God’s truth guards us against deceit and is the compass by which we navigate this life.

Nora and Tyson own a family business in Maine. Nora runs the business, but Tyson fishes. In a place like Maine, you might expect him to be a lobsterman. He was, until Nora’s uncle lost a crew member and needed help . . . in Alaska. Fishing drives their lives. Tyson is gone for months at a time. Not even their wedding stopped him. The day after they were married, he left for a fishing trip—for four months. Their life is different to say the least, but as Nora describes it, “It’s just our way of life.” It’s almost as if she is pre-empting any response that might say, “You guys are crazy.” As crazy as it seems, to her it is her life and there is no other way.

Living a Christian life

Sometimes, people choose a way of life. More often, people find themselves with particular beliefs, customs, and practices. Though those beliefs, customs, and practices are deeply personal, they are often shared among people. And though they are shared among a group, that group’s way of life can look quite strange to outsiders.

Consider, then, how Paul describes the Christian life in Titus chapter 2. In verse 1, he emphasizes the importance of true biblical teaching by encouraging Pastor Titus to teach what is fitting with sound doctrine. Then in verses 2-10, Paul writes about how these beliefs are shared by a group of people who are in different life stages. This common belief, rooted in sound doctrine, informs the life practices of each individual. To paraphrase Paul in the previous chapter, sound doctrine leads to a godly way of life.

The Christian faith is not only a set of beliefs but also a way of life with customs and practices that inform the entirety of our lives. If Christianity is a way of life, then the choices Christians make in both their public and private lives really do matter. Godly actions showcase the gospel’s power in our lives. This could be a great burden. Every decision we make could be an exercise of frustration for our consciences. This is why, in verses 11-14, Paul gives us the encouragement we need.

Living as evidence of God’s grace

If I asked you to summarize what you believe, I am confident that you would reply something like this: “I believe that Jesus saved me from my sins by his life, death, and resurrection.” You are right in answering that way. Paul says in Titus 2:11 that “the grace of God has appeared.” Jesus is the undeserved love of God in human flesh. Undeserved, because he appeared and lived among people corrupted by sin, which causes them to live their own way of life, on their terms, and for their pleasure. Undeserved, because that is who we were. Love, because that is who he is.

It is that love that caused him to appear and live perfectly in your place, lay down his life for your guilt, and take his life back up for your forgiveness. “All this he did,” you confess in the Small Catechism, “that I should be his own” (Second Article, Apostles’ Creed). To say those things that you know so well is to say that grace appeared in your own life. God determined to make you living evidence of his grace.

As much as you have been saved from your sin, Jesus saved you for a whole new way of life. You believe that Christ’s perfection is made yours. You even believe that God has turned sinners like you into saints. What you believe forms your practices. You confess, “All this he did that I should serve him.” God made you godly, so now you make godly choices. Paul put it this way, “[The grace of God] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness” (v. 12).

If I am watching what I eat, I will likely say no to a delicious-looking dessert by saying something like, “I’m sorry; I can’t.” I can’t because I told myself I wouldn’t, even though I really want to. I know it will be tasty, but I deprive myself anyway, all the while struggling to convince myself that it’s for my good.

The “no” of the godly way of life is less of an “I can’t” and more of an “I don’t.” Saying “I don’t” has everything to do with who God has made you to be. Grace appeared in your life, and the Holy Spirit performed an act of re-creation. He gave you new desires, new abilities, and a new love for God. This is who you are now, so you say, “I don’t,” to worldly passions because they just don’t fit. They aren’t a part of your way of life any longer.

As much as there is a “no, I don’t” in this way of life, there is also a “yes, I do.” You say yes to the things that are consistent with what you believe and who you are. “Yes, God has made me godly, so I exercise self-control. Yes, God has made me true to him, so I hold to his truth.” You say yes to these things because they are what your good God calls good.

Living differently

We live differently from this present age, in part because we have different expectations. “We wait,” Paul writes, “[for] the appearing of the glory” (v. 13). We wait, but we do so eagerly expecting that the grace of God (v. 11)—Jesus—will appear again, and when he does, we will be forever free from wickedness. So we live today as we will be then: “in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”

This way of life that is rooted in Christ and truth brings hope into this age through that which is good, upright, and godly. It is good, it is beautiful, but it is different. Crazy even. But we are eager to do it. After all, it’s our way of life.

This is the second article in a three-part series on the book of Titus. Read the first article. 

Author: Aaron Goetzinger
Volume 112, Number 11
Issue: November 2025

Living examples

Titus chapter 2 suggests that personal self-control is best cultivated within a Christian community (vv. 3-10). Not only was Pastor Titus to act as an example, but he was to teach older men and women to act as examples of godly living for the younger members of the Christian community. Being an example is more than just hoping someone takes notice. Paul told the older men and women to urge and encourage those younger than them (vv. 4,6). Today, we might call this mentoring.

Such mentoring was done in order to hand down a godly way of life. Certainly, the way in which a teenage boy expresses his godliness is going to be different than how a grandfather will express his godliness. However, regardless of stage of life, gender, or positioning in society, the mark of a godly life is self-control (vv. 2,5,6). Certainly, times and technologies change, but those who are older know by experience what it is like to be a young Christian, a Christian teen, or a new Christian parent. Knowing those unique challenges, they are able to walk side by side with younger Christians as they grow in a godly way of life.