “godly” or piously,in relation to God (not merely amiably and justly,but something higher, godly, with love and reverence towardGod). These three comprise our “disciplining” in faithand love, from which he passes to hope (Tit2:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Teaching us,…. Not all men, to whom the Gospel appears in its outward ministry; for there are many who externally receive the Gospel, and profess it, who are never influentially taught by it to deny sin, or love holiness of life; they profess in words to know it, but in works deny it; they have a form of godliness, but deny its power: but the persons effectually taught by the Gospel are the “us”, to whom it was come, not in word only, but in power; and so taught them, not only doctrinally, but with efficacy, both negative and positive holiness, as follows:
that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts; all impiety, or sin more immediately against God; or which is a violation of the first table of the law, as idolatry, will worship, superstition, perjury, and the like; and all sinful lusts, as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life; which fill the world, and are reigning lusts in it, and which are common to the men of the world; and they are under the power of: to “deny” these, is to abhor and detest them, and to abstain from them, and have nothing to do with them: and this lesson of self-denial, or of the denial of sinful self, the Gospel teaches, and urges upon the most powerful motives and arguments; and when attended by the Spirit of God, does it effectually: so that
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; not, only “temperately”, but wisely and prudently, as children of the light, on whom, and into whom the Gospel has shined; and “righteously” among men, giving to every man his due, and dealing with all according to the rules of equity and justice; as being made new men, created unto righteousness and true holiness; and as being dead to sin, through the death of Christ, and so living unto righteousness, or in a righteous manner; and as being justified by the righteousness of Christ, revealed in the Gospel: and “godly”; in a godly manner, according to the Word of God, and agreeably to the will of God; and in all godly exercises, both public and private, and to the glory of God: and that as long as
in this present world: which lies in wickedness, and in which there are so many strong temptations to a contrary way of living. The Gospel then is no licentious doctrine; it is according to godliness, and teaches and promotes it; it is an holy faith, yea, a most holy faith; wherefore it is a vile slander to charge it with leading to looseness of life and conversation.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Teaching [] . Better, instructing or training. The saving economy of God is educative. Comp. Heb 12:4 – 11, and see on 1Ti 1:20.
Ungodliness [] . In Pastorals only here and 2Ti 2:16. The contrary of eujsebeia, for which see on 1Ti 2:2. Worldly lusts [ ] . The phrase N. T. o. Kosmikov worldly, only here and Heb 9:1. On the ethical sense in kosmov the world, see on Act 17:24, and Joh 1:9
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Teaching us.” (paideususa hemas) “Instructing us.” The Grace (mercy and unmerited favor from God) not only saves the penitent believer in Jesus Christ, but also teaches him how to live, 2Pe 3:18.
2) “That, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.” (hina arnesomenoi ten asebeian kai tas kosmikas epithumias) “In order that denying impiety and worldly lusts.” Each child of God is taught, by grace, to deny himself from yielding to ungodly worldly lusts, that his influence be not marred, Col 3:5-9.
3) “We should live soberly, righteously, and godly.” (zeomen soprones kai dikaios kai eusebos) “We should live sensibly, righteously, and piously.” Col 3:1-3; Gal 5:22-25.
4) “In this present world.” (en to nun sioni) “In the now present and continual hereafter age.” 1Jn 2:15; Eph 4:32, Luk 9:23.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12 Teaching us that, denying, ungodliness He now lays down the rule for regulating our life well, and how we ought to begin, namely, with renouncing our former life, of which he enumerates two parts, “ungodliness and worldly desires.” Under ungodliness, I include not only superstitions, in which they had gone astray, but irreligious contempt of God, such as reigns in men, till they have been enlightened in the knowledge of the truth. Although they have some profession of religion, yet they never fear and reverence God sincerely and honestly, but, on the contrary, have consciences that are useless, so that nothing is further from their thoughts than that they ought to serve God. (250)
By worldly desires (251) he means all the affections of the flesh; because we look at nothing but the world, till the Lord has drawn us to himself. Meditation on the heavenly life begins with regeneration. Before we have been regenerated, our desires lean towards the world, and rest on the world.
That we may live temperately, and righteously, and piously As he formerly mentioned those three, when he wished to give a comprehensive summary of Christian life, so he now makes it to consist of those three, “piety, righteousness, and temperance.” “Piety” is religion towards God. “Righteousness” has place among men. He who is endowed with both of these lacks nothing for perfect virtue; and, indeed, in the law of God there is absolute perfection, to which nothing whatever can be added. But as the exercises of godliness may be regarded as appendages to the first table, so “temperance,” which Paul mentions in this passage, aims at nothing else than keeping the law, and, as I said before about patience, (252) is added to the former as a seasoning. Nor does the Apostle contradict himself, when at one time he describes patience, and at another time temperance, as the perfection of a holy life; for they are not distinct virtues, since σωφροσύνη (here translated temperance) includes patience under it.
He adds, in this world, (253) because the Lord has appointed the present life for the trial of our faith. Although the fruit of good actions is not yet visible, yet the hope should be sufficient for stimulating us to doing well; and this is what he immediately adds, —
(250) “It presents us with the strongest motives to obedience. ‘The grace of God teacheth us to deny ungodliness.’ What chains bind faster and closer than love? Here is love to our nature in his incarnation, love to us, though enemies, in his death and passion: encouragements to obedience by the proffers of pardon for former rebellions. By the disobedience of man God introduces his redeeming grace, and engages his creature to more ingenuous and excellent returns than his innocent state could oblige him to. In his created state he had goodness to move him, he hath the same goodness now to oblige him as a creature, and a greater love and mercy to oblige him as a repaired creature; and the terror of justice is taken off, which might envenom his heart as a criminal. In his revolted state he had misery to discourage him; in his redeemed state he hath love to attract him. Without such a way, black despair had seized upon the creature exposed to a remediless misery, and God would have had no returns of love from the best of his earthly works; but if any sparks of ingenuity be left, they will be excited by the efficacy of this argument.” — Charnock.
(251) “On the expression τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας, the best comment is 1Jo 2:16 Σωφρόνως denotes virtue as regards ourselves; δικαίως, as regards our fellow-creatures; and εὐσεβῶς, as respects God. Similar divisions are found in passages of the classical writers cited by the commentators.” — Bloomfield.
(252) See p. 311.
(253) “ En ce present monde.” — “In this present world.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) Teaching us.Literally, disciplining us; educating us by lifes sad experiences. Gods grace is in truth a stern discipline of self-denial and training for higher things.
Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.More accurately, to the intent that, having denied, &c. The object of the loving discipline of our Father in heaven is that we, having done with those things in life which are offensive or dishonourable to God, having put aside as worthless all inordinate desires for the things of this worldall those things which exclusively belong to this life and have nothing to do with the life to comehaving denied all this, that we should live as righteous men the remainder of our lives here.
We should live soberly, righteously, and godly.In these three terms the blessed life our Lord would have His own to lead on earth is summed upto ourselves, to our neighbour, and to our God. The first, soberly, to ourselveswisely and temperately, keeping ever a mastery over our passions; the second, righteouslyjustly and honourably, having due regard to our duty towards our neighbour; the third, godlypiously, ever remembering to live as in the presence of the Eternal.
In this present world.Or, in the present course of things. The Apostle adds these words to his summary of the life Christians should lead, to remind them that the present world was but a transitory, passing scene after all, and that there was another and a different course of things at hand; and this leads him on to another point. The manifestation of the grace of God, in the first coming of the Lord in humiliation (Tit. 2:11), teaches us to live our lives in expectation of the second manifestation of His glory in His second coming in power (Tit. 2:13). We mustin this great passage contained in Tit. 2:11-14bear in mind that there is a two-fold epiphany spoken of: the one, the manifestation of the grace of Godthat is past (it was the first coming and the earthly life of Christ); the other, the manifestation of the glory of Godthat is to come. It will be shown in the second advent when the Lord comes in glory with His holy-angels; and the first epiphany (manifestation) in humiliation is an ever-present reminder to us to live in continued expectation of the second in glory.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Teaching us That is, educating us to the holy model which Paul has been describing, (1-10,) and which he sums up in the closing part of this verse.
That In order that. The next words do not contain the matter that is taught, but the purpose or end for which the teaching is given, namely, our holy living. Soberly, in duty to ourselves; righteously, or justly, toward others; godly, or devoutly, toward God.
This present world Time-period. The terms worldly and world here are radically different words, the former of the two implying , ( cosmos,) which designates the physical world or world-frame, and the latter, , ( aeon,) which designates the moral system, or time-world. See notes on Mat 25:46; Rom 12:2 ; 1Co 10:11; Gal 1:4-5; Eph 2:2; Eph 3:21. We must deny worldly lusts, which belong to and spring from the frame of this world, during the present time- world, in view of the future time- world, and of the endless range of future aeons or time – worlds. And the looking of the next verse points to that glorious advent which closes the present, and opens the next time – world.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Instructing us, to the intent that, denying (renouncing) ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world,’
And this salvation requires of us that we deny, renounce totally, all ‘ungodliness’, that is, all lack of faithfulness to either God or man, and that we turn our back on all worldly desires, (looking for gain or status in this world), rather living soberly, righteously and godly in this present world as our Saviour Himself did. The thought is not that we should not seek ordinary advancement. It is that it should not be the controlling factor of our lives. For our lives are to be lived in all seriousness in the light of things above as befits a servant of God, revealed in fulfilling Christ’s teaching on righteousness as found for example in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), in seeking to be pleasing to God in every way (Col 1:10), and in truly worshipping Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Tit 2:12 . , . . .] On this the chief emphasis is laid. By the apostle makes it clear that “the grace of God has a paedagogic purpose” (Heydenreich). Here, as also elsewhere in the N. T., does not simply mean “educate,” but “educate by disciplinary correction.” Hence Luther is not incorrect in translating: “and chastises us.” This reference is to be noted here, as is shown by the next words: . . . does not indicate the purpose here, but the object to be supplied, for . is not subjective, but objective; the sentence beginning with might also have been expressed by the infinitive; comp. 1Ti 1:20 ; not therefore “ in order that we,” but “ that we.” On this use of , see Winer, pp. 314 ff. [4] [E. T. pp. 420 426].
] see Tit 1:16 : “denying,” i.e. renouncing, abandoning.
] is not equivalent to (Theophylact), but is the opposite of : the behaviour of man, ungodly, estranged from God, of which idolatry is only one side.
] only here and in Heb 9:1 , but there in another connection. The . are not “desires or lusts referring to the earthly, transient world” (first edition of this commentary; so, too, Wiesinger), but “the lusts belonging to the , i.e. to the world estranged from God,” which, indeed, is the same thing (so, too, van Oosterzee). Kindred conceptions are found , Gal 5:15 ; Eph 2:3 ; , 1Pe 4:2 .
] see Tit 1:8 ( , , ). This denotes the life of Christian morality in three directions. Immediately after we have the opposing conception , which expresses self-control. denotes generally right conduct such as the divine law demands, having special reference here, as in Tit 1:8 , to duty towards one’s neighbour. (opposite of ) denotes holiness in thought and act.
Even the older expositors find in the collocation of these three ideas an expression for the whole sum of duties. Wolf: optime illi res instituunt, qui per officia adversus Deum, per officia adv. proximum, per vero illa adv. hominem ipsum indicari existimant; still it might be doubtful whether Paul regarded the ideas as so sharply distinct from each other.
] Paul adds this to remind Titus that for the Christian there is another and future life towards which his glance is directed even in this; still these words cannot be construed with .
[4] Wiesinger translates: “educating us, that we live holily,” but thinks that is to be retained in its proper signification as denoting the aim of the . In its proper signification, however, does not give the aim , but the purpose . If it be taken in this sense here, we cannot but translate it “in order that.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Ver. 12. Denying ungodliness ] Every gospel truth strikes at some sin, and thereby may be discerned.
Soberly, righteously, and godly ] This is the Christian man’s motto, his symbol, and the sum of his whole duty.
” Haec tria perpetuo meditare adverbia Pauli:
Haec tria sint vitae regula sancta tuae.
The Egyptians when they praised their deceased friends, were wont to commend them for these three things, their godliness, righteousness, and temperance. (Diod. Sicul.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Tit 2:12 . . erudiens (Vulg.), corripiens ( [319] ). Grace is potentially as regards all men; actually its efficacy is seen in the disciplining of individuals one by one; , to begin with. See notes on 1Ti 1:1 ; 1Ti 2:4 ; 1Ti 4:10 . So Chrys. makes depend on more directly than on : “Christ came that we should deny ungodliness.” The connexion, then, is . “The final cause of the Revelation in Christ is not creed , but character ” (J. H. Bernard). It is of course possible (and this is the view usually held) to join ; the introducing the object ( instructing us, to the intent that, denying , etc., R.V.), not the content ( teaching us that denying , etc., A.V.) of the .
[319] The Latin text of Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
represent three successive stages in the Christian life. The force of the aorist participle must not be lost sight of, though it may be pedantic to mark it in translation. . . ., synchronises with the “death unto sin” which precedes the definite entry on newness of life, while expresses the constant mental attitude of those who are living that new life.
: This indicates the renunciation of the Devil, of the vanity of this world, and of all the sinful lusts of the flesh. means here to repudiate, renounce all connexion with. Cf . , 1Pe 2:1 . See on 1Ti 5:8 .
: being Christian practice (see below, ), is heathen practice, the non-moral life.
: saecularia desideria (Vulg.), “the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph 2:3 ), “the lusts of men” (1Pe 4:2 ); opposed to . ; such as have relation to no higher sphere than that of the visible world. They are analysed in 1Jn 2:16 .
: The reference of the three adverbs is well explained by St. Bernard: “ sobrie erga nos; juste erga proximos; pie erga Deum”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Titus
THE PURPOSE OF GRACE Tit 2:12 .
To appreciate the full force of these words, we must observe that they are the Apostle’s statement of the ultimate design of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, and of all the wonderful powers and gifts which Christ brought with Him. In our text, the end for which that grace has appeared and exercises its corrective discipline is defined. It comes in order that, denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.
Now, remember that Paul thought that the life and the death of Jesus Christ were the most stupendous of miracles, nothing less than the entrance of divinity in a human form into the limitations of our lives, and His participation in the darkness of our deaths. Remember that he believed that Jesus Christ’s coming had led to a continual gift of an actual divine life to men who trusted Him; then you will see the grandeur and significance of the words of my text. What has this divine miracle of mercy been for? Nothing but this, to help men here to-day to live good lives. If there were no future at all, says Paul, the expenditure of the divine love is amply vindicated. The sun does not disdain to shine in order to ripen the vegetables in the humble cottage garden, and the love of God did not conceive that it had too small an object to warrant all that lavish gift which is in Christ, in helping us to live as becomes us. How dear we must be to God, and how infinitely important in His eyes must conduct and character be if such an abundance and variety of divine influences were set in motion to produce such an effect! Now, the first thing that strikes me about these words is the fair picture that they draw of what every life should be; and next, the hard conditions which they impose upon men who would live so; and then, what God has given us to make such lives possible. So I ask you to look at these three points. I. The fair picture of what our lives should be. Paul is saying nothing more than conscience, reason, the instincts of men everywhere endorse. His requirements in the rough division of virtues which he adopts, not for scientific accuracy but for practical force, are really said ‘Amen!’ to by every honest conscience ‘Soberly, righteously, godly’ – that is what everybody, if he will be fair with himself, feels to be the sort of life he ought to live. Let me just touch upon these three things very briefly. They may be said, roughly, though not very accurately, perhaps, to cover the ground of a man’s duties to himself, to his neighbours, and to God.‘Soberly’ – that is what you owe to your own nature. ‘Righteously’ – that is what you owe to people round you. ‘Godly’ – that is what you owe to Him. I need not explain, I suppose, that the word ‘soberly’ has by no means the narrow signification which the besetting vice of England has given to it now – viz., abstinence from, or a very restrained use of, intoxicating liquors, nor even the wider one of a curbing of the desires of sense. But the meaning may be better represented by self-control than by any other rendering. Now if there were no man in the world but myself, and if I had no thought or knowledge of God, and if there were no other standard to which I ought to conform, I should have, in my own nature, with its crowd of desires, tastes, inclinations, and faculties, plain indication that self-government was essential. For human nature is not constituted on the plan of a democracy or an ochlocracy – a mob rule – but there is a clear hierarchy and order of predominance in it; and, as plainly as a ship is made to need a rudder, so plainly on your make is there stamped the necessity for rigid self-control. For we all carry with us desires, inclinations, appetites – some of them directly connected with our physical frame, and some of them a little more refined – which are mere blind inclinations to a given specific good, and will be stirred up, apart altogether from the question of whether it is expedient or right to gratify them. To a hungry man the odour of food is equally enticing, whether the food belongs to himself or his neighbour; and if he had to steal for it, it would still tempt him. Because, then, we are to a large extent made up of blind desires which take no account of anything except their appropriate food, the commandment comes from the deepest recesses of each nature, as well as from the great throne in the heavens -’Live soberly.’
The engines will work on all the same, though the bows of the ship be turned to the rocks, and driving straight on the reef. It is the engineer’s business to start them and keep them going; it is their business to turn the screw; it is somebody else’s business to look after the navigation. We have our ‘humours under lock and key’ in order that we may control them. And if we do not, we shall go all to rack and ruin. So, ‘live soberly,’ says Paul. The next requirement is, ‘righteously.’ Now, I said that that might, perhaps, be roughly explained as referring mainly to our duties to one another. But that is not by any means an exhaustive – and perhaps, a scarcely approximate – description. For the attitude expressed in ‘righteously’ does not so much point to other people as to the existence of a certain standard, external to ourselves, to which it is our business and wisdom to conform. I said that, if there were nothing in the world except a man and his own nature, the duty of sober self-government would necessarily arise. But the supposed isolation does not exist. We stand in certain relations to a whole universe of things and of people, and there does rise before every man, however it may be accounted for, or explained away, or tampered with, or neglected, a standard of right and wrong. And what Paul here, means by ‘live righteously’ is, ‘Do as you know you ought to do,’ and in shaping your character, have reference not merely to its constitution, but to its relations to all this universe of outside facts. So far as the word may include our duty to others, I may just remind you that ‘righteousness’ in reference to our fellows demands mercy. The common antithesis which is drawn between a just man who will give everybody what they deserve, and not one scrap more nor less if he can help it, and a kindly man is erroneous, because every man has a claim upon every other man for lenient judgment and undeserved help. He may not deserve it, being such a man as he is; but he has a right to it, being a man at all. And no man is righteous who is not merciful We do not fulfil the prophet’s exhortation, ‘do justice,’ unless we fulfil his other, ‘love mercy.’ For mercy is the right of all men. The last of the phases under which the perfect life is represented here takes us up at once into another region. If there were nobody but myself in the world, it must be my duty to live controlling myself; since I stand in relations manifold to creatures manifold and to the whole order of things, it is my duty to conform to the standard, and to do what is right. And just as plainly as the obligations to sobriety and righteousness press on every man, so plainly is godliness necessary to his perfection. For I am not only Bound by ties which knit me to my fellows, or to this visible order, but the closest of all bonds, the most real of all relations, is that which hinds us each to God. And if ‘man’s chief end be to glorify God,’ and then and thus, ‘to enjoy Him for ever,’ then that end, in its very nature, must be all pervasive, and diffuse its sweetness into the other two. For you cannot sliver up the unity of life into little sections and say, ‘This deed has to be done soberly, and that one righteously, and this one godly,’ but godliness must cover the whole life, and be the power of self-control and of righteousness. ‘All in all or not at all.’ Godliness must Be uniform and universal. Lacking their supreme beauty are the lives of all who endeavour to keep these other two departments of duty and forget this third. There are many men – I have no doubt there are some of them among us – punctiliously trying to control their natures, and to live righteously; but all their thoughts run along the low levels, and they are absolutely blind and deaf to voices and sights from heaven-They are like some of those truncated pyramids, broad-based upon the solid earth, and springing with firm lines to a certain height, and then coming to a dead stop, and so being but stumps, which leave a sense of incompleteness, because all the firm lines have not gathered themselves up into the sky-piercing point which aspires still higher than it has reached.
‘Soberly,’ that is much; ‘ righteously,’ that is more; ‘godly,’ that is, not most, but all. II. Secondly, notice what a hard task the man has who will live so. The Apostle, very remarkably, puts first, in my text, a negative clause. The things that he says we are to deny are the exact opposites of the characteristics that he says we are to aim after. ‘Denying ungodliness’ – that is clearly the opposite of ‘godly’; and ‘worldly lusts,’ though perhaps not so obviously, yet certainly is the antithesis of ‘soberly’ and
‘righteously.’ I need not remind you, I suppose, that the word ‘lusts’ here has not the carnal associations cleaving to it which have gradually accrued to it in the changes of language since our translation was made, but that it implies simply ‘ desires,’ longings, of however refined and incorporeal a sort, which attach themselves to the fleeting things of this life. Pride, ambition, and all the more refined and less sensual desires are as much included as the grossest animalism in which any swine of a man can wallow. Worldly lusts are desires which say to earth, and to what earth can give, in any of its forms, ‘Thou art my god, and having thee I am satisfied.’ Now, says Paul, there is no good to be done in the matter of acquiring these positive graces, without which a life is contemptible and poor, unless, side by side with the continual effort at the acquisition of the one, there be the continual and resolute effort at the excision and casting out of the other. Why? Because they are in possession. A man cannot be godly unless he casts out the ungodliness that cleaves to his nature; nor can he rule himself and seek after righteousness unless he ejects the desires that are in possession of his heart. You have to get rid of the bad tenant if you would bring in the good one. You have to turn the current, which is running in the wrong direction. And so it comes to be a very hard, painful thing for a man to acquire these graces of which my text speaks. People talk as if what was needed was the cultivation of what we have. Aye! that is needed; but there is something else than that needed. ‘You have to turn out a great deal of bad in order to make room for the good. Not that the evil can be expelled without the entrance of the good, as I shall have to say in a moment. But still the two things must go on side by side.
And so it is hard work for a man to grow better. If we had only to advance in practice, or knowledge, or sentiment, or feeling, that would not be so difficult to do; but you have to reverse the action of the machine; and that is hard. Can it be done? Who is to keep the keepers? It is difficult for the same self to be sacrifice and priest. It is a hard matter for a man to crucify himself, and we may well say, if there can be no progress in goodness without this violent and’ thorough mutilation and massacre of the evil that be in us, alas! for us all I am sure, as sure as I stand here, that there are plenty of young men and women among my hearers now who have tried once and again, and have failed once and again, to ‘live soberly, righteously, and godly,’ because the evil that is in them has been too strong for them. III. I come, lastly, on the strength of that grand first word of my text, ‘in order that,’ to remind you of what God gives us to make such life possible. ‘The grace of God, that bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared disciplining us,’ for this purpose, that the things which are impossible with men may be possible with God. Christ and His love; Christ and His life; Christ and His death; Christ and His Spirit; in these are new hopes, motives, powers, which avail to do the thing that no man can do. An infant’s finger cannot reverse the motion of some great engine. But the hand that made it can touch some little tap or lever, and the mighty masses of polished iron begin to move the other way. And so God, and God only, can make it possible for us to deny ourselves ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to ‘live soberly, righteously, godly, in this present world.’ That Jesus who comes to us to mould our hearts into hitherto unfelt love, by reason of His own great love, and who gives to us His own Spirit to be the life of our lives, gives us by these gifts new motives, new powers, new tastes, new affections. He puts the reins into our hands, and enables us to control and master our unruly tempers and inclinations. If you want to clear out a tube of any sort, the way to do it is to insert some solid substance, and push, and that drives out the clogging matter. Christ’s love coming into the heart expels the evil, just as the sap rising in the tree pushes off the old leaves that have hung there withered all the winter. As Luther used to say, ‘You cannot clean out the stable with barrows and shovels. Turn the Elbe into it.’ Let that great flood of life pour into our hearts, and it will not be hard to ‘live soberly.’ He comes to help us to live ‘righteously.’ He gives us His own life to dwell in our hearts, in no mere metaphor, but in simple fact. And they who trust in Jesus Christ are righteous by no mere fiction of a righteousness reckoned, but by the blessed reality of a righteousness imparted. He comes to make it possible for us to live ‘godly.’ For He, and He alone, has the secret of drawing hearts to God; because He, and He alone, has opened the secret of God’s heart to us. As long as we think of that Father in the heavens as demanding and commanding, we shall not love Him, nor serve Him, nor live ‘godly.’ ‘I knew thee that thou wast an austere man’therefore I was afraid, and hid my talent in the earth.’ But when we learn that ‘God’ and ‘Love’ spell with the same letters, and that He gives us in Christ the power to be what He commands us to become, then our spirits are stirred into thankful obedience. So, dear friends, you that have been, as I am sure many of you have been, trying over and over again to mend yourselves, and have failed, listen to this gospel. You that have been sitting at the foot of the mountain, and seeing the shining towers of the fair palace-temple on its summit, and have made two or three feeble and foiled efforts to reach it, and then have fallen back again, do not despair or fancy that the heights are inaccessible. Trust yourselves to Christ, and let His life come into your spirits, and He will ‘make your feet as hind’s feet, to tread upon the high places.’ He will be the path, and will show the path, and will give His angels charge concerning thee, to bear thee up in their hands, and to carry thee at last thither, whither He desires to bring thee.
‘Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend up into the heavens? The word is nigh thee.’ Trust thyself to that Son of Man who came down from heaven, and was in heaven when He came, and He will become the ladder, with its foot on the earth, by which even your feeble steps may rise to God.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Teaching. Greek. paideuo. Elsewhere, twelve times, genitive “chasten”, “chastise”.
denying. Greek. arneomai. Occurs thirty-one times, always “deny”, save Act 7:35, Heb 11:24, See Tit 1:16.
ungodliness. App-128.
worldly. Greek. kosrnikos. Only here and Neh 9:1. Compare App-129.
lusts. See Eph 2:3, Php 1:1, Php 1:23 (desire).
live. Greek. zao. Compare App-170.
soberly. Greek. sophronos. See verses: Tit 2:2, Tit 2:5, Tit 2:2, Tit 2:6.
righteously. See App-191,
godly. See App-137.
this present. Literally the now (Greek. nun).
world. App-129., and App-151.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Tit 2:12. , ungodliness) In antithesis to , godly.- , worldly) which prevent men from living soberly and righteously.- , soberly and righteously and godly) The three cardinal virtues, from which, either single or united, all the others spring.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Tit 2:12
instructing us,-[Educating us by a life of sad experiences. Gods grace is in truth a stern discipline of self-denial and training for higher and better things.]
to the intent that, denying ungodliness-There is a feeling in the flesh of rebellion against God. To restrain this feeling and bring it under subjection to God is to deny ungodliness.
and worldly lusts,-The lusts for the fleshly, worldly things-lust of the flesh, lust of the pride of life, lust for power, for riches and honor. To deny ourselves these-to turn from them-is what the Lord teaches us.
we should live soberly-To live soberly is to discharge the duty one owes to himself. He is not to give way to appetites, passions, and lusts, but to so live that by a moderate use of his faculties he will develop them to the highest point of strength and activity. He must do his duty to himself before he can do his duty to others. He who does not live soberly cannot live righteously. He cannot do his duty to his fellow man until he discharges those he owes to himself. A drunken man cannot do his duty to his wife, to his children, to his neighbors, to his God; but the man who properly controls himself can discharge his duty to all others.
and righteously-To live righteously is faithfully to discharge our duty to our fellow men in all the relations of life.
and godly-To live godly is to discharge our duties to God. The obligation and duties we owe in these several relations interweave into and overlap each other. They depend upon each other, yet they are distinct and cover mans whole duty.
in this present world;-In the physical world God has ordained that men shall live by food and exercise. The soul takes food in approaching God in worship, which consists in the earnest and devout study of Gods word, in prayer, songs of praise to God, and in continuing stedfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Act 2:42.) This food gives no strength without it is assimilated to the wants of the spiritual works which consists in restraining our appetites and passions within proper bounds, in acting kindly toward all men, in showing kindness to those in need, and in actively carrying the word of life to all in darkness. The doing of this spiritual labor in turn gives appetite for earnest and true worship and enables the soul to appreciate its benefits. The best preparation the child ever receives for profitable attendance on the Lords day service is attained through fidelity in discharging the duties they owe to their fellow men and to God through the week. It enables them to live soberly, righteously, and godly. As in this world, so in the spiritual world, food gives strength to labor, labor gives appetite for food, and assimilates the food received to the nourishment and growth of the spiritual body.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Teaching: Mat 28:20, Joh 6:25, 1Th 4:9, Heb 8:11, 1Jo 2:27
denying: Isa 55:6, Isa 55:7, Eze 18:30, Eze 18:31, Eze 33:14, Eze 33:15, Mat 3:8-10, Mat 16:24, Luk 1:75, Rom 6:4-6, Rom 6:12, Rom 6:19, Rom 8:13, Rom 13:12, Rom 13:13, 1Co 6:9-11, 2Co 7:1, Gal 5:24, Eph 1:4, Eph 4:22-25, Col 1:22, Col 3:5-9, 1Th 4:7, Jam 4:8-10, 1Pe 2:11, 1Pe 2:12, 1Pe 4:2-5, 2Pe 1:4, 2Pe 2:20-22, 1Jo 2:15-17, Jud 1:18
live: Psa 105:45, Eze 36:27, Mat 5:19, Mat 5:20, Luk 1:6, Luk 1:75, Luk 3:9-13, Act 24:16, Act 24:25, Rom 6:19, 1Ti 4:12, 1Pe 1:14-18, 2Pe 1:5-8, 2Pe 3:11, 1Jo 2:6, Rev 14:12
soberly: Tit 2:4
godly: Psa 4:3, 2Co 1:12, 2Pe 2:9
this: Joh 14:30, Joh 17:14, Joh 17:15, Rom 12:2, Gal 1:4, Eph 2:2, 2Ti 4:10, 1Jo 5:19
Reciprocal: Gen 38:26 – And he knew Lev 3:6 – he shall Deu 10:12 – to walk Psa 32:6 – godly Psa 112:4 – righteous Psa 119:1 – undefiled Psa 119:17 – I may live Psa 119:101 – refrained Pro 8:4 – General Pro 12:28 – General Pro 20:7 – just Isa 32:16 – General Isa 33:15 – that walketh Isa 44:22 – return Isa 51:7 – ye that Eze 11:18 – General Eze 11:20 – they may Mic 6:8 – to do Zec 8:19 – therefore Mar 8:34 – Whosoever Mar 9:43 – if Luk 3:13 – Exact Luk 9:23 – deny Luk 11:42 – and pass Act 17:30 – but Rom 5:6 – ungodly Rom 12:3 – soberly Col 1:6 – knew 1Th 5:6 – sober 1Ti 2:15 – sobriety 1Ti 4:7 – exercise 1Ti 6:11 – righteousness 2Ti 3:12 – live Tit 1:1 – after 1Pe 4:7 – ye 1Pe 5:8 – sober 1Jo 2:16 – the lust of the flesh 1Jo 2:29 – that every Rev 12:1 – and the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Tit 2:12. Teaching us that, etc. This denotes that something more than the favor of God is involved in the salvation of man, and that he is required to do something in order to obtain this salvation. Denying does not mean to question the existence of the things mentioned, but that we must deny them the opportunity of affecting our lives. Ungodliness and worldly lusts. There is not much difference between the meaning of these terms. The first is a somewhat stronger word in the original, meaning a life that is wrong because it is vicious and wicked. The second concerns chiefly things that are wrong in that they-conform to the world, and hence are interested in this life instead of that which is to come. To live soberly means to use judgment and wisdom such as that which is “from above” (Jas 3:17). Righteously signifies a life that is patterned after the law of righteousness which is the Gospel. Godly is so termed because it requires a man to live in the way that will be pleasing to Him.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Tit 2:12. The design of the Gospel epiphany of grace was to tutor or discipline men into virtue. The word teaching comprehends all methods of training as applied to a child, correction not excluded. Gods grace in Christ is pdagogic, disciplinary, practical. Hence the false teachers of Crete were condemned as heretics by their evil practice. The end or design of such discipline is given negatively and positively: (1) Having denied the old unconverted life on its Godward side (=ungodliness) and also on its earthward (=cosmic or secular desires, such as pertain to the fallen world, see 1Jn 2:15), we should (2) live (a) with due control over ourselves (soberly, as in Tit 2:4; Tit 2:6), and (b) with due regard for others rights (justly), and (c) with due piety or devotedness to the Divine honour (godly opposed to ungodliness).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Oh, what a terrible text to have included in the Bible. Wouldn’t many today love to take a black marker and black out that entire passage? What an affront to many Christians in our day that live as if they are a part of the world.
Teaching is not the normal word for teaching. This word has the thought of chastise, or train, as in training children. It is teaching with physical illustrations if you will. It is teaching that incurs chastisement for the lack of learning. This is a related word to the word used of chastening in Heb 12:5 where is speaks to the chastening of the believer by the Lord.
What a contrast of action! DENY ungodliness and worldly lusts – LIVE soberly righteously and godly – IN THIS PRESENT WORLD.
Oft times these days, believers feel that the “deny” and “live” relate to the next life – in eternity. Paul says – now – today – deny all that is evil and live godly lives.
That means give up all the movies that display worldly lusts so graphically. Fill your mind with godly or at least neutral movies and interests.
That means give up all the materialistic dreams you have and live within what God has given you. That means give up that off color language that you like to use at work and fill your mouth with godly or at least neutral vocabulary. That means slang as well. I heard a man take great lengths to encourage students to rid themselves of the slang that is only shortened or nicer forms of swearing. I noticed in later days that he must have meant only the older slang, because he had picked up on some of the new – teen slang that was just short for swearing. We need to be careful what terms we use.
Be careful the slang and puns that you use, for you may not understand what they really mean to others that might hear you using them. A pastor once used a very nasty slang twice from the pulpit. I explained to him after the service what it was slang for. His reply was, I’ve never heard that, it means thus and so, and he walked off. Several times later he continued to use the word even though he knew it to mean something nasty – he just refused to be instructed and thought himself more wise than others.
That means giving up those stories and jokes that you like to tell, and tell only of true – sociably acceptable stories and only clean jokes.
DENY UNGODLINESS AND LIVE GODLY! Some relate this to the great conflict going on within believers that leaves their good side pitted against their bad side. The battle rages and all too often the bad side fails. Some call this a war between our old and our new natures.
That is the glory of the teaching that we are a new creation, not just an old nature invaded by a new one – a whole new creation. If we are truly a new creation – all things old are passed away – then the term deny has its usual plain meaning of a conscious decision and act of the will to turn away from the evil. “Live” then has its plain and usual meaning of going about your daily life in a godly manner.
Those that view saved man as having two natures would have to view this as the near life and death struggle between the old and new natures, and “live” would then become some struggle conquered after intense activity. If that is your view of the spiritual life then you are a most miserable person spiritually, you are never on top of things, and you are always in a struggle to do right.
NO! When we are faced with life in the morning, we only have to act godly in everything we do. No struggle – just decide to follow God and not Satan. Sin is not a struggle; it is a choice of the mind. We have the control to follow the Spirit of God or we have the choice to follow our own private desires.
“Worldly lusts” seems to relate to those lusts that the world generates. It can relate to the lust of the flesh, but also of any lust that comes into your life.
1Jn 2:16 mentions “For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” The verse mentions three things, the lust of the flesh, those fleshly desires of the body, the lust of the eyes, or anything that the eye can see that is wrong to dwell on, and the pride of life, or the pride of who we are.
These three items encompass all of life’s situations. There is no sin that can’t be fit into one of these three areas. ALL OF THESE ARE TO be avoided. Now when I use the word “all” I use it in the meaning of “all” or “the whole” or “every single one of them” rather than only those that you want to consider sin and follow all the others.
Sin is sin and we need to understand this in our spiritual lives. All sin is to be avoided, not just those select ones that we don’t want to get involved with. You know – oh I would never get involved in adultery, but I might want to dwell long at the newspaper ads of the retailers that expose the overabundance of skin of models. Oh, now I would never get involved in uncontrollable use of alcohol, but I might want to be a little uncontrollable at the dinner table.
All sin is to be avoided!
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and {d} worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
(d) Lusts of the flesh, which belong to the present state of this life and world.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
When the Christian appreciates this grace it teaches him or her. It instructs us negatively to deny ungodliness, the root problem, and worldly passions, the manifestation of the root problem. These passions are the desires that unbelievers find so appealing but which are not in harmony with God’s character and will, though they are typical of the world system. It instructs us positively to live sensibly (Gr. sophronos; self-controlled inwardly, cf. Tit 2:2; Tit 2:5-6), righteously (Gr. dikaios; morally upright outwardly), and godly (Gr. eusebos; reverently upwardly) in this age. These qualities are the opposites of those that marked Cretan culture generally.