Titus 3:4-7

How would you feel if I said, "Kentuckians are a bunch of liars?
They're lazy. They're self-serving gluttons. They are simply evil." What
would you say? You'd probably say, "Paul - you're just mad that Kentucky
beat Tennessee last week!" You wouldn't take me seriously.
Now, that's exactly the situation that the apostle Paul left one
of his young disciples - Titus on the island of Crete. A poet from Crete,
named Epimenides (who lived around 600 B. C.), called the Cretans "liars,
evil brutes and lazy gluttons." The apostle Paul quotes Epimenides in Titus
1:12.

In the midst of that decadent society, Titus was to get the
church of Jesus Christ organized and continue evangelizing and maturing
young Christians. What a formidable task! What Paul says about Jesus in
this short letter is powerful.

THE CRETANS WERE DIRTY AND NEEDED CLEANSING:
Paul begins this letter by talking about "knowledge of the
truth" which is "according to godliness" (verse 1). Knowledge and godliness.
Christianity - our walk of life - can be summed up by those two words: what
we know and how we live according to what we know.

Paul quotes Epimenides in 1:12, saying they were always liars.
In 1:2 Paul points out that God "cannot lie." It is outside of the nature
of God, it is beyond the nature of God, to lie. It's not that God chooses
not to. It's not that God doesn't want to. It's that God cannot.

Thus, I counted 19x in these three chapters where Paul
emphasizes the truth of God. He uses such words as: truth, word,
proclamation, teaching, sound doctrine, the faith, word of God, instruction,
speaking, authority, believing. We cannot live the truth if we don't first
know the truth - 1:14, 11. But their mouths had to be stopped by Titus
teaching the truth (2:15).

But there is also this emphasis on godliness. Keep in mind that
the Cretans have the reputation of being liars, self-serving gluttons and
evil. Look at 1:16 and then 2:1-14.

CLEANSING COMES FROM GOD, THE SAVIOR:
Here is where we consider Paul's words in 3:4-7 [all one
sentence in Greek]. "But" - that's a sharp contrast. We once were but....

When did the kindness of God our Savior appear? When did "His
love for mankind" appear? It was clearly in the coming of Jesus Christ.

Notice back in 2:13-14. That is an implicit reference to the
virgin birth of Jesus. Paul here clearly calls Jesus our "God" and
"Savior." The crucifixion is suggested in verse 14. The resurrection and
second coming are also implied in the fact that we are "looking for" the
appearing (return) of Jesus Christ. So in those two verses, Paul succinctly
mentions the four great doctrines of the Christian faith - the incarnation,
the crucifixion, the resurrection and the second coming.

Not on basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness
Our salvation does not have its origin in our works. This would
include but would not be limited to works of the law - i. e., not stealing,
no slander, no adultery, practicing circumcision, fasting, diets, etc. There
is no way that we can obligate God to save us by our works.

THE BASIS OF OUR SALVATION: According to His mercy
Mercy is God's initiative - John 3:16. 2 Peter 3:9.
This mercy is undeserved. Romans 3:9, 10. We are all in debt to
God, a debt that cannot be paid off by our good works.
God offers salvation to "all men". Titus 2:11.

THE WHAT OF OUR SALVATION: Three metaphors... Here, Paul mentions "the
washing of regeneration (1.) and renewing (2.) of the Holy Spirit" and (3.)
justification. To what does Paul refer in this "washing"? Consider passages
which use the word "washing": 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:26; Hebrews
10:22. These talk about the washing but one verse pin-points when the
washing takes place: Act 22:16 when Ananias tells Paul, "And now why do you
wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name."

THE MEANS OF OUR SALVATION: "Renewing" - This is the only reference to the
Holy Spirit in Titus. Again, look at other verses which use the word
"renew": Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Colossians 3:10. Justification is
the third metaphor of our salvation. It is a legal term suggesting that we
were guilty but will be treated as if we are innocent.

THE GOAL OF BEING CLEANSED:
This washing and renewing is what allows us to be "heirs
according to the hope of eternal life" (verse 7). Again, back in chapter 1
Paul had said that God - who cannot lie - promised "long ages ago" that He
would give us the "hope of eternal life" (vs 2).

Unless we receive the washing of regeneration and renewal of the
Holy Spirit, our outside may look good, but the inside is still just as
putrid as before.

- Paul Holland