How can we grow in godliness?
By Gerry Straker, 02 Feb 2026
Godliness (Titus 1:1) or good works (Titus 2;15), obedience (1 John 5:2), holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16), doing good (3 John 11), imitating Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1) is essential. In Titus chapter 2, Paul tells TItus to teach godly ways to older men, older women, younger women, younger men and slaves.
But how can we be godly?! How can we be self-controlled and obey all the other commands in Titus chapter 2? How can we grow and become more like the Lord Jesus?
The only way to grow in godliness is to enrol in the school of grace, and listen to the grace teachers. You need to come to grace lessons in Church every Sunday.
Titus 2:11-15 (CSBA) says this:
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works. 15 Proclaim these things; encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Hear what Jesus has done for you again and again, and what he is going to do for you again and again: grace and glory. Jesus has saved his people for godliness and good works. And so with one eye on the grace of the cross in the past and one eye on the glory of Jesus in the future we strive for godliness now.
Listen to our recent sermon on this passage here.
Here are some quotes to help you reflect on this (some of which I didn’t have time for in the actual sermon).
John Owen (1616-1683 AD)
Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. [1]
Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until it be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. [2]
John Flavel (c.1627–1691 AD)
We are more able to stop the sun in its course or make rivers run uphill as by our own skill and power to rule and order our hearts. [3]
Matthew Henry (1662-1714 AD)
The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks. [4]
John Newton (1725-1807 AD)
Wonderful are the effects when a crucified, glorious Saviour is presented by the power of the Spirit, in the light of the Word, to the eye of Faith. This sight destroys the love of sin, heals the wounds of guilt, softens the hard heart, and fills the soul with peace, life and joy; and makes obedience practicable, desirable, and pleasant. If we could see this more, we should look less at other things. But, alas! Unbelief places a veil before our sight, and worldly-mindedness draws our eyes another way. A desire to be something that we are not, or to possess something that we have not, or to do something that we cannot – some vain hope, or vain fear, or vain delight, comes in like a black cloud, and hides our Beloved from our eyes. This shows what poor creatures we are! Notwithstanding our hope that we are converted, we need a new conversion every day. [5]
Oh, if faith was in daily exercise, how little would the world, and the things of time and sense, seem in my eyes! What a dreadful thing would sin appear, that spilt my Saviour’s blood! And how would my very heart rejoice at the sound of Jesus’ name? [6]
Looking unto Jesus…the duty, the privilege, the safety, the unspeakable happiness, of a believer, are all comprised in that one sentence. [7]
Every step along the path of life is a battle for the Christian to keep two eyes on Christ. [8]
I find that to keep my eye simply upon Christ, as my peace, and my life, is by far the hardest part of my calling. [9]
Hungering and thirsting for Christ is the central daily discipline. [10]
Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847 AD) wrote a famous sermon called: The Expulsive Power of a New Affection. (What does this mean? Well, have you ever heard of Romeo and Rosaline? Quite. What drove the unrequited love for Rosaline from Romeo’s heart? The expulsive power of a new affection: Juliet).
We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our heart, than to keep in our hearts the love of God – and no other way by which to keep our hearts in the love of God, than building ourselves up on our most holy faith. [11]
John Piper
I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God. [12]
Tim Chester
One of our problems is that we think of holiness as giving up things we enjoy out of a vague sense of obligation. But I’m convinced that holiness is always, always good news… The secret of gospel change is being convinced that Jesus is the good life and the fountain of all joy. Any alternative we might choose would be the let down. [13]
[1] John Owen, Of the Moritification of Sin in Believers
[2] John Owen, Pneumatologia
[3] Tim Chester, You Can Change, (Nottingham: IVP, 2010), 47.
[4] John Piper, Desiring God, (Leicester: IVP, 2003), 12.
[5] Tony Reinke, Newton on the Christian Life, (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2015), 86-87.
[6] Reinke, Newton, 77.
[7] Reinke, Newton, 69.
[8] Reinke, Newton, 16.
[9] Reinke, Newton, 16.
[10] Reinke, Newton, 17.
[11] Thomas Chalmers, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection
[12] Piper, Desiring God, 12.
[13] Chester, You Can Change, 13, 18.