Free Bible Commentary
“Titus 3:1-7”
Categories: Titus“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
---End of Scripture verses---
The Apostle Paul reminds us all to not forget where we came from in this passage. We should show “every consideration for all men” (verse 2) precisely because God showed every consideration to us by granting us adequate time as He sought us out and reached us by His truth. We should be patient and loving with all people because there were people in our lives who lovingly endured our disobedience and hatefulness while teaching us about “the kindness of God our Savior and His love” for us (verse 4). Every time I am tempted to look at some poor, pitiful soul ensnared by the entanglements of the adversary and write him off as a “lost cause,” I must stop and remind myself that, but for the grace and patience of my Father in heaven, that would still be me.
God saved those of us who have obeyed the Gospel, “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (verse 5). It may seem like a contradiction to say that God requires our obedience for salvation, and yet He does not save us by our deeds, but there are no inconsistencies here. We see clearly in verse 5 that it is by an act of God’s unmerited mercy that He cleanses us of our iniquities “by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” when we obediently submit to the Spirit’s command to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). To say that God places conditions that must be met upon our salvation, in no way negates the fact God still saves us by His mercy and grace and not by our own meritorious works when we do meet them.
When we do what we are told, we are simply unprofitable servants who are only doing things that are required of us, and are in no way earning our salvation. We are merely accepting God’s immeasurable gifts according to the terms that He has placed upon them. When the Heart-pierced listeners of that Pentecost sermon asked Peter and the other Apostles, “what must we do?” (Acts 2:37), under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter responded: “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit enumerated two things that people must DO in order to receive His free GIFT of eternal life: repent and be baptized. The believers who obeyed these commands were saved, not by their own works, but by the power and grace and mercy of our loving God.
“So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
Do the math with me here. Those who were “baptized” were “added” (verse 41). Those that the Lord “saved” were “added” (verse 47). By the simple rule of replacement, “baptized” = “saved”!
This reads like a simple syllogism that logically cannot be denied. (Premise 1) Those who were baptized were being added. (Premise 2) The Lord added those who were being saved. (Conclusion) Therefore those who were baptized were being saved!
Please read Titus 3:8-11 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Tauylor
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