As we come to the Word this morning, I want to begin with a question.
Do you remember what life was like before you came to know Jesus?
Before you became a Christian?
Now I know that there are some of you who might be thinking,
well I'm here today and I'm actually not a Christian.
Maybe you've thought about fully embracing the Lord Jesus as your Savior and your King,
but you just haven't brought yourself to do it.
And if that's you this morning, then this question is not really for you.
But most of us here are Christians.
Do you remember what life was like before you came to know Jesus?
Some of you have been a Christian for decades.
Perhaps it was so long ago that you can barely remember what it was like back then,
especially if you were raised in a Christian home
and regularly attended church from the time that you were little.
Maybe others of you have only been a Christian for a few years.
Maybe for you it's easy to remember what life was like before you became a Christian
because it wasn't that long ago.
And for some of you, maybe how long it's been doesn't really matter
because you've never forgotten what life was like before you surrendered to Jesus.
Maybe the way you lived and some of the choices that you made
left such a mark that even the consequences of those old decisions are still felt even today.
Do you remember what life was like before you came to know Jesus?
Well, this morning as we come to God's Word,
Jesus wants us to be reminded of what it's like to not be a Christian.
He wants us to remember how life was before we believed.
He's going to tell us how life is right now for all who are not his people.
And he does this through the words of his Apostle Paul to Titus.
We've been working our way through this book, and we're in chapter 3.
Let me just read the first few verses of our passage for us this morning.
Titus chapter 3, starting in verse 3.
Paul writes,
At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient,
deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.
We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
he saved us.
Not because of righteous things we had done,
but because of his mercy.
So Paul, speaking for Jesus, has written this letter to Titus.
For those of you who are visiting with us and haven't been here for the whole series,
Titus is on the island of Crete,
and Paul has left him there to put things in order in the churches on the island.
Titus is to install qualified elders in each of the churches.
He's to rebuke false teachers who have crept into the churches,
and he's to teach about God's salvation,
and about how to live good, holy, and upright lives.
Paul has just finished urging Titus, here in chapter 3,
to teach the people to be subject to rulers and authorities,
to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
to slander no one,
to be peaceable and considerate,
and always to be gentle toward everyone.
And now as Paul has been urging Christ's people to live good,
holy, upright lives,
he now points us back for a moment to reflect on what life was like
before we came to believe in Jesus.
He says,
At one time, we too were foolish.
When it came to spiritual things,
when it came to the truth,
we were senseless.
We were stupid.
Like fools, we weren't seeing things clearly.
We weren't thinking straight,
and it led us to do many foolish things,
senseless things.
At best, just wasting our lives.
And at worst, like fools,
doing damage and harm,
not only to ourselves,
but also to the people around us.
We were foolish.
At one time, we too were disobedient.
The overall way that we lived
was not in submission to God.
We were disobedient.
We were doing the things that God said not to do,
and we were neglecting to do the things
that God said we ought to do.
We too were deceived, he says.
This is a powerful word.
In our lives before Christ,
we were bought into lies,
and we didn't even know it.
We were like people who had gone off the path of truth
and had wandered away and were lost,
and we were unable to see
even where we had taken our many wrong turns.
In fact, we maybe even thought
that we were on the right path.
We were deceived.
And if that wasn't bad enough,
he says,
we were also enslaved
by all kinds of passions and pleasures.
It's another powerful picture here.
He says,
we were like slaves.
We were like people reduced to servitude
and serving our masters.
And who were our masters?
Well, the various passions and pleasures
that we had back then,
they were our masters.
We were like people out of control,
ruled by our desires,
helpless to say no to them.
We were just kind of driven
by this insatiable thirst
for pleasures and comforts.
It was our passions.
It was our cravings
for which we lived.
And the decisions that we made,
by and large,
reflected these enslaving desires.
And here again,
we notice one of the strong themes
of this letter,
which we've highlighted a few times.
Crete is the island
that's known for laziness.
It's the island that's known
for a lack of self-control,
for gluttony,
for drunkenness,
as we've heard throughout the letter.
And Christ has been urging
his people there on Crete
to live self-controlled lives.
Don't live that way anymore.
And so here Paul is saying,
we used to be just like them.
We used to be just like everyone else
there on the island of Crete.
We too were just living
to please ourselves,
living to indulge our cravings,
living to satisfy our lusts.
And we were powerless to do otherwise.
He says,
we too lived in malice and envy.
And it's maybe a little bit flat
of a translation.
I think some of the other ones
you guys may have out there
capture it better.
We were spending our lives,
we were spending our lives
in malice and envy.
This was an ongoing thing.
This was day after day,
spending our lives in malice.
And malice maybe is not even
the right word
because we always think malice today.
We think of intention to harm others.
But this is a more general word.
Refers generally to wrongness,
badness, wickedness.
So we were just kind of
sort of spending our days,
day after day,
in sin.
And in envy.
We were always looking at
what others had.
And coveting.
We were always wishing.
We were always wanting.
We were always desiring
what they had for ourselves.
Hardly content
with what God had given us.
Always seeing.
Always wanting.
We were hated
and hating one another.
We come to the realm of relationships.
This is how relationships were like
before Christ.
Now hate is a very strong word today.
And another way
this could be translated perhaps
is we were despicable
and despising one another.
The second statement is quite clear.
Despising one another.
Hating one another.
So the normal pattern
of relationships for us
before Christ
was for envy,
was for strife,
arguments,
conflict,
competing desires,
lack of respect,
and all of these things
boiling up
and growing to the point
where we frequently,
often,
just despised
other people.
And of course,
we felt justified
in doing so,
but probably the first word
reveals the truth.
We ourselves
were acting
despicably.
We were inviting
that hatred
and despising
of others
in the way
that we were living.
now this is quite
the picture.
This is quite
the reminder
of how life was
before these people
came to know Jesus.
And I think
a couple thoughts
are in order here.
It might be difficult
to relate to this list
if you came to faith
as a child.
If you were saved
as a child
and most of your life
all you've known
is the Christian life,
then this list
might almost feel
otherworldly.
But know this,
if that's you,
if you had not
come to know Jesus
at a young age
and you had grown up
like everyone else,
not believing in Jesus,
not living for Jesus,
then this is what life
would be like
for you
through all that time
before you met him.
And if there's any doubt here,
I just encourage you,
ask some of our
newest members here,
those who more recently
came to faith in Jesus,
ask them if this description
in verse 3
captures what life was like
just a couple years ago.
Next, I think we need
to remember that
this description
may not appear
on the exterior
of our lives
as much as it's
on the interior
of people's lives.
Amazingly,
Paul includes himself
in this description.
He says,
we too,
and then he gives this list,
which may be a little
shocking to us,
but at the least,
this means that
he's confessing
that he himself
was also like this
before he was born again.
And if you know
Paul's story,
I mean,
this is kind of surprising.
He was one of the Pharisees.
He was one of the
religious leaders
of his day
who had mastered
the art of living
the righteous life,
the good,
the holy life,
at least on the outside,
on the exterior.
But inside his heart,
he says,
we too,
I too,
was foolish,
disobedient,
deceived,
enslaved to passions
and pleasures,
spending my days
in sin and envy,
hateful and being hated.
he was just keeping
that all on the inside.
He was putting on the facade
for others to see.
And there's one more reason
why some may see this list
and just feel like,
ah, there's something
not right about this.
Let me ask it this way.
If a person doesn't
believe in Jesus
and they read this list,
this description
on the screen,
do you think that
they would say,
oh, yeah,
that's me?
Well, unless God's Spirit
is convicting them of this,
probably not.
Did we think
that we were foolish
before we came
to believe in Jesus?
Probably not.
We thought we were smart.
We thought we were wise.
We thought we had it figured out.
We were proud.
Did we think
that we were enslaved
by all kinds of passions
and pleasures
before we came
to faith in Jesus?
I mean,
all we have to do
is look at a person
who's addicted
to something today
and how many
of those people
are unwilling
even to admit
that they have a problem?
And that's just
an addiction.
I mean,
there's other kinds
of passions and pleasures
as we've talked about.
Passions is a very
broad word.
It refers to those
worldly desires.
It could be greed.
A person could be
enslaved to that desire
to get more
of the stuff
of this earth,
thinking this will
make me happy.
And on the outside,
everything might
look pretty good.
But if you were to look
at their bank statement,
you might see
that there's this
massive pile of debt
all piled up
because they've been
just buying,
buying,
buying stuff
that they don't need
in order to scratch
the itch of greed.
So all of these things
in this list
can exist beneath
the surface
to a measure,
beneath the surface
of a person's life.
And some of us
had learned
to hide these things
pretty well
when we were
around other people,
when we were
outside our homes
before we came
to know Christ.
And on top of all this,
it says right here
that we were deceived.
We didn't think
we had this problem.
This isn't the description
that we would have
said,
yeah,
that's me.
But according to God,
this was our life.
This is how it was
until the kindness
and love of God
broke through
and he saved us.
At one time,
we too were foolish,
disobedient,
deceived,
and enslaved
by all kinds of passions
and pleasures.
We lived in malice
and envy,
being hated
and hating one another.
But when the kindness
and love of God,
our Savior,
appeared,
he saved us.
not because of
righteous things
that we had done,
but because of
his mercy.
So Jesus wants us
to remember
what life was like
before we came
to know him.
Or in some cases,
what your life
would be like today
apart from Christ.
But that's not all
he wants us to remember.
He also wants us
to remember
that God
saved us
from all that.
He saved us.
And he wants us
to remember
why he saved us,
how he saved us,
and for what purpose
he has saved us.
And we see these
a little bit
in verses 4 to 7 here.
Let's start by looking
at the why.
But when the kindness
and love of God,
our Savior,
appeared,
he saved us
not because of
righteous things
we had done.
So the first reason
he gives us,
not quite the first,
but very early on,
it's a reason
that we're not to think.
It's not because
I've lived such a good life.
It's not because
I've done so many
right things
that I deserved it
or that I earned it.
Get that out of our heads,
he says.
This is why
when the kindness
of God,
our Savior,
appeared,
he saved us.
He saved us
because he is
kind.
Not because of
who we are,
but because of
who he is.
He is a kind
hearted
God.
He is eager
and willing
to do good
to people,
to help us,
to meet our needs.
It was kindness
that sent
the Lord Jesus
down from heaven
to earth
to save us.
And not just kindness,
but love also.
When the love
of God,
our Savior,
appeared,
he saved us.
God saves us
because
he
loves us.
Do you know
that God
loves you?
That this is why
he sent his son?
Because he loves
you.
So these are
the first two reasons.
God is kind.
God is love.
And at the end
of the verse,
he saved us
not because of
righteous things
we had done,
but because of
his mercy.
His mercy.
Mercy is that
part of God
that sees us
as we are,
undeserving,
and yet gives
to us anyway,
meets our need
anyway,
despite what
we deserve.
And if we look
ahead a little bit
more,
there's one more
reason in verses
six and seven
where it talks
about how he
poured out
the Spirit on us.
It says that he
did that generously.
He poured out
the Holy Spirit
on us generously
so that having
been justified
by his grace,
we might become
heirs.
God is a
gracious God.
He is a
generous God.
He's not a
stingy God
who just wants
to withhold
from you.
Just the opposite.
He is eager
and happily
gives generously
for the benefit
of those
that he has
created.
So this is
the why
he saved us.
And it's
wonderful.
The reason
is not anything
to do with us
and what we
have done.
It has to do
with who he
is.
Because of who
he is,
he saved us.
Because he is
kind.
Because he is
loving.
Because he is
a merciful.
Because he is
a gracious
God.
So Paul
wants us
to remember
how we
used to
live before
we were
in Christ.
Then he
wants us
to remember
what God
did through
Christ to
save us.
He wants
us to know
the why
of it.
Not because
of good
we had
done,
but because
of who
he is.
And we
just talked
about his
kindness,
his love,
his mercy,
and his
grace.
And now
we come
to the
how.
How did
God save
us?
Paul wants
to remind
us about
that a
little bit
too.
And we
read this
in verse
5,
kind of in
the second
half of
verse 5.
He saved
us through
the washing
of rebirth
and renewal
by the Holy
Spirit,
whom he
poured out
on us
generously
through Jesus
Christ,
our Savior.
Paul tells
us some
of the how
that we
were
saved.
And there's
a couple
things here,
at least
three things,
if not
more.
And maybe
what's surprising
to us is
that as he
tells us
this,
we're kind
of almost
expecting that
he's going
to say
the cross,
blood,
the death
of Jesus.
And he
doesn't.
Those things
are mentioned
in other
places,
and they are
part of the
how.
But Paul
wants to
focus here
specifically
on one
thing,
and it's
the work
of God's
Holy Spirit
in his
people when
they first
come to
be saved.
He wants
us to
know about
that,
to be
reminded
of that.
And so
we see
three things,
three works
of God's
Spirit here
mentioned.
He saved
us first
through
the washing,
the washing
of rebirth.
As I've
said on
other occasions,
sin is
that which
defiles us.
It makes
us unclean.
It makes
us dirty
in the
sight of
a holy
and perfect
God.
And so
we have
this need
to be
cleaned,
to be
washed,
to be
cleansed,
not
physically,
but
spiritually.
God
saved us
by washing
us
clean.
And there
are some
who think
at this
point that
Paul is
talking about
water
baptism.
I don't
think that's
right.
I think that
Paul is
talking about
the thing
that water
baptism
points to
and that's
the washing
that the
Holy Spirit
does to
each of
us when
we are
saved.
Do you
remember what
John the
Baptist said?
John the
baptizer said,
I baptize
you with
water,
but there's
one who's
coming after
me,
talking about
Jesus.
He will
baptize you.
He will
wash you
with the
Holy Spirit,
in the
Holy Spirit.
water
baptism is
the lesser
thing,
the physical,
the outward
thing,
and it
points us
to that
kind of
washing that
the Spirit
will do
for all
of Christ's
people when
they first
put their
trust in
him.
So that's
the first
thing,
washing.
The second
thing,
he saved
us through
the washing
of rebirth.
There's
talk of
rebirth here.
Now,
maybe your
translation is
a little
different.
There are
quite a few
that say
regeneration,
but I
actually think
that rebirth
is such a
good,
insightful
translation
here.
This is
probably all
Greek to
you,
but the
word used
here,
it's a
compound
word.
It's a
word made
up of two
pieces,
and if you
would just
go with the
literal meaning,
again,
born.
It's just
stuck on the
front is the
word again,
and then it's
the verb to
become,
which usually,
in reference to
people,
it's to be
born.
It's the
again birth,
and so
rebirth,
it really does
fit here.
Regeneration,
it works too.
It captures
that idea of
new life,
but it's
maybe a
little less
personal in
our day
today.
When we
regenerate,
we might
think of
charging up a
device or
something like
that,
but rebirth,
on the other
hand,
I mean,
what's the
metaphor that
Jesus himself
used when he
was talking to
Nicodemus?
You must be
born again to
enter the
kingdom of
God,
said Jesus.
So I think
this is a
great translation.
This is the
second thing
that God has
done to save
us.
He has
caused us to
be reborn,
to be born
again.
He has given
us a new
life by his
Holy Spirit,
and the
emphasis here
is on the
complete and
total change,
utter transformation
by the Spirit
working in us.
That's what
rebirth is,
it's complete
overhaul.
And just as
with the
washing,
this is
something that
God does
in everyone
who he
saves.
He changes
us by his
Spirit's
power.
He makes
us radically
new.
The third
thing mentioned
here is that
he saved
us through
renewal by
the Holy
Spirit.
I think
this is just
another way of
saying the
same thing,
just kind of
coming at it
from a
parallel wording.
God has
saved us by
going to
work on
us, in
us, by
his Holy
Spirit in
a way that
makes us
new.
We are
renewed.
The old
way of life
that he's
been describing
in verse
three, the
way that we
once were,
well that no
longer fits
with who
we now
are because
we've been
made new.
This is how
Paul puts
it in his
letter to
the Corinthians
in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5
verse 17.
He says,
therefore, if
anyone is in
Christ, the
new creation
has come.
The old
has gone.
The new
is here.
And it's
wonderful.
When we're
newly saved
and converted
to Jesus,
boy do we
feel it.
Old desires
begin to
die.
New desires
come in and
take their
place.
The allure
of what is
dark and
evil
diminishes
and our
love for
what is
good and
right
increases.
Now it
doesn't mean
that every
temptation goes
away or
that we
never sin
again,
but it
does mean
that we
just no
longer fit
that old
way of
living anymore
because we
have been
deeply and
profoundly
changed
by God's
Holy Spirit
who has
come to
live inside
of us.
And this
is what
happened when
each of
us first
believed in
Jesus.
I mean truly
believed in
Jesus.
We were
changed.
We were
renewed by
the Holy
Spirit.
We were
reborn.
And I'm
just going to
quickly pick
on Thomas
Hoffer here.
Just a
few, well
it's a little
ways ago,
over a month
now.
He was
baptized in
January and
shared his
testimony with
us.
And hopefully
I'm capturing
it right,
but you fell
on the bed in
the hotel room
in utter
desperation,
sick and
tired of the
emptiness and
hopelessness of
that old life
described in
verse 3 here.
You called out
to God and
when you woke
up you felt
like a brand
new person
because God
had done that
work of making
you new.
That's what it
looks like.
Such an utter
change and
transformation
that even
Tom's wife
Alicia was
thinking,
what on earth
has happened
to him?
He's not the
same person.
That's what
rebirth and
renewal of the
Holy Spirit
looks like.
And that's
what God does
in our lives
when he saves
us.
So the
picture that
we get here,
let's bring in
that little extra
bit that comes.
Renewal by the
Holy Spirit
whom he poured
out on us
generously
through Jesus
Christ our
Savior.
The picture
that we get
here is God
up in heaven
above pouring
out his Holy
Spirit down
from heaven
to earth
on us.
Both Father
and Son
working together
giving the
Spirit in
order to
save us.
And notice
the metaphor
here.
He poured
out on us
richly,
generously,
I know I
kind of
mentioned this
before,
but when
God saves
us,
he's not
stingy.
He doesn't
look at you
and say,
oh, I see
the life that
you've lived.
I'm just
going to give
you a little
bit of my
Spirit.
No, he
pours the
Spirit on
us lavishly,
generously,
richly.
He's a
gracious,
giving God
who loves
to give.
He doesn't
think about
the cost.
He says,
it's absolutely
worth it
because I
love you.
I want
you.
So these
are the
three things
mentioned here
God has
done for
all of us
who have
put our
hope in
Jesus,
who have
come to
believe in
Jesus.
And these
are works
of God's
Spirit in
us at
that initial
point when
we first
become a
child of
God, when
we first
believe in
Jesus.
Lastly, we
want to
notice that
final thing.
He has
saved us.
We saw
the why.
we saw
a little
bit of
the how,
and now
he's going
to tell
us for
what purpose.
For what
purpose?
In
verse 7,
he has
done all
this so
that having
been justified
by his
grace, we
might become
heirs, having
the hope of
eternal life.
think of
the richest
man in the
world for a
moment.
Think of
Elon Musk.
I know that
he just got
passed by
someone else,
but it
changes so
often.
Just everybody
knows Elon
Musk.
Think of
what it would
be like if
he called
you up on
the phone
this afternoon
and he
said, I'd
like to put
your name
into my
will so
that you
would inherit
a portion of
my $200
billion fortune.
You wouldn't
even believe
it.
You'd think
it was a
scam.
Something too
good to be
true.
And it is.
He wouldn't
do that.
He doesn't
even know
us.
But God
would do
it.
He would
put your
name in.
He wants
you.
This is the
whole goal.
He saved
us so that
we might
become heirs.
He wants
you to
inherit
many wonderful
blessings,
many good
things, and
Paul just
puts the
spotlight on
one.
eternal
life.
What is
God known
for?
He is
known for
being the
everlasting
God, the
one who
lives forever.
And he
wants to
give of
that, that
life to
you.
That's why
he has
done all
this, so
that we
might become
heirs, so
that we
might be
able to
look forward
to
inheriting
this
wonderful
gift of
life forever
with him.
I love
this.
Sometimes we
just get it in
our heads that
God just hates
our sins so
much that he
just wants to
get it out of
his sight.
And that's
why he died
for us.
That's why he's
done all this
washing for
us.
But it's more
than that.
He's made us
clean.
He's washed
us.
He's utterly
transformed
us so
that we
can have
this new
life with
him forever.
He wants
you.
Verse 8,
this is a
trustworthy
saying, says
Paul, and I
want you to
stress these
things so
that those
who have
trusted in
God may
be careful
to devote
themselves to
doing what
is good.
These things
are excellent
and profitable
for everyone.
So Paul
says, Titus,
teach these
things.
Stress them.
Emphasize
them.
Declare
them.
This is the
wonderful truth
of our
salvation.
Tell the
people that
God has
done this
for them.
Remind
them again.
Remind
them of
the why.
Remind
them of
the how.
Remind
them of
what for.
And then
at the end
he comes
full circle
again to
this little
bit.
Teach
these things
so that
those who
have trusted
in God
may be
careful to
devote
themselves
to doing
what is
good.
The
gospel
leads us
to then
live out
a life
of goodness,
kindness,
love towards
others.
That's one
of the
themes of
this book.
The grace
of God
teaches us
to say
no to
ungodliness
and yes
to a
self-controlled
upright
holy life
in this
present age.
And so
I want
to just
remind you
today
of who
you used
to be
before you
met
Christ.
I want
to remind
you of
what you
would be
today
apart
from
Christ.
And I
want to
remind you
of what
God has
done to
save you.
He loves
you.
He is
kind.
He is
merciful.
He is
gracious.
He poured
out his
spirit.
He caused
you to be
reborn and
renewed
Christian.
And he's
done this so
that you can
be his
heir and
enjoy life
with him
forever.
This is the
gospel as
we see it
here in this
passage.
church.
We're going
to go to
the Lord's
table now.
And I
don't want to
preach a
whole other
sermon on
top of
this but
this gospel,
these wonderful
gifts, this
good news, it
was bought and
paid for for
all of us at
the cross.
He didn't
mention the
blood but we
know from other
passages that we
would not have
this right
standing, this
justified, having
been justified by
his grace apart
from the blood of
Jesus, apart
from his death
to atone for
our sins.
And so that's
what we're going
to reflect on
for a few
moments here as
we go to the
Lord's table.
And if you're
visiting with us,
feel free to
partake.
If you believe
in the Lord
Jesus and he
is your savior,
feel free to
partake.
And if not,
then just let
the cup and
the bread pass
you by.
We're going to
take a couple
minutes to just
pray and reflect
quietly.
And then after
I've done that,
we'll have
Charles and
Rod come up
and they will
serve us the
bread and
the cup.
The bread
represents Jesus'
body and the
blood, the cup
represents his
blood.
So let's reflect
on what Jesus
has done for
us and then
we'll partake
all together once
everyone has been
served.
Amen.