GO FOR GODLINESS
Opening Prayer
Father God, help me grow in godliness as I learn more about You.
Read Titus 1:1–4
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
If godly living is the fruit of godly thinking, how can you be growing in this direction?Paul is writing this letter to Titus, one of the next generation of young leaders who is serving on the island of Crete. The church is very young and Titus has a hard job on his hands strengthening and stabilizing this fledgling congregation.
Right at the outset Paul points Titus to what is going to be the main theme of his letter: right knowledge of God leads to godly living. Look at verse 1 where Paul describes his ministry. Paul says plainly that growing people’s knowledge of the Gospel will grow them in godliness; that is, right thinking leads to right living. And right living is worthwhile because eternal life is on offer (2).
It is interesting today how technique-driven the world is: ten steps to do this, three tips for doing that. Paul wants none of it. His model of ministry is that if you want people to live godly lives, the way to do that is to keep furthering their knowledge of God and his Gospel.
Apply
What does godly living look like? What helps us to live godly lives? Think of some people you know who exemplify what godly living looks like. Talk with them about it.
Closing prayer
Jesus, help me to gain a deeper understanding of who You are so that every area of my life might be lived in loving obedience to You.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.