Titus 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
The apostle Paul was not born a Christian. We know that from the Scriptures. We know he was a God-hater for a time in his life. He was directed to remind Titus and us that we all were sometimes foolish. It is foolish to reject the truth. Why would you want to try to figure life out on your own when the Creator of Heaven and earth has already told us where life is found and how we can enjoy life. Signs of foolishness include disobedience. Adam chose to disobey God. That was a foolish choice on his part. He did not gain a thing through that. His children and his descendants beyond that have not gained anything by his disobedience. We all have enough of our own sins. We do not need to blame Adam for our problems. We need to acknowledge the fact that we too often disobey. We were also deceived at one time. The apostle Paul was deceived into thinking he was serving God by attacking His children. He was also guilty of serving divers lusts and pleasures. Divers lusts are simply a variety of lusts. There are many ways that we behave foolishly in choosing options that are destructive. We also seek after pleasures which are actually not pleasures at all. We waste much time serving the flesh. Notice that God chose the word “serving” because that is what we do when we choose foolishness. We have given ourselves over to that which is wrong. Living in malice and envy has to do with being obsessed with bad thoughts that are designed to cause trouble for ourselves and for others. There are many people who waste their time thinking up evil things. Paul admitted that he was guilty of these things. Hateful is much different than the definition our government gives of hate. Biblical hate is to hate that which is good and choosing rather to follow after things that are evil. The ungodly are guilty of hating one another. The sodomite community hates one another. June is supposed to be “pride month”. No one asked me if I wanted to exalt that which God hates. Those who want to pamper the sodomites demonstrate their hatred for the sodomites and for themselves. Sodomites are not content to just destroy their own lives; they also want to destroy other people’s lives. In verse 4 we are reminded what happened to change the child of God. It is not through attending some self-help club. It is through the kindness of God our Saviour. Jesus Christ stopped Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus. That was an act of God’s kindness and love. Notice again that this kindness and love appeared toward man. Not just some, but all of mankind. There are men who deliberately set up lies to keep them from the truth. I spoke with a man this week whose first words to me were foul language. He was not upset with me. He did not even know me and I did not know him. That was just his form of language. After I gave him a tract he spoke with surprise that I was a pastor. He then talked of how he had just recently been ordained and he was going to conduct a wedding for some friends of his, this summer. He thought it would be fun to do such a thing. He had not idea of what a true marriage is. He had no interest in pleasing the Lord. His smugness will come to a sudden and terrifying end soon. Life is short and without the Lord it is a disaster. In verse 5 we are reminded that our salvation is not by our own efforts. God spoke of these as works of righteousness which we had done. We cannot do any works of righteousness prior to salvation. We assume that we can, but we cannot.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
We are saved according to God’s mercy. We do not deserve salvation. We cannot brag about how good we are. We are saved by the washing of regeneration. Those who are saved have been washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That washing is of greater significance than any washing that can be done with water. Water can never wash away sin. We have talked of repentance many times. A person that is truly saved has turned to God and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. They are changed from the moment of salvation. Saul/Paul is a prime example of this. The same was true of Peter and John and all others that the Bible records. It is through the lies of New Evangelicalism that many have come to believe that change may never come to those who are saved. I spoke with another man this week who had a license plate that said “Forgiven”. I asked him what that meant to him. He stated that he had been forgiven of his sin through faith in Jesus Christ. He had multiple tattoos on his exposed body. People with tattoos can be saved. When they are saved they will be changed. The tattoos will still be there, but the attitude will be different. By the way, studies suggest that tattoos increase the possibility of developing lymphoma by 21%. Lymphoma is a form of blood cancer. This man claimed to be forgiven, so I asked him where he went to church. He admitted he did not go to church. He attended a religious group for a time but they closed and went to video and so he just stayed home. He had been part of a “biker church” for a time but had a falling out with them. He lives close to our church and I reminded him that our church is not far from where he lives. He admitted that he knew that and often walked by our building but never bothered to come in. This man’s brand of “Christianity” is foreign to the Bible. He obviously has much to learn, but to not have the interest to learn is contrary to what the Bible teaches. The Holy Spirit indwells every born again Christian and those who are saved are changed by God and they desire to know the truth. Our text tells us that the Holy Ghost is renewing the saved person. He is prompting the saved person to seek truth and submit to truth. He guides the true child of God to a good church. The saved person needs to be fed. You cannot be fed properly when you refuse to join that which Jesus said He would build. There is a man we know of who sends out catchy titled articles from time to time. He has no church affiliation. He assumes there are no good churches. However, he wants to impact the lives of others with his email articles. He has no credibility because he rejects God’s way for the true child of God. There may be people who appreciate his writings, but they are deceived. They refuse to listen to the Word of God. They choose a way of righteousness that is not founded in the Word of God. In verse 6 we are reminded that the gift of the Holy Ghost is shed on us abundantly. We do not beg and plead for the filling of the Holy Ghost. He is part of the gift that every born again Christian receives at the moment of salvation. There needs to be growth and according to God’s Word there will be growth. We read that this gift of the Holy Ghost is shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. That is a fact. Those who are saved need to avail themselves of the work of the Holy Spirit in their life. In verse 7 we, who have been saved, are justified by his grace. That grace makes us heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saved person cannot lose their salvation. It is a gift of God. The saved person is placed into the Father’s hand. He or she then needs to grow and understand how to live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit is at work in the heart and life of every born again Christian to bring about that change that needs to be there. In verse 8 we are reminded that what Paul was writing to Titus was a faithful saying. It came from God and thus it would be faithful. Titus needed to know these things and he needed to remind the saints of these things constantly. We need constant reminders of who we are in Christ and what He requires of us. Those who are saved need to be careful to maintain good works. We see again that the Christian life needs to be stable. There needs to be a steady walk with God. Doing so is profitable for all men. It would be good for all men to know the truth and to walk in the truth. Our world would be much different if all men were saved and living for God. Heaven will be like that. On earth, this is what godly pastors need to teach and insist on. Christians will be at different stages of growth, but growth must be happening. Good works must be the expected and required position of all those who name the name of Christ. Today is the Lord’s Day. It is the day that all born again Christians should be going to a good church. We need to be taught and we need to be encouraged to follow the true God. His Word is the truth. It is not just our guide, but it is our foundation and our authority. You need a true local church where you can be fed properly. Church hopping will not make you a strong Christian. God calls men to be pastors and He directs them in their study and preaching. He wants consistency and stability. That comes through faithful teaching of God’s Word. Pastor Bartel
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